Immediate Response
At first glance, Dreamscape 2 by Eddie Martinez seemed like graffiti you would look at quickly while driving through the city. It’s color and shapes have elements of street style, but with details and objects that catch the viewer’s attention and make them take a second look. The contrast of the dark background makes the vibrant colors even more distinguishable and interesting. The objects included in the piece seemed “familiarly unfamiliar” to me. I had to look deeper into the painting to recognize all of the objects painted. The seemingly random objects included were very dreamlike in that they appear vague and having no relation, but distinguishable.
Objective Description
Eddie Martinez’s, Dreamscape 2, is an assortment of various objects surrounding a person’s head, as if they are overwhelming the subject of the painting. The objects – an emoji, lips, flower, and olive, to name a few – are dominantly in primary colors, with black and white outlines that help distinguish one from another. The objects are crammed together overlapping and covering part of each other. The head, which is devoid of any bright color apart from dark blue eyes, is placed in front of all these objects. The head is very abstract with lines and and unique shapes causing the viewer to question what they are looking at. The background on the top half of the piece is a dark navy and the bottom half is a white/grey color.
Technical Decisions
Dreamscape 2 has a false harmonic composition. The viewer is immediately drawn to the vivid colors and the creative and unique images included in the piece. These components give off positive and comforting feelings and make the painting seem innocent and as if it could have been drawn by a child. The longer you study the details, however, you begin to notice the subject and the objects around them. You begin to realize the objects are coming closer and closer to the subject, cramming into and overwhelming them. This conveys negative emotions like stress and the lack of certainty that gives this piece a dissonant composition.
The Work in the World
Martinez got his start in art through graffiti when he was younger. His current pieces have moved away from pure graffiti, but still have similar elements and techniques. Graffiti is often seen as ugly and referred to as an “eyesore”. This type of art is often illegal and seen as destructive, prompting people to want to remove it when it appears. The similarity to graffiti and street art Martinez includes in his work relates back to the artistic roots of graffiti. He makes people see a different side to this street art style and urges viewers to look at the beauty in an artform that is commonly known as ugly and destructive.
The Story it Tells
Martinez says, in his interview, that he likes to leave the interpretation of his art in the eyes of the viewer. My interpretation of the work is that you must live in the present. The colorless head with no clear lines represents negative emotions and being distracted. The subtly colored eyes suggest the subject is looking into something not in his world, like a dream. Dreams have elements of your real life present within them because they are your mind’s way of processing what you are living through. While dreams can be colorful and tempting, you can never stay forever. No matter how enticing it is to stay permanently in your own dream world, the longer you stay the more dangerous and overwhelming it gets. You must alway come back to reality no matter how bleak and grey it may seem.