The Artist Statement
by Arianna Montoya
How humans are able to separate themselves from other wild
animals has always intrigued me. For the vision of my body of worked I explored
different ideas that are able to construct my major theme that: humans are undeniably
animal. I portrayed different ideas such as, childhood being the life period
when humans are in a better harmony with their wild side, humans are human’s
biggest enemy, and how native or primitive instincts may bring out the worst or
best in people. In various pieces I used the common theme of innocence in
children. At this point in life kids are pushed or controlled by their
primitive instincts since they have a few amount of time of being exposed to
our changing and corrupting world. They also have a minimal regard for other
peoples thoughts, hence they live their life only by fulfilling their own
wishes. The “children” in this pieces were presented as ideal
since this characteristic of living only to fulfill their personal happiness is
fascinating.In contrary I also used the theme of self-destruction in a
representation of masochism. Where humans are hurting each other, creating a
world of never lasting peace. Finally I explored different emotions which are
human/animal in its purest form. This emotions range from anger to deception.
The exhibition itself portrays both the negative and positive
aspects of being human but in a way which both of them are considered
beautiful. My works represent me in a way that it shows the way I view the
world around me. Humans have a
superiority complex that should be abolished.
I mostly worked in paintings. In most cases with acrylics. It was
amazing finding myself letting go of the idea of perfection as I evolved as an
artist. An irregular brushstroke, or a blue eyebrow suddenly did not seem
wrong. It actually felt just right. To find true personal honesty in my work
was a great feeling.
My paintings and pieces
are loose and free just like my exhibition spot. The huge wall and abundance of
empty space does not bother me at all. The works are organized by commonality
of theme or color scheme. The looseness is also a representation of simplicity
and how truly simple and common it is to act by our animals instincts. The
alignment is set to be a trip for the audience varying from good feeling and
bad feelings about being human. With an ending of being proud the amazing and
incredibly talented animal we are.
I want he viewer of my exhibition to feel as uncomfortable as
intrigued by my work. There are some pieces that might be crude and some that
are extremely tender. There are also ones in which this feeling are balanced. I
am inviting the viewer to find this harmony in their feelings of being animal.
That they lear to accept the beauty in flaws and understand that this is what
make humans beautiful.
This is donde by commencing my exhibition (from left to right, as
the entrance suggest) with two very different portraits. The viewer will then
connect to the exhibition as a subject. Then moves along to an area where it is
completely alright to be in harmony with your inner animal such as the
embracing of all the characteristics that are primitive to us. Then it moves to
the pieces that evoke the darkest feelings that is when humans fight the inner
animal or hide it. Then to a piece that the name says is all “We
are the Wild ones”. Finally the viewer can set eyes to
the most “beautiful” of my works. I want the audience to
relate, accepting our true self with the feelings of happiness.
Studio Work
beautiful rage by Ariana Montoya
Acrylics on canvas 122x92 cm
This piece is a representation of avery primal instinct called rage and it’srelation with self defense anddefending others. It has a veryconflictive background to representthe mess or chaos inside the subjectmind while feeling mad. The purposeis to express how it is sometimes
imposible to hide our feelings andspecially the ones that we would wantto repress. The fist represents thesubject feeling attacked and beingable to fight back.
Disturbed Silence by Arianna Montoya
Acrylics on canvas. 92x76cm
I was inspired by a picture hanging on the wall of my Spanish class. I was drawn to it, because this image represents a feeling a lot of students have during their time in school. I felt the need to represent this natural and primitive emotion called stress through a painting. The colors where and
medium was chosen carefully. I needed to create this “stressful” painting by doing the opposite. Therapeutic painting, involving happy colors, and mostly painting with my fingers.
Encouragingly domesticated by Arianna Montoya
Acrylics on cardboard 84x64cm
This piece also belongs to my common theme innocence in al ignment the wi ld. This piece particularly explores the innocence part of the relationship children have with our animals instincts. They are not aware that these may be wrong or hard to handle. They simply do what feels right for them and are therefore live much happier than most adults. Inthis case the innocence is portrayed
by a child taking a nap on a will hog’s tusks without the worry of being in danger.
Joyfully retrained by Arianna Montoya
Acrylics on cardboard. 115 x 107
on the rhino is to express the harmony between them. Te harmony between the animal and the human. His peace is represented with him playing with a paper plane, having no worries of awareness of the corrupting world around him.
Innocence is bliss by Arianna Montoya
medium: acrylics on canvas
This artwork shows kids acting by instinct. They have not been altered by our corrupting world and they don't mind following their primal instincts. They still do not want to repress or hide their animal side, they are simply okey to pee on the grass while not minding who sees them. The purpose of this artwork is to be the one that stands out in my exhibition for being beautiful and “cute”. It serves as a contrast to many of my other work. This set to represent the ideal state of mind: Being in peace with our inner animal.
Innocence is bliss by Arianna Montoya
medium: acrylics on canvas (Close up)
Masochism by Arianna Montoya
Wood carving. 148x50cm
The medium in this piece was chose because wood is tough, hard, and mostly natural, just like the urge humans feel to hurt other humans. The point of this piece was to represent the crudity in a graphic manner of how awful it is that we torture our same specie. This carving also explores the possibility that humans or even ourselves are our biggest enemy and source of pain. The piece also serves as a critique to basic human flaws.
Melancholic Trance by Arianna Montoya
Mixed Media 82 x 62 cm
T h i s p i e c e s t a r t e d a s a n experimentation with paper mache. The form that I created unconsciously appeared to be a human so I altered i n s omewa y s t o e n h a n c e i t s appearance. It is definitely not a happy human. I Chose not to elaborate or detail to much this piece because it works better if the viewer “sees” his or her own troubles reflected on the subject. The colors again are set to distract the audience form the “melancholic” trance the subject is in.
Untitled self portrait by Ariana Montoya
Acrylics on black paper / oils on canvas
51x41 cm
The purpose of this piece was tounderstand human anatomy and the use of color and contrast for values. The piece is a representation of myself that is expressed by the facial expression and colors used. I did it in oils because it is a type of medium that goes easy wi th mistakes, meaning that they are easily fixed.
We are the wild ones by Arianna Montoya
digital print. 76 x 92cm
These photographs where taken as a direct representation that humans are as wild as any other animal. Humans seem to believe that by setting themselves apart from the wild, they are superior. The purpose of this piece is to express my belief that we are just as important as any living thing on this
planet. Also the photographs express two sides of being animal, both representing the instincts humans are wired with. Some being related with t e n d e r n e s s a n d o t h e r s wi t h wilderness, but both ideas extremely beautiful.
Exhibition setting
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