Red Eyes
2012
Acrylic on Canvas
8" x 11"
$150
Dionne Victoria
dionnevictoria.com
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I’m walking down the streets of Korea and I see something that’s absolutely horrifying. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I freak out. I run across the street avoiding crossing the path of the doorway. On it is a swastika, historically used to symbolize Nazi Germany. The fact that it is red makes no difference to me. It is a swastika!
Humans are interesting creatures that way. I’m saying this because I’m the universe (born human this time around) and I’ve noticed through cultural conditioning we assign labels to colors and words. Depending on the culture, you see certain symbols or colors or words and you are instantly frightened or excited.
Because of this we are confused or even afraid of other cultures and seek to divide ourselves from another by placing labels on ourselves and each other. This is a sad state for humanity. It’s like my arm separating itself from the rest of my body because it decided it’s an arm and not leg.
I display through my art how silly the creation of labels through cultural assignment truly is. Emotions are the only things that are universal. Playing with imagery and color, I toy with the viewer’s emotions. While the image they view may be repulsive, the colors are bold and bright which brings the viewer satisfaction. On the other hand, if the viewer sees something accepted as beautiful that has been painted with the colors of vomit, they may find it repulsive. The viewer should see how ridiculous judging according to labels truly is or at least contemplate why this painting exists.
dionnevictoria.com
I’m walking down the streets of Korea and I see something that’s absolutely horrifying. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I freak out. I run across the street avoiding crossing the path of the doorway. On it is a swastika, historically used to symbolize Nazi Germany. The fact that it is red makes no difference to me. It is a swastika!
Humans are interesting creatures that way. I’m saying this because I’m the universe (born human this time around) and I’ve noticed through cultural conditioning we assign labels to colors and words. Depending on the culture, you see certain symbols or colors or words and you are instantly frightened or excited.
Because of this we are confused or even afraid of other cultures and seek to divide ourselves from another by placing labels on ourselves and each other. This is a sad state for humanity. It’s like my arm separating itself from the rest of my body because it decided it’s an arm and not leg.
I display through my art how silly the creation of labels through cultural assignment truly is. Emotions are the only things that are universal. Playing with imagery and color, I toy with the viewer’s emotions. While the image they view may be repulsive, the colors are bold and bright which brings the viewer satisfaction. On the other hand, if the viewer sees something accepted as beautiful that has been painted with the colors of vomit, they may find it repulsive. The viewer should see how ridiculous judging according to labels truly is or at least contemplate why this painting exists.
