Yes, I made that word up, “exponentialized.” Surely, a little latitude is allowed on your own blog!
But what I am referring to are acrylic mixed media works by artist Grant Miller (who hails from Kansas City) at a show a few weeks ago courtesy of the Cecille R. Hunt Gallery, Webster University, St. Louis.
http://www.webster.edu/news/releases/images/grantmiller1.jpg
http://www.webster.edu/news/releases/images/grantmiller2.jpg
http://www.blackandwhiteartgallery.com/press/miller.pdf;
http://oneartworld.com/artists/G/Grant+Miller.html
Miller constructs elaborate and exceedingly intricate three dimensional spaces from linear elements – interconnected lines, shapes, frames, and rope. If you took all the shells of buildings (down to the girders and wiring) from a city skyline and jumbled them all together, you might get an inkling of what results in Miller’s work. They reminded me of labyrinths which themselves are interconnected and woven together. Three-dimensionalized. Exponentialized. Strangely enough, though, the resulting structure is anything but chaotic but rather seems to my eye to have an inherent structural stability, as in you couldn’t destroy it with wrecking ball if you tried.
As a music analogy, you might think Wagnerian, dense, robust, relentless, but every note connected to every other note and word (in the operas anyway) in some way.
The narrative description provided at the gallery (which, frankly, almost never make a lick of sense to me), say they are about overexposure (such as to cyberspace -hey, that’s where we are now!) and information overload. Perhaps, but here is what Miller’s work did to me: I felt like I was the center of these elaborate structures and that caused me to think about my relationship with the vastness (structural complexity?) of my interconnected world and even in specific ways, such has how I “connect” with people through this blog.
Then I realized something. This blog may be part of that vast astral cloud known as cyberspace but I’ve been connecting with a few people on a one-to-one basis through it. So, what results from this blog is perhaps the antithesis of Miller’s representations. A few solid human connections distilled from the miasma of information overload.
I found interesting to think about. I am anything but exponentialized at this moment.
Anyway, Grant Miller’s work is worth a closer look. I can’t recall anything quite like it.
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First, the art. Too bad there isn’t a way to experience it full size via the web. I can imagine the effect of the changes in perspective. Looks like the pieces are fairly large – 4X4 – which would add to that multi-directional feeling. I love the interplay of hard, distinct lines with what must be the rope he uses. And the color!
Second, I’ve been thinking about “information overload” myself, due to recent debates regarding the “value” of cybersocial interactions. On the one hand, there is the argument that communicating this way erodes our interpersonal competence. In the interest of expediency, everything is pared down to ‘bytes’, forcing more shallow expression and, therefore, understanding, of ourselves. And then there is the lack of physical interaction – facial expression, tone of voice, gesture – which are invaluable to communication.
On the other hand, there is the potential for the sheer number of “interactions” to ultimately devalue them all. There exists every imaginable group/club/forum in every corner of the world – how thinly can we spread ourselves before we have nothing to share?
For me personally, nothing will replace a good, face-to-face, heart-to-heart, but I think, as in “real” life, I’ll find myself drawn to people of like mind, and so will find ways to relate regardless of the medium. And also as in real life, we are always free to step back, take a break, regroup when necessary. EVERY electronic device has an off button.
At the very least, having to write what I’m thinking forces me to consider more carefully what I’m about to say – a good practice in all communications!