Spending time with a work of art is a way of becoming familiar with details, narratives, ideas, philosophies, intended and unintended meanings. Our human nature compels us to interact. Through a close examination it is possible to gain entry into the art by accessing our own histories, ideas, and emotions and bring them to bear on the work in front of you. This is the experience to be found in ‘Closely Becomes Wonderful’.
Carmela Laganse’s Memes are an installation of small characters/figurines influenced by forms of mass communication that have been simplified and reduced to convey ideas, for example religious icons, comic books, and internet memes. Why do we find comfort in images that are repeated in a slightly reformatted and familiar pattern? Is the viral popularity of the internet meme simply a result of generations of exposure to this strategy of branding? Is this how we absorb and disseminate information now?
These symbols, whether 2D, 3D or text, attach themselves to our psyche like a baby ‘Alien’ or a Vulcan Mind Meld, subliminally, embedding themselves in our subconscious/social consciousness. Carmela’s work comments on and is derivative of social gaming symbols and iconography that have gone viral online, perhaps a form of insinuation. On another level, there is a ridiculousness and inane nature to the internet meme. They are often saccharine (stuff photographed on your cat, animals in costumes or graphics resembling Marxist propaganda framing penguins) - simple cute characters that we think are comforting because they are devoid of any real content, diverting us from the reality and the problems at hand and taking us away from the continual barrage of daily stress.
While Laganse understands the appeal and the fun participation, she reminds herself and ourselves to question what it is we are absorbing. The figures in the pieces have no intentional relationship to each other than resulting from process. However, their repetition makes them into a comfortable and familiar product with a narrative, however benign and mundane. Maybe on the surface they seem cute but there is a subtle darkness to them. The artist/manufacturer or art factory becomes the same insinuating enterprise used by “Corpero” to embed corporate brands in all of us. To be clear, Carmela Laganses’ work is calculated and designed to engage the viewer to help the viewer realize, through a closer look, all of the above (Andy Warhol Rest in Piece).
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