Gallery Visit and Experience

   On February 26, 2015 I went to The University Galleries at Texas State University. Within Gallery [1] was an exhibit titled Tell Me What You Think of Me, curated by Leslie Moody Castro. Stereotypes, definitions, and cultural classifications are brought to the forefront and how North America, as a whole, contributes to these issues. La Graduita by Máximo González was a doll standing on a thick piece of plywood; the wood jutted out at least a foot from the wall. The doll, a mere inch in length, was set against the wall leaving eleven inches of emptiness in front of her. At the feet of the doll was a small sign that read “Graduate.” The doll was wearing a cap and gown while holding a diploma in one hand and her head in the other. The neck was painted showing the bone of the spine and blood red of human flesh. When looking closer, the texture of flesh appeared smooth showing a clean cut. La Graduita is a work of art that is representative of the North American higher education system and makes viewers postulate the issues that graduates face.

   A doll clothed in graduation attire directly represents college graduates and the higher education system; therefore, I see this work as employing art as imitation. As an artist I question, “Would Plato approve of this form of imitation?” I answer myself, “No, he would not.” Plato defined art as imitation as showing an ideal world, a sort of utopia. La Graduita does not imitate an ideal world, but represents how the world actually is. However, imitation is shown through this tiny doll with the cap, gown, and sign that says Graduate. As a viewer, I do not question what it is I am looking at; I am looking at a college graduate. This is why I would categorize this work as employing imitation. Although, the head decapitation is not literal of college graduates, it is on a metaphoric stance; metaphorically, this doll is imitating every future college student. I am viewing this sculpture as an artist and also as an upcoming graduate. The experience I received from this art allowed me to come to terms with and understand the world I will soon be entering into. Employing art as a means of understanding was successful through this sculpture. This sculpture gives viewers the understanding that graduation is nearly the same as a death sentence. I am able to more clearly understand this work of art because of the information I have learned about the higher education system. I can directly relate to this graduate doll because I feel that I am represented through it.

   This artwork is very three dimensional, and because of that it allows viewers to be given the opportunity to walk around it and experience the art from all angles. The bluntness of a decapitated doll coexists well with the linearity of the wood that is clear and stark. This work is nearly symmetrical, aside from the difference in what is in the dolls hands. By standing directly in front of the doll I experienced the same feelings as I did when standing on either side of it. When postulating further about this work, my take away is the idea of this doll representing the higher education system. Delving deeper, it mimics the college educated students specifically in North America. Regarding 2^nd function, the piece of plywood represents the notion of ‘walking the plank,’ and there is a clear intention of having the head removed. This plays with the idea that receiving a college degree is sentencing people to a death sentence. The plywood could also represent walking out into the world. There is nothing on the end of the board besides emptiness, just a straight drop off. This emptiness is society and the walk towards it is anything but good. By leaving the universities and entering into society, college graduates have nowhere to go but down. Graduates should be greeted with immense opportunities and job possibilities, but instead they are faced with unemployment or becoming employed in a field that they did not specialize in. While appreciating a work in 1^st function form is refreshing, the 2^nd function within this work was dominant.

   The experience I had while viewing this work stirred up a variety of emotions. I was relieved that this issue of college and society was being addressed artistically, but on the opposite end, I was upset because it is a pressing issue. I believe González’s intention was for viewers to become upset with how the system works in North America. The artist wanted to remove the dolls head and paint on the bloody flesh and vertebrae to show the brutality of our reality. Instead of simply stating what is wrong with higher education, González responded to the issue in an imaginative way that jolts viewers into facing the reality. La Graduita can fall under multiple categories of Dennis Dutton’s universal signatures. Novelty, creativity and imaginative experience because of the imaginative way the artist spoke about a serious issue through a small sculpture. Strongly depicted within the art is the universal signature of representation - the setbacks that this generation’s college graduates are ultimately destined to face, and the intellectual challenge of how do we change things for the better.

   While looking at the exhibit as a whole, it is clear that the issues behind all the works were from a South American cultural point of view. The stereotypes and classifications that the North American culture puts on other cultures is made fun of and questioned throughout this exhibit. Máximo González could have possibly created La Graduita in response to how the education system in North America confides or maybe oppresses students of different nationalities. As a person born in North America this artwork spoke to me as an individual, not regarding any of my cultural categories. La Graduita is not focused to a specific group or person, but speaks universally to people.