Misapprehended - Fall 2023 - Visual Arts

Fall 2023 Visual Culture: REPRESENT!: Misapprehended
BROCK KINGSLEY
Truth, 2022
Screenprint Ink on Paper, 24” x 20” x 1”
I am interested in the way we use language, the way we use
words—the way we determine the use of certain words. I am
interested in the ways we don’t say what we mean, or how we
use words out of context. How we try to communicate and how
we fail, how we misrepresent what we are trying to say. Language
(or a word) does not exist in a vacuum. Definitions are not static,
they are always changing. Often, the meaning of a word is its use
and that use is often reliant on context—not just situational, but
where one word is positioned in relation to other words. These
screen prints—text on paper—invite viewers to examine how they
use words, or what they mean when they use certain words. Text
taken out of its regular context and largely isolated asks for closer
examination. The value one viewer places on a certain definition
can be just as easily dismissed by another. Language is fascinating
and maddening. When we use language, how do we use it? Why
do we use it? What do we mean? And how does that meaning
change based on audience, tone, and situation. How we choose
to invoke language can lead to clarity or misunderstanding. And
misunderstanding can quickly devolve into something bigger.
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