Analyzed

At a first glance, Julie Mehretu’s Untitled Dervish (as seen to the left, made in 2005) seems so busy that it’s hard to decide where to look first after the piece first hits you. The swirling black mass of chaos definitely draws attention towards the center of the work because that’s where the black shapes seem the most concentrated. When it’s examined more closely, what at first appears to be a dark swirling cloud is really a mixture of lines and shapes that suggest an intense flurry of movement. It’s a nice contrast to the straight edge, architectural design in the background. Clean, colorful lines tie the foreground into the middle and back ground by weaving in and out of the “cloud” in the middle. A shape on the left hand side looks as though it is caught in middle movement, leaving a red line in its trail. All of the lines and forms in this piece are different and yet fit together to draw the work together.
To me, it looks like a blueprint of an air battle. The mass in the middle looks like an explosion and all the lines are the planned out routes of fighter jets on their way. It makes me think of World War One or Two, perhaps it’s because of the strange shape on the left that looks a bit like an old war plane falling from the sky. The mood of this piece is organization, yet so complicated it’s confusing, like how advanced physics would look like to a third grader. There are all these straight or neat lines that manage to blend in with this great big heap of jumbled shapes and lines. I think that Mehretu may be hinting at the idea of orderly chaos. The world seems organic and unorganized, but really everything follows a certain pattern. Over all I think that this piece is very successful. It’s eye catching but is capable of keeping the viewer entranced for more than a few seconds. A lot of time can go into examining this piece because there is so much, but it’s done in such a tasteful way that its not overwhelming.