Summary Of In The Ravenous Eye By Andrea Carlson

Walking into the exhibition Ravenous Eye by Andrea Carlson at the TCNJ one is greeted by a stark but aesthetically pleasing wall of seemingly abstract illustrations. Upon closer inspection, these illustrations morph into highly detailed images of bones, deserts, monsters, and animals mixed extruding quotes such as “O CURSED LUST OF GOLD” and “The European Space Agency has unveiled its most advanced satellite ever. The one point three billion pound”. Fused together, these objects allude to a cultural narrative that speaks of the wasteful and destructive ways of our society. This cultural narrative presented in the form of dazzling illustrations and paintings is what truly comprises the work of Andrea Carlson. Carlson born in 1979 is a Chicago based visual artist. Over the course of her career she has had her artwork displayed by institutions such as the National Gallery of Canada, the Weisman Art Museum, and the British Museum. Her art is made to tell stories and relate ideas through the creation of assimilated metaphors in her artwork.
One metaphor, demonstrated in her painting Cannibal Ferox, is that of cannibals eating human legs which tells how we as humans are harming ourselves by overconsuming. Similar messages seem to resonate throughout the gallery. The painting “Apocalypse Domani” blends a wasteland landscape with machinery is directly associated with pop culture such as Mad Max and Fallout, two works set in the aftermath of the downfall of modern society due to essential resources being depleted. Also, the painting associates itself with the cover of the movie Apocalypse Now except Apocalypse Domani wants to reference the future whereas Apocalypse Now now wants to reference the