Brooks Salzwedel

The piece of art which I have chosen to write about is called Reflection
by Brooks Salzwedel in 2010. The artist uses many different mediums and
processes within his artworks in order to achieve the sense of depth which
can be seen in many of his works. He draws on layered sheets of paper
with varying opacities and then coats the finished the piece with resin. He
layers sheets of Duralar, Mylar and acetate, drawing on each layer with a
combination of graphite, charcoal, coloured pencil and occasionally
watercolour paint. He may also use spray-paint or ochre-tinted adhesive
tape. The varying opacities of each layer creates an illusion of depth
within his work which is finally sealed in place with a coating of resin.
Many of his artworks are quite dark in appearance, suggesting that the
ideas which he is trying to get across to the viewer arent nice. The result
is a vintage looking piece of contemporary art which conveys the beauty
and calm out of the detritus that humans have created on Earth. Another
interpretation may include that he is trying to say that the society is
decaying (as seen by the blackness of the subjects and the grey canopy
behind them).
It is difficult to differentiate between the foreground and background since
one may think that the clouds are in the front and are surrounding the
small floating island. Other may think that the trees within the image are
the in the front because they are the boldest part of the picture so they
may believe that it is closest to the viewer. For this review, I will say that
the trees are in the foreground and the clouds are in the background. In
the foreground, there are dark grey and black trees, some with few leaves
and some with none at all. Further back, as the clouds consume the small
forest, the image becomes greyer and more difficult to make out which
gives the illusion of depth and depicts the real life scenarios of faraway
objects disappearing into fog. Below the tree and other vegetation, there
is a reflection, yet there isnt really one. Instead of having trees
projected again, there are man-made objects (e.g. radio towers and
pylons) but they are difficult to see because of their rusted colour and low
opacity. The artist may be saying how humans destroy wildlife to replace
it with things much more harmful to the environment but nature will
prevail, as represented with the fading image of the objects and the
boldness of the trees. Subsequently, the artist may be implying that we
are the cause of our own demise and Mother Nature has much more
power over us. In the background, there are grey clouds and dark bronze
brushstrokes, further emphasising the darkness and the heaviness of the
image. It is also important to note that the artist has decided to place the
most important aspect of the image in the centre which signifies its
importance as it focuses the viewers attention on it.
I chose to write about this piece because it related to my idea of Places:
Apart. This is because this is an image of a place separated apart

from anything else and is floating on its own in the middle of the artwork.
I think that I could incorporate this idea into my own artworks; I may take
one part of an image and put it in front of an empty area to put emphasis
on that certain bit or to manipulate the interpretation some people may
have of the piece because it is taken out of context. Next, I will need to
research an artist who has also used physical depth in their artwork to
perceive certain ideas or emotions.