{"id":2316,"date":"2023-08-08T14:21:51","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T18:21:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/galleries\/?page_id=2316"},"modified":"2024-03-06T15:44:53","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T20:44:53","slug":"case-studies-3-joseph-parra-the-edge-of-flesh-and-blood","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/galleries\/exhibitions\/case-studies-3-joseph-parra-the-edge-of-flesh-and-blood\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Studies 3: Joseph Parra \u2013 the edge of flesh and blood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Case Studies 3: Joseph Parra \u2013 the edge of flesh and blood<\/em><\/h2>\n

Kasser Theater Lobby<\/strong>
\nSeptember 14 \u2013 December 16, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joseph Parra\u2019s paintings in <\/span>the edge of flesh and blood <\/span><\/em>explore the larger consequences of searching for validation, inspiration, and intimacy through digital images by asking \u201cHow does desire change when life is mediated through screens?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Using acrylic paint and a custom wooden rig, Parra squeezes hundreds of globs of paint by hand in a quasi-grid-like fashion on a single canvas. Together, the individual drops of paint create a larger image, similar to how individual pixels function as the building blocks of screen-based images. Parra relies on the physical presence and dimensionality of the paint to bring awareness to the fleeting nature of digital images that project ideals of sex, power, and fantasy. He isolates torsos, arms, and chests with a particular focus on the male body to draw attention to notions of masculinity and how these images circulate online. The hollow nature of the images he references is also explored through ideas of anonymity. For example, there are no distinct, identifiable features such as a face present in the paintings – these bodies belong to everyone and no one. Similarly, Parra depicts these hyper-aestheticized bodies in nondescript environments that appear more like loading screens or low-fi renderings than actual places further suggesting an idea of an impossible setting or unattainable reality.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/figure>\nVisit the digital twin\u00a0<\/strong>of this installation<\/a><\/span>\n

Click on an image below to enlarge photo.<\/p>

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