Camille Rose Garcia

In high school, I had an amazing art teacher for three years who taught me a great amount about art and how to build on the small amount of skills I had. My teacher fit the stereotype of an artist that many people have today: pierced nose, multiple tattoos, dark-dyed hair, but we all know that this stereotype is usually untrue. Her class was extraordinarily interesting because she focused on so many different types of artistic styles and techniques. One artist that we studied who caught my attention was a woman by the name of Camille Rose Garcia. Born in Los Angeles, California in 1970, Garcia’s works are a very unique addition to the art world today. She touches on many issues dealing with “an acute political consciousness” (www.sjmusart.org). Her art may be seen as strange or even creepy by some, but it captures the audience’s attention.

Probably the most unique part of her work is that she uses cartoon-like characters to depict her political topics. The characters she uses resemble many famous fairy tale characters. Her inspirations came mainly from “Walt Disney, punk bands like the Dead Kennedys, and sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick (www.sjmusart.org). Garcia grew up in Orange County, California near Disney Land. As a child, she began witnessing the “truths” of “the happiest place on earth.” Garcia caught a behind the scenes glimpse into the reality of this fantasy land. As she grew older, she began to take the contradictions that she witnessed as a child and add them into her art pieces to depict the faults of society today.

A key aspect in Garcia’s work is the muted colors she uses. None of Garcia’s paintings use bright, stand out colors. The tones seem to be dark and add almost gloominess to the work for lack of a better word. Garcia also uses many significant shapes within her work. It is common to see tear drop shapes in the background of her paintings to portray the somberness and seriousness of the issues that she is trying to capture from the audience. Another common aspect is the dry-brushed background over wallpaper. Garcia uses this technique to maintain the childish, yet mature them of her paintings. The wallpaper tends to have repeated designs or images which almost resemble what may be in a child’s room, but this aspect of the painting remains subtle as it is painted over. Garcia also uses a lot of cloud-like images and other things that would be common fairy-tale like images.

Many of Garcia’s works can also be seen as disturbing by some people. There are many images in which there are cartoon animals with their heads cut off, or creepy faces that almost look like they are staring at you. Although all of the characters in the paintings seem creepy, they still have a cuteness to them. They have unusually large heads extremely long arms and legs. Garcia does an amazing job of creating the fairy tale fantasy with a creepy twist.

One of her works that I remember caught my eye but I could not find online was a painting she did of Little Red Riding Hood. Instead of the story about the little girl who is trying to visit her grandmother’s, Garcia turned it into the imagery of a young girl who is coming of age. The girl in the painting is around the age of a girl who would begin menstruation, explaining the color red. The wolf, however, portrays men who try to simply take girls’ innocence. Even though some people may view this as a disturbing twist on a childhood fairy tale, Garcia uses the story to display a real issue in society. I thoroughly enjoy Garcia’s art, even with it’s “creepy” nature.

Cloud Gate

Commonly referred to as "The Bean", Cloud Gate captures the beauty of the elaborate skyline in downtown Chicago. Cloud Gate was designed by the artist Anish Kapoor and is strategically placed in Millennium Park. Although there are many works of art in Millennium Park, Cloud Gate is the largest work of art in the park. It is said that Kapoor found inspiration for this work from liquid mercury. Many people refer to this work as "The Bean" because of its bean-like shape. When looked at from a distance, Cloud Gate actually resembles a massive, silver bean in the middle of the park. However, when viewed more closely, Cloud Gate reflects not only the buildings and architecture that make Chicago the magnificent, but also the sky and natural beauty that surrounds it.

I have visited Cloud Gate multiple times through out summers of spending time downtown. At first, the sight of Cloud Gate made me somewhat nauseas. The reflection and distortion of the surroundings up close were somewhat difficult to get used to. However, it was not long before I realized the beauty of this simply shaped object. It is sometimes easy to look at a work of art and be judgmental. I originally was unhappy when I saw Cloud Gate because so many people made a big deal about how fascinating this work was. After observing Cloud Gate from a distance and up close, I realized that it must have taken a great amount of planning in order to create the impression that Cloud Gate leaves with people.

Cloud Gate displays a very futuristic type of art. The work is not something a person sees everyday. It is composed of many steel sheets that were placed together and then polished to resemble unity in the artwork. It is almost mystical in a sense because of its shape and extremely shiny composition. One of the best aspects of Cloud Gate is that it draws you to it. No one can resist going up to Cloud Gate and exploring it with their eyes, hands, and even cameras. People spend a great deal of time trying to capture the beauty of Cloud Gate in a picture, but this is a difficult task. I believe that Cloud Gate is almost like a "gateway" to the city. The reflection of the buildings, people, and surrounding nature leaves visitors memorized. How can such a simple looking object be so mysterious?

It is also fascinating to think about how this great object was created. The design is simple, but the execution of putting this object together was very difficult. All in all, the total cost of Cloud Gate was over twenty-three million dollars! It was built on sight because it would be to difficult to transport the almost one hundred and ten ton work. I keep referring to the simplicity of the work, but the planning must have been extensive in order to develop a design that would capture the city as a whole. The design of Cloud Gate also allows for the artwork to be interactive in a sense. People from all over can come up to the work and touch it, and even stand beneath it.

I believe that art exists in everything. Things that are simple in design, like Cloud Gate, still encompass the ability to impact people simply through them viewing the work. Cloud Gate was an extensive project to complete, but contains a strong sense of simplicity. I believe it is Cloud Gate's simplicity that makes it such a wonderful addition to the city. When visiting the city, I also notice how everyone is rushing around, not paying any attention to their surroundings. I have never really seen people just stop in the middle of the sidewalk, look up, and absorb the beauty of the buildings and skyline. Cloud Gate allows people to view the beauty that they tend to miss. I would highly recommend going downtown and visiting Cloud Gate. It is a fascinating sight and a must see, even for Chicagoans.