Posts Tagged ‘abstract art’
Expressionism
Expressionism was a cultural movement originating in Germany at the start of the 20th century. It is exhibited in many art forms, including: painting, literature, theater, dance, film, architecture and music. Its typical trait is to present the world from a subjective perspective, violently distorting it to transmit personal moods. In general, the term refers to art that expresses intense emotion rather than physical reality.
A few of the Expressionists were: Klee, Van Gogh, Munch, Kandinsky, Chagall, deKooning and Pollock. Influenced by the Fauves, Expressionists worked with arbitrary colors as well as jarring compositions to capture vivid emotions. Kandinski believed that with simple colors and shapes, the spectator could perceive the moods and feelings of the paintings. Therefore, he make the move to abstraction. ……from Wikipedia
Abstract Art II
Western art, from the Renaissance to the mid 19th century, largely used perspective to create an illusion of visible reality. That all changed with the beginning of abstract art. According to Wikipedia, “abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references to the world.” Abstraction indicates a departure from reality – be it slight or complete.
Artwork that takes liberties by changing color or form that is easily recognizable would be said to be partially abstract – as in the art movement known as Fauvism, popular in the early 20th century, in which color was deliberately changed. (There were a lot of red tree trunks.) Artwork that bears no resemblance to anything recognizable, as in the art movement known as Cubism, popular a little later in the 20th century, would be total abstraction.
The Book
Yesterday, when I went to the mailbox I was pleasantly surprised. In addition to the usual bills, promotions and notices was a small package – a book.
Now, I had not ordered a book and the only return address was the book seller’s. The book: “Starving” to Successful by Jason Horejs, son of a landscape painter who truly experienced the “staving artist” syndrome.
At this point Jason has been a gallery owner for 17 years. He has written an artist’s guide to getting into galleries and selling more art. It contains myriad insights into the business in order to help the artist fine tune every aspect of his/her career. How I would like to thank the person who sent that book to me!
My Daughter, the Artist
My daughter is an engineer by profession, but an artist at heart. She lives in the art district of a large city in the South and opens her expansive living room as an art gallery on the Second Friday Art Walk each month. She has had musical and dance artists as well as 2D and 3D shows.
She has a very creative streak. Her latest was a black light show where she even over-painted a couple of my smaller landscape paintings in fluorescent colors. The featured show was a group of previously purchased used wedding gowns from local thrift shops. She then asked local artists to paint the front of each gown in the style of a of famous artist with fluorescent paint. This was a great hit and even received a write-up on the front page of the local news. Right now the dresses are being housed by the local Arts Council and will be auctioned this summer.
Painting the Rye
Since today is Monday, my artist friends were scheduled to meet. Suzanne had received an honor by being asked by a local gallery owner to do a landscape painting with a group of locally well known artists and donate the painting to the Coastal Hospice on behalf of the gallery. So she wanted to practice painting marshes, as that is what she expected the group to paint.
The day turned out to be cloudy and the tide was low, not conducive to a good marsh painting, so we had to paint something else. As it happened, there were two fields of rye near her house. I had never seen rye up close, but today it had yellows and purples in it as well as greens and browns. It was absolutely lovely – especially with a little purple Vetch in it (a weed)! I don’t know if my painting will do the scene justice, but I had an interesting challenge!
Finishing a Painting
During the last few days, I have spent a fair amount of time finishing my landscape paintings. That means writing the name of the painting, where it was painted, and the date, as well as signing it on the back of the stretchers which support the painting.
Also, I must put in the eyelets and attach the wire with which to hang the painting. Fortunately, the wire is covered with a plastic which makes it easy to handle. If a frame is to be used, I must drill holes for screws because these latest frames are oak. The screws hold a metal piece that keeps the painting in the frame. So all-in-all, it takes a while just to “finish” a painting, and if several are waiting to be done, it can amount to a considerable amount of time.
Benefits of Walking
I’ve begun my walking routine again – and feel much better as a result. I became very lazy during the winter and walked only occasionally.
Tonight I was reading the blog of Cathy Woo (cathywoofineart.blogspot.com), a Seattle artist who walks in the Alki Beach area. For her, “It is not sufficient for me to be passively present in Nature. I have to walk it. Movement is essential to my well-being. It …provides insights more enlightening than any I could come up with by way of stationary concentration and effort”.
For me, also, movement is essential to my well being. I am just not happy unless I’m moving. I’m not sure that I gain as many insights as she as a result of walking, but it does give me more energy than otherwise. And doing landscape painting out-of-doors beats painting from a photograph by miles!
Snow Hill Paint Out – Day 3
When I asked Betty if she knew where there was a “gnarley” tree, she said, “Yes”. She had found one yesterday and it was by the river! We agreed to meet there at noon. (And, by the way, she never found a wisteria tree yesterday).
When I arrived, I found two other friends already painting. The giant cypress tree was close enough to the river that I could include it in my landscape painting. I found an appealing view and set up my easel.
Betty found an interesting setting with the river and a wisteria tree nearby. Wisteria has a lovely lavender blossom, somewhat larger than a lilac and looks lovely in a spring painting.
A picnic was planned for our group from 3-5 PM at Sturgis Park, also on the river. It was good to visit with other painters we had not seen since last summer or fall.
The Abstract Art Debate
Many people exhibit a strong disdain for colorful abstract art, claiming that it simply looks like anyone could have created it. Others say that each piece has a deep and symbolic meaning that the artist is trying to portray through the work. As with most dilemmas that I face in life, I take the middle ground when it comes to this debate.
While I agree that most abstract work doesn’t have the fine detail of realist paintings, it is unfair to say that there is no skill involved. Conversely, I believe that there is a fault to trying to find deep meaning in every piece of work. The true meaning of any piece of art—whether it is music, paintings, sculptures or literature—is in the eye of the beholder. The beauty of it is that we take our experiences and ideals, and infuse them with the art to create our own meaning.
The Tree Tradition throughout Art
There is a unique relationship that humans share with trees—we have a codependence on earth, and throughout history trees have been used as a symbol for life and vitality. We are all familiar with the expression “the tree of life,” as well as literary analogies that have been drawn, such as “The Giving Tree” and “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” The structure of the tree is even used as a metaphor for the family dynamic.
For hundreds of years artists have captured the aesthetic beauty and cultural significance of these pieces of foliage in their work. Not only do they appear in classic, realist landscapes, but there are also a myriad of abstract tree paintings that show them in a different light. Many fads come and go in art but trees have been—and probably will continue to be—a source of inspiration for artists.