Representational and Non-objective

Athene Ruiz

Reading

Frederick Childe Hassam

 Frederick Childe Hassam, Reading, 1888, oil on panel, 14-1/4 x 18 inches. Photographed at the Hunter Museum.

 

This painting to me represents an ideal lazy afternoon. Being form the 1800s, there is no technology so one of the main forms of entertainment is reading. The girl seems to be enjoying her time by herself away from people and accompanied by a dog.

The way the girl is sitting on the chair gives a sense of relaxation. Her body is turned away slightly and she looks as if she's been sitting for a long time. Her posture suggests that there is no one else around. She does not seem to care how she looks to someone else. The dog to her side does the same thing. He is not alert, he is fully asleep. And for a dog to be unguarded there must not be anyone around. Also it suggests that there should be no sound for the dog to be asleep. It makes a perfect environment for reading.

The colors used in the painting also portray a relaxing environment. There are lots of plants in the garden painted in a calm green. The girl is wearing a very simple white dress. The only pop of color are the roses in the garden. Yet, the roses do not take away from the calm environment of the painting.

I found myself very drawn to this painting because even though it's representational I don't really recognize who is in the picture. And I think that's the artist's intention; the painting isn't for the girl or of the girl. The artist just wanted the viewer to recognize it was a girl and the fact that she is reading.

Frederick Childe Hassam, Reading, 1888, oil on panel, 14-1/4 x 18 inches. From the Hunter Museum Website.

There is also an interesting technique used by the painter that shows the "artist's hand" he is not worried about getting every single detail, instead he is generalizing the shapes of the shadows and light areas while still being accurate to the form. It also helps with the idea of not being able to tell who the girl is, it shows just enough for the viewer to recognize what it is, but does not provide any more details.

 

Untitled (triptych)

Jasper Johns

 

Jasper Johns, Untitled (triptych), 1969, ink on synthetic vellum, 20-3/4 x 56-1/4 inches. Photographed at the Hunter Museum.

 

At first, going through the gallery at the Hunter Museum I skipped this painting and went on to look at the bigger and more colorful artworks. But I couldn't get this one painting that I had ignored out of my mind, so I had to come back and look at it.

The work itself is made up of textures and mark makings. From afar, they all look like blobs that are generally very dark and opaque, not letting the white of the background show up at all. What's interesting to me about this work is that it doesn't catch your eye. It's mostly dark with almost no contrast and there is nothing instantly recognizable about it.

From close up I can see that the marks are creating depth to the painting. There are dark spots where the ink seems to create these deep crevices. And if I didn't know that it was a painting and if I wasn't standing in front of it, I would assume it was an abstract relief.

Jasper Johns, Untitled (triptych), 1969, ink on synthetic vellum, 20-3/4 x 56-1/4 inches. From the Hunter Museum Website.

Although there is some recognizable text and in some parts recognizable objects, I would still consider this a non-objective work. The objects that show up are part of the mark making. They've been added as recognizable objects, but then taken and modified by the layers of ink to the point where the objects are completely unrecognizable.