Alexis Rockman: Evolution

Today (October 2nd) was the first time I've ever gone into the Wexner Art Center to view the exhibits and it was quite an experience. I haven't been to an art museum since elementary or middle school when we went on a class field trip. Since it had been such a long time, I almost forgot how much I appreciated art in person. One piece that really stood out to me was Alexis Rockman's piece titled Evolution. This piece was an oil painting that contained many details and was quite large. I think it stood out to me greatly because there was so much to take in. The scenery and creatures in the painting could either be made out to be objects from the distant past or even the distant future. I believe this is one of the artist's big ideas throughout her art work. The creatures and scenes she depicts are hard to put a certain date or even time era on. When one originally looks at the piece they see an above and under water scene of animals, insects. plant life, etc which reflects the denotation of the piece. However, once I looked more in depth of the piece the connotation I concluded was the difference between dark and light, and above and below. Above the water everything is bright and thriving. Underneath the water I got a more dark and mysterious feeling. Most times people don't know what's happening under the surface, so by showing whats under the water Rockman shows another world almost. I enjoyed her all of her work greatly and found all of her pieces interesting to view and I enjoyed trying to see what she was trying to portray throughout her work.