Blog 1- Jaime Jesso

I find the work of Jaime Jesso very intriguing and insightful.

His first piece is of a burning cigarette. The smoke is directed towards the top of the image and standing on the ash are ten people whose bodies are formed by the ash. The people are from from different backgrounds and on the far left stands a man in a suit reading a book. Next to him is a woman whose head is tilted to the side and the man next to her stands with pride. There are two little boys whose arms are raised in the air as if they were playing and the man beside them has his arms outstretched as if he were rejoicing. There is a young man who is looking down and another man in a relaxed position holding a ball. The young woman to his right stands rigidly and the man at the end has his hands in his pocket and is in an aggressive stance.

http://www.jjassodigitalworks.com/html/GALERIA%20CONCEPT/con11.html

The picture depicts how smoking affects everyone and each person represents a different group of society. The man in the suit represents the elite, professional, and intelligent sector of society because his clothes are superior to the others and he is pondering what he is reading. The woman embodies all females because the tilt of her head exhibits her compassion and concern, two main traits of women. The man on her right represents those who are proud, such as military men, and this is conveyed through the way he stands. The two little boys stand for all children and happiness, as conveyed through their actions. The spiritual community is depicted through the man with his arms outstretched. His body language suggests he is rejoicing and waiting to receive a gift from the heavens. By looking down and standing insecurely, it is the young man's body language that indicates he embodies the broken, depressed, and struggling. The man beside him is relaxed and holds a ball, representing the carefree and active. The rigid stance of the young woman indicates she is restricted and therefore she represents the women who are oppressed. Finally the man on the end embodies aggressive individuals because his stance is threatening. Because all the individuals stand on the same cigarette, they are all connected and effected by smoking.

His second piece is of a large clock, that is illuminated in the center of the image, on the side of a dark building. The time reads 10:10 and because it is dark you can assume it is night. There are thick vines growing from the clock that are overtaking the building.

http://www.jjassodigitalworks.com/html/GALERIA%20CONCEPT/con3.html

The piece symbolizes the power of time. In the piece the building is the metaphor for life and the vines are symbolic of the power time possesses. The vines overtaking the building are representations of time overtaking our lives and controlling what we do.