Sunday, May 13, 2012

Mechanical Turk Art Review #11

This is a project where I pay workers on Amazon's Mechanical Turk to review my art and website and pay them $5 dollars for 500 words. This is the 11th review I've received:

Honestly, I was confused when the artwork of Paul Shortt appeared on the screen. I guess I am your typical thinking human that assumes art is supposed to be beautiful paintings or magnificent sculptures. Paul Shortts art is not beautiful paintings or sculptures. However, art comes in all forms of expression. The art portrayed on the site shows the freedom he has for expression. What one person may think is not art, he makes it become art to the human eye. The work on the site is refreshing because the artist seems to see that what a person does in everyday life as art. As a result, viewing his work becomes humorous, entertaining, and quite delightful. There is a piece entitled “Corner Piece” on his site. I found this amusing because that is what I see when people view art. I don’t want to reveal what the piece stated. 

Moving forward, art is a form of expression that allows an artist to explore in all shapes and forms. Do I feel Paul Shortt shows expression in his art? The answer is yes. He finds the simplest things and turn it into art. I love the piece entitled “ Do Not Climb”. We see these signs in places all the time. Does everyone listen to those signs? Some people are going to climb despite what the sign says. The artwork makes me think visually in my head. As a result, I started to paint an image of a scene. Another piece that I found entertaining is “Modern Greeting”. The artist shows different ways a person can greet each other. As I was viewing the images, I found myself bursting into laughter. The cell phone rub should be a greeting with the way people are constantly on their phones. The greetings seem awkward, which in everyday life, greetings can be just that way. A piece that I found truly thought provoking was “Three Hour Tour”. This art caused me not to laugh but to actually think about places that are shown in the piece. Do I avoid places that are freely open to the public? Does my persona change when I am in places such as a hospital or graveyard? The image of the two people walking down the hall in the hospital even provoked thinking in your head by the way the hands were clasped behind the man on the left. 

Finally, I want to say I truly appreciated Paul’s artwork. There are people out in the world that will tell you that what Paul does is not art. That leads many other people that express themselves like Paul to give up on what they love. Paul is a true artist that shows appreciation for everything that is around. Furthermore, the piece “Three Hour Tour” made me want to get out and visit those places even if I do not need to go. Due to that fact, I thank you Paul. You are a true visual artist that promotes the need for truly expressing yourself and appreciating art just as it should be. Art is creative expression.