Suzie's Thoughts on Whitworth's Photograph and Trash

One of the photographs in T. Coke Whitworth's Zionville, NC series is a digital print depicting a bare, wooded area interspersed with people's unwanted and used personal items. The used tires, couches, and bins look more like trash than used particles, though, primarily because these items are not in their correct environment. Instead, the photo immediately sends signals of disgust and disappointment to the viewer because of the man-made trash that is encompassing the natural habitat and wildlife, a scene that is becoming much too familiar in today's society.

Sunshine, lively deer and squirrels, green leaves, and newly budding flowers are non-existant in Whitworth's photo. The background is grey, the trees are bare, and no animals are in sight. Bright colors are completely absent, even the chairs and couches are dim and bland. The picture appears lifeless. Man's trash is overcoming nature, something we're all aware of by now, and this confiscatement of nature's habitats is blatantly obvious in Whitworth's snapshot. There is nothing abstract or mysterious about this piece of art. I immediately felt distress and anger when I saw the trashed woods. Man is taking over natural ecosystems, and in turn, animals all over the world, and especially in the US, are quickly losing their homes.

Too many people are wasteful in today's society, and this immense problem is honestly and readily depicted in the photograph. One of the objects in the foreground is a tasteless picture of a naked woman which is tacked to a tree. My eyes were initially drawn to this segment of the photo because it is one of the first objects in focus, and I automatically became disgusted. Because this feeling had already originated in my mind, it would be difficult to turn the mood in a different direction. I therefore think that Whitworth originally wanted pull his viewers' focuses in on this artificial and vulgar commodity in order to give them a taste of what the rest photograph was going to entail. Once my eyes wandered over the remaining pieces of the photo and I saw the lack of life, the trash, and the wastefullness, the feeling of repulsion and outrage continued to accumulate.

The few ragged couches and chairs that appear in Whitworth's photo represent abandonment and desertion. They are turned over and look to have simply been thrown into the woods as if it were a landfill. As I stated earlier, the image seems to be lifeless, and this desertion of wildlife is exemplified by the empty, turned over, worn out furniture.

The grey, bland colors, lack of life, and trash in the woods that appear in Whitworth's photograph all point towards the growing social dilemma that man is taking over Earth's natural ecosystems. We are taking too many things for granted, and instead of trying to fix the problem by using composts, recycling, etc., too many people continue to dump their used items in woods, fields, and other wildlife habitats. The photo is difficult to look at, because it reminds us that scenes like the one Whitworth captured exist in more places than they should. But hopefully, the more viewers that witness Whitworth's realistic photos, the more people will realize that it is imperative we change the way we are living our lives.

Suzie's Thoughts on Andy Warhol and Mao

Andy Warhol's large, fifteen-foot painting of Mao Tse-tung reflects the immense impact that the Chinese leader had on the country. The head-on, close up, enormous portrait of Mao's face portrays his importance and dominance of the Chinese people to Warhol's audience. Although Mao remains a controversial figure to this day, Warhol's painting was not meant to represent his personal and political views about the leader, but rather to represent Mao's influence and to perhaps make facetious assertions about a serious topic.

Once the viewer recognizes the magnitude and importance of Mao, his or her eyes then focus on the painting itself. The brushstrokes, colors, texture, and medium, catch the viewer's eyes because they are what is seen when one is close to the painting. The viewer can only see the larger picture of Mao from a much farther distance. Large, thick brushstrokes form the majority of Mao's green shirt (not a very flattering shade of green, I must add) and the blue background. Both of these colors strikingly contrast with Mao's orange-colored face. These are the three primary colors of the color wheel, and they essentially comprise Warhol's painting. Because primary colors are used, there is not much mixing or blending of the foreground with the background. Mao is the prominent focus of the piece, and neither he nor his green shirt blend with the blue background whatsoever. Rather, the use of contrasting colors furthers one of Warhol's goals: to make Mao's stand out from the background thereby signifying his grand historical importance.

Because the image already existed before Warhol and speaks for itself, he simply used it as a referance piece. Therefore, Warhol's purpose wasn't to express his personal or political views about the leader, but rather to show his significance. It appears that some blue highlighting appear on Mao's eyelids, along with a hint of pink brushed on his lips. Because of these observations, the author of "Andy Warhol's Mao, 1973", Anne Rorimer, argues that Mao's blue eyeshadow and slightly pink lips signify a type of mockery about superficiality and perfection within our society. However, I originally did not agree with her assertion. At first thought, I believed that the colors bring some contrast and brightness to the painting, but were not used in a joking matter. However, based upon my knowledge about Warhol and his obsession with artificiality, perfection, and famous people, I then decided that the idea that Warhol might have used brighter colors to signify makeup on Mao is not out completely of the question. The possibility that Warhol created Mao with makeup on to create a jesting tone would coincide with what historians and art critics know about Warhol and his bizzare, flamboyant, mocking personality.

It is difficult to acknowledge the difference between the possiblity of artificial cosmetics and the fact that the blue and pink colors might have been used simply as a painterly substance to make the artwork more complete. Depending on one's views and previous knowledge about Warhol, this interpretation could greatly differ from person to person. Whether or not one agrees with Rorimer's analysis, I think it is safe to say that Andy Warhol was indeed a talented artist, and definitely made history with his unique assimilations of pop icons.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/4113141.pdf

Kevin's Thoughts On "The Dutchman"

When I first saw this painting at the Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill, I stopped. I lingered for a long time trying to understand what exact goal was behind this painting, which appeared to me at the first glance like a semi-skilled college student randomly dividing a canvas into a million sections with wavy lines, and coloring them in an extremely complex way. It is “The Dutchman,” by a Nigerian artist, Moyo Okediji. Its disconnected colors, curvy lines, swirled shapes, and complexity generated a sense of chaos and confusion. This painting, as I later realized, depicted a tale of the horrified and disorganized reality of the slaves on the Middle Passage “journey,” and demonstrated the social conflicts between them and the slave traders. Okediji attempted to remind the viewers of the suffering from the slavery and to reconnect African Americans to their heritage.

The painting was hard to make sense of at a distance. The reason was that its intense variety of colors, curves, and shapes prevented my eyes to focus on any particular part of the image. The dominating color throughout the painting seemed blue. Other colors included yellow, black, orange, purple, brown, etc. The colors were disconnected and they overlapped each other. Curved lines were everywhere, dissecting the image into various shapes and thus breaking the overral unity of the painting. A total chaos was how I described it. I feel dizzied by its complexity. So, I moved back and forth, from the left to the right, trying to view the painting from different angles and distance in attempt to fully grasp what the artist had depicted. I moved closer, squinting my eyes, and seemed to adjust my gazes to the right focal points as outlines of many people emerged. With the help of the placard, I realized that it was about the Dutch slave trade. A ship was labeled “DUTCH” in the upper right hand corner, and the slave traders made identifiable by their skin colors, stood with callous facial expressions. I also saw several slaves: in the middle of the painting, a slave was being held upside-down. Next to it to the left, a drowning slave, thrown into the deep Atlantic ocean full of sharks, was sticking his hand out of the water. These scenes clearly demonstrated the suffering of the slaves. As the description stated, it was a “voyage through death.”

Beyond depicting the surface scene of slave trade, Okediji managed to employ several techniques to force the viewers to actively perceive and helped them achieve emotional and physical connections with the slaves. The slave trade was one of the darkest period in human history. It was associated with torture, disease and hunger. However, Okediji used bright colors for most of the painting. It was not a message of optimism or hope or whatever good things that came along with bright color. The contrast and brightness of the colors simply created a strong visual impact and attracted the viewers’ attention at first glance. However, viewers could find it hard to quickly understand the painting because of its complexity. In order to sense the tragic and chaotic details, the viewers had to explore the painting with further examination. When closely looked at, the figures of people were not clearly defined. They are distorted, teared into several blocks. The wavy lines made it hard for the viewer to grasp the whole body of any figures. Each object seemed to be separated from the other. Within each of themselves, they are divided into numerous sections of different colors, creating a sense of movement. For example, the slave who was help upside down had black legs, blue body, brown arms and red hands. This break of unity symbolized the slaves’ disturbing, anxious and chaotic mentality. The curved lines also mimicked waves, thus they created wave -like motions and symbolized instability.

The sparkling colors created distractions. It made it impossible for viewers to focus on one figure for a long time. Okediji forced the viewers to move their eyes all over the painting through the wavy lines, making it hard for them to distinguish separate parts of the painting. In this process, viewers would experience confusion and chaos, which were exactly what the slaves had gone through. Although I could not quite clearly identify each figure or object, everywhere I looked in the painting, I could catch glimpses of disturbing signs: tortured body, drowning men, crying woman and shocked faces. Okediji wanted the viewers to feel the pain, chaos and disorganization that his ancestors were going through. And viewers did not need to comprehensively understand each part of the painting to sense these sufferings that the slaves on the middle passage journey had to endure. The colors are also significant in another way. The massive blue not only depicted the Atlantic Ocean, it also symbolized African Americans’ blues music. Okediji wanted to reconnect the African Americans to their cultures and heritage. The active engagement from the viewers could lead them into thinking. People would reflect back to this dark history and establish the emotional and physical connections with the slaves.

Okediji was telling a story in this painting. It was a documentary of the suffering of the slaves in the Middle Passage. As an artist of African heritage, Mayoto Okediji felt his ancestors’ pain as a result of slavery. It was this realization that inspired him. Being an art insensitive person myself, I stared at this image in Ackland Art Museum for nearly an hour to finally see through it. It dazzled me. It’s worth it.

Kevin's Thoughts on "Self Portrait With Bandaged Ear and Pipe"

Van Gogh’s “Self Portrait With Bandaged Ear And Pipe” passes on a message not only of his overwhelming physical suffering, but also of extreme mental despair, fear, and immense anxiety. The sallow face, bandaged ear, and shrinking chicks convey his unhealthiness. His distorted eyes signal hopelessness; the completely covered up body with multiple layers of clothes, rough and flat use of color, and the burning pipe reflect his spiritual instability and anxious mentality. Some, however, have different views towards this portrait. In article “Comparison of Van Gogh self-portraits,” the author argues that despite the pain and despair on the surface, the painting represents calmness, order and peace of mind. I certainly disagree.

The portrait is a mirror reflection of Van Gogh, facing the viewers at a slight angle. The man is wrapped in a thick green winter jacket, wearing a black feather hat that one would only wear in severe coldness. However, the man is not in any outside wildness. Instead, he is sitting inside a rigid room, without windows or any other media through which the outside chillness can reach the room. Yet he wears his outdoor gears. It makes him look like he is so physically fragile and weak that he needs warmth to keep him alive. Beyond warmth, Van Gogh seems in need of protection and a sense of security. His spiky hat looks defensive, jacket buttoned up, like a shell, demonstrating his fear confronting the harsh reality. Thus, he wraps himself with everything he can to protect himself from the outside world.

Van Gogh expresses extreme sorrow and remorse. One of the most noticeable features in this painting is his unusual facial composition － the pallid face, soulless eyes along with the powerless lips. His face is thin and his complexion appears unhealthily yellow, giving the impression that he is aging significantly every second. The eyes are drawn not looking at you. The distance between them is noticeable closer than a normal, healthy person. They lack the sharpness, or sparks or reflection that can create three dimensional effect. Instead, they are dry and extremely flat, as if two random pieces sticked to the face. That reminds of me a hopeless person who stares at a mirror and looks at himself and is not expecting anything anymore. He appears dazed and lost. If eyes are the widows to the soul, Van Gogh’s window, apparently, is closed. Van Gogh has lost his physical strength as he can barely hold a pipe in his lips, which leans downward.

The color in this painting carries an emotional and spiritual message. It is somewhat monochromatic in a sense that the background is entirely composed of red and orange blocks. The author argues that Van Gogh expresses “emotional consolation and support through the stable shapes and colors of the background,” claiming that red establishes a secure base and orange above represents warmth. He sees the contrast between the foreground and background colors as complementary and in stable order; thus he concludes that Van Gogh has achieved order and control. However, the colors indicate different messages to me. I see anxiety. The contrast between the “hotness” in the background and the coldness the blue hat and green coat embody signals a sense of disturbance and inconsistency. Van Gogh have lost his patience to paint. Unlike many of his other paintings, such as “The Starry Night” and “The Sunflowers,” which contain a rich and subtle background, this portrait is filled with flat colors and looked very incoherent to the overall tone of the paint. It seems to me that Van Gogh simply throws whatever color he has next to him on the canvases on a whim. These drips have no particular meaning or purpose. Van Gogh did not want to modify it, instead, he wanted to get it over with the paint. The source of the inconsistency and roughness originates from his anxiety. Furthermore, the fact that Van Gogh is smoking a pipe also conveys his anxious mentality. Imagine when you come across a super hard problem in your math homework. You’ve been spending hours on it and still can’t figure it out. What would you do? If you are a smoker, I suppose you would light on a cigarette. Smoking is a natural outcome of anxiety and uneasiness.

Therefore I conclude, in this painting, Van Gogh is not only emaciated on the surface, but also broken on the inside. I admit that knowing the background of Van Gogh may change my interpretation, but nevertheless, you cannot say he is ready to go out and party.

Autumn's Thoughts on Felrath Hines' Aquatic Adventures

Felrath Hines’ Aquatic Adventures contrasts dark and light colors, symbolizing the distance between races in the United States. He completed the painting soon before his death. The style strayed from his usual geometric patterns, so painting the piece was an “adventure.” Hines worked his entire career to resist being labeled as merely an African-American artist. He did not want his race to place him into a “special category with a particular group.” Instead, he wanted his art to hold universal appeal and not relate exclusively to African-American topics and audiences. With this last painting, Hines communicated that race issues had decreased, but more still needed to be done.

With the majority of Hine’s paintings, he used geometric shapes and presented them in a symmetric pattern. He chose this style to allow his viewers to escape the messiness of society. Hines used Aquatic Adventures to introduce a new style featuring curvy shapes and wavy borders. Hines abandoned his usual style to give his viewers a new perspective. His geometric style portrayed simplicity and stability. The new bends represent disorder and complexity. Hines could not portray race issues as neat and orderly. His new style called for a change.

Hines’ call for change can also be seen in the wavy lines and curvy shapes of the piece. The title Aquatic Adventures suggests wave-like motions and rolling tides, with new ideas constantly coming and going. Hines completed the painting in 1993. Although long after the Civil Rights and Segregation periods, race issues were still present and affecting society. The arcs symbolize transition. Races were still working towards living equal lives and having equal opportunities. Older generations were stubborn to change their beliefs and lifestyles. The arcs also represent progress and action. In 1993, several African-American citizens held powerful and meaningful positions in society. Douglas Wilder became the first African American to be elected governor in 1989. Colin Powell served as Chairman of the US Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993. In 1992, Carol Moseley-Braun of Illinois became the first African-American woman elected to the US Senate. America was finally moving towards harmony between the races.

The thin white borders surrounding each figure imply how close races were to connecting, bonding, and living in peace. Only minor concerns kept races from fully accepting change. The fear of history repeating itself held some from trying to interact with different races. Also, the uncertainty of what would happen if they did interact kept many from trying. People only knew of violence and hatred, and could not visualize peace and unity. Most of all, many felt that they would lose their pride by harmonizing with races that harmed their family and friends. The white borders could also identify the small barrier that would always exist between races. The border did not mean that they could never achieve harmony, but that history would forever keep them apart. From cultural aspects, different races followed different rituals and traditions. Also, living in peace would not make them lose their race identity. Race does identify people and provides part of their background and where they came from; this produces the thin barrier. However, one race is no better than another, and that is what Hines aimed for in Aquatic Adventures.

Also pertaining to the idea of equality was Hines’ use of color. The various colors represent the different races. Hines shows the potential of how peaceful it would be for races to intertwine by making the contrast in colors beautiful and tranquil. The painting renders serenity with its cool color palette, smooth texture, and flowing lines. The painting shows that the storm has passed and the calm is soon to come. The light blue, the brightest color in the piece, signifies emerging light, illuminating and overpowering all the dark and harmful events of the past. Overall, Hines’ use of color exposes optimism and hope for the future.

Finally, the title Aquatic Adventures relates to the ocean’s system of living. In the ocean, species of fish swim together in schools. They travel collectively for protection and companionship. Venturing out and interacting with other species is risky, because they do not know if they will become friends or the fish’s next meal. Mingling with the other species is the adventure. Once they gather enough courage to socialize with other species, they find that they have much in common. They can learn from one another, protect one another, and live in harmony. There are always going to be the few species that cause harm to everyone else, but the ally species should work together and fight them off. The enemy species should not affect their peace and newfound companionship. This idea of survival and harmony in the ocean is similar to what Hines attempted to portray in his painting. Learning to live peacefully with different races is part of nature. We all have things in common and should focus on these traits to become friends. Focusing on our differences only creates more problems. Hines’ vision shows how close approaching harmony is for American society.

I feel that Hines did a wonderful job of capturing the struggle of peace among the races and the actions being taken to resolve the struggle. Also, using a new style that he was not very familiar or experienced with is impressive. The impact would not have been as strong had he used his usual geometric pattern technique. The curvatures clearly show movement and the progress being made to end race issues. The thin white borders surrounding each figure show how close races are to connecting and illuminate each color’s, or race’s, best qualities. The calm color palette gives Hines’ audience hope that peace is to come. I am sure Hines’ never imagined that in 2009, Americans would elect the first African-American President. The use of the ocean theme relates the race issue back to nature, and how the races can relate to each other and exist united. Overall, Hines’ Aquatic Adventures portrays how far American society has come to settling race issues and anticipates optimism for the future.

Autumn's Thoughts on Monet's Monetary Success

Claude Monet's painting Impression, Sunrise 1873 portrays a sailor journeying to the many possibilities his day may offer. Monet also produced nine other variations of this painting, all open to many interpretations. Some believe that his "mass productions" of nature series were done for monetary purposes. However, it is Monet's obsession with changing light effects over a day's period and color that led him to produce many variations of the same themes.

In “The Dispersal of the Modernist Series,” John Klein argues that series painters, such as Claude Monet, were driven by monetary motivations instead of unity and variations. He claims that the installation of Monet’s series had no distinct pattern or purpose, other than to persuade buyers that they wanted to purchase one of Monet’s pieces. Monet is one of the view artists who had financial success during his lifetime. His talent and perspectives varying the use of light, color, and texture directly generated Monet’s popularity and success. Viewers were drawn to his works because they could easily relate to a piece, and were able to connect with one over several others. Claiming that his main motivation was commercial fails to see the true beauty of his series and the intentions of his variations.

John Klein claims that the installation of Monet’s series had no significance other than appealing to the viewers interested in buying. He argues that “the way Monet’s series paintings were installed did not propose narrations of moments in the day or seasons in the year.” Monet was actually quite obsessed with the effects of light over the course of a day. As seen in all of his series, each piece portrays the same subject at a different moment of the day or season of the year. This pattern is what brought so many people to enjoy Monet’s work. They could go to an exhibition and choose their favorite piece out of several, deciding between various lighting, colors, and texture. Those that take pleasure in the brightness of spring could relate just as easily as those fond of the warmth of fall. Monet’s financial success was due to his wide range of viewers, not the strategic installations of his series.

Also supporting the idea that Monet’s installations were designed for commercial purposes, Klein declares that “these modern series have neither beginning nor end.” The appeal to Monet’s work is the viewers’ freedom of interpretation. They can choose their own beginning and end from his series, depending on how they view each piece. The truth about Monet’s installations was that he insisted to present his paintings as a unified achievement because the “his individual paintings ‘only acquire their full value by the comparison and the succession of the whole series’ when it is seen together.” The installations of his series were intended to make each painting look its best and illuminate various aspects of the surrounding paintings. Monet’s exhibitions were so powerful that buyers, who could afford it, wanting multiple paintings. These buyers found a story and connection in the pieces they desired. Monet’s intention was to create series that his viewers could connect to, and that is what he accomplished. His talent and easily relatable pieces brought him commercial success, not the design of his installations.

Declaring that Monet’s financial achievement only came from his series’ installation designs insults his creativity, determinations, and pure talent. It is possible that the rarity and excitement of owning a Monet piece from a series overshadowed some technical elements it possessed, but at the end of the day, Monet’s series mesmerized his viewers. His individual paintings were great, only appearing more magnificent when displayed together in series. Monet’s monetary accomplishments were only a result of his hard work and simply beautiful artwork.

Kevin's Thoughts On Leonardo Da Vinci And Sfumato

Dan Brown's tremendous bestseller “The Da Vinci Code” has reintroduced and regenerated people’s vast interests in art history, especially toward Leonardo Da Vinci and his masterpieces. Predictably, many people sunk their teeth back into the century old Mona Lisa identity controversy and the hidden knowledge behind it. However, true art historians study Da Vinci seeking much more than fictionalized myths concerning his art collections. His perfection of employing visual effects － an imaginative technique creating enigma and ambiguity, blurred backgrounds and edges, and subtle hidden illusions － represents his true qualities that have produced people’s continuing fascination towards him. Among these qualities, the Sfumato technique generated many discussions. One article explains the inspiration behind the technique and how it stimulates viewers’ active engagement. The other article demonstrates the magical visual effect that the technique can create and the visual effects it arouses.

In “‘Blurred’ horizon in Leonardo’s paintings,” Luba Freedman explores the motivation behind Da Vinci’s unconventional artistic device － depicting the horizons with vagueness. He concludes that the hope to stimulating the spectator's participation largely inspired Da Vinci’s adoption of such technique. During Da Vinci’s career, the traditional painting construction involved portraying a distinct horizon line in the background that's discernible to the spectators. However, Da Vinci departed from the tradition. Insead of having a defined line, he created an imperceptible transition between light, shade, and colors, and m ade everything without borders. As a result, the horizons in his painting are often left blurring and fading. Da Vinci transferred the blurring horizon to the vague depiction of the whole background.

For example, in “the Annunciation” (on the left), the background has various planes: the garden, the harbor and the distant mountains. The horizon line is barely traceable. In “The Virgin and Saint Anne” (on the right), the distant mountains have blurred outlines. The background does not have a continuous

horizon line. The same can be seen in “Mona Lisa.” The background consists of vague mountains with two roads that gradually fade away in to the distance. The boundary extends to indefinite depth and “ceases to be traceable.” The contrast between the ambiguous background and focused subjects in the foreground creates a sense of mystery and forces the viewers to perceive actively as their gazes have to move back and forth between the front and the distant view in an attempt to interpret the backgrounds. Thus it triggers the spectators’ imaginations and encourages just the type of active perception that Da Vinci wished.

This technique is Sfumato, and it appears to have more magical effects than simply creating imagination. Remember the eye trick game on iphone? You stare at a black and white image of Jesus for 30 seconds and then close you eyes and look at something bright, the image of Jesus would emerge. That’s because the image is constructed in a certain way so that it stimulates a particular interaction between the eye and the brain which creates the visual effect. The article, “The Turbulent Structure of Sfumato within Mona Lisa,” describes a sensational visual phenomenon in the painting “Mona Lisa” in which the figure seems alive and the face of Mona Lisa evolves into an infinite form of other faces depending how it is looked at. The author, Diogo Queiros-Conde, claims that Sfumato - a technique that involves vague, blurring depiction of transition - gives the painting a “turbulent structure.” Just like people can experience turbulence on an unpredictable flight, moving and constantly changing, the viewers can perceive an unstable, moving figure. Like, fluid, it is a perfect unity, yet it displays the continuous movement. The author introduces a visual experiment that illustrates the visual effect in “Mona Lisa.” His instructions are the following. Set it in moderate lighting. Then blink your eyes, choosing alternately one eye and closing the other. Increase the frequency and stop suddenly. People can observe that Mona Lisa’s smile and gaze change: the smile can disappear or be strangely amplified. The face takes on very different expressions: “The painting behaves like a sand dune, constantly reorganizing itself after each blink.” Thus one should see the face of Mona Lisa taking on infinite forms, leading to infinite faces. This is not a universal visual effect that one can observe in any painting. After applying the method on an ordinary portrait chosen for comparison, the author claims mere blinking would barely change anything in our perception of the portrait. But with Mona Lisa, a simple blink can modify our vision.

Both articles structure their argument and evidence similarly. They initiate their arguments with a general conclusion and support the arguments with examples. Professionally, they tied in their convincing techniques. But to me, Luba’s observations seem more realistic and easier to detect. People can clearly perceive the vagueness in the examples and immediately have their own interpretations, whereas they might not be able to successfully observe the movement of Mona Lisa’s face because of the light limitation, quality of the painting, etc. When I look at “Mona Lisa,” I always get lost in the blurred, unmeasurable space, but I can hardly perceive a living, breathing person that has changing facial expressions. Maybe I'm just not artistic enough and should stick to my forte of calculus.