Post Modern Era: Diversity in Artists

Introduction

Until the 1960s, most known artists were white men. But this slowly changed as women, people of different ethnicities, and people of different religions began to be recognized in the field of art. The Post Modern era holds much newer history than that of the eras we've covered this semester, but it is equally as important to understand how far this nation has come in less than a century. 

Not only have the artists diversified greatly, but the content they've provided has gone many different directions. It is difficult to say exactly what the "style" of the Post Modern era is, because there are so many different styles to talk about. Unlike the previous art eras, in which it is clear that artists inspired one another in their techniques, artists from the Post Modern era have truly taken hold of their own creativity. 

The Art

The above drawing is titled "It's Good For You," created by Anna Park in 2020. There isn't an explanation for what inspired this exact piece of art, but many of Park's works are abstract like this, with a jumble of hands, faces, miscellaneous utensils, etcetera. "I have always been fascinated with finding ways of depicting two opposing sensations and bringing them to both of their extremes," she says (Rees). This is a perfect example of artists exploring new styles, as there aren't any works of art quite like this. 

Arghavan Khosravi is an Iranian artist who lives in New York. A lot of her artwork reflects her heritage and the women's situation in Iran. She painted "Mesmerized, Listen to the Big Brother," in 2019, featuring three real women staring at the illusion of a large, crumbling man. Accordingly, the women are able to free themselves, but it seems to me like they are under hypnotism; they are "mesmerized." Like the previous drawing, this painting is rather abstract, but in a completely different way. Khosravi has her own art style, her own use of color, and her own way of telling her story through a picture. 

Kerry James Marshall painted the above picture in 2009. It is untitled, but like all great works of art, it holds an important story. Marshall's intention with his art has been to explore black identity, most of his paintings featuring at least one black man or woman. The above is a painting of a painting, as a woman slowly creates her own self portrait. There is something so unique about this untitled picture, whether it be the visible contrast between black, white, and color, or the profound expression on the woman's face. Not only does Marshall explore his own style with this painting, but he touches the souls of his audience with its meaning. 

Here is another work by Kerry James Marshall, titled "Black and part Black Birds in America: (Crow, Goldfinch), and painted in 2020. The painting displays a small goldfinch in the bottom left corner, and a large crow that is obviously in the way and much too large for that space. The painting is meant to represent the United States' racial politics from the last two centuries. Again, this picture brings attention not only to Marshall's unique art style, but also to a national issue that has not yet ended.

Let's take a step back in time and look at "The Cry," painted by Luc Tuymans, a Belgian artist, in 1989. I like this painting because it reminds me of Impressionism, when artists used few colors and messy brushstrokes to create the essence of a moment. Tuymans gained a lot of his inspiration from film and television images, and therefore used it to recreate history and memories. While the painting may seem overly simple, it fits nicely into the theme of artists trying out their own ideas and styles in the Post Modern era. 

Here is another abstract work of art, similar to Anna Park's drawings in its blend of blurry objects, but it has color. Cecily Brown painted this untitled picture in 2006, and it represents her own preference of colors and techniques. "I'm more interested in sublimation," she says. "I love the way Francis Bacon talked about the grin without the cat, the sensation without the boredom of its conveyance...I've always wanted to be able to convey figurative imagery in a kind of shorthand, to get it across in an as direct a way as possible. I want there to be a human presence without having to depict it in full" ("Cecily Brown"). In other words, Brown's intention with her art is to create the essence of a person without actually painting a full person. While this art is not exactly my favorite, I still find it to be a wonderful connection to the theme of individual purpose in art. 

Art Analysis

There are three elements that I would like to discuss regarding the six pictures we looked at today. The first is texture; I have always found texture to be less obvious than the other art elements, but it still contributes to the feeling as a whole. The first picture, "It's Good For You," was drawn with charcoal, creating a smooth, fine texture that matches the drawing's mood. In the last picture, however, the texture of the oil on linen creates a completely different feeling, one that the audience can hear and smell. 

The second element is value. While not all of these pictures have color, they all have value, which is what helps us to visualize what is in the artist's mind. Every one of these pictures has darkness in some areas, and light in others, drawing our eyes to the most important parts of the artwork. 

Form is the third and final element, and it holds the picture together as a whole. There are little things within each picture that our eyes tend to focus on, smaller details that the individual pays attention to, but the form of the picture is what brings every little thing together and makes something that is truly beautiful to look at. 

Conclusion

My intention with this post was to bring a diverse group of artists together and focus on their thoughts as individuals. There wasn't truly a specific theme, besides the idea that modern artists are exploring their own styles more than ever. Everyone has a story, and no two stories are the same, but we can all get a glimpse of one another's stories through art.

Sources

Allievi, Francesca. “15 Contemporary Black Artists Everyone Should Know About.” Kooness, 23 Nov. 2021.

“Arghavan Khosravi in ‘Four’ at Yossi Milo Gallery.” New York Art Tours, 18 Apr. 2019.

Buchanan, Mary Lynn. “100 Contemporary Female Artists You Need to Know.” Mary Lynn Buchanan, 9 Feb. 2021.

“Cecily Brown.” Gagosian. Accessed 28 July 2022.

Fontaine, Pearl. “Kerry James Marshall Looks to Audubon in ‘Black and Part Black Birds in America.’” Whitewall Art, 3 Aug. 2020.

Loos, Ted. “Kerry James Marshall’s Black Birds Take Flight in a New Series.” The New York Times, 29 July 2020.

Park, Anna. “It’s Good For You.” Artsy, 2020.

Rees, Lucy. “Next Big Things: Anna Park.” Galerie, 18 Dec. 2020.

“Untitled.” The Met. Accessed 28 July 2022.

Early Modern Era: The Great Depression

All too often, the deepest of art emerges from the darkest of times. The Great Depression, which lasted from 1929 to 1933, weighed heavily on many American souls and brought forth profound works of art. During this period of time and in the years to follow, changes in technology allowed culture to spread faster and art to become more accessible. It was therefore extremely important to artists and their audiences to connect through the pain they all shared, in simple pictures that displayed life and suffering as it was. 

"Family Flats," created by Millard Sheets in 1935, is a drawing that shows a neighborhood from Sheets' hometown, Los Angeles, California. These flats, or tenements, were buildings that had been divided into apartments that were overcrowded and much too small for large families. Oftentimes, the flats were the only place for families to live during the Great Depression. 

There isn't much information about the reason Millard drew this picture, but to me it seems clear that he wanted to show the world what living in extreme poverty looked like. In the drawing, several women are doing laundry together, but look dirty and tired. Buildings rise high into the sky, clotheslines strung every which way, observing the commotion down below. 

A lot is happening in the picture. There is so much to look at, and even though the objects are arranged well, the audience can feel the chaos of the moment. Sheets relies on value to create the illusion of dark and light, drawing the viewer's eyes to the whiteness of the sky and the women's faces. He also uses form to show his audience the monstrosity of the buildings--so big, and yet so crowded. The coarse texture of the drawing adds to the feeling of sadness that should be invoked in the viewer. 

During the Depression, President Roosevelt sought to end it by forming the New Deal, which would employ many desperate Americans and help the country get back on its feet. Part of the New Deal included the Federal Art Project, which funded visual artists and arranged traveling art shows for them to display their works. One of these artists was a photographer named Dorothea Lange, and she made a great effort to capture humans in their most desperate state. 

Lange took the above photo, "Dust Bowl Envelopes Swathes of the U.S.," in New Mexico, 1935. "It was conditions of this sort which forced many famers to abandon the area," she said (History.com Editors). This photograph displays a man standing silently against the dusty wind, and it should invoke a deep feeling of sorrow in the audience as they think about what these people had to endure. 

Though it is a photo, it is still arranged in an artistic fashion. The form and space of the picture allow the audience to become a part of the moment, with each object placed so that our minds can grasp it easily. The value of the picture is also very important, as the audience can truly see the dust and the man standing inside of it. We can see his shape, his sorrowful demeanor, and that should make us sad. 

The above painting, titled "New Road," is much more peaceful than the other two pieces of art. It was created by Grant Wood in 1939, most likely somewhere in Iowa, years after the Depression had ended. Though it does not seem to fit the theme of depression, it still follows that theme quite well. Many of Wood's art was intended to draw Americans away from the feeling of devastation and point them towards hope. In fact, even the painting's title seems to tell his audience to start afresh.

Wood's use of color in this picture invokes warmth and peace, with the soft oranges and greens that fade with distance. The shape and form of the picture is round, and it doesn't seem to have many sharp edges; perhaps it is meant to relax the observer. I think it marks a good end to the depression, to awake from the sadness and begin a journey on a new road. 

Sources

“Art and the Great Depression | Uncovering America.” PBS Learning Media. Accessed 14 July 2022.

History.Com Editors. “Artists of the New Deal.” HISTORY, 2017.

Kindig, Jessie. “Culture and Arts during the Depression.” University of Washington, 2009.

Yang, Gu. “American Art during the Great Depression.” Art Exchange, 2011.

Romantic Era: Romantic vs Realist

Romantic Style 

In direct response to Neoclassicism, the Romantic style took place in the first half of the 1800s. Paintings from this era were generally more beautiful and mysterious than those of the previous era, but artists still wanted to invoke emotions in their audiences. They wanted it to be known that art was a great and powerful gift from God. 

Above is a painting by Caspar David Friedrich from 1822-1823, simply titled "Mountain Landscape." He lived in Dresden, Germany after 1798, so it can be assumed that he created the painting there. 

Friedrich painted many landscapes, often featuring a person standing and staring out at its beauty. Though it may seem that his paintings came from nature that existed around him, all of them were imaginary. He said once that "the artist should paint not only what he sees before him, but also what he sees within him." It is clear that Friedrich wanted to make a statement with his art, perhaps that we all have something inside us waiting to get out, and that God had gifted him with the ability to express it in a painting. 

The details in Friedrich's "Mountain Landscape" are extraordinary, especially having come from his own imagination. He made splendid use of form, as there seems to be a V, formed by the trees and slopes, that points to the bottom of the girl's feet. Friedrich also used value, from the darkness at the bottom of the picture to the light that sits above it. It is almost as if the girl is sitting in a place of darkness in her mind, looking out at the distant light and wondering at its beauty. The color is yet another element that contributes to the depth of painting, mostly through the greens and oranges that surround the girl, and the orange of her head that attracts attention from the audience. 

This next picture is a drawing by Fransisco Goya, created in 1799 and titled "The sleep of reason produces monsters." Based on the story of Goya's life, he most likely drew it in Madrid, Spain. 

What drew me to this work was originally its title, so haunting and mysterious. The words, etched on the table in the bottom left corner, are telling the audience that evil will always take the place of reason. Goya's idea here is that we lose our reasoning when we fall asleep, and where reason is gone, monsters are produced. It is a dark thought, but it represents the values of the Romantic era, when artists wanted their audience to feel heavy with the truth when observing each work. 

This picture does not have any color, so it relies heavily on value to create the illusion of dark and light. The white of the person and the darkness of the monsters elicits a feeling of fear in the audience. The form of the picture is also pleasing to look at, with the man at the center, the cluster of monsters that grow smaller in the distance, and the blank space at the top left corner. I would also say that texture is another important element to this drawing, as it appears to be coarse to the touch. Perhaps it tells us that the truth can be rough, but it is still the truth. 

Realist Style

Much like the Romantic style was a reaction against Neoclassicism, the Realist style was a reaction against Romanticism. Artists in the era did not want to take their audience's breath away with their paintings. They simply wanted to display the truth as it was, connecting to their viewers and their lives on a personal level. I am not as fond of this art style because I enjoy looking at glorious things; however, it does seem to be beautiful in its own way. 

"The Angelus" (shown above) was painted by Jean-Francois Millet from 1857 to 1859, most likely in Barbizon, France. 

The picture displays to the audience two people who have stopped their potato digging to recite the Angelus, a Catholic prayer. Millet's intention for the painting is not to glorify the prayer, but to reignite a childhood memory. He said in 1865 that "The idea for the Angelus came to me because I remembered that my grandmother, hearing the church bell ringing while we were working in the fields, always made us stop work to say the Angelus prayer for the poor departed." 

One of the strongest elements in "The Angelus" is Millet's use of value. Though there is color in the man and woman, they appear like silhouettes against the peaceful setting of the sun. Millet has also used line to create simplicity in the photo, the most obvious line being the horizon, but then it is followed by straight, visible rows in the field. The third and perhaps most important element in this painting is its space. Everything seems to be placed just right, and though we are drawn to the silhouettes, the space around them has its own beauty that attracts our eyes. 

This painting is titled "Still Life with Cabbage and Clogs," created by Vincent van Gogh in 1881. This most likely happened at the Brussels Academy in Belgium.

There was not much I could find about the artists' intentions for his audience with this painting. I did, however, find a quote from a letter to his brother that says, "Well, Mauve immediately installed me in front of a still life consisting of a couple of old clogs and other objects, and so I could set to work." To me, this sounds like it comes from a young painter, just under 30, who is excited for an opportunity to paint. Perhaps it fits into the Realist era well, because there isn't anything glorious or magnificent about it. It's just life, in the form of vegetables and a plain pair of shoes resting on the table.

The spacing is this painting is pleasing to look at, the mass of objects arranged carefully across the middle of the picture. Van Gogh used value to create shadows, which was an important contribution to the illusion of depth and placement. The colors display simplicity and a feeling of peace, mostly browns with some red, orange, and blue. The brighter colors catch the viewer's eye but somehow remain simple without messing up the overall mood of the painting.

Conclusion

The Romantic style is dramatic, and the Realist style simple. I originally said that I didn't like the Realist style, but once I displayed those two paintings, I felt like changing my mind. The truth is, both styles are strangely beautiful in their own ways and the messages that they carry are equally important. They each hold an entire history of thoughts from the human mind.

Sources

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. "Vincent van Gogh". Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Mar. 2022. Accessed 7 July 2022.

“Caspar David Friedrich.” Artsy, 2022.

“Caspar David Friedrich.” Wikipedia, 11 Apr. 2022.

“Francisco Goya.” Wikipedia, 4 July 2022.

“Goya, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.” Khan Academy. Accessed 6 July 2022.

“Jean-François Millet.” National Gallery of Art. Accessed 7 July 2022.

“L’Angélus.” Musée, d’Orsay. Accessed 7 July 2022.

“Still Life with Cabbage and Clogs.” Van Gogh Museum. Accessed 7 July 2022.