Sign in or register
for additional privileges

MACHINE DREAMS

Alexei Taylor, Author

You appear to be using an older verion of Internet Explorer. For the best experience please upgrade your IE version or switch to a another web browser.

Effect on viewer (continued)


The spectacle is different than the sharp edged blocks and buildings of New York – they are airy, move erratically, and some even tower above humans. No one sees such animals on the streets of New York City (excluding the ones we are un-phased by, such as rats, dogs, cats, or birds).  Freud's word on the uncanny are fitting: “this uncanny is in reality nothing new or foreign, but something familiar and old – established in the mind that has been estranged only by the process of repression” (Freud). Animals are often times grounding figures within a concrete jungle (apt term, no?). The concrete jungle of humans is not accustomed to other forms of life or lifelike movement on the streets. Cars. Harsh buildings. Concrete. Streetlights. Neon signs. 

Seeing an animal sculpture on the sidewalk, in a city environment, pulls the passerby's brain into a less comfortable state, forcing it to reevaluate the environment in a more critical way. The thought process may follow as, "I never thought I'd see that on the street. I wonder if I've been missing stuff." The observer will then continue on his or her walk in the city, looking with eyes a bit wider than before at their surroundings, vowing not to miss a cool sighting. The individual arrived at Harris' artwork a passive spectator, and left an observer, a person more open to his or her surrounding environment. 

Passersby, who are jarred into acting as observers, especially children, connect to the artwork on another level as a representation of an animal. The fact that the sculpture is an animal and has a face makes one little girl form an emotional connection with the bear sculpture. Enough so, that when the bear deflates, the little girl is sad. When the bear inflates again, the girl walks away waving to the bear as if it is alive and can acknowledge her farewell.
Comment on this page
 

Discussion of "Effect on viewer (continued)"

Add your voice to this discussion.

Checking your signed in status ...

Previous page on path Harris' Jinking Jungle Jurisdiction, page 10 of 12 Next page on path

Related:  Eyad holding T-ShirtVindexWalking in New York CityAir Bear, NYC Urban Art,The Devil SheepNew York CityCyborgMarc Jacobs Store ClerkSymbolicFirst Lamborghini Tractor Black and WhiteExit Through the Gift Shop(Personalized) PropagandaBristol Museum vs. BanksyJoshua Allen HarrisLungsair apeHot Chip - I Feel BetterMarc Jacobs T-ShirtThrough the lens of Situationism and the DériveSituationist Map of ParisAndreotti, Libero. Theory of the Dérive and Other Situationist Writings on the City. Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, 1996. Print.Lamborghini TractorMarc Jacobs T-Shirt close upSources so farThe Capitalist's Communist CommodityGhostcatching-BillTJonesTractorsThat's Not Trash; It's Artfarmer's petLungsTemporalitySimulationUnitary UrbanismFeelings on InflationStore from the level aboverunaway gargoyle in parisWhat is it about these sculptures?EquivalenceRed Gradient Background Marc JacobsSo what?BearMarc Jacobs Store InteriorRace in Rome, 1960Subway BreathVideo: air giraffeGet ready to wanderFinal Paper Proposal. Inflatable Street Art: Joshua Allen HarrisBeirut - The Rip Tide (Official Video)SpectatorAmber Case: We are all cyborgs nowUnsure AnswersMarc Jacobs StoreVatican 3-DRaceAn Initial Confusion of NationalitiesFreud, Sigmund. "The Uncanny." MIT. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. .Banksy vs. Bristol MuseumOscar PistoriusCue the HipstersCityinflatable sculpturegiraffeSociety of the SpectacleUSSR/CCCP Propaganda PosterReality EffectLes nouvelles créatures de Joshua Allen HarrisAlteritySesame Street and Deep QuestionsSigur Rós - Fjögur píanóInflatable? How so?MetrocardJoshua Allen Harris' Portfolio. Joshua Allen Harris, n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. .Price (and Fact) CheckBibliographyWhat is this path? And how to maneuver itEffect on the viewerFeireiss, Lukas. "Larissa Fassler: The Body and the City." Deutsche Bank ArtMag. Trans. Wilhelm Werthern. Deutsche Bank AG, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.Neelon, Caleb, Diederick Kraaijiveld, and Joshua Allen Harris. "Profile. Bora Baskan/Profile Diederick Kraaijiveld/Profile Joshua Allen Harris." Juxtapoz, 95 (2008): 22-24.Subway DiagramWalk continuedGray, Christopher, ed. "Essays from Leaving the 20th Century." What Is Situationism?: A Reader. Ed. Stewart Home. Edinburgh, Scotland: AK, 1996. N. pag. Print.Man with BalloonBackground Image Marc JacobsBalloons vs. Inflatable Street ArtEyad from Marc JacobsSubway InteriorHerculesbearsSculpture disguised as trashWhat makes an observer modern; Diana GluckThe Takeaway