Triptych
Exhibition Text
Current Situation is a triptych about how I currently feel about myself and my environment. I say that because I know my feelings will change as my environment does. It is inspired by three of my favorite artists and puts on emphasis on emotions evoked by color. Through the use of color a story is created within and between each pf the three panels.
Current Situation is a triptych about how I currently feel about myself and my environment. I say that because I know my feelings will change as my environment does. It is inspired by three of my favorite artists and puts on emphasis on emotions evoked by color. Through the use of color a story is created within and between each pf the three panels.
Planning
Inspiration
For this triptych, I drew inspiration from multiple artist and art movements. Each panel has a different artistic inspiration for both style and meaning. I did this because I could not find a single artist or movement that satisfied my need to communicate multiple emotions. Cezanne's The Card Players inspired the first panel of who am I? I thought the mood set by his dark background and the emotion of stress expressed by the gambler explained greatly how I feel about everyday life decisions, taking a chance every once in a while and regretting it even if it was not bad. The second panel is inspired by Music by Henri Matisse and answers the question of how I affect my environment. The simplified figures with little background communicate a theme of solitude and ineffectiveness. The final panel is inspired by the self portraits of MC Escher and Mucha. Escher's portraits on the side of a reflective sphere or withing a circle communicate how I feel repressed and restricted by my environment. |
“Henri Matisse. Music (Sketch). Collioure, spring-Summer 1907 | MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org/collection/works/78703?locale=en. Accessed 15 Feb. 2017.
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Critical Investigation
The fauvist aspect of my triptych came from Cezanne and Matisse. The Card Players by Cezanne was part of a series from the 1880's in which he was moving away from his impressionist style and more toward fauvism, all while maintaining a focus on composition. With a more monochromatic scale, he was able to show the importance of color and structure. It is believed that the subject of card players was chosen because of their resemblance to a still life, a situation in which movement does not have to be captured. This also allowed him to focus on the mood of the piece. The color scheme and posture of the men alone are enough to communicate tension. An important aspect of this painting for mine is the fact the all the focus is on the foreground. Cezanne realized that the emphasis of most paintings is not the background and that is one of the reasons it seems washed or under-worked. This is important for me because it deepens my explanation of who I am. The focus on the foreground is how I am as a person; I tend to only notice what is right in front of me, a hand full of cards possibly. Music by Henri Matisse was painted in 1910. The main focuses of the piece were on the theme of music and composition, with an emphasis on man's oneness with the Earth and heavens. Matisse's care of these ideas is expressed mainly through arrangement of subject matter and simplification of figure. Most important to my piece is the way Matisse conveyed the emotion of the figures and their relationship with one another. This is important because I care mostly about the structural aspects of this painting for mine. The evenly spaced subjects with primitive emotions will help enforce the idea of ineffectiveness, as well as the static appearance of them on the canvas. MC Escher had a fascination for reflections on spherical objects. The attention to detail was critical because it helped him analyze the distortion by different sources. His portrait in tondo, 1943, still uses the circular concept and analysis of perspective but there is not any reflection. The portrait makes the viewer think about the possible meanings of restricting a face. This is important for my triptych because I am trying to express an idea of limitation. |
“Paul Cézanne Paintings & Artwork Gallery in Chronological Order.” Totally History Paul Czanne Paintings Comments, totallyhistory.com/paul-cezanne-paintings/.
“Flickr.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 7 Feb. 2017, www.flickr.com/groups/2548166@N23/discuss/72157641029528185/.
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Planning Sketches
This was my first sketch. I wanted to seamlessly blend the work of three artists through the use of color. I thought that unity could be seen if the inspirations were connected though a recurring color.
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This had the same idea for color use as the first sketch, but it would be put on three separate panels, as well as being connected by color, there would be images that continue between two panels.
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This sketch is most similar to my triptych. I wanted to use a recurring color to connect the panels as well as images crossing borders. I thought this idea also simplified my symbolism; I removed a figure from the second panel, reduced the background in the first panel, and put emphasis on the subject of the third panel by eliminating the background and using color as a motif.
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Process
Click on the picture for a closer look and read the captions for more specific information.
Steps:
- Stretch the canvas
- Apply an even layer of gesso to the stretched canvas including the sides
- Apply a background color before starting to paint
- This makes it so the gesso doesn show through if a spot is missed
- Transfer what is intended to be painted on to the canvas
- I drew my forms freehand and used the graphite transfer method on the third panel.
- Begin painting
- Think about the natural order of things when you paint
- For example, paint a face before the hair is painted because hair very often lies on top of a face. It's a lot harder to paint skin between hair than it is to paint hair directly on skin.
- Think about the natural order of things when you paint
Evaluation
Panel #1
The first panel was inspired by the work of Cezanne. I think I did an acceptable emulation of Cezanne's work, especially his brushstrokes. When looking closely, the viewer could see how my brushstrokes were very patchy, almost as if I used a different value of the same color for each stroke. I think my meaning for this panel was also exceptionally strong. The face of the figure, in my opinion communicated a sense of worry or pensiveness. |
Panel #2
The second panel was inspired by Henri Matisse's late fauvist work. The character I emulated was from his 1906 sketch of Music. I think this panel showed my best emulation. Matisse used varying colors of skin tone to achieve highlights and low lights on his figures. My palette ranged from colors such as raw umber brown, to yellow, to pink for this figure. Similar to Matisse, the colors are also patchy and do not repeat in multiple places on the figure. |
Panel #3
The third panel was inspired by MC Escher. Specifically from one of his more simple monotone self portraits. I think that my face in the painting looks rather realist like Escher in his painting, however, I did not vary the value of the gray used much. Escher had very dark areas and very light areas. However, I think the meaning of the third panel was communicated the best. The way I am looking outward at my surroundings with a look of uncertainty communicates my suppression. The symbolism of being contained to a circles also helps show this. |
Reflection
Overall, I think my triptych turned out well. I don't necessarily like how my first panel turned out, but that is because of the inspiration I found. I wanted to emulate the style of Cezanne and it did not work out very well when painting the face of the figure. The proportions are also not correct, but that is Cezanne's style. My color motif also did not work well besides on the second panel. I don't think it really worked on the first panel, however, that could just be because it doesn't occur enough.
For the meaning of my piece, I am not too impressed. I struggled to find symbolism for who I think I am, how I affect my environment, ad how my environment affects me. The first panel was about me being a worrisome gambler with life. The second panel was about my lack of interest in the environment and how I don't really want to make my mark. This symbolism is not strong because the figure doesn't really show a disinterest in its surroundings. It probably would have been stronger if I painted the figure being closed off, perhaps with its head down in its arms. The third panel was my strongest with meaning. I really like the idea of using the motif color to create a plant-like surrounding for me in the circle.
For the meaning of my piece, I am not too impressed. I struggled to find symbolism for who I think I am, how I affect my environment, ad how my environment affects me. The first panel was about me being a worrisome gambler with life. The second panel was about my lack of interest in the environment and how I don't really want to make my mark. This symbolism is not strong because the figure doesn't really show a disinterest in its surroundings. It probably would have been stronger if I painted the figure being closed off, perhaps with its head down in its arms. The third panel was my strongest with meaning. I really like the idea of using the motif color to create a plant-like surrounding for me in the circle.
ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
My inspirations greatly influenced the figures I painted in my triptych. The figures are similar to the ones painted by the original artists, but I changed their stance to either look more like me or to better communicate my themes.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors of the research I conducted were vary formal, and for the most part appeared to be unbiased, especially when talking about the emotions evoked in the viewer by the paintings.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered that people strongly believe in color being the source of emotion in a lot of art. That makes a lot of sense, especially from an impressionist or fauvist perspective.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea of my research was to find out how the artists painted their painting. I wanted to emulate their style to the best of my ability.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
While researching, I assumed that all fauvist had the same painting style, but Cezanne and Matisse were in fact different. They each had a different purpose behind their brushstrokes.
My inspirations greatly influenced the figures I painted in my triptych. The figures are similar to the ones painted by the original artists, but I changed their stance to either look more like me or to better communicate my themes.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors of the research I conducted were vary formal, and for the most part appeared to be unbiased, especially when talking about the emotions evoked in the viewer by the paintings.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered that people strongly believe in color being the source of emotion in a lot of art. That makes a lot of sense, especially from an impressionist or fauvist perspective.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea of my research was to find out how the artists painted their painting. I wanted to emulate their style to the best of my ability.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
While researching, I assumed that all fauvist had the same painting style, but Cezanne and Matisse were in fact different. They each had a different purpose behind their brushstrokes.
Bibliography
Dorment, Richard. “Paul Cézanne: The Card Players, Courtauld Gallery, review.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 25 Oct. 2010, www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-reviews/8086198/Paul-Cezanne-The-Card-Players-Courtauld-Gallery-review.html.
“Flickr.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 7 Feb. 2017, www.flickr.com/groups/2548166@N23/discuss/72157641029528185/.
“Henri Matisse. Music (Sketch). Collioure, spring-Summer 1907 | MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org/collection/works/78703?locale=en. Accessed 15 Feb. 2017.
THOMAS, CYRIL. "Fauvism." Europe 1789-1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of Industry and Empire, edited by John Merriman and Jay Winter, vol. 2, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006, pp. 795-797. World History in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3446900293/WHIC?u=gree82036&xid=ba2fcad4. Accessed 6 Feb. 2017.
“MC Escher - Life and Work.” National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, 2017, www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/features/slideshows/mc-escher-life-and-work.html.
“Music - Henri Matisse.” Henri Matisse - Hermitage Museum, www.arthermitage.org/Henri-Matisse/Music.html.
“Paul Cézanne Paintings & Artwork Gallery in Chronological Order.” Totally History Paul Czanne Paintings Comments, totallyhistory.com/paul-cezanne-paintings/.
Pixelday. “M.C. Escher.” M.C. Escher - The Official Website, www.mcescher.com/.
“Flickr.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 7 Feb. 2017, www.flickr.com/groups/2548166@N23/discuss/72157641029528185/.
“Henri Matisse. Music (Sketch). Collioure, spring-Summer 1907 | MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org/collection/works/78703?locale=en. Accessed 15 Feb. 2017.
THOMAS, CYRIL. "Fauvism." Europe 1789-1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of Industry and Empire, edited by John Merriman and Jay Winter, vol. 2, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006, pp. 795-797. World History in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3446900293/WHIC?u=gree82036&xid=ba2fcad4. Accessed 6 Feb. 2017.
“MC Escher - Life and Work.” National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, 2017, www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/features/slideshows/mc-escher-life-and-work.html.
“Music - Henri Matisse.” Henri Matisse - Hermitage Museum, www.arthermitage.org/Henri-Matisse/Music.html.
“Paul Cézanne Paintings & Artwork Gallery in Chronological Order.” Totally History Paul Czanne Paintings Comments, totallyhistory.com/paul-cezanne-paintings/.
Pixelday. “M.C. Escher.” M.C. Escher - The Official Website, www.mcescher.com/.