Source: behance.com
Andreea Anghel is a dynamic artist that really inspired my culminating activity. She was born on March 27th, 1990 in Romania and currently is living in Wroclaw, Poland where she is furthering her artistic studies. She has her Bachelor in Graphic Arts from UAD Cluj-Napoca, Romania as of 2012 and is currently studying to complete her Master’s Degree in Experimental Graphics and Visual Arts at ASP Wroclaw, Poland. She makes art through a means of different approaches: traditionally and modernly. Such traditional specialties include visual art, paintings, drawing and photography; and such modern specialties include mixed media, digital imaging, photographic manipulation and installations. She makes art representing dehumanization, focusing on the human condition and human degradation. Her pieces touch on different aspects under this general umbrella from human nature to sins and problems and beyond. She enjoys not only exploring these depths but illustrating them with a unique approach of artistic ability.
Her style as an artist prevails throughout all her pieces and actually unifies her pieces in recognition that they are Andreea’s. They have a soft grunge, dark, vintage feel to them. The topic on which she creates her art from, dehumanization, is a dark topic in itself and resultantly, her style really reflects and adds to the underlying messages. I appreciate her art for its level of meaning. On the canvas, wood, screen, or whatever medium, it appears as a piece of art: extraordinary, yet just art. But when you peel back the “layers” of meaning, it becomes more than the medium it is on; it has conceptual perspective that the viewer can ponder upon. These depths add meaning to her work, but they represent more than meaning and understanding for her viewers; they represent the beauty of imperfection in the world. They explore why humans are the way they are, evil in all.
Andreea’s piece that captured my attention and lead me to investigate her as an artist overall was “The Three Stages of War”. The meaning behind this piece and its execution is incredible. It has a very unique artistic approach that requires the participation of the viewer: interactivity. The piece is different in the light than in the dark. In the light it is three desaturated photos that give off a dark feel, but when the viewer turns out the light and is in the dark, three different visuals appear, via florescent paint. This duel painting in one elucidates the meaning of the piece. This different aspects add meaning to the piece: photography adds a realistic and personal aspect; desaturation gives off a dark, dampening feel, parallel to the meaning behind it; and the florescent paint adds to the meaning, as Andreea relates them stating, “because war has it’s own underlying psychological implications”. Her goal when creating The Three Stages of War was to use lightness and darkness to control the florescent paint as an optical illusion when it hits the piece’s surface. This approach as a whole is an innovative way to capture the cause and effect principle of war in exploring the depths of the dark topic.
The Three Stages of War Together
Toner transfer, pencil, ink and florescent paint
20x20cm on paper mounted on wood
This is how the pieces look in the light:
The Three Stages of War: I – Dehumanization
20×20 cm
Toner transfer, pencil, ink and fluorescent paint
Paper mounted on a wooden panel
2012
The Three Stages of War: II – Realize you’re an idiot and that your leaders are swines
20×20 cm
Toner transfer, pencil, ink and fluorescent paint
Paper mounted on a wooden panel
2012
The Three Stages of War: III – Find and put yourself back together
20×20 cm
Toner transfer, pencil, ink and fluorescent paint
Paper mounted on a wooden panel
2012
This is how the pieces change when the viewer turns out the lights and it gets dark:
Dehumanization
Your leaders are swines
Put yourself back together
Andreea uses social media to get her name out there, and more importantly her art. Her website is an official site of up-to-date information and artwork. It is also the place to acquire contact information in regards to purchasing original artwork. She further has a Behance page and Saatchi Online page where she displays her artwork with others work; it is a popular for those with the same artistic interests. She uses the very popular Facebook as another avenue to get her artwork in the public, where people can like and share her work which spreads her name. Further she has a blog where she can post for her followers to keep them up to date on her current work. She uses a variety of other outlets to display her work in the world of social media; these can be found on her blog.
Capturing Creativity 