Untitled-15

The half covered face and the gas-mask are not an entirely new take on character creation; however the use of brush strokes, shading and detail make this piece an excellent work of art.

The gas-mask is synonymous with war, tyranny, resistance(or rebels), and almost instantly draws those references to mind from current movies, games and film. The "Emo" hair-style signals the thoughts of a "tortured-soul" theme common with the current generation. These are not unique in of themselves, yet they are the essential set up for the rest of the picture; the face, and more importantly, the eye.

When the viewer first looks closer at the picture the shading immediately draws the focus to the lonely pale eye. The cold, emotionless, mechanical dead eye. This most singular detail is the center of the entire work. The artist has given the most attention to this area of the work. The lack of detail emphasized on the hair, cap and background all force the eyes of the viewer to look directly into the gaze of the subject of the painting. This gravitating eye contact starts and centers the viewers' train of thought.

The viewer begins to then wonder, "Who is this?" The open circuits behind the edges of the mask, the hit of an eye-patch, the decaying blue veins, and the sunken bagginess of the eyes become evident. "Is this person still entirely human?" "Do they still need the mask, or is it the last shred of their humanity?"

The service cap on the character show that the cause of the situation was not a punishment, but rather a "reward" for undying loyalty. "Does she regret her decisions of fealty?" The blood stain on the wall and on the character call to mind acts of violence, the eye we see remains emotionless. "Is she tormented by the actions she has taken, perhaps forced by something beyond her own will?" "Is she the victim or the cold blooded emotionless killer?"

The work causes such an impression on the viewer that they seek to answer these questions. Each possibility leaves more questions than it answers, and by doing so, it causes those who view it to examine themselves as well as the person in the picture. This is why it is such a great piece; it seamlessly ties together the emotions of empathy, fear, horror, and despair and evokes them in the viewer.