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Saya Woolfalk Chianmera Analysis

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Chimera is an installation piece made by Saya Woolfalk, an American artist whose work is currently being displayed at the SCAD Museum of art. This piece is part of her collection called “To Dream the Eclectic Dream”, and it is certainly one of the most interesting pieces as it is very eye-catching and impressing. This piece has an overall sense of harmony and unity and this has been achieved through the artist’s use of color, the overall composition and the inclusion of audiovisual media.
The use of color is very important in this piece as it is one of the formal features that has been used the most and strikes the viewer upon seeing the work of art for the first time. At first glance, it seems as if the color has been randomly placed in the …show more content…

As an installation piece, it takes up a lot of space as it combines distinct elements that together form the work of art. However, this does not mean that because there are a lot of items within the piece it is chaotic. In fact, the placement of each item has been deliberately chosen to be harmonious. It is also a piece that has been done with a combination of found objects and things that the artist has done herself, for example the figures that are placed around the video. This is something that gives the artwork variety as it is made up of different elements. These figures, which are mannequins have been dressed up with special garments made by the artist, and these have been hanged up from the wall, four at each side on top of the colored circled that appear in the background. Their placement has been carefully thought because they are placed in the same direction as the circles to further convey the sense of movement. This highlights the importance of the central feature of the piece, the video. Furthermore, apart from the mannequins hanging from the wall there is one placed in the foreground in the middle which acts as a strong compositional element the piece. This mannequin is the one that is the most decorated, as the costume is the most elegant and colorful, so it stresses its importance. This mannequin in the center and the video located behind it mark the center point of the piece, taking an …show more content…

For most part of the installation is still, yet the subtle movements of the character featured in the video along with the graphics immediately grabs the attention of the viewer. The video features a character which is dressed up as the mannequins and has two extra pairs of arms that appear extended to the sides and move its hands. This is one of the features that gives the piece a little bit more life. The video also has graphics of small colored circles that appear to come out from the character and move outwards. These seem to merge with the circles that are surrounding the screen, therefore it aids with this sense of movement that Woolfalk is trying to portray. In addition, the artist has made the choice to incorporate music into this exhibition which further increases the overall appeal to the viewer. Even though the composition is striking by itself, the fact that is accompanied with music makes the piece become completely

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