Rupturing Contemplation

Danny O'Conner is one of the most influential artists on me that I have encountered by far and he had huge influence over my work that I created in high school. O'Conner not only works with paints, but he is really diverse with his media and he does a lot of digital work, street art, paintings, etc. I am very inspired by O'Conner's work not only for his ability to work diversely with different mediums, but also for his contemporary portraiture and his ability to work in layers as well as convey emotions in his pieces. For example, I am very drawn to the piece above because it is as if the figure is being overtaken by their thoughts/emotions. The piece illustrates the idea of an individual contemplating a situation or experience that is occurring in their life, and the piece seems to be representational of the idea of an individual coming to a realization about that situation, and it's as if once that realization occurs, the pieces begin to fit together again and life begins to make sense. I really admire how each of the different elements presented through the layering pull together to create a feel of unity, which correlates with the meaning behind the piece that I pull out of it (realization/pieces fitting together). The choices and placement of the different hues also play a significant role in the piece, and almost seem to present the clash between the struggle of realization and the accomplishment of overcoming the realization.

Image derived from:O'Conner, Danny. Rupturing Contemplation, Amidst Lucidity. 2012. Digital Piece. FlickrWeb. 6 Sep 2013. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/artbydoc/8144553564/>.