Artist: Sienna Browne Exhibition: Product of the Palette Media: Mixed Media Website/Instagram: @siennabrowneart (.com)
Sienna Browne is a BFA student at Cal State Long Beach. She is currently working to present a solo exhibition titled “Product of the Palette” which will feature some of her works ranging from 2012-2019. The main focus of her upcoming exhibition is to “celebrate the past” and honor the process of transitioning through the different stages in one’s life. Most of her work also focuses on this intrinsic value of human creation. She stated during her presentation that while working on a piece, her subconscious thoughts/emotions surface and show themselves through her work. She mentioned that for a large period of her life, her work reflected her struggle with an eating disorder. She hopes to focus on her life’s work timeline in her exhibition; ultimately showing her own growth and recovery and then moving forward towards her goals/future achievements.
One of the pieces that caught my attention was one of her works dealing with an emotional distress that was titled “What Shape Us.” The multi-media piece displays a young girl walking through what at first glance looks like a vividly colored walkway. However, looking closely, one can see that the young girl is trying to protect herself from the explicit words/concepts coming from society. The piece shares a vast amount of different shapes and colors that merge together to form faces of people (spectators). The use of vivid colors is very eye-catching, and they also create a focal point around the girl in the middle of the painting. Up close, one can see that the faces painted in different colors are also in many different shapes and sizes. There are also lots of ‘words’ and ‘phrases’ displayed in white around the girl, which contrast very well with the colorful background of people. The piece seems to be rather large because it has so much detail to display, such as the colorful faces and the words written around the middle. It is important to note that the only part of the piece that is not diversely colored is the little girl in the middle. Unlike the faces that are multicolored, the little girl is painted like a “typical” human being (“skin color” and natural hair color), the rest of the faces have brightly colored features.
One of the questions asked in class was “Does the theme [of the piece] translate into the colors?” She responded that often she explores colors and themes that might contrast each other. She says that often vivid colors draw people in and invite them to admire a piece because of its color. However, she said that this initial impression can cause confusion once the person looks closer and realizes that the theme of the piece is actually quite “dark.” She says it leaves the views asking why they would be attracted to a painting that deals with a dark theme. Another question that was asked was “Is there anything you did not explore that you wish you could do?” Browne responded by say that she “had to do what she was doing” and that she “did not have a choice.” She feels that her time with a theme is not over until she is completely ready to move on. I really understood what she meant by “having no choice” because often as humans, our internal emotions surface when we do not notice, and I feel that art is a really good way to let those inner emotions out unconsciously.
The main reason this piece caught my attention was because of its theme and contrasting presentation. The piece deals with a very harsh reality of society, yet it is presented in a colorful and almost inviting matter. I found this contrast very interesting. As the artist mentions, the color draws the people in but then they see the reality of the piece. I feel that it reflects how society and “fitting in” is viewed as a very colorful and important thing to do; especially in the eyes of youth, fitting in is viewed as “crucial.” However, the piece explores how even behind all the “color” of society, there is also a more explicit setting. I believe that children begin to lose their innocence little by little as they explore more of society and reality. I feel like this work is a reflection of that internal struggle and loss of innocence to a “colorful” society, which is why I think the artist chose to use a young child as a focal point instead of an older person. Especially now, the internet provides children with easy access into “society” and all of its content. Children are now losing their innocence much faster now that a phone can give them access to virtually anything on the web (without parent restrictions).
Brianna 