Alexis Glick English 10 05 June 2024 The Goldfinch Most people have probably felt helpless when put in a situation that’s out of their control- In the book The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt the protagonist, Theo, is a young boy who loses his mother in a terrorist attack, the story follows his life following this event. Theo writes from the future recalling significant events from his past which he holds himself liable for. A common theme throughout the book is the importance of art and its meaning- this theme is developed through Theo’s views on his past, such as his connection to the painting of the Goldfinch and his newfound comfort in the immortality of art. Firstly, the importance of art is shown through Theo’s connection to the painting of …show more content…
The painting in a literal sense shows a Goldfinch that is chained to a perch by its ankle but symbolizes being trapped- Theo’s own experience is similar to this as he feels trapped while he internally battles a cycle of grief and guilt from his mother’s passing. A small but critical moment in Theo’s past is when he takes the painting after waking from the explosion, “I reached out and picked the board up by the edges. It felt surprisingly heavy, for something so small” (Tartt 37). This moment demonstrates how small the painting is but is described as heavy to represent the heavy realization that Theo comes to as he attempts to show his mother the painting but she isn’t there. Not only does the heaviness relate to his discovery, but also him underestimating the painting itself; expecting it to be much lighter than it is in reality. In another scene that shows Theo’s connection to the painting is moments leading up to the explosion when Theo’s mother says this about the painting, “‘Such a mysterious picture, so simple. Really tender- invites you to stand close, you …show more content…
Before his mom passes, Theo has an exchange with her where she confides in her own perspective on how she feels about art being lost, “‘But it’s so heartbreaking and unnecessary how we lose things. (...) I guess that anything we manage to save from history is a miracle’” (Tartt 28). Theo inherits this mindset and prioritizes things such as art. Theo himself says this to say about what he has learned about his new appreciation of art, “It is a privilege to love what Death doesn’t touch. (...) It exists; and it keeps on existing” (Tartt 771). Theo displays the importance of art as it isn’t something that can be ripped away from him, such as the other things in his life- he reiterates the immortality of art through the contrast of his mother’s mortality. The importance of art is shown through Theo’s past, from the connection between him and the painting of the Goldfinch and the immortality of art. This is important because as humans we are prone to feeling alone or misunderstood, but art is an outlet for feeling a sense of belonging and relation as people interpret it in their own
... the visitor. Conspicuous consumption is exemplified through this painting and the museum because it was basically all created by overbuying and greed. It can be said that the single very reason anybody sees that painting hung on the wall of a misfit room in a disorganized museum is only because of one man’s extreme case of money flaunting in an age where everything needed to be big and flashy. Also this painting was created smack dab in the middle of the Gilded Age. The painting itself has no direct connection to this era but it makes an argument for why the piece is hung in the museum.
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
The mixed reaction I have towards the painting is because, first off, I still wouldn’t know what is really behind it or what it’s trying to tell us without looking at it from a distance. When I looked at it from a computer desktop I could see a shoe, a mountai...
Clive Barker’s, The Thief of Always, is a story that takes the reader to lands far away and brings you back safely. The main character Harvey Swick couldn’t complete his duties, missing the help of the illustrations. The minor, major, and main characters all had their own unique and interesting pictures. Barker uses his unique illustrations to express emotions, foreshadow events, and build suspense for the following chapters. Throughout the story Barker places many original pictures, full of sentimental emotions that describe most of the following context.
The major structures in the painting consist of an umber colored cross and three ladders. Starting from the top of the image, there is an old man with a scraggly, white beard holding onto and leaning over the top beam of the cross. He is set off by color, wearing a bright red gown and azure head wrap. The majority of his body rests atop the cross while he stands on the ladder that is leaning on the back of the cross.
Symbolism is Gordon Bennett’s way of expressing his opinions and beliefs into his artwork so people can achieve a deeper understanding of his life and struggles with identity. The marble-like heads on the bed represent modern art and how the indigenous community is repressed from it. Their eyes are closed and their mouths are shut which symbolise the deafness and muteness of the indigenous community when relating to modern art as it is seldom seen. The open window in the artwork is a representation of Bennett’s need to escape from this harsh reality that suppresses his community and background and the knocked over chair emphasises the urgency to do this. Bennett’s painting depicts the figure of a headless Aboriginal man that has an animated presence. A gush of blood red paint shoots into the sky from his body and bloody handprints are stamped across the walls all to represent his repressed indigenous heritage making the artwork a very personal piece. Bennett
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.
The novel Erasure by Percival Everett explores the development of writer Monk Ellison as well as the frame tale Monk sells. After writing My Pafology, Monk continues to struggle with his sister’s death, his mother’s deteriorating health, and the growing sense that he has “sold out”. Monk writes about story ideas, his feelings on art form, and flashbacks to when his father was alive or when he was an adolescent. Through these vignettes of Monk’s thoughts, separated by three ominous X’s, we find not only the extreme intelligence that he has, but also the sadness and isolation his “uniqueness” has brought him. Specifically, he ruins his relationship with Marilyn by criticizing how the book We’s Lives in da Ghetto was on her nightstand, the book
“Compare the ways in which the authors of the two texts convey ideas about art through their central characters?
This painting by Vincent Van Gogh is on display at the Art Institute of Chicago Museum, in the Impressionism exhibit. There are many things going on in this painting that catch the viewer’s eye. The first is the piece’s vibrant colors, light blues and browns, bright greens, and more. The brush strokes that are very visible and can easily be identified as very thick some might even say bold. The furniture, the objects, and the setting are easy to identify and are proportioned to each other. There is so much to see in this piece to attempt to explain in only a few simple sentences.
As I enter the Gioconda and Joseph King Gallery at the Norton Museum of Art the first thing that Caught my attention was a painting measuring approximately at 4 ft. by 10 ft. on the side wall in a well- light area. As I further examine the painting the first thing I notice is that it has super realism. It also has color, texture, implied space, stopped time, and that it is a representational piece. The foreign man sitting on the chair next to a bed has a disturbed look on his face and is deep into his own thoughts. It’s as if someone he loved dearly just experienced a tragic and untimely death. He is in early depression. I could feel the pain depicted in his eyes. A book titled The Unquiet Grave lying open on the floor by the unmade bed suggesting something is left unresolved. The scattered photos and papers by the bedside cause redintegration. The picture of Medusa’s head screaming on the headboard is a silent scream filled with anger and pain, yet it cannot be heard. I feel as if I am in the one sitting in the chair and I can feel the anger, and regret.
Perspective is based on Jesus in this painting due to his outward “radiant glow of divine light” (1) extending to the other people in the painting. The main focus is on Jesus and the rest of the figures are diffused in an outward fashion from Jesus himself. The artist himself expresses an emphasis on individualism by implementing himself within the painting by appearing “twice in the Last Judgement: in the flayed skin which Saint Bartholomew is carrying in his left hand, and the figure… who is looking encouragingly at those rising from their graves” (2). This is an action that only a Renaissance painter would do, which is displaying individuality through a self-portrait because of the possibility of being judged for selfishness. Light and shadowing is prominent within the art which is shown in the painting when the lighter, more brighter colors are focused in the middle and then fade into darker tones while moving outward into the
...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.
During the ancient times in Greece, Plato was the first human to document and criticize the existence of art and artists. He mentioned that human art was always in a form of a representation of something else. In one of Plato’s famous works, he demonstrates the idea of art is like an “imitation of nature” (Blocker 3). In other words, the purpose of art was to represent nature and nothing else. Art was not created for the sake of its own self nor was it created to appreciate its own beauty by any means. Instead, art, usually in forms of writings, paintings, or sculptures, was created to only to represent nature, Gods, emperors, families, or other important individuals. Furthermore, Plato had a very critical view towards the existence art in our society because art makes us more emotional, and our emotions lead to many errors about life. He believed it is our rational thinking, not our emotions or senses, which helps us und...
The arts have influenced my life in amazing ways. Throughout my life, art has been the place I run to and my escape from the world. As I’ve grown older, art has become so much more than that. Every piece of art I create is a journey into my soul. It’s a priceless way to deal with my emotions and my struggles. I create art not only because I enjoy it and because I want to, but because I have to. Somewhere deep inside there is a driving force, urging me to put my heart down on paper. I become emotionally attached to each of my pieces because they are like dashes on the wall marking my growth. Each one is the solution to a problem I have dealt with and overcome.