If You Are Only Moved

June 11, 2015

If You Are Only Moved, 2013

This poster is a result of research done at the RISD Museum that questions the way that we engage with everyday narratives vs. those of coveted objects. The first side, with a cutout frame set against visual tropes of a museum environment, unfolds to step through a Mark Rothko quote: “If you are only moved by color relationships then you miss the point. I’m interested in expressing the big emotions—tragedy, ecstasy, doom.”

Side two unfolds into an everyday scene where messages once were. The typographic chart diagrams the relationships and attributes of museum objects I researched, many of which were originally intended for a practical use before becoming viewed as art. What became most interesting to me was not just the act of art appreciation, but to question what a society chooses to collect and invest in vs. what exists in the “peripheral” of this central focus. The photography is from my drive from Los Angeles to Providence, observing the current economic loss evident in sites across America.

side A, unfolded, charts relationships and defining characteristics between museum objects while bringing in an image of the everyday:

side B, unfolded uses stereotypical museum attributes and the Rothko quote: