Dreamscape
Size: 22.9cm x 30.5cm Medium: Watercolor on paper Date: 11/9/17 |
Exhibition TextThe purpose of this piece is a visual translation of dreams combined that represent what I find most important to me. My artist inspiration is Henri Matisse's figure expression combined with Georges Braque's landscapes using vivid color splotches, coarse line work, and geometric shapes.
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Critical Investigation
Artist Inspiration:
Georges Braque: Braque was attracted intensely to Nature.His subjects primarily focused on seasons of the year, animals, trees, objects, people, and landscapes.Georges Braque mastered the revolutionary art movement of cubism in his paintings and drawings. These paintings and drawings were inspired by the artistic style of Picasso. He had spent hours on end drawing still lifes and viewing objects from various angles. This gave interesting forms, as well as fantastic perception of the landscapes in which he created.Georges Braque was also inspired by the Fauvism movement. He conveyed his emotions or the emotions of the landscape through use of color. This not only gave way for interpretation of emotion, but also to identity and character. |
La Ciotat 1907
“Georges Braque Paintings & Artwork Gallery in Chronological Order.” Totally History Georges Braque Paintings Comments, totallyhistory.com/georges-braque-paintings/. The mixture of warm and cool colors in the piece heightens the viewer's experience. The organic shapes give the impression of reality. Combined with the still environment, it is like the sound of the surroundings are coming from the painting with a feeling of peace. |
Georges Braque's "Viaduct at L'Estaque"
“Georges Braque Paintings & Artwork Gallery in Chronological Order.” Totally History Georges Braque Paintings Comments, totallyhistory.com/georges-braque-paintings/. This piece resembles the popular cubist movement. He has painted the buildings distorted, from multiple viewpoints The harsh lines from the geometrical shapes along with the warped buildings give the painting it's cubist feel. Braque uses a green, brown, and yellow color palette for the soft tranquil hues, contrasting in the chaotic line work of the geometrical shapes. |
La Ciotat 1907
“Georges Braque Paintings & Artwork Gallery in Chronological Order.” Totally History Georges Braque Paintings Comments, totallyhistory.com/georges-braque-paintings/. Braque used bright, bold colors which were used by other painters whom were then named Fauves by critics. This meant "wild beasts" referring to the anti-naturalistic rendering and high pitched colors used in the paintings. Braque worked in the town of La Ciotat, where he painted a series of landscapes including this one. |
Henri Matisse:
Matisse was given his first art supplies from his mother while he was recovering from appendicitis. He would later be influenced by Impressionism and Japanese art making color an important aspect of his work. Matisse had favored still lifes and nudes throughout his career and towards the end of his life he created a collage of cut outs, which he had considered sculptures. Here, Icarus is depicted with a prominent, brilliant red heart. This symbolizes his passion, supplanting the hybris of the original myth as the cause of his disastrous fall. The abstracted act of falling also further emphasizes the symbolism of the myth: rather than depict a literal fall, Matisse alludes to a languid, despairing plunge, closer to the tragic defeat that Icarus's fall represents. With techniques such as these, Matisse grounds the myth of Icarus more in the everyday. Indeed, Icarus's passion and corpse-like posture powerfully evoke the folly of the ambitious artist and his inevitable failure to attain his lofty goals. |
Icarus
“Henri Matisse | Icarus, plate VIII from the illustrated book, "Jazz" | The Met.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/337069 Mattise's execution of the work is crucial to its strength. He painted the blue sky background with wide brush strokes, using tones of light to medium blue. The result is an airy, light, ethereal backdrop on which the brilliant light of the stars and the stark blackness of Icarus's figure can be placed. The objects stand against the blue with a stark contrast that is truly remarkable. The catastrophic nature of the fall is underscored by this contrast and the simple construction: there is nothing to cover or mute the tragedy of the moment. Though Matisse also painted the similar The Fall of Icarus around the same time, this remains the more famous and more powerful image. *not my words just a sources for now* |
Blue Nude II
“Blue Nude II Art Print by Henri Matisse at Art.Com.” Art.com, www.art.com/products/p10317271-sa-i809818/henri-matisse-blue-nude-ii.htm . Henri Matisse’s “Blue Nude” series, paper cutouts on canvas created at the end of his long and prolific life, represented the culmination of his exploration of abstraction. |
Planning and Journaling
Process and Experimentation:
Process and Experimentation
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Reflecting
The purpose of this piece is a visual translation of dreams combined that represent what I find most important to me. All the elements in this piece I have combined from various dreams in order to create one image with my own meaning. It is representation of a dreamscape with two figures that share a bond with one another. My artist inspiration is Henri Matisse's figure expression combined with Georges Braque's landscapes using vivid color splotches, coarse line work, and geometric shapes. My intentions were to use dark figures in my dreams to make it easier for people to associate with or two. Being one male and one female, it is easiest to relate to either one or the other. The mountains were recreated in Georges Braque's geometric landscape style, as well as use of vivid colors to present a tranquil night scene. Night was chosen because it's when I feel most calm, especially when there's dull lights around, I find it very peaceful. I used a colored lake i had seen in a dream and placed it to represent tranquility. The butterflies represent moments in which you feel bits of magic and happiness. A few things I would change would be the kind of paper I used. I used regular sketchbook paper because that was what was available to me at the moment, but I wish I would have gotten watercolor paper to better work with my medium. The paper warped in areas, which can be a bit distracting. Also, I would change the male figure to make it seem more close,y related to Braque. The figure seem s a bit too rigid in order to resemble Braque. Other than that, I am very satisfied with how this piece turned out. I don't work with watercolor, so this was a new and fun experience.
Critique
The colors of my pieces are similar to Braque's La Ciotat. The forms of the figures are similar in line and shape, giving the figures expression by giving space between the face. The textures are implied within the water using shapes of color. may be two-or three-dimensional, descriptive, implied, or abstract. Shape An element of art that is two-dimensional, flat, or limited to height and width. Balance is used when filling up the whole page, much like Braque. Emphasis was placed between the landscape and the figures. Movement can be seen in within the rhythm of the brush strokes of color on the piece, giving all elements a sense of unity. The proportions within the landscape and figures were slightly distorted.
The tones I used were dissimilar to Braque due to the time of day I wanted to capture. They were slightly dark, containing more cool hues, representing peace and tranquility, with the focal point being in the center, filled with warm color to represent divinity within a moment and happiness. The figures I used resemble Matisse's figures, but my figures seemed slightly more realistic and were created with water color, not construction paper. The lines were not left to just one thickness. Within my piece, I had used both the thick lines of Matisse and the thinner lines of Braque, I didn't limit myself to just one. In comparison to Braque's landscapes, my landscape seemed to have much more imaginative elements and was two - dimensional.
The tones I used were dissimilar to Braque due to the time of day I wanted to capture. They were slightly dark, containing more cool hues, representing peace and tranquility, with the focal point being in the center, filled with warm color to represent divinity within a moment and happiness. The figures I used resemble Matisse's figures, but my figures seemed slightly more realistic and were created with water color, not construction paper. The lines were not left to just one thickness. Within my piece, I had used both the thick lines of Matisse and the thinner lines of Braque, I didn't limit myself to just one. In comparison to Braque's landscapes, my landscape seemed to have much more imaginative elements and was two - dimensional.
Connecting to ACT
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause and effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
I used the geometric shapes that Georges Braque used combined with his color usage, as well as I mimicked the figures that Henri Mattise had created with paper, using water color to recreate my dream.
What was the overall approach (point of view) the author (form your research) has regarding the topics of your inspiration?
Georges Braque had focused on . Henri Mattise had focused on figure expression.
What kinds of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered that dreams are very subjective and superstitious.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea on my research was displaying visual translation of dreams through use of disproportion in my characters and landscape in order to recreate a dream.
What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I discovered that a lot of character can be found in disproportionate figures and places.
I used the geometric shapes that Georges Braque used combined with his color usage, as well as I mimicked the figures that Henri Mattise had created with paper, using water color to recreate my dream.
What was the overall approach (point of view) the author (form your research) has regarding the topics of your inspiration?
Georges Braque had focused on . Henri Mattise had focused on figure expression.
What kinds of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered that dreams are very subjective and superstitious.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea on my research was displaying visual translation of dreams through use of disproportion in my characters and landscape in order to recreate a dream.
What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I discovered that a lot of character can be found in disproportionate figures and places.