Cultural Convention

Title: The Past, Present, & Future

Media: Print

Artist: Siqi (Eric) Yang

     The Past, Present, & Future is a print piece by Siqi (Eric) Yang. The three pieces consist of different colours: the first being black and white, the second black and yellow, the last pale and bright pink. The building is a deformation Möbius strip, with three people representing the past, present, and future. I first notice the middle piece, mainly due to the colour. The contrast of the yellow and black is, to me, much more stark. Though the people are said to be the representers of time, my first thought was that the three prints themselves told the passage of time, especially due to the colours. When thinking of the past, some might think of a difficult time of their lives they could move past, hence the black background. For others, it might be very straightforward, leading to the simple and clear black and white. And again, with the present, some might be struggling, which could have been why the background was again black. However, the present leads to the future, which is hoped to be much brighter, like the colour yellow. Finally, when thinking of the future, I'm sure many hope for the best. The light, airy pink background is more joyful, and when paired with just a different tone of the same colour, it can seem much more hopeful. 

     The straight lines of the platforms allow for the eye to travel across the building, watching the figures, and eventually finding the loop of the Möbius strip. The straight strokes decorating the roof point the same direction as the platform, creating both more leading lines and an element of harmony. 

     The shapes of the pieces are pretty rounded, from the swells of the roof to the curve of the figures' bodies. This allows for a soft, peaceful feeling to come with the piece, especially with the one done in pink. Another element the texture of the roof and posts add is that it creates a much more natural feeling. I can easily imagine that the posts are made out of wood, giving that extra component of realism and something I can easily relate to. 

     Yang says that the people are supposed to represent the past, present, and future. 'The person walking on the front is about to reach the ladder and enter the reverse world. After the reverse world, he/she will come back to the normal world through the ladder again. This process helps to develop the idea that life is a cycle... The person sitting in the back who is facing the past and the one in the front who is sitting upside down are both facing forward and thinking beyond reality.' I think that this shows how easy it is to look back at the past and yet continue to move through life with speed. It also shows how easy it is to leave this life behind. We can all relate to this. We have all had some period of time where we are so caught up in the past, we don't notice that we're still moving through the present. 

     The fact that this building has a reverse helps show that even when we feel like our life has been turned upside-down, we still keep moving. Whether we're looking back at the past, or feeling confused by a reverse life, we keep moving through the present. 

     The work is a bit simple in some areas, however I think that this really helps the piece. Not only does it make it more appealing to the eye, it also presents to us how simple life can be. 

     In general, I think that this is a stunning piece. It's sweet, simple where it needs to be, and conveys meaning. However, having said that, the transition of colours is a bit blocky. It starts off with two black backgrounds, and then transitions into a light pink. Though I love how the pink tones work together, I do think that the transition could've been improved upon. Even if a transition wasn't present, either one of the others needs to have a background of a different colour, or place the pink one in the middle. If this changes how the individual pieces are meant to tell time like I mentioned earlier (though this wasn't mentioned in the description), then just having the same kind of colour set up as the pink could help (Light background darker lines or the reverse). 

     Overall, I do love this piece. I love the meaning and the style. The only main issue for me is the colour change. Otherwise, it's great.