conclusion to art appreciation

Chapter 4.11

Expression

PART 4THEMES

Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 4THEMES

Chapter 4.11 Expression

Introduction

Art A medium of expression A means by which an artist communicates with an audience

Personal statements Self-portraits Explorations of non-visual experience

The sensations of hearing music Experiencing nature Human thought

Original creations or consciously borrowing Expression is crucial to the creation of art

Also a complex subject – artists have used many means to express themselves


PART 4THEMES


Making a Self-Portrait

Self-portraits Can represent the physical appearance of the artist

Often convey internal as well as external traits

They may reveal the artist’s

• Personality

• Experiences

• Choices

Artist assuming the role or persona of someone else

• Another form of self-portraiture, much like an actor portraying another person on the stage

4.161 Vincent van Gogh, Self-portrait with Bandaged Ear and Pipe, 1889. Oil on canvas, 25¼ × 19¾”. Private collection


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Vincent van Gogh, Self-portrait with Bandaged Ear and Pipe

Vincent van Gogh’s self-portraits Record what he felt rather than only what he saw Made approximately 30 self-portraits

Self-portrait with Bandaged Ear and Pipe Refers to a notorious incident in his life While he lived in Arles, in the south of France, had an

intense argument with his close friend Paul Gauguin Afterward Van Gogh cut off a portion of his own ear

Restrained but nervous lines and bold, contrasting colors express some of the agitation that the artist certainly experienced during and after the episode

4.162 Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas, 1939. Oil on canvas, 5’8” × 5’8”. Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, Mexico


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Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas

Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits Combine her appearance with references to her feelings Form up to one-third of her artistic output

The Two Fridas Expresses distinct aspects of the artist’s identity Mixed cultural background (Mexican/German) Turbulent relationship with her husband, Diego Rivera Made while Kahlo was divorcing Rivera ( although she later

remarried him) Exaggerations emphasize the sensitive emotional content

Hearts on the outside of the bodies Artery joining the two women together

4.163 Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-portrait with Saskia in the Scene of the Prodigal Son in the Tavern, c. 1635. Oil on canvas, 5’3⅜” × 4’3⅝”. Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany


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Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-portrait with Saskia in the Scene of the Prodigal Son in the Tavern

Rembrandt’s self-portraits More than 90 of them made over the course of 40 years Reflect the changes in his appearance and the style of his art Portray the artist in many guises (peasant to aristocrat) Examine different facial expressions and character types

Self- portrait with Saskia in the Scene of the Prodigal Son… Based on a Biblical story Rembrandt as the prodigal son Barmaid is modeled on his wife Saskia

4.164 Duane Michals, The Return of the Prodigal Son, 1982


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Duane Michals, The Return of the Prodigal Son

Duane Michals’s self-portraits Explore identity using series and incorporating text

The Return of the Prodigal Son Like Rembrandt, Michals includes himself in the scene,

playing the part of the forgiving father Reconciliation between father and son is shown in 5 frames Final frame, father and son have switched places Reversal suggests the father

• Welcomes his son back into his life

• Accepts some of the blame for his son’s failings

4.165 Jenny Saville, Branded, 1992. Oil on canvas, 7 × 6’


PART 4THEMES


Jenny Saville, Branded

Jenny Saville’s self-portraits Larger-than-lifesize paintings in which she appears as a

monumental nude Branded

Breasts and stomach are more prominent than head Artist pinches a roll of flesh with her left hand Counters contemporary society’s bias toward thin women

(and noticeably exaggerates Saville’s actual size) Discolored skin is also far from ideal Words inscribed on her body

Comment on contemporary body image Society’s expectations and personal perspectives

4.166a ORLAN, Seventh surgery-performance, entitled Omnipresence, November 21, 1993. Smile of Delight (Sourire de Plaisir). Cibachrome in diasec mount, 43¼ × 65”


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ORLAN, Seventh surgery-performance, entitled Omnipresence

ORLAN’s self-portraits An extreme approach to constructing the self Series of plastic surgeries to transform her appearance Documented the entire process (surgeries and healing)

Omnipresence Operating theater as stage for her “performance” Only a local anesthetic during the surgeries Read aloud from philosophical and poetic texts Transmitted a live feed of the surgery

• To CBS News, the Sandra Gering Gallery in New York, and Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris

• Also photographed the phases of her transformation

4.166b ORLAN, Fourth surgery-performance, entitled Successful Operation, December 8, 1991, Paris


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ORLAN, Fourth surgery-performance, entitled Successful Operation

Features modeled after famously beautiful paintings: Chin of Botticelli’s Venus (in The Birth of Venus) Mouth of the Roman deity Diana (French Renaissance) Nose of Psyche (French painting by François Gérard) Brow of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa

ORLAN’s intentions: Actively determine her own appearance Transcend human limitations through technology Critique the cult of beauty and unfair standards for women Make a statement about the impossibility of perfection Raise questions about cultural perceptions and art


PART 4THEMES


Finding an Artistic Voice

Artists are inspired by various sources Their own experiences Dreams Fears Confusions

Resulting images Sometimes very different from the way other people might have

experienced a similar emotion or event

Original context of a piece of art Helps us to understand the artist’s intentions Important in order to perceive in the work that there is more than

meets the eye

4.167 Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Decapitating Holofernes, c. 1620. Oil on canvas, 6’6⅜” × 5’3¾”. Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy

4.168 Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes, 1623–5. Oil on canvas, 6’⅜” × 4’7¾”. Detroit Institute of Arts


PART 4THEMES

Gateway to Art:


Gentileschi, Judith Decapitating Holofernes, Self-Expression in the Judith Paintings

Artemisia Gentileschi painted many powerful heroines Biblical story of Judith and Holofernes Strong correlation with events in the artist’s life

• Features of the heroines often resemble her own

Gentileschi was the victim of a sexual assault Raped by Agostino Tassi, her painting teacher Public trial. Tassi was eventually sentenced to exile Gentileschi later married another man and had 5 children


PART 4THEMES

Gateway to Art:


Gentileschi, Judith Decapitating Holofernescont. . . .

Judith Decapitating Holofernes Gentileschi painted 7 versions over 30 years (4.167) The first one she made

• Depicts Judith and her maidservant cutting off the head • Painted about a year after the Tassi trial • Likely a direct response to her attack

(4.168) made about a decade later• Shows Judith and her maidservant by candlelight, escaping

from the murder scene with the bloody head Reasons for painting Judith and Holofernes

• Earlier paintings probably element of autobiography • Popular theme with other artists of the time • Later representations may have been for patrons who admired

her earlier work

4.169 Henry Fuseli,The Nightmare, 1781. Oil on canvas, 40 × 50”. Detroit Institute of Arts


PART 4THEMES


Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare

Henry Fuseli Inspired by gruesome elements Folklore, horror stories, and the occult

The Nightmare A woman in white with an incubus on top of her body Woman’s nightmare seems to come to life around her Sinister mood

• Created by expressions on the faces of incubus and horse Enhanced by use of chiaroscuro, or contrasted light and dark At the time it was made, the painting’s sexual implications

were considered scandalous

4.170 James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, 1875. Oil on wood panel, 23¾ × 18⅜”. Detroit Institute of Arts


PART 4THEMES


James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket

Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket “Nocturne:” musical composition inspired by night Rhythm, patterns, and mood of a darkened landscape Controversial artwork in its time

• Critic John Ruskin wrote that Whistler was “flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face”

Whistler depicted a fireworks display in London• Departed from the accepted standards of detailed realism to

convey his sense of the scene

Whistler was not interested in conveying the recognizable but instead wanted to focus on line, form, and color

4.171 Mona Hatoum, Untitled (Baalbek Bird Cage), 1999. Wood and galvanized steel, 10’2½” × 9’9” × 6’ 5”


Perspectives on Art:

PART 4THEMES


Mona Hatoum Art, Personal Experience, and Identity

Hatoum’s works recall the dislocations of her own life Has lived far from her family and the land of her birth Born in Lebanon of Palestinian parents The war prevented return to Beirut

Untitled (Baalbek Bird Cage) Victorian birdcage from a market in Lebanon Dimensions based on the measurements of the cells at

Alcatraz Prison in California, reference to “Bird Man of Alcatraz”

Wide range of associations: • Containment, femininity, liberation

Fuses individual experience and geopolitical reality

4.172 Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893. Casein and tempera on cardboard, 35⅞ × 29⅛”. Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway


PART 4THEMES


Edvard Munch, The Scream

Edvard Munch Tragic life, physical illness, and depression motivated his art

The Scream Appears to be a fictional scene Munch’s diary indicates it represents an actual event

• Walking on a bridge with two friends, Munch saw the sky turn red, and he froze with anxiety

• Possible explanation: volcanic eruption, or agoraphobia

Like many Expressionist artworks, this painting does not depict what Munch actually saw, but what he felt

4.173 Jackson Pollock, Male and Female, c. 1942. Oil on canvas, 6’1⅜” × 4’1”. Philadelphia Museum of Art


PART 4THEMES


Jackson Pollock, Male and Female

Male and Female When interpreted through Jungian analysis, it can be

understood as an integration of the masculine and feminine elements, and thus a reflection of a balanced psyche

Female figure (on the left) Male figure (on the right)

Inspired by Surrealist approaches Tapping into the unconscious mind Exploring regions of his own psyche

Seeking to access what might be universal ideas about humanity

4.174 Julian Schnabel, The Exile, 1980. Oil, antlers, gold leaf, and mixed media on wood, 7’6” × 12’


PART 4THEMES


Julian Schnabel, The Exile

The Exile Unconventional approach includes antlers Seemingly random images, realistic and abstract Boy on the left: copied from a portrait by Caravaggio Wooden figurine: resembles a Hopi kachina doll Bearded man in a turban: probably Ayatollah Khomeini Blends together art history and current events Conveys Schnabel’s own experience of life in the present

moment


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Borrowing an Image

Many artworks are personal statements Sometimes artists borrow objects, figures, entire compositions

Appropriation Traced to readymades (see p. 270)

• Invention by French artist Marcel Duchamp

• Urinals, bicycle wheels, snow shovels, and other artworks

Other artists followed in his footsteps

• Appropriated artworks (including ones by Duchamp)

• Borrowed images from popular culture, advertising, and even social stereotypes

Artists can make personal statements by appropriating the work of another

4.175 Sherrie Levine, Fountain (After Marcel Duchamp: A. P.), 1991. Bronze, 26 × 14½ × 14”


PART 4THEMES


Sherrie Levine, Fountain (After Marcel Duchamp: A. P.)

Sherrie Levine’s work leads us to reconsider the structures of art institutions as they existed in the past

Fountain (After Marcel Duchamp: A. P.) Recalls Duchamp’s famous porcelain urinal from 1917 Levine had her urinal cast in bronze (unlike Duchamp) Bronze was traditionally used for fine art sculptures

Her quotation of a past artwork makes Levine’s sculpture most meaningful for viewers who are familiar with Duchamp’s work and the history of art

4.176 Andy Warhol, Brillo Box, 1964. Synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on painted wood, 17 × 17 × 14”. Collection Andy Warhol Foundation


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Andy Warhol, Brillo Box

Pop art: 1960s Brought popular culture imagery into art world Comic-book characters, movie stars, commercial products

Brillo Box sculptures Exactly copied the design of the product’s packaging Plywood boxes built in Warhol’s studio, The Factory Silkscreened by hand (look manufactured)

By combining “high art” processes with the “low art” of graphic design, Warhol expanded boundaries of acceptable fine art practice

4.177 Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboys), 1980. Ektacolor print, 27 × 40”, edition 1/2. Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles


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Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboys)

Richard Prince Used advertisements as the basis for his artworks

Cowboys series Focused on the “Marlboro man” from the cigarette

company’s print advertisements Removed logos, otherwise exactly like the ad images Enlarged to fit an art gallery wall

• Became grainy and blurry, revealing they are copies, not originals

Prince’s photographs were considered sufficiently different from the source to have their own artistic merit

4.178 Nikki S. Lee, Hip Hop Project (25), 2001. Fujiflex print


PART 4THEMES


Nikki S. Lee, Hip Hop Project (25)

Projects series, Lee joined a number of different communities

Shopping in the same stores, adopting their mannerisms Snapshot taken when she felt she was a group member

Hip Hop Project (25) Tanning salon 3 times a week to darken her skin Immersed herself in the subculture of hip hop music Her interaction with these people is temporary No clues in the images to suggest that she is not one of them

Nikki S. Lee considers her identity to be very fluid

PowerPoints developed by CreativeMyndz Multimedia Studios

PART 4THEMES


4.161 Private Collection 4.162 Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City. © 2011 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico,

D.F./DACS 4.163 Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden 4.164 Copyright Duane Michals. Courtesy Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York 4.165 © Jenny Saville 4.166a Photo Vladimir Sichov, Sipa-Press. Courtesy the artist and galerie Michel Rein, Paris. © ORLAN 4.166b Courtesy ORLAN. © ORLAN 4.167 Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence 4.168 Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Mr. Leslie H. Green 4.169 Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase with funds from Mr. and Mrs. Bert L. Smokler and Mr. and Mrs.

Lawrence A. Fleischman 4.170 Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Dexter M. Ferry, Jr.4.171 Photo Herbert Lotz © the artist. Courtesy White Cube 4.172 © Munch Museum/Munch-Ellingsen Group, BONO, Oslo/DACS, London 2011 4.173 Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. Gates Lloyd, 1974. © The Pollock-Krasner Foundation ARS, NY and

DACS, London 20114.174 Courtesy Bischofberger Collection, Switzerland. © 2011 Julian Schnabel/ARS, New York/DACS 4.175 © Sherrie Levine. Courtesy Simon Lee Gallery, London 4.176 © The Andy Warhol Foundation/Corbis. © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS),

New York/DACS, London 2011 4.177 The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Purchased with funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts,

a Federal Agency, and Councilman Joel Wachs. © Richard Prince 4.178 Courtesy the artist and Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

Picture Credits for Chapter 4.11

conclusion to art appreciation

Education

visual arts

kathryn shieldschapter

selfportrait selfportraits

selfportraits selfportrait

expressionintroduction

creation of art

prodigal son barmaid

selfportrait withbandaged