Art Which Delivers the Message of the New Epoch

Our time of changes requires new means of realization. Technical progress and progress of human thought result in new forms of art. In this paper we are going to see two new and experimental works of art which belong to new forms of visual art.  Melissa Nucera’s work belongs to the genre of photomanipulation. This form of art combines real pictures and artistic elements. The author creates surreal images which combine real elements with imaginary and surreal ones. Another work of new art which attracts attention due to its original idea belongs to Cai Guo-Quing. It’s called “Reflection” exhibited in Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington D.C.  It was completed in 2004 and belongs to the genre of installation art. The composition is made of excavated boat and  porcelains. The author depicted  sank boat full of porcelain figures of Kuan Yin.

Both authors use original approaches to present their vision of art to the audience. Nucera’s work is two dimensional. It makes a mixture of painting and photo. The material of the work is photo paper. Guo-Quing’s “Reflection” is a three-dimensional work. It is a composition which is made of wood and porcelain.

Nucera’s photo painting shows a book, on the one page of which there is a nest and a cut wing. On the other page sleeps an angel-like girl.

This photo-painting is abstract despite it depicts the character. The artist uses character  in order to pass abstract ideas. Guo-Quing showed the sank boat full of porcelain figures of popular Chinese Goddesses ”“ Kuan Yin.

Nucera’s work The Wings Collector shows how cruel people may be. The author makes parallels with the collectors of different insects. Her work makes a strong impression as it shows the results of human actions. The work is symbolic and can be interpreted on several levels.

The author of the work manipulates space and distance. The body of the woman is placed on the page of the book. The work erases limits between different objects, changes their size and function.

Cai Guo-Quing uses strong symbols in his work. This work of art depicts ruin and devastation. From the other side it doesn’t make a negative or sad impression. That was the purpose of an artist ”“ to show that destruction can be picturesque and fascinating. We usually harry up in chase for good and positive impressions and miss a great part of our life, which consists of losses, failures and destruction. We forget that it’s a natural process, nobody and nothing can escape and that it can be beautiful if we take time and look at it carefully and without prejudices. As Cai Guo-Quing himself states, “For me it’s really important that the work here displays an aesthetic of decay along with the sunken boat with the broken ceramic pieces” (Cai Guo-Qiang, 2004). Reflection centers on the symbolism. The author mainly focuses on the combination of different symbols. The space and balance do not posses primary important in this case.

There is a common quality, which all his works possess: they all appeal not only to our mind and make us reflect on the meaning and the author’s massage, but also impress our feelings and transmit the message that exists beyond the words and rational explanations. I think that the higher purpose of any art ”“ to touch the hearts and souls of the people who watch it.



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