Sofia Estrada

Work of Art
Benjamin Craig
March 10 2016
Finding Some Direction
Sometimes I walk into a room and immediately forget why Im there.
What am I doing?
Where am I going?
Its easy to forget.
Its easy to get lost.
There are those around who have good intentions to point me in the right
direction and some that dont. It is up to me to trust them, but should I? Sometimes I
think it is better to trust my instincts and create my own path.
I have no sense of direction and can get lost very easily. When I was younger,
around seven or eight, my parents took me to a hay maze. Of course when we went in I
went in with my dad relying on him and trusting that he would know where to go to get
us out. I wasn't afraid at all because I was with someone I trusted. After a few minutes
we found the way out, and made our way to the pumpkin patch. As we walked to the
orange field an urge to go again into the maze fell upon me, only this time I wanted to
go by myself. As you can probably imagine that didnt go so well.

Direction is reliant on the situation. Where I want to go can mean where I want to
be destination-wise versus where I want to go figuratively in life or in the future. These
concepts mean two very different things and I often feel lost in both. The only sense of
direction I have found is in art. In art there are many directions a viewer can experience
but normally how we experience art is concrete and logical. Art is many times contained
in spacious rooms with plain walls and a minimal layout. This simplicity alters the
direction in which we perceive the art displayed whether in a positive or negative light
nevertheless, it creates a visual path that is easy to follow. Direction can also be seen
aesthetically through placement of certain shapes, objects, or figures in the art itself.
Sometimes the direction is literal with a person pointing in a direction that calls for

attention, but in this circumstance the person pointing can also become the center of
focus and our sense of direction can be skewed. The two most common formats in art
are centered on symmetry and asymmetry. Symmetrical pieces usually give the
impression of traditional cleanliness. These pieces rely on consistency of uniformity.
Asymmetry creates something that is not balanced but is still visually pleasing. Both
these formats create their own sense of direction and presence between the two is
based solely on oneself, however, I prefer asymmetry. You should trust me on this, Im
an artist.
Trust is something very personal to each individual and often it is referred to as
something that can be gained or lost. But how can trust be measured? Consider driving
through a city you've never been in and you're looking for a hospital. Why are you
looking for a hospital you may ask? Well, that's not important, just imagine you're in dire
need of finding the nearest hospital so you ask two strangers. The first stranger is
young blond man. He tells you to go down something street and turn left on another
boulevard. The second stranger is an elderly brunette woman. She tells you to go down
something boulevard and turn right on something street. These two direction seem
different and you only have enough time to follow one of those directions, which is the
right path? Based solely on the stranger and the vibe you got from each and not any
geographical cues, which would you choose? Who do you trust the most? Although
story isnt very original or creative, its a very intriguing idea. Likewise, in art there has to
be a connection with the artist and the viewer of the art, some trust, if you will. As
viewers, most of the time we only have the art itself to create a perception about the
artist because we don't know anything about them personally and sometimes that can
be a very good thing because the art is judged without biases and solely on the visual.
On the other hand, when we learn about the artist first and we have a negative reaction
to who they are that can change the way we look at their art. Something that we could
have liked has a prejudice against it and we cant get past the person behind the
painting, so to speak.
The relationship between direction and trust in art has always peaked my
interest. That is why I like to find out a lot about artists and their personal lives in order
to feel a connection to them and their art. Whether the connection I feel is a positive or

negative on it is always interesting to try to find a hidden meaning in the art and to find a
direction or path that maybe no one else has noticed. In art there is always a hidden
agenda and its not always the same for every viewer of the art. You might not feel that
you are lost when experiencing an art piece but when you find a hidden truth, a hidden
path, you find the artist, the meaning, and you find yourself too.

Sofia Estrada
Work of Art
Benjamin Craig
March 10 2016
Map description
The main purpose of my gallery is to explore a space and allow the viewer of the gallery
to choose which pieces they will experience. The layout of this gallery is an indoor maze
in the Kridel Grand Ballroom in the Portland art museum. The Kridel Ballroom is 8,316
square feet (99x84) while my maze will only take up 6,400 square feet (80x80); allowing
for 64 square feet for each art piece. The walls will be one foot in width, ten feet in
height, and varied in length.The walls will be made out of sheetrock and dry wall and
covered in imitation hedge wallpaper to create a sense of a traditional hedge maze but
still maintaining the sophistication of an indoor gallery. The pieces in this gallery will be
placed strategically in the crossroads of the maze to guide or deceive the viewer on
which direction to go and they will also be placed in the mazes dead ends. There are
more pieces placed on dead ends than there are guiding pieces at the crossroads of the
maze. At the end of the maze the walls will be covered in mirrors and the floor will be a
mirror as well, this way the viewer can see themselves finding their way out. There is
only one way to get to the end of the maze but the amount of pieces viewed is
dependent on how many mistakes the viewer makes in finding the right path.