The subjective nature presented in Todd Grays photographs appears to reflect the upbringings of the artist himself. In his photograph entitled Anti-Euro, Gray studied the idea of being a floating entity. He attempts to reveal the notion that all people are mixed in some way and that no one is really pure black or pure white. He conceived the notion of creating his own mythology after reading influential books. Gray states, I would read Greek and African mythology books and try to navigate between the two. I thought Id create my own culture (Philip, Los Angeles Times, January 1997).
Grays other piece entitled, Boxer punching buildings, reveals aspects of his frustration and disturbance toward society. The piece is composed of images of an African American boxer throwing a punch at a large corporate building. He presented it as a series of posters that were placed throughout the city to be viewed by the public. During lecture, he explained that the poster was a metaphor of classic slavery versus the corporate conglomerates of society. Gray explains, I was thinking about the gladiators of the past, dark people who had to fight against domination. The same system seemed to be intact (Philip, Los Angeles Times).
As most identify Gray as being the ex-photographer of Michael Jackson, his attempts and success to step into the realm of fine art was mainly due to expressing his emotions. Gray states, It was important to show that I could do both [fine and commercial art] and keep the integrity. Its like blacks and other minorities share with women, that weve got to work twice as hard to get half as far (Philip, Los Angeles Times). As Gray found himself becoming immersed in commercial arts, he returned to he school where he received his undergraduate degree to recommit himself to art.
It was there that he found his new centerpiece for his artwork and a new perception of the innocent. His interest on Disney characters and toys derived from an observation that cartoons and popular culture influenced people. According to Hunter Drohojowska Philip, He soon found himself viewing the ubiquitousness of seemingly innocent cartoon characters as a form of cultural imperialism (Los Angeles Times). During the past eight or so years, Gray devoted most of his time to nvestigate the ideas of what forms our thinking, or rather, what informs our culture to think a certain way.
His study began with the iconography of characters that are noticed and identified by everyone in this world, Disney characters. His portrayal of simple and lovable cartoon characters seem to transform into intimidating life size portraits of powerhouses. At lecture, Gray discussed the symbolism of various icons; Scrooge was reminiscent to the typical industrialist, overpowering and demanding; Goofy was similar to a homeboy, or ould also be identified as a proletariat, a worker; Daisy Duck is similar to the feminist type, dominant and governing, demanding Daffy (representing men) around.
According to Marilu Knodes article, she writes Each of these are active, recognizable slaves to a commercialized stereotype, with Gray pushing their innocent syntax into a twisted realm of cultural monster (Knode, Abracapocus: Goofy and Sex Looking For God). It seems that the primary intention of Grays utilization of characters is to point out how overpowering simple little characters can be. The idea of Gray photographing the silhouette of these cuddly characters and presenting them as human size was primarily to reveal a different aspect that may not normally be seen.
The impact of Grays photographs evokes much criticism as well as praise among viewers. Though some may not find his work meaningful, his art proves to become a cultural context of society. Though his artwork may not seem very aesthetically pleasing or fit the typical description of art, Grays artwork attempts to do something that many others do not, that is to study the influences of our culture from society. Gray captures the ordinary and reveals the extraordinary; he searches beneath the faade of our cultural framework and re-presents them through his perception.
Grays work may have served as an emotional outlet for himself as well as an informative presentation to his audience and viewers, namely anyone who sees his work. I believe the primary intention of the pictures being life size was that it gave the subject in the image a different aura. Subjectively speaking, if I viewed Goofy as being any smaller, I would mainly reference it to the cartoons instead of any other social context. By the grand scale of the image along with the black and white silhouette, I mainly view it as overpowering and lifelike.
In retrospect, one question I would have formulated for Todd Gray, before the session had ended, is if he had received hostile reactions from viewers after they view his work. Also, I would ask whether or not his work may have different had he grew up in the slums with a lower class family. I question whether creativity is innate or whether it depends on how and what type of environment a person is nurtured. It would have been nice to hear his theory on this subject matter.
