In this day of wisdom we classify art into categories: surrealistic art, impressionistic art, and expressionistic art; however, art is still best defined in the eyes of the observer. A work of art may represent, inspire, or convey a different meaning to each observer. I will describe what I have interpreted after viewing the Cocktail Party and Ken's Basement by Charlie White. These pieces are extremely similar and yet outstandingly different.

Observing Cocktail Party I see an alien creature; he is awkward in disposition. His arms are a foot longer than those of a normal human being with hands that are twice the size of average. His legs are somewhat proportionate in length, but skinny as rope, with webbed feet. A sunken chest and protruding stomach also set him aside from mankind. He also lacks a nose on his puppet-looking face. On top of all this, he is going bald and in the nude. The vulnerable creature's name is Joshua, according to the artist. Joshua is standing in a bay-front living room full of people who appear to be having a celebration, and he is holding a conversation with a blond affluent-looking woman at this celebration. All of the people appear to be between the ages of 20 to 30. A woman in the background is pregnant and showing her stomach off. Oddly enough, her stomach looks similar to Joshua's. She too is in a vulnerable position. The colors in this picture are: green, yellow, brown, and man made purple.

Peering into Ken's Basement I see Joshua again, only this time he is sitting on the floor in a group of adolescents, between the ages of 15 to 20, who are disabled in some way, whether it be mental or physical. A sense of vulnerability exists during a celebration that is taking place in a boxed in basement. A brown-haired mentally challenged girl is feeding Joshua a piece of cake. Another mentally challenged boy is staring off into space but appears to be happy although alone. The other children are interacting with each other playfully. One girl, however, whose skin looks like Joshua's, burnt and wrinkled, appears to be complaining or unhappy. The dominant colors are: green, yellow, brown, and manmade purple.

So how do these pictures relate and differ? Lets start with the obvious, Joshua. He is the prominent figure in both pieces. In the Cocktail Party Joshua is vulnerable yet strong. He is standing up proudly with an outgoing attitude. Looking at Ken's Basement Joshua is definitely vulnerable as well, but here he is sitting on the floor being fed by a girl. In no way does Joshua appear outgoing or confident; instead, Joshua looks weak and disabled. Why? I believe that when a person is "allowed" to receive sympathy and drown in their disabilities, he or she will. On the other hand, if a person must live in a "dream world" or "perfect world" his or her differences and disabilities are pushed aside and almost a fake plastic appearance takes over. Here we have the two extremes of our world today. Even though these pieces have an extreme difference in character, they work together to form one idea. The two pieces also share the same dominant colors. Yellow is the color of the party favors perhaps to represent the sunny happy feelings. The room is brown and neutral in color so one does not focus on the surroundings but instead on the characters. Green and manmade purple stand out as well. The green represents nature and what is realistic. Manmade purple represents what we want to see as realistic instead of what is.

After studying both works of art, I have concluded that we in this society can't accept each other. Those who strive to "fit in" become fake and refuse to accept those who rebel and see the world as it may be, or meeker than it is. I think it's sad that our society does not accept difference, yet we believe we will be able to forge the future. Also the pieces show our vulnerability to what this world has