Words on Our Skin
Lesley Dill created “A Word Made Flesh: Throat”, after her stay in India. India left her stunned by the art of Henna and how the women drew beautiful designs on their skin. Her goal was to show how we all have words “written” on our own skin. Lesley Dill used techniques of color and space to create a forceful yet vulnerable image.
“A Word Made Flesh: Throat”, uses a lack of color; instead it has an emphasis on values. Seen in the image, the black words on the throat have a large contrast compared to the pale skin. While talking to the Minnesota Institute of Art, Lesley Dill said, “I thought maybe we do have words on us, invisible text we all wear.” In this case, she used value to emphasize the “invisible text” that is on…show more content… The first thing the viewer will come across are the words covering the throat. Since different views of perspective can be used to view this image, the meaning can be different from person to person. For example, since the throat is a delicate part of the body it can be a symbol of how these words are sensitive to the woman. On the other hand, the throat has power in the human body, so this could show that these words are almost “yelling” at the viewer in a powerful way. While talking to the Art Institute of Minnesota, Dill stated, “I think of words, especially poetry and especially Emily Dickinson's as a kind of spiritual armor, a protecting skin of words that dresses the soul with inspiration of vulnerability, fear, and hope.” Lesley Dill wanted her words on the throat to be vulnerable but still powerful by providing inspiration and hope. Depth can be seen in “A Word Made Flesh: Throat” by the dark background. The harsh black gives the image depth by leaving the question of if there is something behind the woman, or if there is just plain darkness. Art is made for the viewer to take their own meaning behind an image. In this image, the viewer can either see the woman as being alone or not. If she is alone, with just darkness behind her, it may be a symbol of how everyone is alone in their own mind; with their own “invisible words” on their
