Activity A: Howardena Pindell I was not able to attend the field trip to the VMFA museum, because I was traveling but after listening to a portion of Pindell's interview at VFMA as well as looking at pictures of her exhibit and her works of art, I've developed an appreciation for the originality of her work. As an African American women who attended Yale University surrounded by white men and women, I find it incredible that she was able to go beyond the norms of painting and revolutionize her own version of art by choosing unique mediums and layering to create her works of art. I believe that the artist is trying to show us her relationship to certain aspects of life such as other art, the society, numbers, video, and the constant irregular sinusoidal wave that life follows.
From reading the signs in her exhibit, I realized that Pindell most likely most showed growth and curiosity when she was trying to piece back together her life and memories using her art. This means that she actively tried to remember her persona and who she represents as a person and what she believes and what she wanted to do differently after the accident. The art created by her after 1979 was a symbol of her growth and recovery as an artist and human being. After seeing art from before and after her accident, I feel as though Pindell reconnected with herself better and her art had more meaning behind it. Personally, I understand why Pindell feels as though she can express herself better through her art, because it connects all the aspects of her life and puts it together in one mess of a piece of artwork. I've done that so many times when I am creating art or just reflecting about my art when creating sketches. A lot of my daily drawings, especially ones when I travel show how much my family, my school, and the people I surround myself by affect my life and my art. Howardena Pindell especially has shown me the value of changing the thing your passionate about with yourself as you grow and change as a person.
Activity B: Abstract ExpressionismI don't fully understand the difference between Abstract and Non-objective paintings, but I believe the difference has to do with subject matter. The painting on the top by Gottlieb shows two planets on the top in red and blue and the earth is represented by the "agitated" brush strokes below it. On the other hand, Simon's painting has no clear purpose for it and there is no apparent emotion or expression behind the shapes created. The painting above is an Abstract Expressionist painting because it shows deliberate mark making by Pollock who created this painting spontaneously. The site states that he just decided to pour paint on a black paper and used full hand movements and dynamic strokes to create the painting. These paintings show special care of mark making by the artists. The first painting by Trepanier is created by tossing enamel paint on canvases with solid colors, and then is later outlined with black paint markers to show a sense of speed and volume. Also, the simple additions to the shapes in her paintings allow for the waves to curl around each other and give a true splash feel. The next painting by Gerhard Richter seems as though it was placed on the canvas using a sponge or knife of some sort and dragged quickly across the piece. It gives the painting a sense of continuity and haphazardness. Lastly, the painting on the bottom by Clough is painted directly on the board. He actually created a whole mechanical device so that his hand would not really be creating the work. Instead, for satirical purposes, he attached a large stick attached to a sponge and called it the "big finger" which created the spongy marks on the board and showing incredible layers of the oil paint. These works of art are examples of Abstract expressionism that use specific art elements, design principles, and specific composition choices. In the first piece of art, Gillespie creates a painting that encompasses her core style which included vibrant colors and organic shapes to represent the changing of the season and her moving to New York. This artist deliberately used solid colors next to one another for each one to stand out but unified, they make a complete piece. The second piece by a Russian artist eliminated all traces of his hand from the canvas and instead of using a brush to make the shapes, he simply let the paint soak into the canvas. The choice for the painting to have such a clear separation of colors makes it simple and aesthetic. Olitski explores color and shape instead of representation and symbols. His concepts of 'pure color' align with Pollock and deKooning's revolution of not following norms of painting. The last painting done by Motherwell consists of three lines creating a rectangular shape. The artist believed that there was a variety of expression possible with even limited elements such as only three lines.
These artworks have greatly extended my knowledge about Abstract Expressionism and what the movement meant to the artists who created it and for the artists who followed suit and also created their own type of art, different from the traditional painting.
2 Comments
MM
12/3/2018 05:54:53 am
Shreya - Thank you for getting this done. I am sorry that you missed the field trip but can see that you got a great deal from the virtual experience. Refer back to this post often as you continue to PLAY in your sketchbook and as you develop ideas for your AbEx painting. Compare what you did here with what you will see in D.C. Good work!
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