Art Unit 2 Lesson 3 Questions

This week we analyzed more of Shuvinai Ashoona’s drawings.

This first drawing is called “Untitled

1.What creatures are in this artwork?

I see a walrus and plenty of fish, and two people.

2. What do you think is happening in this artwork?

I think people are showing us the art that they made. One is one filled with multiple fish, and one has a walrus with tiny earth around it.

3. Who are these people?

I think they might be a family, and specifically a Kinngait family. The father figure is the one in the purple and the mother figure is the one with the baby in the hood.

4. Why would there be two heads inside one hood?

As mentioned, I think the bigger head is the mother, and the smaller one is her baby. You could also see a little part of the baby’s arm and torso. I think this represents that she keeps her baby very close, and protected.

5. What are the two drawings about in this artwork?

I think the fish drawing could mean rebirth or the cycle of life because on the side you can see that there is a little fish, and gradually the fish get bigger and bigger, and later the one on the right is bleeding and has an egg sack coming out of it. But these fish don’t look happy, in fact, they have frowns on their faces. This might mean that they don’t want to keep living this cycle? Or maybe it relates to how the pollution in the ocean is affecting them. I think the walrus drawing represents a conspiracy that there are multiple earth-like planets in the universe, and maybe the big walrus in the ocean represents that even though they are different earths, they could be really similar.

 

The second piece of artwork is called “Attack of the Tentacle Monsters”

1. What creatures are in this artwork?

I think these creatures are octopuses as the title says: “tentacle monsters”, they also have a few human characteristics.

2. What do you think is happening in this artwork?

Since the octopuses have human characteristics I think that was caused by them consuming the humans, which then get morphed into the octopus when it consumes them. But since the orange one doesn’t have human legs, it might’ve eaten other creatures, but it still took over the characteristics of it. Kind of like a “You are what you eat” situation. 

3. Who are these creatures and where did they come from?

Maybe from outer space or they could originate from earth, but have been mutated.

4. Why would there be six heads inside one tentacle monster hood?

It might be because when the monster consumed someone they keep their faces and inherited it.

5. What are the two parts of this work that you notice in particular?

I noticed that there was a human hand on one of the orange octopus’s tentacles, which is interesting because the octopus is big enough to consume humans, but that human hand is big enough to grab one of its tentacles. Another thing I noticed is that there is a man being squished by the orange octopus but doesn’t seem to be in distress, and still has a camera out, perhaps taking photos.

 

The last photo we are analyzing a piece called “Earth Transformations

  1. Who do you think the globe-headed octopus character is? Is it nice? Or menacing? Where did it come from?  What does it want?

It makes me think it is menacing at first since the last picture has octopuses devouring the humans. But in this case, the octopus doesn’t seem like it will harm this guy holding the painting.

  1. Who is the blue parka’d character? What is this person saying to the globe-headed character?

The blue parka’ d character is also one of the Kinngait people, because they all are wearing the same type of clothing. I think this person is trying to show off their artwork to this globe-monster, and the globe monster seems to be liking it.

  1. Who is the person in the white parka? Are these three characters friends or enemies? What is their relationship?

The white parka person might be a friend or family of the blue parka’ d person. The globe monster might’ve been enemies with them before, but somehow the painting is drawing them closer and so they make amends.

  1. Why are there so many circles in this work? What do the circles represent to you?

I think the circles represent different people/cultures. There might be a lot of circles in this because each globe represents a culture/persons.

  1. Why do you think this artwork is on display in the very prestigious Vancouver Art Gallery?

Because it is a very symbolic work of art, and could be interpreted in multiple ways, and have different meanings that differ from each person.

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