LIFE ON MARS?

David Bowie's song Life on Mars asks the question, is there life on Mars? His lyrics discuss the concept of when you're watching a movie and you're being told that what you're watching is real for you as you're watching it. This was so interesting to me because when you're watching a movie, sometimes it feels like you're in that world, especially with something really fantastical. As you're looking at my piece, it is becoming your reality for the time that you're looking at it. Who's to say that it's not real? It's as real as I've made it, and it's as real as you're perceiving it. I was thinking, "Okay, what would life on Mars look like? Well, maybe Life on Mars looks like all of these different songs that reference all these different things come to life.” I wanted it to feel familiar and recognizable, to have a storybook-like quality with the way it's painted and the drawing style I used which is extremely different from any work I’ve done before. It's up to the viewers to find out what it means to them and to decide for themselves “Okay, is there life on Mars?” I answered that question for myself and said, “yes, and this is what it would look like.”
Throughout the piece, there are lots of little references and lots of little pockets of hidden details. Not everyone will get it, and that's okay. I don't mean for everyone to get it. Not to make it exclusive, but to make it an experience that is unique to each person because all of us walk through different realities even though we are in the same world. as i was making this and brainstorming the details, i thought about who my audience would be. i wanted to created something that would be enjoyed by students and adults alike - something comical and different.