Re: Reflective and Comparative Analysis

Anne Daniels

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Pullman, oil on canvas, by Hung Liu, 2004. (2nd photo) 

 

         When I first saw this representational painting, I was drawn in immediately. I could probably sit down and look at this painting for hours. The dripping of paint, and the beautiful textures of light oranges and yellows really intrigued my eye. As you look at it you see circles, which contrast the shapes of the men's heads. My eyes moved from left to right, following the two linear marks towards the men. The men seem to be pulling an object of some kind. The object you can't see or know because the focus is on the two men's figures and how they are positioned. You can tell the object is a lot bigger and extremely heavy beings the way they are leaning forward, indicating force. I love his different use of strokes and manipulation of the oil paint. He uses it in a wash like look coming down from the figures and in the background, and then he uses the gestural marking throughout the entire piece.

I really like how Hung Liu places a picture of an interesting and very decorative glass vase in the painting. The vase being so random makes you think about what exactly is the true reason behind it being there. I see the two men representing the hard work of perhaps slavery and the simple vase as a small but representation of how slavery doesn't define their humanity. The vase is a symbol of life, how very precious life is. How anyone can come by and push the vase over and instantly the vase will shatter. I see that the heavy force the men use will be their downfall if they push themselves to far, they will be like the shattered vase. Going back to the dripping of paint, it could contrast how the men are deteriorating as they pull this heavy object behind them. The dripping is their sweat, blood and tears.

Around the Clock with Red, acrylic on canvas, Helen Frankenthaler, 1983. (1st photo)

 

         I really like this abstract painting. Whenever I would come into the Hunter prior to this assignment, I would always sit in front of this piece and look at it. I don't exactly know why I found this specific painting to be so interesting but it really moves me. I love the colors and the different value and hues of reds. I really love how there are no exact brush marks, it all flows really nicely with bold hints of the dark magenta colors. I like the random lighter areas as well. This piece really attracts the eye and every time you look at it you find something new. Even now as I am observing my picture for this post I can see new little pops of color and marks. I didn't read what the meaning behind this painting was because I didn't want it to alter what I see but I feel that it was produced out of expression. I see lots of different layers and movements. By the title I can imagine this painting being a time effort piece since it was done in acrylic, it had to be applied quickly since acrylic dries rather fast.

 

After digging deep into both of these paintings, non-representational and representational, I found it very interesting seeing what they had in common in the end. Both Helen Frankenthaler and Hung Liu used very expressive brushstrokes and gestural marks. The way they both captured someone's interest; allowing the eye to go back constantly seeing a new object was remarkable to me. They also showed signs of layering in their work but using different mediums. I enjoyed looking at both of these paintings. They really moved me.

            

Painting 1 Blog Post

George Cress, I-75 (1970) acrylic on canvas

In my trip to the Hunter museum, the first non-objective piece of art that really caught my eye was George Cress' "I-75".  At first glance this piece looks like it could be a blur of several different images, but no specific shape or figure can be depicted through it. That is one of the biggest things that caught my eye, it strongly reminded me of several different images, but actually looking at the piece there is no true form. The fact that I could relate personal memories and/or images to this painting is one of the leading factors in my interest of this piece. I think that with art it is very important to be able to reach different viewers on their own individual levels, and leaving the subjects in the piece open enough for everyone to have a different interpretation and experience makes the art even more interesting. The color scheme was another main detail that grabbed my attention in this work. The majority of the painting is covered in cool blues, greens, and purples, and then Cress adds riveting hints of warm reds and oranges that pull your eye to different directions in the piece.  His use of lines and mark making also add an incredible sense of depth and layering that keeps the viewer's eye moving across the plane.  I saw several non-objective pieces that were beautiful and intriguing at the Hunter Museum; however this piece specifically grabbed and kept my attention immediately and the longer I looked the more my interest in the piece increased. 

Lesley Dill, White Threaded Poem Girl, 1996, photo silk screen, oil paint, and threat on tea stained silk

The objective work I looked at, and my favorite work I saw in the Hunter Museum, was Lesley Dill's "White Threaded Poem Girl". The elevated positioning of the girl and subject of this piece immediately captured my attention. The girl in the picture is covered in words from an Emily Dickenson poem, and the expression and detail used in the girl is the most captivating part of this drawing for me. The expression of the woman portrayed in this picture gives many immediate emotions to me as a viewer. The white strings hanging from the different parts of the woman's body give movement across the page to the viewing eye. The strings also seem to give weight or a pull to the body of the woman which enhances the emotions felt with the words in the poem and the expression on the woman's face. Typically I don't enjoy the clash of warms and cools, such as the gray oil paint on the brown paper with the white strings hanging down; however, Dill did a phenomenal job of incorporating these colors in with her portrait and tying them together in a way that the piece flowed together as a whole. The white gives a contrast but it's just enough to grab your attention in all of the right places on the page so that you continue to look, trying to decipher the words in the poem while also observing the features and emotion of the girl.

Abby Tompkins

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From: Abigail Tompkins <Abigail-Tompkins@mocs.utc.edu>
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Reflective and Comparative Analysis

Blah

On James Seawright and Paul Jenkins

Jason Marrs

This is my "I was there" photo.

James Seawright, Mirror V, 1985, fiberglass, reinforced cement and mirrors, 66-1/2 x 66-1/2 inches. Photographed in situ at the Hunter Museum of American Art.

James Seawright's piece is a unique form of representational art in that it is not just a static simulacrum but instead its immediate representational content is variable. When one approaches the piece, at first the content is perplexing but from a closer vantage point, familiarity sets in as the forms come together. When looking at the form of this piece you can see an intent to grasp the viewer not just in that the piece is of the viewer but that the shape of the piece alone is coming toward the viewer, to wrap the viewer in its depths, to take them inside the piece. The shape of the piece is attractive to the audience. It is concave as the eye is convex; it is the reflection in both form and content.

James Seawright, Mirror V, 1985, fiberglass, reinforced cement and mirrors, 66-1/2 x 66-1/2 inches. http://talesoffloweringfortune.blogspot.com/

 

When looking at this work the viewer sees tiny blips of their self in a multiplicity of compounded images. It seems that the piece is making a statement about its viewers, and maybe society as well, that this is how a man or a woman feels they are seen: that everyone is looking at them and that they are the center of attention. Perhaps this work is making a statement of the self-centeredness of mankind. That each and everyone's reality is that they are the sun and everyone is revolving around them. It seems that this may be an underlying concept behind this image.

Paul Jenkins, Phenomena Royal Violet Visitation, 1977, acrylic on canvas, 55 x 169 inches.

 

This is a non-objective work that calls for contemplation and evokes emotion.

 

At the viewers' first glance of this work its form alters their point of view. It is a large piece, almost spanning an entire wall. Its volume pulls an audience. It makes one wonder at the power of size when they are reveling in its magnitude. With the piece's great size it has great depths. It makes use of an unusually large amount of negative space to keep the eye stable and away from straining to digest the abundance of color. Because of this, the rest area of negative space seems appropriately sized.

 

Looking from the contextual point of view gives the audience some insight on this piece

Jenkins shares some context on the creation of this piece in the wall text to give the audience some insight, he writes:

 

 

The word phenomenon came to me after finishing a painting which happened with no preconceived idea. The sensation of the experience happened within me, not outside me, as though it were done by a "medium."

 

 

When I read this statement it helped me see the piece differently, in that it didn't seem so random as before. Instead, this statement made me think that the piece was a kind of narrative of the artist's experience.

 

After gaining some perspective on the piece the viewer can more easily look into its expressive characteristics. The work's great contrast of value, bold colors, and dynamic lines all appeal to the emotion of the audience. Immense bursts of brilliant color fill the sight of the audience, each one contemplating what the artist means to express with such bold strokes. This piece is the antithesis of apathy. Either way the viewer must experience feeling. Perhaps feeling is all that is meant to be expressed.

 

Juxtaposing these two pieces brought out the contrast of the different experiences of representational and non-objective art for me. When looking at this representational work I feel familiarity and understanding. There is identification going on in my mind. However I feel a somewhat static state after that. Unless I give a particular effort, my mind does not continue to contemplate possible concepts behind the piece. On the other hand, in this non-objective piece my mind grasps for understanding but does not reach it. Therefore, the contemplation persists for a far greater period of time. This mental exercise, in my opinion, balances out the different experiences for each respective type of art so that they each have their benefits and are on a level playing field.

Reflective and Comparative Analysis pt. 1

Will Henry Stevens, Untitled, 1881-1949, Oil on board, (Photographed in the 1880-1920: Decorative Arts Studio at the Hunter Museum)

Looking through Will Henry Stevens work is quite a fascinating experience. The non-objective paintings from his gallery seem like playful shapes scattered across the board, however those scattered shapes are working together to create a view of the mountains. When I first saw this painting, I had a hard time seeing how Stevens developed his work. He used both a realistic and abstract style in his paintings which was a unique skill that made his work stand out from the rest. As I take a few steps back from Stevens' work to view it from a different perspective, I start to see the genius of his layout. By carefully placing his shapes in a strategic manner, Stevens created a landscape view of the mountains. Will Henry Stevens transformed the way we view the world and made it into a richly colorful abstraction piece that changes how we grasp the conceptual theme of his work.

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