On September 20, 2014, I went to the Dallas Museum of Art, where I viewed a painting by Gerald Murphy, “Watch”. In this painting, Murphy depicts the inner and outer workings of a pocket watch, with its complicated mechanisms displayed, in order to create a statement about the men who created it. Specifically he addresses how intricate the details and mechanics behind the pocket watch are, which in turn reflect the creators. Murphy does an excellent job of expressing the intended theme of men being intelligent, with the size manipulation of the overall painting and the watch’s parts, the geometric shapes of the mechanisms, and the color and neatness of the structures.
The canvas that “Watch” was painted on was approximately two meters in
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length and width. With a larger canvas than other paintings, especially for a common appliance at that time, Murphy was able to paint more details of the watch than perhaps he could with a smaller canvas. Doing this not only creates more detail of the pocket watch’s inner mechanisms, it also allows the mechanisms themselves to have their own individual details. These details are various mechanisms that are inside a watch, such as gears, cogs, and winding mechanisms. The gear teeth, spinning mechanisms and other things can be seen in the watch and also in the background. The shapes of these mechanisms have many distinct geometric figures in this painting. The most prominent are the circular shapes, whether they are full circles, semi circles, or curves, which appear throughout the entire painting. There are also rectangular shapes, as well as many straight lines. These circular and rectangular shapes overlap with each other throughout the painting, which can be seen due to the different shades of gray. There are straight and precise lines which are the only kind present; there is no kind of blurring or different patterns of paint. The colors of metallic blue, industrial yellow and brown, and shades of grey are prominent throughout the painting. Murphy said the following idea about this painting: “I am always struck by the mystery and depth of the interiors of a watch – its multiplicity, variety, and feeling of movements and man’s grasp at perpetuity.” (DMA Connect 2014) Murphy came from a family of a Boston retailer that sold wristwatches, where he likely pulled influence from.
The actual painting was inspired by two watches, a railroad watch, used by his family business, and a golden pocket watch, which the latter being precious to him. He would leave the pocket watch propped open to reveal the inner workings. The painting’s structure uses geometric forms excessively for the sophisticated feel of the workings of a watch. One cannot fail to see that there is a clear pocket watch design, as well as the mechanics displayed inside of it. This also includes the outer display of the watch being displayed. The blue and gray colors are metallic colors that represent the inner workings of the pocket watch. These colors symbolize industry, and perhaps how the watch was created. Meanwhile, the yellow/gold and brown colors show the outward appearance of the pocket watch. This painting is a symbol to Murphy’s own pocket watch that he had. The circular and rectangular shapes show precision used in the painting to make the mechanisms to appear as well-condition parts, as well as no blurring of the paint. There is no indication there is any wear on the pocket watch, which would mean a brand new watch or one well cared for. The …show more content…
overall size of the painting is large compared to a man, and the size and the complex details allow a viewer to see the otherwise miniscule details of a normal pocket watch. The constant overlapping of shapes, both inside and outside of the watch, as well as the size and immense amount of details in the mechanisms represent the complexity on different levels of how the watch was made. This artwork, with its complex details of industry, detailed by both the pocket watch and the background makes this painting reflect on the thoughts and intelligence of the watch creator. The overall painting is very intriguing as it is not like other paintings.
This painting stood out in the fact that it gave a more industrial feeling, with its straight lines and overlapping mechanics. The layering also allowed for the two different layers of the outer and inner part of the pocket watch, with the inner watch seemingly displayed first with the outer appearance of the watch behind the inner part, which was impressive. It felt as if the gears of the background were not meant to reflect the watch, but those who made the watch, to symbolize the thought process throughout the creation. I selected this painting after debating about several others, as the first impression was strong for me. Its simple name with its complex meaning also makes this painting interesting. The design in the painting makes the watch feel far more sophisticated, and brings the air of mystery. Murphy did a good job in portraying how man was able to grasp the mysteries of watch. The overlapping layers of the inner, outer, and background show how much detail that man is able to capture inside an actual pocket watch. The size of the mechanisms inside the watch, and the details of the mechanisms were slightly overwhelming as one could be entranced by the amount of details in the details. The paint was smooth and not blurred in anyway, which made the painting seem more refined. The painting itself was slightly daunting as I only reached half of its height. The colors throughout the painting
were bright, even the component of the watch that would be metallic. All these elements tie it together to be an overall feeling of mystery, intelligence, and complexity of the pocket watch, and ultimately reflects the creators of the watch to be the same. In the painting “Watch” Murphy does an excellent job of expressing the mystery and depth of a watch, and in turn revealing the same about the creators who made the watch. The distinct layers of geometric shapes and metallic colors show the complexity of the pocket watch of both the inside and outside of the watch, which in turn says the same about the maker.
The American artist Fred Tomaselli arranges pills, leaves, insects and cutouts of animals and body parts to create his pieces of art. His incorporation of items are arranged to suggest a level of perception along with a heightened visual experience. This gives me, the viewer, a sense of Energy. The perception of color that Fred uses gives a gravitating feel. If you take a look at the heart of this piece you can instantly visualize the different items Fred incorporates into the piece.
The colors in the figure’s face consist of warm colors of red, yellow, green while the rest of the body consist of primary colors of yellow, blue, red along with seafoam green, white, and pink. However, the colors are mixed from one to another to create depth. To illustrate this, a viewer would focus on the figure’s right leg because of the luminous yellow and then to the soft sea green foam, which makes the yellow closer to the viewer, whereas the sea foam green is in the back, creating depth. In addition, the simplified forms such as the red triangle on the bottom right also helps separate the yellow and the sea foam green, which reinforces that they split to show depth. In addition, the two red dots, the triangle, the red on the face, and red on the arm also reinforces the viewer to look at the whole piece. Overall, Brown use specific colors around the drawing to make sure the viewer look at it as a whole rather than just looking at one
...ructure balance of the sculpture. How he did it all from memory and made it look fantastic. The blackberry woman may not be one of my favorites, but I love the controversy it brings. How our world can be so cruel just because the color of one’s skin, will still forever intrigue and irritate me.
Throughout his lifetime, Vincent Van Gogh drew many self-portraits. It’s theorized that he drew so many to test out new painting styles and because it was cheaper to draw himself instead of hiring a model. The function of this painting is commentary since it is a visual account of a person. Using shades of blue in the background and shirt makes Vincent Van Gogh pop out. The orange in his beard complements to the blue and draws the viewer’s attention to his face.
Harold’s watch is a central part of his life as it times and maintains his uptight lifestyle. The opening scene is a close-up of his watch, beeping and glowing on the bedside table. The narrator also says, “this is a story about a man named Harold Crick... and his wristwatch.” The viewer immediately becomes aware of the importance of Harold's wristwatch and is forewarned of its significance in the story and in his life. Furthermore, the lack of sound and music in this scene, other than the beeping from his wristwatch, highlights that this is the most important object in the room, as well as in his life.
We can see a clear representation of the impressionist that tended to completely avoid historical or allegorical subjects. In this painting, Monet’s painted very rapidly and used bold brushwork in order to capture the light and the color; include relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes. An insistence on what Monet called “a spontaneous work rather than a calculated one” – this in particular accounts for the sketchy and seemingly unfinished quality of the Impressionist paintings. In the texture, he played with the shadow and light and created variation in tone, he employs patches of depth and surface. The light in the painting come from back to the windmill, it is a light shines softly behind the houses and the windmill. He was shown each brushstroke in the painting. Balance is achieved through an asymmetrical placement of the houses and the most important the
Though most works of art have some underlying, deeper meaning attached to them, our first impression of their significance comes through our initial visual interpretation. When we first view a painting or a statue or other piece of art, we notice first the visual details – its size, its medium, its color, and its condition, for example – before we begin to ponder its greater significance. Indeed, these visual clues are just as important as any other interpretation or meaning of a work, for they allow us to understand just what that deeper meaning is. The expression on a statue’s face tells us the emotion and message that the artist is trying to convey. Its color, too, can provide clues: darker or lighter colors can play a role in how we judge a piece of art. The type of lines used in a piece can send different messages. A sculpture, for example, may have been carved with hard, rough lines or it may have been carved with smoother, more flowing lines that portray a kind of gentleness.
...s are strongly connected, even though made of different materials and for different reasons. Anthropomorphic Chest of Drawers is a painting which could be hung on the wall, whereas the Desk Suit is a fashion design which could be worn, brought to life with Salvador Dali's help. The atmosphere in Dali's work is dark and depressing, the figure portrayed looks gloomy and rejects the world, whereas in Cecil Beaton's photo of Schiaparelli the artist looks rather dominating and powerful. Both representations are indicative of the artist's views which makes them different and original. Furthermore it must be noted that the very important theme of drawers is found in both compositions although the idea was firstly developed by Dali. After reviewing these two pieces of art there is no doubt that both images are proud and successful representations of surrealistic ascetics.
... right is the only part of the painting that has gold leaf in it, on her gown, what looks to be a gold collar, and a gold necklace with a pearl. The gold she is garnished in represents royalty and the holy. An interesting illusion is seen the left angel’s hair and how it’s illuminated by the sun creating a halo.
The composition of the painting takes place with the square of the canvas. The square is approximately 5' x 5'. A black frame surrounding the painting protrudes approximately 4" off the canvas. There is a 1" inlay between the canvas and frame. From this square, Reinhardt breaks the composition into six equal squares in three even rows. Texture is no where to be found in the painting. No visual indication of the artist's brush stroke is present. No varnished glare is given off by the piece. The entire work, including the frame, is completely matte. The squares take up the entire canvas in a checkerboard type arrangement. Each square is a slightly different shade of blue-black. It almost becomes impossible to see the difference between each square. The middle squares in the top and bottom rows shift more towards blue than the rest of the squares. The division of these middle squares become more obvious than the others. When the painting is looked at from a distance, it is almost impossible to see any of the squares at all. When looking from a far, all a viewer can see is a blackish blue canvas. As you stare longer into the painting, a halo begins to form around the corners of the canvas, creating a circle inside the square. Once you look away from the canvas, the circle is gone. With this observation in mind, we could say that the painting most definitely relies on the viewer. A viewer is required to look at the piece for its full affect. We could say that the squares in the painting are self-contained.
The most prominent color in this painting is blue; it is used in the walls, the doors the articles of clothing hanging on the wall hook and some of the items resting on the nightstand. The other prominent color is green, used on parts of floorboards, the window, a part of one of the doorframes, parts of the hanging paintings and the empty vase on the nightstand. Brown is the only ...
...th color, the way he used color when it was used conveyed what was important in the piece. The body as it hangs lifeless from Saturn’s death grip is dripping with blood and it is even between the white knuckles of Saturn. In having Saturn’s knuckles white it emphasizes his grip that is so strong on the body he is drawing blood from the back. It is showing his passion in that the deed has to be done. His expression is wild and his stance is cowardly showing that he may not have wanted to do what he was doing. The message in the painting is that time consumes us all, and that is by having the god of time eating a faceless body. There is another message in this too, I believe and it is that people will do almost anything to keep their reign in power. I found this painting very stimulating and gave me many emotions. I think just because of that the piece is successful.
The watch is presented as a precious family heirloom which dads should buy to pass on through the generations. Thus the watch has a purpose beyond its function, a purpose of tradition.
The use of materials to complement a design’s emotional reaction has stuck with the modernist movement. His implementation of these materials created a language that spoke poetically as you move through the structure. “Mies van der Rohe’s originality in the use of materials lay not so much in novelty as in the ideal of modernity they expressed through the rigour of their geometry, the precision of the pieces and the clarity of their assembly” (Lomholt). But one material has been one of the most important and most difficult to master: light. Mies was able to sculpt light and use it to his advantage.
Starting with visual elements I saw lines, implied depth, and texture. I see lines by him using lines created by an edge. Each line is curved not straight but it works with the piece. By using this he creates the piece to make it whole. He uses many curved lines within the painting I don’t know if there is a straight line in the whole thing. The next element I saw was implied depth. Using linear perspective you can see the mountains but they look smaller than the rest of the piece. They are the vanishing point in the back making it look as if you can walk down and they will get closer and closer to you. The last element that I saw was texture. They talk about Van Gogh’s painting, The Starry Night having texture through a two- dimensional surface, in which this painting has that similar feel. Van Gogh uses thick brush stokes on his paintings to show his feelings. There is actually a name for this called, Impasto,