Month: April 2025

Humans are inherently curious to explore, and to build, and become successful, and as a result, they can be obsessed with gaining wealth and materialistic ownership to prove their success and achievement. However, in death, humans cannot take their materialistic objects nor wealth with them. Moreover it is fear and risk that holds them back from being too curious and pursuing too much. The looming fear of the unknown death puts into perspective the fleeting nature of human endeavors. This juxtaposition of curiosity and fear, is the foundational paradox to the progress of humanity – of how we keep creating and gaining, but cautiously do so. And similarly, materialistic goods are an outcome of human success, progress, creation, and achievement, but it is impermanent in our lifetimes. But what is more permanent is the legacy that each human and groups of humans leaves behind, not necessarily their material wealth they’ve accumulated when alive.

My modern paradox is that we can see how bad the global situation is, yet we can only watch. We want to do good, but feel that we cannot, while despicable acts are freely broadcast around the world. My opposing elements within the drawing would be the angel and devil. The angel, a symbol of good, is also a symbol of action and motivation. Here, the angel sits inactive, immobilized by indecision as the world crumbles around it. The devil, the embodiment of evil, is know to sneak around and deceive. Here, the devil smiles from above, jumping through the TV screen to unabashedly spread evil in broad daylight.

A profound paradox of human existence that I’m chosing to examine is the tension between the desire to blend in and the drive to be unique. People often try to fit into social norms with specific expectations, but also want to excel and do this by expressing their uniqueness and creativity. In my drawing, I’m going to compare patterns of uniformity and fitting in with splashes and images of obscure things that stand out.

For my interstellar message project I would like to lean into the idea of human connection. I think this idea can be paradoxical because although human nature is to join together and build relationships, it also tends to be “human nature” to fight with and disclude others. I also believe that when it comes to this topic, it is something that everyone has personally experienced. Whether that be making friends and having a close family, or the other side of the spectrum: being left out and feeling lonely. This topic is both a strong element of human existence and also a topic that can connect well with any audience. 

The oil painting I chose is titled Maria Hamilton Beckford, which was painted by Benjamin West in 1799. This oil portrait shows Maria Beckford, who was the wife of William Beckford, a wealthy and famous English figure. Maria also came from a wealthy, prestigious Scottish family. In this painting, West displays Beckford with much grace, power, and dignity. He emphasizes her elegance, beauty, and social class. This realistic painting represents Maria in a sophisticated way through her posture, expression, and clothing. In addition, it can also represent wealth, youth, and lineage, which were common themes for elite families in the late 1700s. 

In the painting, Maria has a poised expression on her face, and she is sitting with an open book on her lap and an instrument sitting next to her. Her hair is beautifully styled, and she has on a dark blue dress with pearl accessories and earrings. The background seems to include a painting in the background, and she is sitting on a chair with red velvet cloth behind her. Overall, this painting shows strength, grace, and dignity, which I also want to represent in my painting. For my portrait drawing, I want to create a bold geometric pattern that emphasizes the inner strength shown in the drawing as well. This pattern will represent balance and structure as well as dignity and sophistication.

 The Paradox of Connection and Isolation

We deeply crave intimacy and understanding, yet no one can fully access our inner world.
” We’re born alone, die alone, and yet we spend our lives seeking closeness.“

Why is this relationship important and what does it say about human. Throughout the course of history to modern day I suppose that there has been those constantly longing for relationship and connection with one other human. Yet often times these wishes are rejected or pushed away leading sum to go into self isolation to protect themselves. With our society being a class and rank based society social status and connection is what it’s all about. From Greek life at colleges to card groups for seniors a sense of connection with others is craved so deeply in our world. My piece will work to highlight how the over pursuit of connection can lead to isolation or otherwise even worse in some cases.