Summer Arm by Robert and Shana Parkeharrison Created by Andy Fok

~published in 2007 ~from collection named Counterpoint ~shows pigment by-hand

human arm nature/machine connects life in nature

black/gray in machinery green, orange, etc. in plants wall has no color

background/nature exert light background/machine exert dark

plants “grow off” person left arm shown extended machine seem to aid in growth of nature

nature larger than machine

spot where machine/nature on one side nature on top, machine on bottom

machine looks like present equipment plants start growing in mid-late summer

Character: There is a person who is extending their arm out and has nature and machinery on it; by further investigation of the arm, it seems that the two “inventions” are connected together through the roots of each and, by doing so, are able to work together to aid in each other’s growth. The other so-called characters in the photo would be the butterflies that live in the nature of the arm. This shows the life that exists within all of nature that, along with technology, aids in the survival of other life; technology assists in the way that it can integrate the development of life into another level. Color: The colors shown here in Summer Arm are the ones of the background, which actually consist no color, the colors of plants (green, orange, etc.), and the color of the machines (black/gray). The empty-colored background indicates that there once was no life on the planet, the plants showed that nature had helped the beginning of human civilization, the person’s arm showed the result of the help received from the plants, and the machines represents the innovation they aimed to excel in. Light: The plants seem to be exerting more light compared to the machinery, which shows that machinery, although has done many important things for our race, has no living aspects while plants that, although seem to not help our race at all, actually helps us breathe and gives us a beautiful glance of life before us. This shows that nature expresses the “true” happiness that people feel when they eventually come across it; the opposite is shown for machinery for it gives us happiness, but one that would eventually corrupt the meaning of nature in everyone’s lives. Angle: First of all, you can see that plants are “growing off” of the person, not on the ground where many more vitamins can be absorbed. Along with seeing the roots of the plants starting to wrap around the machinery, this shows that technology has started being put into effect of aiding the growth of plants, showing that eventually, the land that summer had created would be eventually replaced with many sights of machinery in the world. With the angle created, we can see that the person’s left arm is extended because of the direction of the thumb. This also shows that since many people have a dominant right hand, having the nature and machinery on the left hand represents the “minority” or, in this case, the unexpected that would eventually place dawn upon everyone. Proportion: While comparing sizes, the plants seem to be twice as much consuming of space in the picture as the machines. This shows that as much as technology has seemed to help us advance, plants were always on the Earth, representing that without nature, there would not have been such an innovation towards today’s advancements. Looking more closely, it can be seen that towards the person’s hand, the machines began to decrease in size and number while nature is “separating” apart from each other and leaning towards the unbalanced part of the arm: the hand. This shows how technology begins to take over and become so advanced that it doesn’t require the needs of nature anymore. Placement: It can be seen that the machinery is placed at the bottom of the arm and the nature items on the top of the arm. The nature shows that it is the time to flourish during the summer while the machinery shows the ability to work better, since in the past, machines would not work during the winter of the year. It is also shown that there is a certain side of the arm where only one of the two “inventions” are not right on top of each other, showing the advantages when not working together to guide the arm to its proper function. At the hand, where the person is holding the plant with no machinery below, this shows that plants working alone serve as the food source for people. Around the elbow where machinery seems to support the arm with no plants above, that shows that technology helps us overcome the everyday lives we wish to adapt to.

Setting: The machinery showed in the picture seems to be of this generation, indicating that this photo was taken between the early 2000s to now. The nature on the person’s arm shows black-eyed Susans and tiger lilies, which usually grow between the mid-summer and late-year. The title seems to represent the time of getting together, but with the current era, many events fall out of place with each other and begin to get taken over by an innovation we used to begin calling “normal life.”

Thank You for Listening!