Let's Read Art: Monika Paulaviciute
As Spencer (my son) is learning to read, I was curious what he would think of this piece of art by Monika Paulaviciute. Using three steps to reading art mentioned here the Hill family cuddled up on the couch and discussed this work.
Below are the interpretations of Stephen (my husband), Andy and Spencer (my sons) and myself.
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
- the lines on the cards are trying to make letters
- there's alot of symbols
- they're moving
- the motion is from the circulation in the room not by a motor
- it looks like something is being spelled by the shadows of the cards moving
- the cards look like perfect squares and hanging in a grid, very symmetrical
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THESE FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE?
- it reminds me of spreadsheets
- when the lines connect it makes a picture, the squares looks like the roof of a mansion
- it's an illusion
- if you squint it looks very natural like water or the ocean
- order and chaos with the high contrast and the floating of the cards
WHY DID THE ARTIST PUT THIS ALL TOGETHER?
- to make us think about language
- dyslexics and jumbled letters
- symbols you can't make sense of, it's what reading is like for dyslexics
- peaceful even though the inability to read is challenging
- structure with fluidity
- the ambient air to give it action. it makes our physical action control the ephemeral presence of language
- it could have looked crafty if not designed well but the artist really pulled it off and it looks well thought out
- the strings hang at the bottom and add more motion, the content is free and not framed in
These are our interpretations, you may see something different. Oh, and I should mention that when we do this we don't read up about the piece until after we've looked at it.