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KenG
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30 Jan 2012, 2:11 pm

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"Katie Miller is among the small group of women diagnosed with autism. She's also a gorgeous artist who's never been on a date and has difficulty meeting new people. But to her, being autistic isn't the disadvantage it might seem":
http://www.marieclaire.com/world-report ... ale-artist


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aghogday
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10 Feb 2012, 3:34 am

A unique expression of steeley determination. Reminds me of the character Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

Her artwork with babies is disturbing, but it appears to depict the commercialization of a society, that has lost many of it's boundries.

Here is a link to her site that directs one to a critique of her work.

http://artistkatiemiller.com/stmt.html



TheSunAlsoRises
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11 Feb 2012, 12:40 am

Ms. Miller's work is extraordinary. You don't get this type of insight and ability simply from practicing long hours over a period of time; this is innate.

I'm amazed. I read this when it was first posted a while back. I had to step back for a moment and reflect on some things.

I see a pattern.

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aghogday
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11 Feb 2012, 1:18 am

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This was my favorite one. "Children Watching TV"

I looked back at it again tonight, and was so mesmerized by the expressions on the children's faces and use of lighting in the darkened room, that I didn't notice the beautiful spring like day with picnic umbrella in the background, last night.

The children are willingly submitting themselves to what looks like a tremendous amount of anxiety, when they could be outside, enjoying a beautiful day, with potentially no worries.

Her artwork is unique. It reminds me, that in someways, many of us hold a share of experience analagous to the "twilight zone", from the time we are small children. I can't imagine what it's like for a child born today.



Aimless
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11 Feb 2012, 8:43 am

I really like her work and this painting of the children watching TV is compelling and disturbing. It speaks to me of depression.


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OrangeCloud
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11 Feb 2012, 10:15 am

That painting is superb, I like the contrast between the outside and the inside. The outside looks bright and colourful and inviting, whereas the inside looks dark, dreary and depressing. It looks so beautiful outside but the children are sitting inside watching television in the dark looking anxious. It strikes me as being absurd and depressing, I don't know if that's the point.



TheSunAlsoRises
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11 Feb 2012, 11:24 am

A window wide, inviting, broken into smaller detailed windows, perfectly aligned . In the middle of the window, there is a path that leads to the light, to the left there is a canopy that offers shelter, and to the right the curtain is slightly drawn showing a glimpse of society in the form of a house, everything else is obscured and unknown.. In the children s eyes, there is a reflection. the average observer believes that it is the reflection of a TV, they are both watching BUT it isn't. The light dancing around the whites of the children eyes is the same hue and tone of the light outside the window.

The children seek the light outside.

TheSunAlsoRises



BuyerBeware
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12 Feb 2012, 12:41 am

Damn I wish I could paint like that.

Or write like she paints.

Well, at least there's one media representation of us as something other than emotionally dead sociopaths.

Bah. Good luck to her. Hope only reminds me how tired I am.


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aghogday
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12 Feb 2012, 1:44 am

OrangeCloud wrote:
That painting is superb, I like the contrast between the outside and the inside. The outside looks bright and colourful and inviting, whereas the inside looks dark, dreary and depressing. It looks so beautiful outside but the children are sitting inside watching television in the dark looking anxious. It strikes me as being absurd and depressing, I don't know if that's the point.


I think she is expressing the reality of what is the norm, in a way to capture our attention and thought for what reality is.

This is an integral part of many children's lives, whether it is a scary TV show, a violent video game, or easy access to pornography. The virtual world, whatever it may be, becomes part of their reality, and a permanent part of what they are as human beings.

She doesn't pull any punches, on the impact. That is clear from her paintings of babies.

But, you hit the nail on the head, I think. Modern culture is exciting and addictive in so many new ways, that weren't available until recently; but it is also absurd and depressing, which isn't always evident when one is part of it. Her art gives us no choice but to take notice.



aghogday
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12 Feb 2012, 2:15 am

TheSunAlsoRises wrote:
A window wide, inviting, broken into smaller detailed windows, perfectly aligned . In the middle of the window, there is a path that leads to the light, to the left there is a canopy that offers shelter, and to the right the curtain is slightly drawn showing a glimpse of society in the form of a house, everything else is obscured and unknown.. In the children s eyes, there is a reflection. the average observer believes that it is the reflection of a TV, they are both watching BUT it isn't. The light dancing around the whites of the children eyes is the same hue and tone of the light outside the window.

The children seek the light outside.

TheSunAlsoRises


I didn't take notice of that until you pointed it out. I see it as the light of expection in what they are born to be as human. A flicker of hope.

It is likely only my individual perception, or maybe synchronicity, but I have to wonder, if she wasn't portraying herself as part of her artwork in her image of herself, like Dorothy whom found herself in Oz.

In a way, many children are born into a world of Oz, that is only limited by the "ingenuity" and imagination of others.

It might not be the wrong planet, but it is an entirely new Universe; the collective effort of one humans have created, not entirely different than the honeybees hive.

No doubt, that she is autistic, plays a role in this perception. It's really great she has a medium to express it.



TheSunAlsoRises
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12 Feb 2012, 10:20 am

aghogday wrote:
TheSunAlsoRises wrote:
A window wide, inviting, broken into smaller detailed windows, perfectly aligned . In the middle of the window, there is a path that leads to the light, to the left there is a canopy that offers shelter, and to the right the curtain is slightly drawn showing a glimpse of society in the form of a house, everything else is obscured and unknown.. In the children s eyes, there is a reflection. the average observer believes that it is the reflection of a TV, they are both watching BUT it isn't. The light dancing around the whites of the children eyes is the same hue and tone of the light outside the window.

The children seek the light outside.

TheSunAlsoRises


I didn't take notice of that until you pointed it out. I see it as the light of expection in what they are born to be as human. A flicker of hope.

It is likely only my individual perception, or maybe synchronicity, but I have to wonder, if she wasn't portraying herself as part of her artwork in her image of herself, like Dorothy whom found herself in Oz.

In a way, many children are born into a world of Oz, that is only limited by the "ingenuity" and imagination of others.

It might not be the wrong planet, but it is an entirely new Universe; the collective effort of one humans have created, not entirely different than the honeybees hive.

No doubt, that she is autistic, plays a role in this perception. It's really great she has a medium to express it.


I see her unique neurology present in her art work.

TheSunAlsoRises



Atomsk
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21 Feb 2012, 1:38 am

aghogday wrote:
Image

This was my favorite one. "Children Watching TV"

I looked back at it again tonight, and was so mesmerized by the expressions on the children's faces and use of lighting in the darkened room, that I didn't notice the beautiful spring like day with picnic umbrella in the background, last night.

The children are willingly submitting themselves to what looks like a tremendous amount of anxiety, when they could be outside, enjoying a beautiful day, with potentially no worries.

Her artwork is unique. It reminds me, that in someways, many of us hold a share of experience analagous to the "twilight zone", from the time we are small children. I can't imagine what it's like for a child born today.


It's interesting comparing my interpretation of this painting with everyone else's. I don't get a depressed or depressing vibe from it; nor do I view it as a juxtaposition of the beautiful day outside and the darkness inside. I also can't see the sadness on the faces of the children - they look rather unemotional to me. I do absolutely love the painting - I just have a different interpretation. I think people are far too technophobic - I feel technology is just as natural as plants, animals, the sky, and so on. Just another part of the cosmos - not something creating badness.

What I love about paintings and works of literature and music and so on, just pieces of art, is that everyone can have a different interpretation of it, and still be right. Even if the artist intended it to be interpreted in a certain way, to me that does not mean my interpretation is wrong. What for them is (x) set of characteristics saying (y) about the piece of art, is an entirely different thing to me.



aghogday
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21 Feb 2012, 7:38 pm

Atomsk wrote:
aghogday wrote:
Image

This was my favorite one. "Children Watching TV"

I looked back at it again tonight, and was so mesmerized by the expressions on the children's faces and use of lighting in the darkened room, that I didn't notice the beautiful spring like day with picnic umbrella in the background, last night.

The children are willingly submitting themselves to what looks like a tremendous amount of anxiety, when they could be outside, enjoying a beautiful day, with potentially no worries.

Her artwork is unique. It reminds me, that in someways, many of us hold a share of experience analagous to the "twilight zone", from the time we are small children. I can't imagine what it's like for a child born today.


It's interesting comparing my interpretation of this painting with everyone else's. I don't get a depressed or depressing vibe from it; nor do I view it as a juxtaposition of the beautiful day outside and the darkness inside. I also can't see the sadness on the faces of the children - they look rather unemotional to me. I do absolutely love the painting - I just have a different interpretation. I think people are far too technophobic - I feel technology is just as natural as plants, animals, the sky, and so on. Just another part of the cosmos - not something creating badness.

What I love about paintings and works of literature and music and so on, just pieces of art, is that everyone can have a different interpretation of it, and still be right. Even if the artist intended it to be interpreted in a certain way, to me that does not mean my interpretation is wrong. What for them is (x) set of characteristics saying (y) about the piece of art, is an entirely different thing to me.


Art, and specifically interpretation of art provides evidence of how differently people experience the world.

If you don't read any significant emotion in the little girls face, it is evidence that it is not part of your perception, or your world. And, if you don't discern a significant difference between technology and living things in the "natural" world, it is evidence of the same.

However from an objective perspective, there is powerful emotion on the girl's face, negative physiological/psychological impacts from disturbing events, whether real or virtually presented through the medium of TV, and a reduction of bio-diversity in the natural world as a result of the cultural byproducts associated with technology, that endangers species other than our own, as well as our own.

Technology is only a tool, it is not inherently bad, but it is definitely of danger, if it is used in a harmful manner. Not unlike, the tools of archaic man used against each other, rather than for subsistence.

None of us see precisely the same reality, and none of us come close to seeing the totality of reality.

However, through the scientific method, there is evidence that those three aspects of objective reality exists, whether or not we perceive them, or a planet. without the aid of a telescope.

Hard too, to judge reality based on a slice of time in the children's experience. In that imaginary world, the next moment could be full of joyous expression, in the resolution of anticipation of something bad that did not happen on the TV show, they were watching.

Not much different than other areas of modern technology; it has provided a little slice of heaven for human beings that our ancestors could have never imagined; just the ability to take a hot shower, or be cooled and warmed in harsh seasons would have been incredible for our ancestors.

Certainly a glorious tool in many ways. But, when taken to the extreme, a potential danger to not only other species of living organisms, but to our own as well. Incredibly dangerous, if we are subsumed by technology, and it becomes the master of the entire species, rather than a tool.

That is akin to the "twilight zone", which was often an enlightening view from the outside in. And, generally the intent of the artist, as described on her website.

I fear life without technology; came to that full realization in the times I had to live only partially without it, after Hurricanes. It is the reality that most people live in, whether they are willing to admit it or not.

I doubt many people would be willing to give up their climate controlled homes and showers, without some resistance. Nor would those children, likely give up the TV, regardless of how disturbing the current show might be.

It is, now, for all practical intents and purposes our natural reality; in someways, moreso than the sky, the animals, or the plants. A dramatically different world that human beings are born into.

I would not likely have survived well or long without technology, it is not only my master, it was my savior. In fact, without it, there would be far fewer people walking the streets, if for no other reason, than the technological benefits of public health/sanitation, and the danger of infectious disease.

And finally, if I had not seen powerful emotion in the expression of the young girls face, the picture would have had a much different meaning for me. Have no idea if you have any issues associated with reading emotions from facial expressions, associated with autism, but for those that do, it definitely contributes to a significantly different world view.

I found your comments very interesting, and enlightening. Thanks for sharing them. :)



btbnnyr
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21 Feb 2012, 9:52 pm

My favorite parts of the painting are the small details, like the little wisps of shiny hair on the heads of the children.



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26 Feb 2012, 3:27 am

She never had a date? Wasn't she Alex's girlfriend?

I like this video Katie made as well as her art

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4IKKlOn ... LYpMlKBJgj



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05 Mar 2012, 4:34 am

TheygoMew wrote:
She never had a date? Wasn't she Alex's girlfriend?

I like this video Katie made as well as her art

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4IKKlOn ... LYpMlKBJgj


You kidding me? I would date her in a heartbeat.

Her artwork is incredible.