Stella's Art Blog

Matthew Cusick uses maps to create stunning portraits. He uses different colors and shades of maps and proceeds to cut them apart and paste together bits to create the effect of shadow and light. His images have a sort of sketchy look to them because of all the condensed bits of shredded maps he uses. Elisabeth Lecourt creates clothing inspired with maps and takes photographs of them. They are made from folded and cut maps. Shannon Rankin uses small cut disks of maps to create large patterns and design. She uses different colors and sizes and arrangements of disks to create intricate patters usually shown on a large scale.

"We Come In Peace" is an exhibition currently being displayed at the MET, specifically commissioned to be located on the Roof Garden. It was designed by Huma Bhabha, a graduate of RISD. The title is a reference to "The Day the Earth Stood Still"- however, this exhibit is not just meant to give off sci-fi vibes. It is a statement about many different issues, such as colonialism, invasion, war, and imperialism. There are two statues- one being a strange, primate-looking creature, the other a human being kneeled down and covered in a black cloth. The human is surrendering itself to the beast, bowing down to show submission while the other statue looms over it. I was instantly drawn to this exhibit because of the unsettling and grotesque statues. They immediately caught my attention, as I am very interested in more scary and unnerving artwork. However, as I researched this piece, I found many more interesting layers other than just the scary imagery. The themes of inv...

Banksy is a modern graffiti artist known best for his work displaying social commentary and challenging political ideas. If I'm being entirely honest, I'm not Banksy's biggest fan. While I agree with the points he makes, graffiti isn't going to do anything to help the current situation. What really helps is going to protests, calling your representatives, and donating to organizations fighting for the rights of marginalized people. I got way off topic here, but that's my two cents on Banksy. His social commentary work, in my opinion, is repetitive and boring and does nothing to actually help things he's making a statement about. Recently, Banksy created a painting that would run itself through a paper shredder if it were to be sold, which it did. First hearing about this, I laughed. I'm not his biggest fan, but that was definitely a hilarious move. But as I dwell on it more, it seems more like a moneymaking sham than a statement. If Banksy ...

Miguel Ángel Belinchón is an artist who creatively blends cubism with hyperrealism to create a unique and uncanny style. His works are reminiscent of those of Pablo Picasso- however, Belinchón puts his own twist on the cubism style by drawing his faces incredibly detailed and realistic. I had never heard of Belinchón before this blog, but I am so glad I learned about him. His art is incredibly inspiring and interesting to me, and I hope to study his work more in the future.