Blog 3- Walker and Barrett

In the article, “Big Ideas and Artmaking” I found the concept that was used in the artwork by Jennifer Barlett to be intriguing.  She both abided by rules in her artwork and also sought to bend them in away to make each piece unique.  It was interesting how she started each artwork with the same view and on the same size and paper. Yet, she made each artwork different by adding variety to the style of which she used to create her final product.  I find it to be intriguing that there were just enough similarities between her works to recognize the somewhat systemic approach she used as an artist.

I feel like the process of coming up with a big idea would prove to be somewhat difficult. This big idea for and artist is going to define how and why they create all of their artwork.  I presume a big idea would usually be spurred on by a moment of inspiration or a specific event that an artist experiences.  However, I believe some careful thought should go into this big idea as it will be defining the artwork that is created thereafter.

The articles by Barrett discussed some very interesting information about how connotations and denotations influence the way we think and perceive various ideas and concepts.  It was intriguing that   children as young as kindergarten and preschool age were able to pick up nonspecifically on messages given off by certain objects.  After reading this article, I was able tor realize how many objects, advertisements, and even clothing are all marked with subliminal messages that are culturally significant in some way.

The topic that I found to be somewhat problematic in this article was the cover of the Rolling Stones magazine. The depiction of the three women on the cover of the magazine is unfortunately very typical of how women are portrayed in the media.  The lack of clothing, attention to sexual anatomy, and other connotations mentioned in the text seem to degrade women more than portray a sense of “girl power.” The list of connotations associated with this picture proves that this is a readily apparent issue in our society today.