Textual Art

Introduction and Influences:

This piece follows my previous art pieces in that I used text backgrounds and similar themes. Essentially, I continued emulating William Kentridge. The themes include satire and impeachment, but they also concern sentimentality. In my previous pieces, I depicted cathedrals and other objects. In this piece, I am focusing on expressionism and evaluating the construct of emotion. It is a transition from my previous themes because of my focus on less institutionalised subjects.

 

For this piece, I drew inspiration from artists

like Winston Torr, Florian Nicolle, and Cinco Garcia. 

Winston Torr’s medium is charcoal, which I had

previously explored. Winston Torr limns the human

form because of the idiosyncrasies that come about 

from person to person. In a similar fashion, I explored

what makes everyone different. It’s intriguing because

that is mainly only the case with humans. Other

animals and species appear to be identical. His work is

also done on newspaper - but that has no significance.

 

Florian Nicolle attempts to convey the thoughts and feelings of the subject through the expressions. Although most of her work is done digitally, I want to echo her style in my pieces. In particular, I want to imitate “Iris” in that the emotions that are conveyed  are very poignant and expressive. Moreover, I want to make the text more of a background quality rather than having it as the overarching medium.

 

Cinco Garcia is a similar artist with a more conventional take on the pictures. The details are greatly outlined and distinct whereas the previous artists have no limits to their oeuvres. Moreover, the subjects tend to have a neutral and inexpressive impression, which I attempted to emulate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Materials:

• Watercolor

• Charcoal

• Acrylic paint

• Canvas

• Paintbrushes

• Tissues

 

Process:

The process of these pieces was simultaneously erratic and simple. I started by researching pieces by Florian Nicolle, who is, personally, my favorite artist of the three. Her ability to capture emotions so poignantly was something I truly respected (even though I essentially sought to subvert this quality). I chose specific peices and attempted to capture the emotions in a similar way. While this seemed somewhat unoriginal - and, frankly, it kind of was - I was unsuccessful. But this failure helped me fully develop my theme. Eventually, I did succumb to novel forms of art and thought, but it was this process of failure that lead me there.

 

I've concluded that water color is one of my favorite mediums because of the interaction between colors. While the colors are subtle and even faded, they exude a quality of intensity and vividness. The way the various colors commingle is part of my commentary on emotion. I started painting  carefully and meticulously (usually to an extreme, which my art teacher never fails to comment on). This is reflective of my innate temperament, which is predicated on a degree of perfection. I realised I didn't like this. This "perfection" is fine in math or physics, but in art and, specifically, expressionism, perfection is not only pain-staking but also unrealistic. Inspired by this new philosophy, I started afresh. Aesthetic regression was my new ideal.

 

My first piece was expressionless, but the colors compensated for the banality and vacancy of the life I was trying to convey. I chose the colors very carefully. The binary opposition of blue - which has a connotation of beauty and tranquility - and brown - which usually has unpleasant undercurrents - allows me to expound on my theme; the product of the two colors has profound significance with regards to my message.  I enjoyed making this piece because, like I stated before, it was a product of naturalness and was devoid of affectation. It had a sincerity and simplicity that transcended my overly pendantic MO.

 

To some extent, I attempted to emulate a painting by Florian Nicolle simply because I was trying to develop the expressionism aspect of my artwork. I discovered that expressionism came in the form of subtleties and nuances, which can be seen in my second piece. The eyes, for example, allowed me to manuplate the emotion of the subject. After I learned these nuances, I started being more innovative and imaginative. I combined the use of colors and with my newfound knowledge. This can be seen in my third piece in which I attempt to portray intensity and melancholy. I used the connotation of the colors as well as the text to further develop these emotions. In effect, the text is supposed to be more archaic, alluding to the writing of the Renaissance. This is diametrically opposed to the form where text and art intermingle, which is a relatively modern concept.

 

I tried to translate my artwork to a larger scale, but I struggled with perspective for several reasons. When I was half way through, I realized that I was painting with a distorted perspective. This was partly because I was sitting while painting on a horizontal surface rather than an easel. Also, I attempted to shift his look, but some features looked two-dimensional.

 

My final piece was done with an acrylic medium. This was partly inspired by a friend in my art class, but I also knew that there were several differences between painting with acrylic and painting with water color: the paints blended differently and mistakes could be undone. Moreover, I painted using an easel, which impacts the perspective; I was able to step away from my peace and analyse it more accurately. This piece incorporates aspects of all my previous trials and pieces. In terms of expressionism, I was able to convey certain emotions, which I developed earlier. Furthermore, I incorporated the textual background from my previous oeuvres. In relation to Expressionism, I employed swirling, swaying, and exaggeratedly executed brushstrokes in the depiction of my invented subject. These techniques are meant to convey the turgid emotional state of the artist reacting to the anxieties of the modern world.

 

I continuously employed my friends' techniques. Manuel and Hally helped me with perspective and specific artistic styles, especially with the final piece. I wanted to get a faded text background, which I finally attained through Manuel's suggestion to dilute the white acrylic paint. He also aided me in gluing the dictionary pages to the canvas as he had to do it in an earlier piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Historical Context:

Expressionism was a modernist movement that originated in Germany. Expressionism presents the world subjectively and distorts the perspective to an extreme in order to convey certain moods or ideas. Art was now meant to come forth from within the artist, rather than from a depiction of the external visual world, and the standard for assessing the quality of a work of art became the character of the artist's feelings rather than an analysis of the composition. In effect, the movement was a response to the dehumanizing atmosphere engendered by the Industrial Revolution and urbanization. It was avant-garde in that it subverted notions of realism: artists sought depict the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse within a person rather than the objective reality. Such art often transpires amidst periods of chaos and oppression, such as during the Spanish Occupation and Eight Years' War . Expressionism emerged simultaneously in various cities across Germany as a response to a widespread anxiety about humanity's increasingly discordant relationship with the world and accompanying lost feelings of authenticity and spirituality. Both of the aforementioned ideas are reflective of the oppression of emotions and the lack of sincerity, which are my key themes.

 

The style had many influences, including Edvard Munch - who painted The Scream, the most emblemic piece of Expressionism - van Gogh, and African art, which defined the arbitrary colors and jarring compositions present in Expressionism. Ernst Ludvig Kirchner is the primary figure in Expressionism; his group lead the foundation for the the style and had a major impact on the evolution of modern art. They felt that it was not important to reproduce an aesthetically pleasing impression of the artistic subject matter but rather to represent vivid emotional reactions by powerful colours and dynamic compositions. Even more so than Kirchner's group, Kandinksy embodied the nature of Expressionism, even though he gravitated towards the abstract side of the art form. I tend to conform to the more realistic facet of the style.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Themes:

There is a degree of ambiguity in our emotion, but this ambiguity cannot be fully accounted for. This is partly because our instrinsic traits constrict our emotions to certain facial expressions, such as smiling, crying, frowning, and cringing. But even more so, it's because there are only so many feelings we can experience. It's unfortunate because it is in the ambiguity that sincerity and genuineness reside, This is represented in my stoic faces that render the confusion of the obscurity. It is in the space between the established emotions that our true sensations lie.

 

I commented on this earlier with my analysis of the nature of language, which is represented through the text in the background: I suggested that it is only through metaphors that we can truly manifest our thoughts and feelings. Perhaps even our own bodies cannot fully manifest these ostensibly elusive constructs. Can we truly experience novel emotions and feelings? Or do we simply revisit old emotions and, perhaps, commingle them with other old ones? To some extent, we are restricted by our own abstractions. Each day, we simply dull and weather away our feeling till we no longer feel rapture; we no longer experience novelty. We all feel the same, hurt the same, smile the same, conveying the same feelings at different times and trying to be unique. Maybe it would be better if it was like time: impossible to grasp and impossible to salvage - simply a forward movement that carries you with it only giving you the opportunity to look back. Perhaps our only salvation is in the mind for it can discern these semi-feelings and give justice to them.

 

I attempted to convey the mixture of emotions in one way: colors. As I stated before, colors were a major component of Expressionist art. I used the connotation of colors - primarily blue and brown - in order to manifest the ambiguous feelings that interlace our reality. Blue connotes melancholy and purity while brown connotes rawness and, to some extent, unpleasantness. I find that the blend of the two colors represents the "gray area" with regards to feelings. The colors themsleves (in their isolated form) represent the distinct, existing emotions established by society. I subvert these established sentiments by using the two contrasting colors as my central colors. Moreover, together, these colors complement each other and form something I believe to be more beautiful than the individual components.

 

I placed a lot of expression in the eyes because I felt that they both literally and figuratively reflect reality, including the reality of our emotions. The quote, "eyes are the windows to the soul", is, I feel, very accurate. There is a very invasive intensity in the eyes. Through them, we both peak through and filter in. Isn't ironic that your eyes are the only vaults you can't peer into? And since that is where these emotions reside, they are elusive. Ultimately, we're just trying to catch a glimpse of ourselves and understand where we stand and what we feel. Since we can't see our own, we search for it in the reflection of other individuals. We glimpse into their soul in search of ours, but in the end, we succumb to them through an equally ambiguous thing called "love". That's what it is. Trying to understand ourselves better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's Next?

I really enjoyed expressionism, but I feel as though there is not much else I can get out of the subjects. I would like to incorporate aspects of this piece in my coming works, such as the perspective and colors. I have learned how to progressively incorporate aspects of my rough pieces in my final piece. I would also like to further my theme, which - I feel - is very relevant in society today. The textual background will, of course, be carried through to my next few pieces. In terms of medium, I enjoyed using water color and started using acrylic. I would like to further experiment with acrylic because it adds a whole new quality to the piece. To some degree, I would like to move into a new direction. Perhaps I will take inspiration from Kandinsky and undertake a more abstract project. I feel as though that will allow me to further develop my theme.