Archive for November, 2010
Expressionism III
Der Blaue Reiter, which began in 1911 in Munich, is the spiritual and brighter side of Expressionism. The movement’s leaders, Russian-born Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc, sought to elevate mankind spiritually through a visual art that was allied to music. They believed that man had sunken into a mire of materialism and for art to extract him, it must first shed its own naturalistic forms. Because naturalistic forms mirror the material world, they reinforce materialism rather than free people from it. (A painting of a palace makes people want to live in it).
To achieve his spiritual goals, Kandinsky created a non-objective or non-representational art (abstract art). His subjects were his inner tensions and emotions rather than landscapes or human models. The greater the separation from nature, the more likely is the inner meaning to be pure and unhampered. Kandinsky believed that spiritual communication required a new language, so he invented a language of color, but color was freed from form. He said, “A painter cannot but envy the ease with which music, the most non-material of the arts, achieves this end. He naturally seeks to apply the methods of music to his own art. And from this results the modern desire for rhythm in painting, for mathematical, abstract construction, for repeated notes of color”.
Expressionism II
“Expressionism” was a cultural movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the start of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world in an utterly subjective perspective, violently distorting it to obtain an emotional effect. Two groups of importance were formed: the Die Brucke group in Dresden and the Der Blaue Reiter group in Munich.
All artists are to some extent expressive, but during times of social upheaval, heavy emphasis is placed on communication through emotion. Often the work is unimpressive aesthetically, but almost always has the capacity to move the viewer to strong emotions with the drama and/or horror of the scenes depicted. Bright garish colors and twisted forms were symbolic of the Die Brucke group of expressionists.
Yesterday’s post was mainly about the Die Brucke group. There is a long list of painters involved in this movement listed in http://www.wikipedia.org Among them are Georges Roualt, Max Beckman, Paul Klee, Edvard Munch, Marc Chagall, Elaine and Willem de Kooning (USA) and the ones mentioned yesterday.
German Expressionism
Expressionism sprang up in Germany at the same time the Fauves staged their first exhibition in France. Technically, the two movements have a lot in common: Expressionism dominates form; perspective is often flattened; and both use in-your-face garish colors. Whereas the Fauves were a light hearted bunch, the Expressionists were gloomier.
Two groups of Expressionists began in Germany. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Fritz Bleyl and a few others founded the Die Brucke group in 1905 in Dresden. Their own feelings were the subject of their art. Kirchner, the leader of the movement wrote, “He who rends his inner convictions as he knows he must, and does so with spontaneity and sincerity, is one of us”. Like Gauguin, their revolt was a return to primitivism. Like the Impressionists, Die Brucke artists painted from life, en plein air. Their focus was the human form. A twisted expression on someone’s face, a contorted posture, or buildings which grimace and slouch became the language with which they communicated their own feelings.
Fine Art Can Be Found Outside the Museum
When I visited Paris a few years ago, I was obviously astonished at its architectural beauty. The streets were teeming with life, and just watching people go about their everyday activities – gathering groceries for an evening meal, zipping along on motorized scooters, etc. – was enough to keep me busy for hours. More than anything, I relished the chance to see some of my favorite artists’ oil paintings up close and personal.
The paintings are part of Claude Monet’s celebrated water lilies cycle, and they are formally called Nympheas. Like the best impressionist work, these paintings capture a mood or emotion rather than attempting to faithfully document a scene out of real life. Luckily, you don’t have to fly all the way to France to appreciate works of art that are just as stunning and nuanced. Many collectors and appreciators of art do their shopping online, where hundreds of pieces are bought and sold each day.
Chesapeake College II
Today I went to Chesapeake College to pick up a landscape painting I had entered in their annual competition. This is the second year I have entered.
Chesapeake College is a small college about 15 miles north of Easton, MD. Since I have a girl friend, Michael, who lives in Easton and also paints, I always stop at her house for lunch (she loves to cook and is good at it!) and we go together to get our entries..
That is what happened today. We were able to see the paintings of those who received 1st, 2nd, 3rd prizes and Honorable Mentions in each of the several categories: oil painting, acrylic, watercolor, mixed media, graphic, and photography. Since we were among the first to pick ours up, most paintings were still there, It was a cool but sunny and pleasant day to do this enjoyable task and visit with my friend.
An Abundance of Purpose – Part 2
We each have a mission in life – one that gives our lives meaning and purpose. To discover our purpose, we must ask ourselves some powerful questions. For example, your choice to create oil paintings is part of your mission, but what kind of oil paintings do you want to create? What kind of impact do you want your art to make? What values did you express? How were you unique? Your art is a response to life – your emotions, experiences, values, beliefs and choices, the sum of what makes you unique.
The great Indian mystic and physician Patanjali, who lived somewhere between 200 BC and 200 AD, said: “When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds, your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world… Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover your self to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”
Andre Derain
Andre Derain (1880-1954) and Matisse founded Fauvism in 1905 while painting together in south west France. His landscape painting, Mountains at Collioure, is one of his best works from that trip. His brushstrokes look like streaks of energy spraying through the canvas, charging it with electricity. Like van Gogh’s countrysides, the undulating fields and mountains seem to breathe.
The painting looks something like what a creative 10-year-old might bring home from school, but the painting has freshness. Like Matisse, he arranged his colors to create harmonies and discords. The mountains had oranges and blues, the trees had oranges with greens, but he also had friendly analogous colors – greens and yellows – to give the viewer’s eyes a break from the stress of the harsh hues.
The Fauves (Wild Beasts)
The Fauves – Henri Matisse, Andre Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck, Georges Roualt, and others – exhibited for the first time at the 1905 Autumn Salon in Paris. The curator grouped all their oil paintings together in one room along with a classic bust. One unhappy critic wrote that the bust looked like “Donatello among the wild animals.” (Donatello was the greatest sculptor of the Renaissance period).
The Fauves took the remark as a complement. Their colors were meant to attack – to assault the eye.
Fauvism lasted only three years, but those involved shared similar views about the techniques and the importance of individual expression. All used loud colors and flat surfaces. All of them wanted to experiment. Eventually, their work won acceptance and most of them became famous in their own lifetimes.
An Abundance of Purpose
Renee Phillips wrote an article in the November issue of Art Calendar, entitled Living with an Abundance of Purpose. She says, ”At its core, nearly every person’s life is driven by the urge to express oneself fully and completely. Unfortunately, the five most common driving forces are: Guilt; Resentment and Anger; Fear; Materialism; and Need for Approval”.
We might feel Guilt if we fail to earn a living creating art because our parents made sacrifices to send us to art school. When we don’t receive the career rewards we deserve, we might feel Resentment and Anger. Fear might come when we are challenged beyond our comfort zone. Focusing too much on Materialism prevents us from achieving a balanced life. And, our Need for Approval may force us to do things to please others instead of following our own inner voice.
Whether we do landscape art, still life, figure drawings or something in 3D, we have all probably felt some of those feelings from time to time. Hopefully, our main driving force is a more positive force that will enable us to live with meaning and purpose.
Taking Stock
Today I was doing some computer work and updating my records regarding my oil paintings. A long time ago I thought it would be interesting to make a list of my paintings so that I could remember them and see how much they would change over time
I can do only about 50 paintings per year. Sometimes I can do 2 or possibly 3 in a week, but at other times I don’t do any. Also, somewhere along the way, someone said, “the first 500 don’t count,” implying they would be better later. At this point I’m at #310, so I still have a ways to go!
I keep remembering an anecdote in a book I read about an art teacher who divided her class. To one half, she told the students they would be graded on the best painting they could make, so they discussed what it needed to have. To the other half, she told the students that they would be graded on the weight of the canvasses they produced – more paintings, more weight. The best painting in the class came from those graded by the pound!