Symposium Year
2020
Preview
Start Date
2-8-2020 8:00 AM
End Date
2-8-2020 12:30 PM
Description
Artist Statement:
Like many people, I have felt the need to interact with all four major social media platforms—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat—at all times. I started to believe the news people shared on their timelines and thought I could accurately discuss difficult topics. However, the information always turned out to be wrong or incomplete, making me look foolish and easy to attack. Words posted online are now taken as seriously as text printed in the Bible. Influencers are now saints and post their gospel online for others to worship. Centuries ago in Europe, angels were widely used to represent the presence of God or to report his word. Now contemporary social media is comparable to the concept of God as an all-knowing and all-powerful presence watching our interactions and controlling what we see. In this series of angels, I have incorporated hidden iconography that relates to both religion and social media. Charcoal represents these figures in a dramatic lighting that blends values softly. These angels represent social media platforms and through them the presence of the modern God of technology.