Wednesday, March 11, 2009

artist: Mary Flanagan


"domestic"
When I first looked at this piece of art I was unsure of what exactly it was supposed to be or represent. The fire at the bottom of the first half of the image makes me think that something burned down because in addition to the fire, there is the repeated word, "reconstruction." The bottom half, on the other hand, does not make very much sense to me. 
After further reading, I come to understand that "domestic" is a computer game. I also learn that it is based on Flanagan's experience of watching her house catch on fire when she was walking home as a child. This relates to what Steve Mithen says in his book: "The Prehistory of the Mind" as stated by Bart Rosier in his article, "what is Art?" Mithen defines art as images with symbolic meaning as a means of communication. Flanagan is trying to communicate something that happened to her through this piece of art which contains symbolic meanings that represent her memory. 

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