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Andrea Morales - Final Index

Introduce Yourself: Final 

QCQ #1: Chapter 1. Notes on the Gallery Space

Independent Museum Visit Assignment

3 Works: Thesis Ideas

QCQ #2: Chapter 2. The Eye and the Spectator

QCQ #3: Chapter 3. Context and Content

QCQ #4: Against Interpretation

Redo/Undo: Final

Self-Directed Practice: Final

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Self Portrait No. 3

This body is a continuation my self portrait series. This one's a bit different since I'm not using living or edible items. This piece was inspired by two artists. First, by Damien Hirst's 2014 "Schizophrenogenesis", in which he quotes "Pills are brilliant little form, better than any minimal art". This was also inspired by artist duo "We Are Nice & Easy", specifically their "Happy Place" project. For this piece I wanted to create an illusionistic approach by making the background the same color as the pills, making it so that the viewer sees the full picture u close. In a way I wanted to portray what its like to have a blue period, which is what the colors here symbolize. I made the strong shadow effect intentionally so that the pills feel surreal, as if they were melting in the background.

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Against Interpretation QcQ

1. Quote: “In most modern instances, interpretation amounts to the philistine refusal to leave the work of art alone. Real art has the capacity to make us nervous. By reducing the work of art to its content and then interpreting that, one tames the work of art. Interpretation makes art manageable, comformable”.

2. Comment: Interpretation of art is subjective in my opinion. I must agree that sometimes leaving the work of art alone works. When it comes down to dissecting art, I think it’s a good idea to think about it before creating ideas or making facts. Real art has the capacity to make me nervous, sure that can be a true statement. Specially when an art form/piece is so abstract that I am lost in the sauce sort of. I do find joy when it comes down to interpreting art form, wether its minimal, abstract, or in form of cinema/film. Knowing how and when to interpret is important to me.

3. Question: How do you interpret an art form? Do you go by title of the art piece? Do you dissect its form? How do you approach an untitled piece of art, or perhaps a minimal work?

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Self Portrait No. 2

For this project, I wanted to create a living version of my photograph. So this "ZZ" plant represents the self, and at their core are my blue pills which I take daily. I wanted to create this living entity in which symbolizes my growth. These pills were the main subject of my thesis project and here they are at the root of the plant. I wanted to make that connection of "planting a seed" and watching it bloom. I am showing how I am blooming as a person with the help of these little blue pills. They are a crucial part of my mental health, which I am grateful for.

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Andrea Morales, 2023, "Self Portrait". 24x24, Digital print on premium luster.

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Thesis II Photoshoot, complete! Now working on post-production. Work in progress.

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Chapter 3: Context & Content by Andrea Morales

Photograph of Michele Oka Doner's "Separation", 2023. By Andrea Morales.

Q: “Documents and photographs challenge the historical imagination by presenting to it an art that is already dead. The historical process is both hampered and facilitated by removing the original, which becomes increasingly fictitious as its afterlives become more concrete”.

C: I think about this quote a lot. As someone who is frequently hired to document art, both at gallery spaces and at art reveal events, it’s a process in which is quite familiar to me. This idea of presenting art after its lived is something like a historical process, one which facilitates the curious mind. Art after it has “lived” is highly significant, how would our future generations watch, learn, and stimulate their own senses if art is not documenter properly. For me, it was challenging to really submerse in 1200 bags of coal, since its documentation was poor in this reading, but thankfully I was able to find better imagery online. Thus, removing the original photograph from my mind and creating a new and improved body of work. 

Q: Do you think it’s pertinent to photograph your art exhibit? This idea of immortalizing your work, after it’s lived, does it seem like an important part of history? Or does the art live momentarily once its exhibited, and the afterlife does not matter (to you)?

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Thesis II Idea #3 by Andrea Morales

“In Full Remission”

Work Description: In this body of work, I will be depicting food items in a very dark and perished way. I will be photographing them while they are in a state of decay. This project takes a more darker approach than the other two ideas I had. For instance, I have a vision of depicting anxiety in the form of a banana with forks sticking all over it, to represent what it can feel like for someone to experience this.

Influences: This was influenced by my personal experience dealing with mental health issues. Although I am “In Full Remission”, there are past remnants that still circle my mind.

Meaning: With this body of work, I am manifesting what certain mental conditions can feel like. I want to showcase what anxiety can be, what a manic episode can feel like, and what depression can look like.

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Thesis II Idea #2 by Andrea Morales

“Take Your Meds”

Work Description: In this body of work, I will be using different medications as my main subject. They will be photographed as certain foods are photographed i.e: A spoon full of pills, or a chopstick holding a pill. These will be produced in a studio setting, with different colored backgrounds or different table settings. I want this to be vivid and fun.

Influences: This project was also influenced by my own experience with medication.

Meaning: I am trying to communicate the fact that it is important to nourish your brain, by taking your medication. Mental stability, and mental health is just as important as the physical, so with this project I am honoring that. At first, I was kind of skeptical or somewhat scared of certain medications, but I think once you start seeing the positive effects it can have in your life it becomes significant.

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Thesis II Idea #1 By Andrea Morales

“Blooming In Solitude”

Work Description: In this body of work, I will be using fruits and vegetables as my main subject. Each of them will be photographed separately, and I will digitally create an illusion of them blooming with flowers. I want this body of work to be bright, dynamic, and approachable.

Influences: This was influenced by my personal experience of being alone, and finding my way to a happy state. This was also influenced by “Kevin Parker’s” Solitude is Bliss.

Meaning: I am trying to communicate with this body of work that one does not have to perish in solitude, but grow! I think part of learning to be a young adult is learning how to be alone. Learning how to enjoy one’s own company, learning how to find the joy in the simple things in solitude.

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Chapter 2. The Eye and the Spectator, by Andrea Morales

Quote: “The eye can be directed but with less confidence than the Spectator, who, unlike the Eye, is rather eager to please. The Eye is an oversensitive acquaintance with whom one must stay on good terms”.

Comment: I think the eye is highly significant, almost as much as the spectator themselves. It is the eye who witnesses art first, it is the one who wanders and created worlds, universes, realities. If you’re lucky (unlike myself), you were born with good eyes, eyes that you can count on. Unfortunately for me, this was not the case. You see, I was born with astigmatism and myopia, and most of the time my eyes aren’t perfect and they might just play tricks on me. Although they never fail to perceive, I have a hard time focusing (even with corrective lenses on). So, when I become “The Spectator” at art galleries, I must take my time with each piece and work my way slowly into their realm. The reading stated that sometimes the eye lies, and I can completely relate to this.

Question: Do you think sometimes the eye fails to perceive? Or is the eye always predictable? 

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Independent Museum Visit Assignment by Andrea Morales

This week, I visited the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum Art Museum on campus. I was immediately drawn to the small room towards the right hand side, which contained a few works. Today I will be comparing and contrasting the works of Emilio Sanchez and N. Jay Jaffee.

Let’s start off with the piece that I liked, which was N. Jay Jaffee, Self Portrait (Reflection), New York. This piece takes form as a Gelatin silver print which was dated between 1975-1979. The subject matter is not complex, a self-portrait of the artist which was created by a mirror reflection. Based on the content of the photograph, you can tell it was shot in New York City. I love that the mirror is placed in an empty lot, and gives an illusion of solitude when it comes to the self-portrait, which is then juxtaposed by the busy buildings in the background. What I find interesting as well is how it was framed, with a thick white border. This also contrasts nicely, creating a sense of space. It is a magnificent piece, and an important relic in my opinion since you can see the twin towers on the left hand side.

The piece which I did not like was created by Cuban artist Emilio Sanchez’ La Casa Nueva. This is a Lithograph which was created in 1970, which depicts an architectural plane. It is a work of art which catches your attention right off the bat because of its bright yellow hue. For those that are not familiar with the medium, a Lithograph is a piece of art that involves drawing an image onto a plate. It’s got a nice play of light and shadow, which is stylistically strong. What I think lacks is context, to me its just a plain drawing of a building. The use of lines I think happens to be the subject matter here, but there is nothing else that is reflective about this piece. 

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H/W Assignment #2: Monday, August 28th (QCQ)

Andrea Morales

Quote: “Photography quickly learned to move away from heavy frames and to mount a print on a sheet of board. A frame was allowed to surround the board after a neutral interval. Early photography recognized the edge but removed its rhetoric, softened its absolutism, and turned it into a zone rather than the strut it later became. One way or another, the edge as a firm convention locking in the subject had become fragile.”

Comment: I really like the idea of photography moving from heavy frames. This is an aesthetic that I don’t really resonate with. I think the art should speak for itself, and perhaps a neutral sheet or a board would do the job, as mentioned in the reading. When speaking about edges and framings, I think the heavier the more distracting it might be. I agree with the reading that the framing becomes sort of a parenthesis, separating the art from the wall.

Question: Do you think that in photography, the surrounding framing is as crucial to its display as the body of work? Is the composition, idea, and art speak for itself without the need of an enclosure?

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H/W Assignment #1: Monday, August 28th

My name is Andrea Morales, and I am in the BFA Digital Arts program at FIU. Here I present one of my pieces from Thesis I Titled "Transient Forms". This piece stems from my interests as an artist in mixing media of digital composite and food photography. This structure is uniquely balanced vertically, and in a way drawing an invisible line. This totemic structural approach immortalizes the perishable items that I typically work with, while also creating an illusion of balance. Transient forms was created with the ambiguous idea of being seen but not at the same time.

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Hello World

This is my first post.