A Justice Site
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California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Created: September 27, 2006
Latest Update: Setpember 27, 2006
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu
Critique
Why I Chose Opiate of the Masses for the tentative cover of the exhibition. jeanne
It was the first piece of art you guys gave me in fairly finished form. Also Juliette gave me room at the lower half of the back of her card to print the title of the exhibition. So a large piece of this answer is practical.
From the point of view of critique, I liked the lovely pastel colors she chose, and the patterning on both the back of the card and its inside. I've spent the last hour trying to get my graphics program to pick up that texture and color on the front of the card. I've been switching back and forth between two software programs. Paint is reading it, but Corel won't. So this is taking a little longer than I expected. I gotta get Adobe soon. jeanne
I think I got the colors. Hope so.
I liked that Juliette drew the traditional Christian fish icon on some of her fish, but not all. And I liked the mixture of darks and lights. The contrast makes things show up. Nice card.
Curator Comments and Questions
- The Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives little difference in meaning between opiate and opium. Karl Marx spoke of religion as the "opium of the masses." Was there a reason, Juliette, that you chose "opiate" instead of "opium," or did it just happen that way?
- I recall that you said, Juliette, that you thought of the icon more as "bomb" than "fish." How does that fit into the message you chose for your card? Is killing one another the opiate you see being fed to the masses?
- How will I know, if you share this card with me, that the iconology reresents both "fish" and "bomb"? Will I need to remember that from our dialog, or will there be a reminder on the card?
Will you add anything to the inside of the card? What if the person you share the card with displays it by standing it up so the inside shows. Will you sign your name there? Will there be a message there?
- Do you think you'd like to add a very brief message explaining what you see this imagery as suggesting as the opium of the masses?
- You could put a short message on a light colored card and paste that somewhere on the inside. You could even use very small pieces of card with significant words you want you or your friend to remember.
Peer Comments and Questions
Post Your Questions, Comments, Suggestions, Support (Sood Dogs!), Creative Ideas to Juliette at: Transform-dom Open Discussion.
Juliette, this is your art work. It is impressive as it is. Take our comments, knowing that you must remain true to what you are feeling and to what this work means to you.
An immense thanks to you for daring to offer your work as the first this semester for our exhibit. jeanne
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