Another artist who focused less on the depiction of actual forms and more on the movement within the canvas was Jackson Pollock, who’s work, No. 2, shares aspects with both the two previously mentioned artists. His experimental drip painting technique encompasses both the linear aspects of Stella’s artwork as well as the organic shapes of Rothko’s. Yet, in contrast there is much more unpredictability expressed in his canvas and no recognizable forms, instead the technique and composition focus on the expression of emptions. The lines are not based in architectural structures like Stella’s work but instead are organic and curvaceous. This is also the case with his organic splatters, they are much more energetic and animated than Rothko’s loosely defined shapes. …show more content…
This combination of shapes and lines covers the whole canvas and resists the imagination of recognizable objects as their overlapping paths lead the viewer’s eyes around the work in dizzying circles.
Rosenberg explains that a key part of action painting is that “the gesture on the canvas was a gesture of liberation, from value- political, aesthetic, or moral” yet this also liberates the artist from having to make forms at all (583). The process of generating drip paintings also resists the creation of recognizable forms as there is an element of chance of where and how the paint will fall, reducing the artist’s agency to plan what forms he wants to create. The jumble of lines and drips creates a crowded composition that fills the entirety of the canvas and extends off the ends into blank space, the rectangular shape of the canvas containing only the part Pollock wants us to see. In this way, No. 2 differs from some of Pollock’s others work where contrasting lines of color frame the image and keep it contained from spilling off the canvas, for example in Autumn Rhythm. The movement in this work doesn’t just come from the motion it produces in the viewer’s eyes but also in the
texture. The layering of the paint is like the overlapping of shapes in Rothko’s work, yet Pollock’s lines and splatter build up upon the canvas and project outwards towards the viewers. The eclectic nature of materials in the work also assist in stimulating the viewer’s eye. There are parts such as the black paint that are shinier, while other colors are duller. There are smooth sections, thick, bubbly, raised, and flat. This diversity of color and texture contributes to the rollercoaster of motion that underlies the work. Contrasting colors in No. 2 also move the eye vertically up and down the work, such as the unobscured patches of tan paint that stand out in contrast to the busier sections, stimulating the eye and encouraging it to jump from one patch to the other throughout the painting. In this work Pollock achieves the most formlessness and encourages the most active looking, as the viewer’s eye roams across the canvas being stimulated by not just one stationary form but many frozen moments of action. Pollock’s works focus on capturing a moment in time and give us insight into his psyche at that moment, in a way making them more intimate than works that merely convey an image.
During Vincent Van Gogh’s childhood years, and even before he was born, impressionism was the most common form of art. Impressionism was a very limiting type of art, with certain colors and scenes one must paint with. A few artists had grown tired of impressionism, however, and wanted to create their own genre of art. These artists, including Paul Gaugin, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Paul Cezanne, hoped to better express themselves by painting ...
If one came close to the figure’s stomach where there’s the seafoam green, one can see the strong mark makings of the paint brushes and knife strokes, making the paint come out of the canvas. Similarly, Brown also uses big paint strokes of different colors to direct viewer’s eyes around the artwork. For instance, on the left side of the figure, there is a big vertical downward motion of a brush stroke in maroon, that connects to a green streak that goes up and encompasses the figure’s head and then downward to the body of the figure, which outlines and pushes the figure to stand out. And to make our eyes go back to the figure, Brown paints a blue triangle on the chest, making it a focal point due to it’s dark color that stands out of the light colors. And if someone stood facing the side of the painting, one can see the thick globs of paint that would make the viewer take a double glance to see if it was either a painting or a sculpture, which reinforces the idea that the painting is coming alive and making one feel
Coming from a family greatly involved in art dealing, Vincent van Gogh was destined to have a place in the world of art. Van Gogh’s unique techniques and use of color, which clashed and differed greatly from the masters of the art world of his time, would eventually gain him the recognition as one of the founders of modern art. Van Gogh’s early life was heavily influenced by the role of his father who was a pastor and chose to follow in his footsteps. Although he abandoned the desire to become a pastor, van Gogh remained a spiritual being and was strong in faith. Plagued with a troubled mind and poor health, van Gogh’s life became filled with torment and isolation that would influence his career in later life as an artist. In his late twenties, van Gogh had decided that it was God’s divine plan for him to become a painter. His works would express through thoughtful composition and vibrant color, the emotions that he was unable to manifest in the real world. Van Gogh’s perception of reality and his technique would face harsh criticism and never receive full acceptance from his peers as a serious artist during his brief career. In a collection of correspondence entitled The Letters of a Post-Impressionist, Vincent confirmed these thoughts while writing to his brother Theo, “It irritates me to hear people say that I have no "technique." It is just possible that there is no trace of it, because I hold myself aloof from all painters” (27). His technique would later be marveled and revered by the art world. Vincent van Gogh’s legacy would thrive as it challenged the way the world envisioned modern art through his unique brush strokes and profound use of color as seen in his works The Sower and The Night Café. A brief look into...
...tal aspects to understand who the female subject is. Miller doesn’t used repetition; in fact, he doesn't use geometric or organic shapes at all. The lack of the use of shapes and repetition mimics the way a woman would put on makeup. Typically, makeup isn’t put on in perfect shapes, much less organically shaped patterns. The impressionist style reflects the message of this painting more accurately than a more classical style, like Cenni’s, could.
Jackson Pollock was an American abstract artist born in Cody, Wyoming in 1912. He was the youngest of his five brothers. Even though he was born on a farm, he never milked a cow and he was terrified of horses because he grew up in California. He dropped out of high school at the age of seventeen and proceeded to move to New York City with his older brother, Charles, and studied with Thomas Hart Benton at the Art Students League. Thomas Benton was already a great artist at the time in which Pollock studied with him. Benton acted like the father figure in Pollock’s life to replace the original that wasn’t there. Benton was known for his large murals that appear on ceilings or walls. “Jack was a rebellious sort at all times,” recalls his classmate and friend, artist Harold Lehman. He grew his hair long and helped pen a manifesto denouncing athletics, even though “he had a muscular build and the school wanted to put him on the football team,” says former teacher Doug Lemon. Pollock always was upset with himself in his studies because he had troubles drawing things like they were supposed to look. From 1938 to 1942, Jackson joined a Mexican workshop of people with a painter named David Siqueiros. This workshop painted the murals for the WPA Federal Art Projects. This new group of people started experimenting with new types of paint and new ways of applying it to large canvas. People say that this time period was when Jackson was stimulated with ideas from looking at the Mexican or WPA murals. Looking at paintings from Picasso and the surrealists also inspired Jackson at this time. The type of paint they used was mixing oil colors with paint used for painting cars. Jackson noticed that the shapes and colors they created were just as beautiful as anything else was. Jackson realized that you didn’t have to be able to draw perfect to make beautiful paintings. Jackson started developing a whole new way of painting that he had never tried before and his paintings were starting to look totally different from before.
Pollock uses different aspects of writing to back up her thesis and to emphasis that there is more to the subject the artist use in their creation. By using a variety of resources and counter-arguing them, she is backing up her own thesis and proving that there is a stereotype in art history where art historians do not explain past the artistic influence thus does not fully explain an artist or their artworks. She makes a point that because of this, there has to be changes to art practices today in order to fully understand the meaning behind artworks.
Mark Rothko is recognized as one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century and during his lifetime was touted as a leading figure in postwar American painting. He is one of the outstanding figures of Abstract Expressionism and one of the creators of Color Field Painting. As a result of his contribution of great talent and the ability to deliver exceptional works on canvas one of his final projects, the Rothko Chapel offered to him by Houston philanthropists John and Dominique de Menil, would ultimately anchor his name in the art world and in history. Without any one of the three, the man, the work on canvas, or the dream, the Rothko Chapel would never have been able to exist for the conceptualization of the artist, the creations on canvas and the architectural dynamics are what make the Rothko Chapel a product of brilliance.
Pioch, N. (2002, Jul 16). WebMuseum: Pollock, Jackson. Retrieved 3 30, 2014, from Pollock, Jackson: http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/pollock/
The heightened sensitivity of the picture plane may no longer permit sculptural illusion, but does and must permit optical illusion.” Greenbergian theory is identifying with the past arts, that they do have a connection to the modernists by showing us that although the picture plane is no longer showing sculptural illusion but it is using illusion in ways that the old masters did not, that being in an optical way, the way in which we look at the painting is ultimately a distorted view of what we see. That not only do Modernists offer a speculative mode of painting but relatively that it alters all of the theoretical potentials into experimental ones and in undertaking this tests unconsciously all theories of art for their importance to the actual applied understanding of art, and without the old masters paintings the Modernists would never had been able to test art in the way that they did, to push the theories of art to their limits. "The surrounding shape of the picture was a restraining form, or standard that was shared with the art of the theatre; colour was a norm and a means shared not only with the theatre, but also with sculpture.” Here is shown how the actual form of the painting was a restraint but the Modernists embraced the forms of the shape and included it into their
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.
Abstract art in comparison to realism, can be described as two art forms on opposite ends of the art style spectrum. Picasso and Pollock both had a massive impact on the outcome of modern art through their ability to challenge viewers as they interpret art, not for what the painting shows, but instead what the idea of it came from. Picasso’s painting is now an iconic symbol for an anti-war message, and Pollock’s painting now represent a form of freedom of speech and expression throughout America. Ultimately the reason artists moved from realism to abstract came from the invention of the camera, giving artist a reason to branch to new and edgy art forms, which will later create the modern art
...technique of fluid in the brush strokes, which lead to an impression of blurry. The spots of soft color combine with the color of the figures, which shows bright light of beams through the trees. He blends colors in the background that appear to be people dancing. The lack of outlines is a traditional Impressionist technique.
Jackson Pollack and Vincent van Gogh are some of most famous artist before and after their time. Each artist has a similar and different painting methods that they use when painting pictures. There most well-known paintings are called “Number 1” and “The Starry Night”. The paintings give off emotion by how they look, but each one is painted in different ways. The public did not find their paintings wanting when they were made. The difference was how long it took for them to get recognized for their work. Lastly, the paintings gave different and similar reactions to people that have changed over the years of their existence.
I have chosen to critique the art masterpiece, Autumn Rhythm. Autumn Rhythm is oil on canvas, 8' 9" x 17' 3." It is my opinion, before you can critique Autumn Rhythm; you must try to understand the artist and his/her background. Artist Jackson Pollock was from a working class family who lived and worked in Wyoming, Arizona, and southern California. He studied at two different art schools; Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles and the Art Student's League in New York, he also studied with several other great artists during his time. However the artist experienced some dark days in his life. The artist fought the demon of alcoholism, and came face to face with his addiction. Stepping forward into the unknown, Pollock allowed his parents to place him in Jungian therapy. "Jungian therapy is centered on its helpful, hopeful and unique ways of experiencing the human mind. With due consideration of religion and the spirit of individuals, it also embraces the collective history of humanity. With its emphasis on individuation, wholeness and centering, there is a focus on the healthy elements of the human mind and soul and a search for balance. Pollock did not want to converse with his therapist about his problems and addictions, so his therapist suggested that he paint a piece of art that expressed his unspoken thoughts and feelings, (psychology of Carl G. Jung)." When the therapist would ask questions, Jackson would not reply, so the therapist devised a plan to help Jackson to get his feeling out in the open. He would have Jackson to create with paints on canvas how he was feeling on the inside then the Jungian therapist would analyze the artwork that Pollock brought to h...
The two groupings were “action painters” like Jackson Poolock who “focused on an intensely expressive style of gestural painting” and the more passive “color-field” painters like like Mark Rothko who were more concerned with reflection and mood (visual-arts-cork.com). It is a very diverse movement, each atrist protrayed it differently. It was and is a very personal style of art, it shows what the artist is feeling and their views on certain things.