Art Explorer 3: Art or Not Art? That is The Critique.

Cheetos? Rocks? Cheetos and rocks TOGETHER? 

So everyone (or almost everyone) has heard of Cheetos and associates them with words such as, snack, cheezy, crunchy, orange, messy and so on...  But never have I heard of Cheetos being associated with rocks?  This artist has done the unthinkable (at least to me)...taking two opposite materials and combining them.

To be honest, I walked right passed this piece of art.  Then one of my friends stopped and said, "Hey, look at this".  I turned and in the middle of the room, I saw a pile of rocks...I thought, this cannot be art.  Then I looked closer and realized there were Cheetos underneath.  At first, I thought that someone dropped a bag of Cheetos and just swept them under the rocks.  However, after carefully looking at the sculpture I realized they weren't in just one location, they were under the ENTIRE sculpture. A light bulb goes off...the Cheetos are meant to be there! Why? I don't really know. So, I ask around...then I realized that no one really understands it.

     During the tour, Patricia stopped at this piece and got us to really think and explore the concept behind it.  Again, to be completely honest, I got nothing (and I still don't really understand it).  On the other hand, one student suggested that maybe it's a representation of how society is covering up the junk in the world.  Patricia goes on to explain that the Cheetos are in fact real, but the rocks are fake (each rock was hand-painted by the artist). For this exact reason, the word of the week is TEXTURE.

     Texture, "refers to the surface quality of a work of art" (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009, p. 144). The textbook also states that texture can be actual or implied.  An actual texture is something that is real and genuine, while an implied texture is one that is "fake" or created. This sculpture is a combination of both; the actual texture is the Cheetos and the implied texture is the rocks.  The rocks were so well painted that they actually seemed real; the artist carefully airbrushed each rock to get that pebbled look. 

     Once we found out that the rocks were indeed fake and the Cheetos were indeed real, Patricia asked us what the artist might be trying to say by using these textures. Personally, this new information didn't really effect my opinion...I couldn't find a deeper meaning...all I saw was rocks and Cheetos.  However, my fellow classmates had a lot to say about this and I quote, "maybe the artist is trying to convey the aspect that appearances can be deceiving".  I can see where this statement comes from, but I do not necessarily understand it.  The aspect that I cannot understand is why Cheetos? Why not different candy wrappers? or Why not other junk like plastic and waste? The Cheetos element honestly baffles me (but that might just be how I feel). Actually, it's not just me, apparently other people don't understand it...online, one person commented on the above picture, it read, "maybe the AGO cleaning staff was simply sweeping the cheesies under the rocks after a party". I think the Cheetos just throw people off.  

     If it isn't clear by now, I will just say it...I don't necessarily like this sculpture.  Maybe I don't like it because I don't understand it, but I am not saying that it isn't art.  Because who am I to say that it does or doesn't qualify as art? That's not what I'm doing, I am just stating my opinion and giving reasons behind it.  The reason why I chose this sculpture was not to "rip into it" or "trash it" it was merely because even though I didn't understand it, a lot of people had many things to say about it. I find it fascinating that someone can look at this sculpture and interpret it in a much deeper representation of life. On the other hand, I am not one of these people, as I STILL don't "get it". 

What's your take? Love it or hate it?

**Note to Future Educators**

Remember to incorporate a variety of textures in art activities, from wet paint to hard crayons, puffy shaving cream to sticky glue and rough sandpaper to smooth construction paper. Giving children a range of textures will allow them to truly explore their creative abilities.
IMPORTANT REMINDER: 
Never judge a child's art, by focusing on the end product; instead, emphasize the process and hard work that went into making that creation.