Spring Break
The Daily OrangeGallery evokes nostalgia with childhood playthings
By Max Woolley
Posted: 2/27/07, 10:59 PM EST Section: Feature
"(I wanted to) create art that makes us reflect on our relationships with objects," Porter said. "On the significance and value we assign to them, particularly those we use everyday."
Her pieces, created using computer vectors and pencils, mimic mountains of toys, including several actual toys in packaging from her homeland of Mexico. The flowing geometric shapes resemble those of a fantasy toy land on the edge of becoming a trash heap.
"To me, these geographies can be read as descriptions of fantastic places that are in the border of being seen as landfills," Porter said.
Suma was born in Tokyo in 1976 and came to the United States for school. She received a bachelor's degree in fashion design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City in 2000 and currently works in New York. She was an art and fashion writer for Japanese magazines including Elle Japan and the creative translator for L'Oreal, USA.
"Before this show I was so timid about showing my work to people," Suma said. "I am no artist. Now that I have experienced this, I am eager to show my work to more people. It's such a big change for me. I discovered the fun of showing, the reaction of others, and the reward of it all."
Suma's art is vastly different from the rest of the show. Her drawings and sculptures center around a conceptual idea for a toy.
The art plays at the spontaneity and ever-changing feelings of a child. Whereas the works of the other two artists center on emotions of the past, Suma is more concerned with satisfying a person's inner child in the present day.
"My obsession is to make you giggle, and remember your childhood, feeling disgusted, but liking something," Suma said. "The toys should stimulate children's (and adults') many senses."
All in all, the show is a very interesting depiction of a childhood from the eyes of adults. Each artist in their own way conveys the needs and wants of a child, provoking nostalgia in those who view their work.
"These three artists came to Syracuse without ever having seen the layout of the space, and they had to work based on what they encountered the moment the arrived," Paniagua said. "They had to improvise the installation, how it was to be done for this space. There is a sense of spontaneous creation with this exhibit that is very creative."
Her pieces, created using computer vectors and pencils, mimic mountains of toys, including several actual toys in packaging from her homeland of Mexico. The flowing geometric shapes resemble those of a fantasy toy land on the edge of becoming a trash heap.
"To me, these geographies can be read as descriptions of fantastic places that are in the border of being seen as landfills," Porter said.
Suma was born in Tokyo in 1976 and came to the United States for school. She received a bachelor's degree in fashion design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City in 2000 and currently works in New York. She was an art and fashion writer for Japanese magazines including Elle Japan and the creative translator for L'Oreal, USA.
"Before this show I was so timid about showing my work to people," Suma said. "I am no artist. Now that I have experienced this, I am eager to show my work to more people. It's such a big change for me. I discovered the fun of showing, the reaction of others, and the reward of it all."
Suma's art is vastly different from the rest of the show. Her drawings and sculptures center around a conceptual idea for a toy.
The art plays at the spontaneity and ever-changing feelings of a child. Whereas the works of the other two artists center on emotions of the past, Suma is more concerned with satisfying a person's inner child in the present day.
"My obsession is to make you giggle, and remember your childhood, feeling disgusted, but liking something," Suma said. "The toys should stimulate children's (and adults') many senses."
All in all, the show is a very interesting depiction of a childhood from the eyes of adults. Each artist in their own way conveys the needs and wants of a child, provoking nostalgia in those who view their work.
"These three artists came to Syracuse without ever having seen the layout of the space, and they had to work based on what they encountered the moment the arrived," Paniagua said. "They had to improvise the installation, how it was to be done for this space. There is a sense of spontaneous creation with this exhibit that is very creative."
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