Rinse and Repeat

Repetition. A brilliant process for creating interesting art. There is something magical about repeating a powerful image over and over again until a page is filled. People have an appreciation for works that clearly have had a great deal of time spent on them. The Hands is an example of my interest in such a concept.

                Repetitive works have a number of common features. Generally speaking the inspiration for a regressive picture comes from an obsession with an iconic image. Hands, soupcans, beetles, mickey-mouse, anything. With The hands, I was fond of them because the design that I used was the first design for hands that I like. For novice artists, hands are generally frustrating to do. No matter what it is, if an artist becomes fond of an image they may try to create a regressive picture with it. Typically, that image has to be a powerful to both fascinate the viewer and draw the interest of the artist. In The Hands, all of them are reaching out to one another. This could be considered symbolic for both desperation, -or- friendship. Finally images associated with repetition are rarely detailed. For obvious reasons it is frustrating to repeat a complex image over and over again. The simple icons become powerful when repeated in great number. That is makes up the complexity of the image instead of detail often desired by traditional art.

                To be fair repetition is a fairly often used art technique but I feel like it never losses it’s intrigue. The idea was in vogue during the 60s with Andy Warhol and his contemporary Pop Artists. They experimented with repetition using Campbell’s soup cans, coke bottles, and other popular cultural items. The idea however can be expanded to any new cultural symbols that emerge, for example the Facebook logo could be incorporated into art today. I’m not saying that hands are somehow important cultural symbols but rather making the case for repetition in the modern day.