Activity A - Howardena PindellA Reflection on the Howardena Pindell Exhibit: Last Monday, our art class went to the VMFA to explore the makings of Howardena Pindell. Ultimately, Pindell’s art was meant to challenge the art world, push the boundaries by bringing into question what was an acceptable subject, what was an acceptable medium - which can be seen in her layerings. It was extremely interesting to see the evolution of Pindell’s works - initially Pindell’s work solely reflected her connection to numbers and hole punches, however, after her car crash, Pindell’s work seemingly blossomed. While her later work still retained much of her hole-punch and tonal motifs, the depth and meaning of her later works inspired much more thought. Ultimately, Pindell’s work all were interrelated, by sharing similar motifs - such as her hole punches, and numerical content, and then later, her stitching and autobiographical content. I think ultimately, what can be seen here, is that as we grow and change, so does our art. Pindell’s life’s work embodies the Stretch and Explore, Express, and Engage and Persist Artist Habits of Mind, in the way she adapted to change, created and developed personal meaning for her work, and sought to grow and develop her own personal art. For now, my interest in figures and dresses I think has a lot to do with my life - one, I’m always dressing up for dance - which encompasses the human body and figure - as well as the costume and performance. Two, the lightheartedness of my pieces are also representative of my creative process and why I feel the need to create art. Overall, I personally didn't much care for Pindell’s earlier works. The overall composition that consisted of layers of hole punches, along with a wax-like coating to give it a textured looking consistency, more or less made me think of “artistic vomit”. I think it is fun, however, maybe not my cup of tea. Her later works, however, I found to be fascinating. Looking at her larger compositions it was interesting to see how her layers brought out the depth of her content. I found it especially interesting to find and deduce the different symbolic representations in her pieces, such as the wheels representing the car crash in her autobiographical piece. Activity B - Abstract ExpressionismIn light of our upcoming abstract expressionism unit, we also took a look at all of the Abstract Expressionist paintings. Non-Objective or Abstract - Where do you draw the line?1. Non-ObjectiveNon Objective features a work in which there is no discernable subject, but only features shapes - organic or inorganic. 2. AbstractAbstract is a work in which a recognizable or realistic subject is changed or altered in a way in which it is still recognizable, but not featured as the way it exists in the actual world. Abstract Expressionism - What falls into this specific category?Abstract Expressionism is a movement that originated around the 1950’s. The movement emphasizes the spontaneous application and expresses the wholistic and encompassing force of art. The three dominant approaches include a liquid, dynamic application of paint, or bold, textured, brushwork, or large paint fields that achieve almost a meditative feeling. Mark Rothko’s achieves the third approach by utilizing diaphanous layers of analogous colors to embody a meditative and contemplative mood. Mark-makingHere is an example of the first dominant approach in Abstract Expressionism where the artist has utilized a dynamic, gestural, application of paint. Seemingly here, the artist loosely applied paint, both with loose, almost carefree strokes, or splattering. In this piece, Louis encompasses the Abstract Expressionist use of color and bold mark making. It almost seems that the paint was poured vertically and left to fall down the painting. This third piece, also looks use large, gestural, and bold brushstrokes. The rather dynamic composition suggests that the artist used long, shoulder-utilizing brushstrokes to create his marks. Art Elements, Design Principles, and Specific Compositional ChoicesRoy Lichtenstein American, 1923-1997 Lamp II, 1997 Painted Bronze Gift of Sydney and Frances Lewis, 8.5.511 This sculptural representation of a lamppost by Lichtenstein highlights the commonality of the everyday object, and brings into question what is real and what is not real with the interplay of abstraction of a tangible, real, object. While viewers may pass lampposts everyday without a second thought, they ultimately will stop for this one, in order to enjoy this dynamic interplay between reality and invention. Lee Bontecou American, Born 1931 Untitled (No. 25), 1960 Welded steel, canvas, copper wire Gift of Sydney and Frances Lewis 8.5.364 Bontecou’s use of shape and form challenges the viewer by both giving invitation and repulsion. The use of form to create depth creates “gaping holes” or sorts, or abysses that draw in the viewer to take a look inside, however, at the same time, the dark and almost decrepit tone of the piece, results in the viewer to take a step back. In this way, their exists and interaction between artist, art, and audience. Norman Lewis
American, 1909-1979 Post Mortem, 1964 Oil on Canvas Gift of the Faberge Society of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2001.9 Here, the stark contrast between black and white, and hieroglyphic-like caricatures, emphasizes the political content of the piece, in which Lewis depict African American struggle for equality throughout history. The continuity of the piece highlights the the protests, marches, and struggles. The black and white contrast ultimately challenge’s the viewer's perception of positive and negative space, what is real, what is tangible, what is at the foreground, and what is the background.
3 Comments
Helen
11/28/2018 11:21:58 am
I really enjoyed this post! It seemed thorough and well thought out. I agree with your thoughts that her later work used depth and layers well.I love the work you picked and the meaningful analysis!
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Shreya Malani
11/28/2018 11:31:15 am
I really enjoyed this post and I have similar views on your perspective about these works. I really understood your opinion of 'artistic vomit' :), because I really like some abstract works and then I feel like some are either too basic or too much is happening. Also, your reflection is extremely thorough and it's clear that you thought about this a lot.
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MM
11/29/2018 10:36:26 am
"It was extremely interesting to see the evolution of Pindell’s works" - this is not something that is always available in an exhibit, so this was quite a treat and offered LOTS to think about! You did a beautiful job organizing your thoughts, images, and captions - both according to the assignment but also in a way that helped you make meaning from it all and to asses what things YOU want to do with your creative output. Nicely done!
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