BFA Gallery Entry #2

Kristine Runman
“War at Home”
Cast, Blown, and Sculptural Glass

I chose to write about this installation piece because it is different than everything else in the gallery. I love the hidden messages that are visable (magnified) through the cylindrical glass trunks (I think they’re tree trunks, judging by the other tree trunks on the floor), not only because I’m a graphic design major (typography incorporated into glass work), but also because the messages hold strong personal content. The messages relate to the British mandate of 1917 that granted Palestinian lands to Jewish settlers after WWII. What followed was the Israelis taking 76% of the lands that had previously been inhabited by Palistinian families, resulting in the exile of thousands of Palistinian refugees… one unfortunate turnout of the Arab Israeli wars of 1948 and 1967. This refugee problem has yet to be solved, as there are approximately 5 million refugees living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The impressive visual/aesthetic aspects of the piece include HOW SHE GOT TYPE TO APPEAR THAT CLEAR AND MAGINIFIED THROUGH THE GLASS, using a color pallette that backed up the seriousness of the situation (RED), and a typeface that further drove home this crutial point (basically it’s about the turmoil that has occured close to her life, and it seems that she created this piece to not only express how she feels about the situation, but also to relay this urgent message to others.

~ by danmarcson on March 18, 2008.