DVC faculty art show seeks to inspire students
“I dreamt drone villains” by Mark Messenger
October 23, 2016
Spoons with dried grass, a shopping cart made of twigs, jewelry; it seems that art can take many forms.
Diablo Valley College hosted its Faculty Art Gallery on October 10th and is open to the public. While all the pieces have their merit, there was one piece that seemed so multi-faceted that it needs its own review.
Mark Messenger’s piece “I dreamt drone villains” is one you could circle for several hours and still feel like you have only scratched the surface. The fascinating aspect of this ceramic masterpiece, is the core central message of humanity becoming more mechanized.
Top portion of “I dreamt drone villains” by Mark Messenger
Starting with the top of this ceramic masterpiece is a heart stuffed inside a gear. This can signify how humanity itself is part of the machine. Easily unmistakable, this could be the thesis or “heart” of what this piece is trying to say.
First part of middle portion of “I dreamt drone villains” by Mark Messenger
Moving a little lower, you can see the second segment that showcases two faceless people. They seem bound and in misery; an homage to a loss of identity perhaps?
Depicting a hungry skeletal man dressed as a decorated soldier could imply the hunger of military advancement and a need to feast on the capitalist offerings we faceless people offer. Cattle, if you will, to be fed upon at the leisure of our masters.
The bottom part of this ceramic piece depicts a big city, a mobster with a red tie in an intimidating pose, with the words written underneath, “I dreamt drone villains.” This adds to the theme of capitalism and the loss of identity.
The second portion of the bottom of this piece reveals the drones being assembled. “Designing peace with vengeance” was written on the bottom. This can be viewed as a potential commentary of being controlled, with a blatant reference that our imagined peace that we strive to create is born of bloodshed.
The final part stating, “and woke with myself” means that the artist Messenger, is understanding his role in the corporate machine, and at the heart of it is humanity itself.
Overall, this piece has heavy themes of loss of identity, capitalism, and war profiteering. A piece definitely worth checking out in person if you can.
The Faculty Art Gallery is going on until October 27th at the DVC Art Gallery from 11- 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 11- 3 p.m. Friday.
