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The Stranger

Inspired by Rococo and the disconnect between the general public and the aristocracy as well as "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allen Poe.

I made a time-lapse to document my process, I included music (song details in video description) to make watching it less awkward. I'm not that great at video editing so it might be a bit loud.

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-Juno and Argus-

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Nonrepresentational Abstract Artwork

drawn digitally

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When Jackson Pollock studied under Thomas Hart Benton in the Art Students League, he picked up from him the rhythm and contrast that would be prevalent in his most famous splotchy works. However, it would still be a long time yet before his work reaches that point. Long before that, he would look to European modernists like Pablo Picasso, Mexican muralists like David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Navajo painters as inspiration for more representational abstract works. Eventually, his work got somewhat popular after being admitted to the Peggy Guggenheim Gallery. His work was praised for showing the feeling of impulsiveness, which is a factor that continued to develop in his work. After moving to the countryside, his work evolved into what we most find familiar. He splattered and poured paint, sometimes along with materials like nails and string in order to create completely nonrepresentational artwork. Despite the works seemingly being chaotic, he had a distinct methodology to his creation to make the best possible result.

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Recently, I took a trip to The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. There, galleries featuring many beautiful paintings were present. However, among those many paintings, one by Jean-Baptiste Greuze stood out to me. The label offering brief information on the piece seems to refer to it as Melancholy Young Lover, but I later found that it is more widely known as Meditation.

Meditation by Jean-Baptiste Greuze is oil on canvas painting in an ovular 53 x 43 3/8 shape in an ornate gilded frame that is reminiscent of Rococo detailing. The painting depicts a young pale woman leaning on a pedestal to the right of her in what looks like a garden. On the pedestal, two textured doves are on either side of her arm, looking a bit agitated. She wears flowing fabrics, one of which is long and seems to flow in the wind around her arms, showing both movement and line. She holds a flower crown in one hand on the right, while she holds her other hand on the left up to her face. She looks out, past the viewer, in an expression that The Ringling’s label describes as mournful. Pastel colors are utilized throughout, mostly consisting of cool blues. Her reddish tinted hair draws the eye and emphasizes her face. There is a distinct feeling of longing and sadness which is both shown in her expression as well as the sky that seems to get darker from right to left.

The French artist Jean-Baptiste Greuze, lived from 1725 to 1805. Looking at Meditation I had a difficult time trying to distinguish if it was part of the Rococo or neoclassicalism movement. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin’s journal article on him asserts him as a bridge between the two movements, and I am inclined to agree. Though, for this particular artwork, I would say it ever so slightly leans toward Rococo with its pastel colors and sensual image of the woman. It is unknown who, if anyone, the figure is based off, however, there exists a precursor, a charcoal and red chalk on paper drawing he made known as Study of a Nude Girl. A good amount of Greuze’s artworks seems to have a sensual aspect to them, which reflects what The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin’s journal article calls his “erotic intensity” in his personal life. As The Ringling’s museum label suggests, in this artwork, Greuze tells a story about a woman who is missing a lover.

From a historical standpoint, Meditation is a fine example of a transition between rococo and neoclassicalism, with rococo’s pastels and neoclassicism idealized forms. Additionally, between the way the clothing flows off the body and the voluptuous figure, the painting is an example of Greuze’s eroticism. However, what I personally find most attractive about the work is the sheer emotion of the painting that most any viewer can relate to. Her expression, pose, and the gloomy sky all gives the feeling of a quiet sadness, loneliness even. Feeling sad from being away from a loved one is something many people have experienced one way or another, which is why I find this work so compelling.

Sources

Greuze, Jean-Baptiste. “Meditation.” Utpictura18, 2003, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota Florida, https://utpictura18.univ-amu.fr/notice/1063-meditation-greuze. Accessed 2024.

Greuze, Jean-Baptiste. “Study of a Nude Girl.” RISD Museum, https://risdmuseum.org/art-design/collection/study-nude-girl-29082. Accessed 2024.

Museum label for Melancholy Young Lover, by Jean-Baptiste Greuze. Gallery 15, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Florida. Seen 2024.

Thompson, James, and Everett Fahy. “Jean-Baptiste Greuze.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art   Bulletin, vol. 47, no. 3, 1989, pp. 1–52. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3258735.            Accessed 31 Mar. 2024.

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Discussion

Example of good layout design:

Example of bad layout design: 

Cycles Perfecta (1902) is a poster created by Alphonse Mucha commissioned to advertise The Perfecta brand bicycles. Its ability to capture peoples attention and convey its message makes this poster well designed. The woman leaning on the bicycle at you grabs and keeps your attention with her flowy and rhythmic shape. She is quite beautiful and makes you want to look at the poster for longer. The comparatively plainer text at the top also draws attention as it is in a bold red font. "Cycles" and "Perfecta" differs in sizes which reduces the clutter while also emphasizing the brand name "Perfecta." The clear text that tells onlookers what is being advertised, as well as the attention-grabbing woman leaning on the bicycle, work together well to advertise The Perfecta bicycles.

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Art Project

Drawn digitally dedicated to my great aunt (the one to gave me the "Feline Family Portrait") who passed away last night, she also loved cats and had many

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Connecting Art to Your World Growing up as a ginger, I was told I was a red-head. While it's called red, the hue of redheads hair is more akin to orange. When I was younger, I was very proud of my hair color but I didn't particularly like the color orange. If anyone every referred to my hair as orange I would get mad and insist its red despite the fact both are reasonable ways to describe it. When watching The Powerpuff Girls, I related much more to the large robot Dynamo with her red hair rather than Blossom with her orange. I have since realized how silly it all is, but I still really enjoy the color red over orange. In the past I've liked a red that is vivid and saturated with a lighter value, but not enough for it to appear pink. Now, I prefer a darker shade of red. Still rather saturated, but not as much intensity as I did when I was younger. If I had to choose a color scheme for my life, I would choose red, blue(or perhaps cyan), black, and white.

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Journaling Unity & Variety Unity refers to elements in a design being the same, while Variety refers to elements in a design being different. An example of something that shows both of these elements is a new box of crayons. The crayons have unity and them all being the same shape, while having variety in their different colors. Balance Balance is when elements in a design have an equal distribution in certain regards. This can be achieved symmetrically or asymmetrically. Symmetrical balance is when the right and left sides of a piece is identical while asymmetrical balance is when the sides are not symmetrical but balanced is achieves through other elements. A plain t-shirt that is identical on each side when folded is an example of symmetrical balance. A bouquet of flowers is an example of asymmetrical balance in that when flowers are arranged, they typically are not identical on each side but the distribution of different shaped and colored flowers creates a balanced harmony. Emphasis & Subordination When a focal point draws the viewers eye with the use of certain elements, it is known as emphasis. Subordination is when elements surrounding the focal point are not as eye catching, allowing the eye to be more easily caught by the focal point. An example of these two principals can be seen in a bullseye target in archery. The bullseye, or circle in the very middle of the target, is the area of emphasis as it draw the most attention with the eye. While the rings surrounding the center that helps draw attention to the bullseye shows subordination. Directional Forces The principal of directional forces refers to elements, typically implied or real lines, that draw the viewer's eye on a certain path through the piece. Many people's signatures shows directional forces. When people write their signature, they tend to do it in cursive which rarely you lift your pen when writing, resulting in a line that your eyes can follow to the end. Additionally, signatures tend to start off distinct and large, but then tapper off at the end. So, one's eye is drawn to the distinct large portion at the start and follows through to the end. Repetition & Rhythm When elements are repeated regularly at certain intervals, it is known as repetition. Rhythm is similar in that it also includes repeating elements, however those elements have related variation in their repetition. For example, human teeth. Teeth show repetition being made of the same material, similar in size, and similar in color, while also showing rhythm in their variation in shape. Scale & Proportion Scale refers to how big an element is when comparing to another element and proportion refers to how big an element is when compared to a whole piece. One could use a spoon for example of these principals. For scale, when comparing a spoon to an ant, the spoon is much bigger. However, for proportion, when comparing a spoon to the entire kitchen, the spoon is rather small.

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Self Portrait

Painted digitally

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Here's my "perceptual profile:" I am an 18 year old woman (she/her) who was born in Florida. I'm also a white ginger. I enjoy designing characters and enthusing about other people's characters. I'm currently unemployed, but I volunteer at a food pantry on weekends. I would say my strong sense of self makes me uniquely me. This often manifests in my good grasp on what themes, symbols, colors, etc... I associate with myself. For example, as evidenced by the title of this blog, I associate myself with apples and the color red.

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This artwork that has hung above my bed for years is a print of Laurel Burch's Feline Family Portrait. I believe I was gifted it from my great aunt who had many cats herself. I was unable to find exactly what materials Burch used to create this piece, however on close inspection it is possible she maybe have used paint and/or marker. The piece serves as decoration, adding another pop of color to contrast my tan walls. I enjoy the artwork, each cat is unique and colorful. My favorite cats are the two in the middle and the one on the far right.

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For this discussion, I was assigned Frank Lloyd Wright's, Falling Water, a house built in 1936. Here are some things I've learned about it:

The estate was built for the Kaufmann family, the family that ran the largest department store in Pittsburgh, to replace the aging cabins that first inhabited the land there as a vacation home.

It is said that Frank Lloyd Wright had a philosophy of art united harmoniously with nature, which one can recognize in its co-existence with the forest and the waterfall it was built over.

 Adjusted for 2023 inflation, the house costed around 3.3 million dollars to build.

The house underwent restoration in 2001, which was estimated to have costed 19 million dollars in money adjusted for 2023 inflation. 

Edgar Kaufmann Jr. donated the estate to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, of which they still own and are offering tours today.

When I first looked at Falling Water, I admit, I was disappointed. I typically enjoy art, but never found any interest in architecture, especially architecture that looks rather modern at first glance. The only thing I could like about it, at first, was it's placement in a beautiful forest, later I realized that is actually part of what makes the work compelling. After internalizing the estate was built in 1936, I started to slowly examine it more closely and come to appreciate it more. I found that the waterfall was a natural feature, that the house was built over, but did not impede. Rather than an artificial feature one might expect from a modern home. I appreciated the brickwork and interior design as well. Although somewhat unrelated, I realized the house conjured memories of my grandmother's house in Michigan, eliciting feelings of nostalgia. Though, the houses are very much different in almost every regard, they have a similar feeling, likely from my grandmother's house also being surrounded by tall trees.

Frank Lloyd Wright 1936 Falling Water (Edgar Kaufmann Residence). Bear Run, PA