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09: Art that fully embraces its medium is a welcome manifestation of expression. This is two dimmensional art, and this piece in no way tries to deceive the viewer of this fact. There is no depth, there is no texturing, there is no illusion. Come as you are, this roach pleads of the viewer. His wide-eyed acceptance of self yields a singular flavor of joy. There is honesty here, and it moves me. 10/10
10: Touching on the notion of compassion, this piece parallels the misfortune that can befall people, via poverty, hunger, with the nature of vermin. This roach eerily mirrors features of vagabonds: unkempt hair, bloodshot eyes, a general dishevelment brought about by the hurried shading, and yet despite this hardship, the roach's face is illuminated with gratitude. Roaches are forced to feed on what others leave behind, and the notion of a hot meal is one of humanity. What saddens me is I'm uncertain if the look in the roach's eyes is merely one of thankfulness, or if it holds the painful notes of, due to compassion's lack of frequency, surprise. There is kindness here, and it moves me. 10/10
11: Hard, graffiti, post mechanical punk. Propaganda techniques to associate a visage of evil with something generally detested. These tactics were employed in WWII, and the ad hominem tactic is overwhelming. Fortunately, the underlying sarcasm helps us reflect upon our reaction to such brash suggestive thinking. We are told to feel opposite our instinct: to judge a vermin as cute. This is a pseudo-religious metaphor, somewhat playfully dealing with the idea of flash-rhetoric used by groups of society to establish a belief system. The bunny is Hell. The roach exists simply as an artistic choice to illustrate the true evil. There is persuasion here, and it moves me. 10/10
12: Created to disgust, to confuse, to allure, all at once. We come in conflict with our hearts and minds as we breach a cross-species boundary. A mammalian approach to nurturing, applied to an impossible scenario. The artist is sickened by the social norm of trying to find beauty in everything by taking an absurdist approach. The result is detachment, disbelief, worry. A noir portrayal of motherly love becomes a perverse scenario. Vaguely sexual undertones, by inferring teats, objects of sexual desire in some senses, to a creature that lacks attractiveness completely, we become queasy in our own confusion. There is sickness here, and it moves me. 10/10
13: A pony is an object of, generally female, childhood ascension. They express tones of majesty, of Arthurian tradition, gallant freedom. Here, the artist has created a scene of descension. From beauty to ugliness, and curiously desiring and accepting this transition. Or perhaps, transforming ones outlook on what beauty. Regression, in a sense, to a less established arena of appreciation. The boundaries are thinner, here, the expectation is minimal. The converse of the addage regarding Great Responsibility. There is freedom here, and it moves me. 10/10
14: A perspective shift. When roaches are viewed, we typically view them from above: an object that we have the option to crush. Here, we are given a unique glance at what the roach views as we view the roach, for even they are giants to some things. However, the artist renders the roach as embracing, amiable. As humans are quick to crush, the roach is quick to befriend. It begs the question of who the vermin really are. There is shame here, and it moves me. 10/10
15: From the promise of entertainment and revelry, this picture unsettles me. The skull-like head is a hint of death; death of sensation due to overexposure to pleasure, yet it is easy to overlook that in light of the benefits of yielding to the temptation. This burlesque thrusting of the soft underside of the roach gives a sense of cold, if welcoming embrace. There is a reluctance in the hollows of the roach's eyes, of having danced this floor too many times. Of loneliness. Let us become insensate together, he asks. There is resignation here, and it moves me. 10/10
16: The most worrisome of the bunch, cleverly expressing the inverse relationship of size and discomfort by causing the viewer to get close, to squint to see properly, only to wish the task to end immediately. Fear of the unknown, fear of the misunderstood, fear of all things small. We crush because death makes sense. Death is certain. Death helps us sequester further inquiry. Life just keeps more doors open, keeps us nervous. Size begets fear begets hatred. There is irrationality here, and it moves me. 10/10
17: Of the same family as a few other entries with the usage of a lack of depth for ironic thematic complexity. In a pop-art style, we discuss the inverse of the concept of 18: We revere things larger than ourselves. But not because they, in and of themselves are majestic, imposing, but because they are an opportunity. They can do work, they can cause intimidation, they can appeal to base human emotions more readily and impressively. The difference of wing/back color suggests a racial difference, a tone of subjugation. The smile of the black-winged roach is one of accomplishment. The smile of the grey-winged roach is one of acceptance. There is exploitation here, and it moves me. 10/10
18: Modernistic approach to the graffiti style once again, albeit with a different intention. The message here isn't exactly deep, but there in lies part of the beauty. "Roaches aren't gross, they are colorful." "Instead of crushing vermin, we should accept that they exist naturally." It's a vaguely in-your-face appraoch to spreading an idea of acceptance. The question remains if it's a commentary of the human-vermin interaction, or on the method of commentating on this subject itself. Do we judge the roach or the rainbow? There is pride here, and it moves me. 10/10
19: A stony texture, combined with fealty before inevitability. A prayer for life, for exchange. This is an extensive metaphor of American immigration. We treat immigrants with derision and often violent rhetoric and physical retorts. We don't stop and consider the often illegal paths taken to merely do what parents must: provide. It's a tough subject, and the author emboldens the message with symbolism of blood (death) and eggs (life). The stony texture gives a sense of resolve in light of personal safety. The crown represents a responsibility over the brood (children). There is sacrifice here, and it moves me. 10/10
20: Abstraction, symbolism to replace. Perception marred by symbols to describe, this is a commentary of language. We use a finite set of symbols and sounds to help recreate what we see to others. An impossible task we are forced to do every day. The piece addresses the aburdity, the inadequacy of this process. There is disappointment here, and it moves me. 10/10
21: Another piece on societal pressure, this time dealing with clothing and expectation. Pants that are too large, a suit with improper buttoning, a mustache styled only to come across as forced/slimey, a hat that doesn't quite fit, arms that do nothing but draw addention to the lack of fingers. Clothing is what, debatably makes us human, and yet we use it as a tactic to be divisive in our culture. The roach depicted has clearly given some effort to go against his nature and become accepted in a "human" society, only to find the process overwhelming, complicated, unrelentingly critical. There is defeat here, and it moves me. 10/10
22: In the style of early Disney cartoons, Steamboat Willie and the like, we have a call to the importance of caricature. With the curious exception of a certain other vermin who became very lovable, Disney used this style politically to both motify Americans and debase our enemies during times of war. This particular work extends the notion to the a leg of the Axis, the Italians, paralleling the grandiose mustache stylings of Italians to the antennae of a household pest deserving nothing more than to be killed. The image makes us distrustful with its otherwise soft edges and amiable smile, helping us understand that we must be ever mindful of where we dispense our trust. In the current context, this is a criticism of this tactic. There is pathos here, and it moves me. 10/10
I mean they were ok I guess.
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Hey, w-wait, that's the guy who shamelessly promotes his own...
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×DROD Let's Play Youtube series? Shameless, indeed. What a punk!
Current Projects:
Aurora's Palace (complete)
Terrakept Resonant (complete)
Beethro's Brain (complete)
The City Beneath (completish)
Gigantic Jewel Lost (complete)
Magic Show (complete)
Cube of Memories (complete)
Castle Steele
Feel free to watch/insult/try to give advice to at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Pearls13a (channel)
http://www.youtube.com/user/Pearls13a/videos?view=1 (playlists)
