Chavez, Lilibeth (week 5)

 

Carmen Lomas Garza’s work, Hammerhead Shark on Padre Island, (1987), relays an interesting message about dreams. While dreaming is generally considered a thing of fantasy generally surrounding very dreamy idealistic states of life, Garza reminds us through this work that even to dream could be dangerous. In such there is a reminder of reality even in the ideal, and as the image shows, there is danger in the same waters we play, or wish to play in. So in that regard even in places that conjure up beauty and feelings of desire, there is still hidden dangers hiding in the shallows. Still it is interesting that in her image children surround the beached shark, and while clearly timid, still remain very curios. This implies that even the dangers however once exposed draws curiosity. In that regard, being aware of the dangers does not necessarily imply that one should be entirely dismissive of the possible forgone dream. Another point of interest in this work is different peoples’ reaction to the shark, some are more intimately affected while others walk on merely with a side eye to the shark. This could signify the way certain dangers are more real for some than they are for others, so while the shark may be very remarkable to some beach goers, or in other discussions dreamers, it is very unremarkable for others. Nonetheless, Carmen Garza brings awareness to the multidimensional aspect of dreams and the idealized as well as the paths we follow and the inherent but unseen dangers to them. Even the paths we may take in pursuit of a better future hold dangers within them we remain unaware of. Although our pursuit of higher education or professional careers are not necessarily dreams it is something we look forward to for our future, an image of a life we have pictured for ourselves. Garza’s image can thus be considered a reminder to be afraid that there is always something lurking beneath or a sense of strength to push on knowing there's always been danger but nonetheless we persevere.