Paula Otegui
Argentine, b. 1974
El Pajaro (The Bird), 2012
Acrylic on canvas
47 1/4 x 35 1/2 in
2015.1.1
Gift of the artist and Dean Jensen Gallery
Collection of the Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University
http://museum.marquette.edu/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=7888&viewType=detailView

Thanks especially to the internet, fan theories abound. These might take the form of celebrity gossip, predictions of who’s going to win the big game, or breakdowns of trailers for upcoming movies and TV shows. Creating theories is another way that fans can engage with their fan object, moving beyond what has been given to them. It is also an opportunity to show off knowledge of their fan object and gain cultural capital within the fandom. 

Paula Otegui (b. 1974) is an Argentinian cultural observer and eclectic painter with an eye on the subconscious. Her art depicts unlikely connections between networks, systems, and cultures, and considers how they might function as metaphors for human relationships. Her goal is not to convey a social message, but instead to make her viewer feel impacted by her vision of the sublime in the human experience. Otegui invites her viewer to reflect on the chaotic spaces and gaps that connect seemingly unrelated fragments and creatures in The Bird, and question: “What would we be without relationships? Isn’t the human experience defined by our exchanges with one another?”