IB Student Takes On Modern Art

Israel Meza Moreno

Miradas I

Mexico

2012

My sad attempt 

2. This piece was originally created in Mexico City in 1978. It's ultimate goal was to illustrate that it is hard to tell what a criminal looks like or who exactly could be a criminal.

3. This piece was originally a zoomed in/extremely pixelated photo of a group of convicts that the artist then took black acrylic paint and painted over everything except the eyes of the criminals. The artist wants to expose the "windows to the soul" by only leaving the eyes exposed. Eyes reveal a very personal aspect of a person, so by the artist doing this, it gives the viewer a more personal relationship with the piece and equalizes the criminals.

4. This piece is arranged so that only the eyes of the convicts are the focus.While you can still make out the shapes of the people if you look closely, it does not catch your attention at first.The artist uses a more transparent black paint so you can still see general shapes, but it is all fuzzy and black. There are boxes around the eyes instead of just random shapes to give the piece more structure and uniformity.

5.The overall message of this piece is the idea of equalizing these convicts so they are not just thought of for the crimes they have committed. There identity is no longer "criminal" but "human being." The artist focuses on how intimate eye contact can be and uses that to reveal his message. The viewer sees a more personal side of the people in the piece instead of their ulterior self. The people in the picture have a more intimate side revealed by having their eyes exposed (eyes are the window to your soul aren't they?). So the artist created a more personal feeling both ways.