The window on the side of the bunker is our view to the inside, and it’s also their
view to the outside.
I utilized a primary background original photograph of a vast farmland with a small bonzai-type
tree, also an original photograph, enlarged to serve as the primary focal point. The irony that people mold
these tiny trees in their pots as they grow is present just in a different more
pressing context.
*Remaining items and people image sources:
https://www.pexels.com/collections/fake-it-ikx4ajm/
This image by Kim Ballinger depicts a dying tree located in the center of a large field of dry grass. Beneath the tree is a large window or opening where a planter is visible, and several small, silhouetted figures are moving around in the space, which resembles a large, empty garage type area. One appears to be watering another plant, while others are sitting or walking around the big tree. The size of the tree in relation to the size of the people and contrasted against a neutral-colored plane of negative space, gives it a visual dominance that creates a lonely and ominous atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteI already know the meaning of this image from previous discussion, so I’ll just speak on my opinion of it and how I view specific elements. It presents an interpretation of a bleak future where the environmental destruction caused by human-caused climate change has left people to struggle just to survive and salvage what’s left. The tree could symbolize a dying hope of change, and how time is running out to fix it, and the very small number of people underground could symbolize how not enough people are willing to do anything substantial to fix it.
I feel that this image excels symbolically, but there are some elements that could be adjusted to improve believably. The main things that take me out of the image are how the bonsai is not affected by atmospheric perspective despite being so far from the camera; the contrast and depth of color is too high. The other is the perspective of the bunker window. I think more needs to be done at the sides to emphasize the idea of a window inside of a hill, as I initially read it as being very flat and abstract. I might also suggest, just for added spice, some dead leaves on top of the bunker and on the ground in front of the window, and maybe some light on the ground in front of the window and cast shadows from the figures.
I think that the artist is expressing the solemn message that our environment is dying, and eventually there won’t be anything we can do to fix it. Given how quickly certain groups of people are to shut down the very idea or climate change, and how many powerful corporate entities benefit from processes that destroy the environment, it can be difficult to enact any kind of real change in how we treat the environment at any meaningful scale. A lot of responsibility is put on individual people to “do their part” such as through recycling (which is good and you should be doing, don’t get me wrong) but ultimately individual people are going to do or not do whatever they feel like and are not ultimately the primary cause of the worst of this issue. I think this message is effective in making people think; about the environment, and about how little a very small group of people can do to solve this crisis. Since it is based in a fictional future, and there is enough visual disparity that I can recognize it as not real, if feels more like a direct commentary rather than trying to fool me into Googling if underground tree bunkers are real.
Overall, I think this piece is effective at conveying a specific message in an interesting way and making one think about the issues of climate change and the future of our planet, and the societal issues that surround the wanton destruction of it. It isn’t especially effective at tricking me into thinking this is a real place due to primarily perspective and atmospheric errors, but I still enjoy this piece, its composition, and its message regardless.