This week I learned a lot about specific artists such as Jacob Lawrence and William Johnson, and I was particularly intrigued by Lawrence's artwork. I actually enjoyed reading about all of this week's artists in the textbook, which I found visually appealing and historically informative. Each artist represented similar themes, but portrayed them very differently. I interpret the works differently than the artist probably intended, since i don't share their history or experience during this time, but I appreciate their technique and artistic expression of these ideas.
Hale Woodruff's mural scenes are very busy, vibrant and chaotic. His figural representation makes the bodies appear to be sculpted, with careful dramatic shading and muscular exaggeration. The emphasis is on the body and severe facial expressions to represent emotion and evoke passionate feelings in the piece, which is appropriate for this narrative piece.
The black and white/greyscale piece of Robert Blackburn and Dox Thrash portray their figures differently, with less emphasis on the exposed flesh of the body and the intense facial expressions, but more focus on the clothed body and physical motion, such as in the way the arms create motion and facilitate movement. The shading is more gradual in Blackburn's piece and more exaggerated in Thrash's piece. The image creates a statement about a hard working man, dedicated to his job but at the same time having no identity, like a machine. His face is in shadow and his eyes are deep black holes, demonstrating anonymity.
William Johnson's piece "Going to Church" is an informative narrative and reference to the social lives of African-Americans in this era, especially interesting because it utilizes simple forms and elementary geometric shapes to create an accurate narrative that becomes a unified piece. The piece seems controversial because it's lack of intricate figures and formal artistic technique imply an untalented artist; it kind of looks like a child's drawing. Yet it is similar to the work of Jacob Lawrence, with the bright colors and generalization of figures.
Lawrence is my favorite artist of this week's readings, and I found the website extremely informative and interesting. Each piece was linked with textual embellishment which related all of his pieces to the historical events and personal experiences that led the artist to portray these themes and create the images in that particular context. The organizations described in the textbook were familiar to me because I studied them in high school and in college history classes, but this specific focus on art programs I found most interesting.
The one concept of this week's reading that i had trouble with was Greenberg's essay on Kitsch. I had a hard time understanding Kitsch as it applied in the essay, but I understand what it is, especially as it applies today in our media-infused culture. The language Greenberg used was difficult to comprehend and his terminology was hard to follow, but the essay read interestingly and it was very thought-provoking for me.
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3 comments:
I agree there were very great artists in our reading and the artwork definitely was visually appealing. I love how you described Woodruff's pieces as busy, vibrant, and chaotic because looking at them like this made it beautiful! I love how you can get the emotion and the passion from the work. I have to agree that Lawrence was my favorite artist of the week because of his talent and how he showed his life through his work. I too as you posted on my blog love how even though they were poor his mom would bring something colorful to their world. I think we both agree again on Kitsch I am having difficulties grasping this as well!
Hmm..I also agree that there were several great artists that were mentioned in this weeks readings but unlike yourself, I did not enjoy Lawrence's work, which to me, was interesting because it shows how art affects people differently. I think his works were rather too simplistic. I felt that I could have drawn those paintings myself, so I couldn't understand what made them so famous. In Migration of the Negro by Lawrence the only thing that was interesting to me would be the fact that none of the people had facial features. To me, this symbolizes the fact that African Americans at the time were "invisible" or maybe because there were so many African Americans migrating at the time, the individual's experience does not matter, but the collective does.
I also had fun with the reading this week. The artists were very different;however, they shared a common thread. I really enjoyed Lawrence's pieces. I thought these pieces really captured what was going on during the time. I enjoyed Thrash's work because it shows how how factories where becoming integrated. Even though it was for a financial profit, rather then the greater good.
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