Author: Annabelle

Title of Event: Artist Interview with Samek Art Museum Director

Date and time of event: Filmed August 25 2020

Location of Event: Online

Type of Event: Artist Interview

1.) Provide a brief detail-oriented technical description or summary of the event you attended. (This section should remain journalistic and should not be reflective of your opinion.)

In this interview Samek Art Museum Director, Richard Rinehart, interviews artist, Adam DelMarcelle, about how personal loss due to the opioid crisis caused him to devote his art and time to “confronting the opioid crisis”. He does this by sharing anecdotes about his experiences and sharing with the Richard Rinehart the things and people he has become involved with.

2.) Use the section below to write a well-structured paragraph focusing on your personal critical insight / response to the event. How did you interpret or react to what was presented to you?

I thought Adam DelMarcelle did a wonderful job explaining his art and how art in general can itself cause a call for social change. His story about his loss and how that jump started a new chapter of his work was very inspiring and showed that from lowest lows something can emerge. In this case being his art and his connection with groups like safe injection groups that help protect the safety of drug users.

3.) What information, ideas, images, etc. most impressed you and why?

I found it interesting what Adam DelMarcelle said about drug use. Specifically when he was talking about how no “border-wall” or “sea-wall” could be enough of a barrier to keep drugs out of the United states and how drug users are normal people in our society. It made me really think about how prevalent and widespread the drug problem I our country is.

4.) Overall, how would you rate this event (10 being the most worthwhile)?
(10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1 )

I rate the event an 8.
5.) Justify your rating in the question above:

I decided to rate the event an 8 because in the time of COVID it is interesting to see how other people are dealing with the experience. Many people’s jobs got shut down and pushed back, but for an artist they can continue to create and inspire. I thought Adam DelMarcelle brought awareness to the opioid crisis in a very effective way that will hopefully reach and inspire others. My only reason for a not perfect rating is that the event is online, and I always think an in person event is more worthwhile.

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.