SOCIAL
RELATIVITY

We all have roots; each of us is influenced by the environment in which we were raised. We are a meld of our experiences, vulnerable to the influences of those around us. We come to expect certain things as a result of how we were raised, and our upbringing continues to affect us once we enter a world of people with their own unique experiences. This exhibit explores artwork that results from varying experiences, how there is unity in difference, and how, even when we are faced with something that seems so new or strange to us, we can all say that at one point we have had a similar feeling. Both artists participating in this exhibition use their childhood experiences and relationships with their families as inspiration for their works, letting us view the emotional impact their childhood continues to have on them. 

Caroline Egan’s works call on a movement somewhat reminiscent of the past. By venturing into textiles, the artist felt she could not avoid connections to the Arts and Crafts Movement.  Brandi Walker’s works embrace a Surrealist sense of limited reality, creating works that interpret reality and personal experiences in new forms. Both artists' works fall within the Contemporary Art Movement, which governs a wide range of styles. Contemporary art often attempts to create a narrative that deals with human relationships, whether it be on individual or large scale, often hitting on more personal and intimate depictions. Brandi Walker and Caroline Egan both use their recent work as a commentary on their familial relationships and how their experiences with their family members shaped them. 

The concept of social relativity is a broad designation. In part, it speaks to one person's relation to another, but it also speaks to the power behind one person’s effect on another and vice versa. In U.T. Place’s article “On the Social Relativity of Truth and the Analytic/Synthetic Distinction”, the author notes that in order for a truth to be considered true, one person must agree with another, and the same goes for something to be considered false, basically an oxymoron (1). In the case of this exhibition, our focus is more closely drawn to the conclusions of Johanna Drucker in her book The General Theory of Social Relativity, in which Drucker closely examines the intricate interactions between human and non-human actants. By analyzing various forces, the author provides us with an in-depth look at possible situations that can shape a person overtime. Drucker states that a key aspect of the theory of social relativity is the importance of an “event” which is marked by a shift in a relationship. According to Drucker “this could be a positive, minor shift, such as a simple affirmation of a connection, an assignation, or coordinated plan. It could be negative—a disappointment, betrayal, or serious violation of trust.”(2) Simply put, everything that happens to an individual, big or small, has some kind of an affect that can shape them in the long term. The artworks in this exhibition venture into the artists’ personal experiences and the long-term effects events from their childhoods have on them today. Whether positive or negative, both artists seek to invoke empathy in the viewer.