I had the pleasure of discovering Jose Bedia's work of art entitled, "Figure Who Defines His Own Horizon Line" in the Miami Art Museum. Even though the whole floor was populated with art work created by the same artist, which something that I was not expecting, this piece of art in particular caught my attention. Maybe this was because of the size of the art, as the piece covered pretty much an entire wall. I started to read about the significance of the art and the history behind the figure which was really interesting. Once I began reading the plaques around the room and learning about Bedia's life and work, I discovered that he is well-known for that particular kind of exhibition. One of the reasons why I enjoyed of this piece was because of its astounding and encompassing size. I also enjoyed trying to figure out the meaning of the art without reading the story. At first I thought that the figure represented evil or maybe destiny. I also thought that the flags at the end of the composition were some kind of representation of blood and that the face of the person painted on the wall represented a regular human who tries to eliminate technology from modern society. .
I was partially correct. The coloration in this painting is not that much. He used just tempera paints, and he brought the little figure he used as a model with him to the museum. I saw the video which explored how he created this piece of art, and he did it in less than 4 hours. He made it look easy. What I liked the most was how he left the sense that he did it in just one try. The person who is looking at the painting can notice how he let the tempera go down across, forming the main lines, because of the gravity.
The author's idea was to create a piece of art that depicts when a person tries to create his own future. The face represents the island, Cuba. Or really it could be any island or country of origins.