The art piece I chose to analyze is Reynold Reynolds’ piece, Burn. Burn is a short video piece created in 2001, which depicts an ordinary looking middle-aged couple who are casually sitting in their living room while it is on fire. The couple looks to be oblivious or unaware of the fact they are in a burning room.
This piece seems to be created for the average American citizen, based on the fact that Reynolds spent most of his life in America, and the decision to chose middle-aged actors for the piece. The living room that is on fire in the video also looks like a traditional American home in the 1980s.
Reynolds uses the actors, the setting, and the fire to create the metaphor about the obliviousness of Americans to the world around them and also possibly their own country. It could also be a metaphor for the oblivion towards how climate change is affecting the earth itself.
The artist is very clear about identifying the public as all American citizens, and is sending a clear message to them that awareness is required to save ourselves from a burning fire.