In this comparison I will be comparing Russell Drysdale’s Maria (1950) a Sydney oil on canvas, 99x76.2 cm (NGA) to Guan Wei’s Dow: Island (2002) a synthetic polymer painting, 320x921 across 48 panels (NGA).
The painting Maria shows a middle aged foreign looking woman, standing under a dark veranda, looking vaguely out into the distance. The title give us the understanding that her name is ‘Maria’. Her features and her surrounds are realistic. The landscape is dry outback. There is no other human presence in the painting, other than a building off into the distance. An isolated town; an isolated Maria. She is wearing an apron which suggests that she had opened a café or store which would attract residents and people passing through the town.
The flat, painted style and narrative is unmistakably a Wei artwork. Dow: Island takes us through a range of human emotions. Seen on the canvas is unmistakably a map, a map unrecognisable to any cartographer. The islands on the map are completely figments of the artists imagination. These islands are set in a sea of an infinite variety of blues contrasting against the white stylised clouds. Giving the viewer a bird’s eye view over the landscapes. Wei’s little fragile figures are present on the canvas and are on a seemingly impossible journey. They inhabit the three main islands.
This painting of Maria and her surrounds obviously shows us the difference of her new home compared to Italy or Rome. Without even showing us how her life used to be. Her face looks sad and possibly lonely. The town looks deserted. It reminds us of the amount of immigrants that come to Australia after the Second World War to create a new life. Drysdale also had to leave his home country of England to settle a new li...
... middle of paper ...
...clouds above refer to traditional Japanese screen paintings and provide a softening side to the water. They create a balance symbolising hope and good luck. Four wind symbols are used as a devise to balance the composition – all are blowing air gently into the picture. The cartoon like face with its puffed out, red cheeks expelling air. All suggest a positive, natural energy.
It doesn’t matter where you come from or what you’ve been though, everyone will feel the emotions of isolation and fear at one point in their life. Everyone can relate to these artworks. Both Maria and the figures in Dow: Island has sought out a new life in a foreign country making them the foreigners or ‘asylum seekers’ in their new home. Dow: Island shows the harsh journey but Maria displays that even though the desired destination is reached there’s still allot of work involved to survive.
Wayne, transforms this painting into a three dimensional abstract piece of art. The focal point of the painting are the figures that look like letters and numbers that are in the front of the piece of art. This is where your eyes expend more time, also sometimes forgiving the background. The way the artist is trying to present this piece is showing happiness, excitement, and dreams. Happiness because he transmits with the bright colours. After probably 15 minutes on front of the painting I can feel that the artist tries to show his happiness, but in serene calm. The excitement that he presents with the letters, numbers and figures is a signal that he feels anxious about what the future is going to bring. Also in the way that the colors in the background are present he is showing that no matter how dark our day can be always will be light to
With both of these pieces you can see Hokusai’s obsession with mountain and his feel for the sacredness of it. Many of the Japanese artist of this era would put Mount Fuji in their art to symbolize the very important cultures and heritage of the Japanese. It was thought of as having a secret of immortality, eternal life. In both of these pieces it shows nature and water, whether peaceful like in The Inlet of Nobuto or active and aggressive like in The Great Wave. On the website angelfire.com it says:
Sofonisba Anguissola was one of the most prominent female painters of the Renaissance. Not only was she one of only four women mentioned by Giorgio Vasari in his famous Lives of the Artists, she also paved the way for later female artists. One may look at Sofonisba’s upbringing and assume that her talents were a result of her wealth and family background. However, if investigated more carefully through both analytical secondary sources and primary sources, it becomes clear that Sofonisba’s painting abilities formed because of her talent, not her wealth. Sofonisba integrated herself into the artistic community and used her second-class status as a female painter to accelerate her career: because she was not able to study as an apprentice in a workshop, her models were usually family members, she pioneered the style of genre painting. Historian Joan Kelly argues in her essay, “Did Women Have a Renaissance?” that women did not experience a Renaissance during the actual Renaissance. Sofonisba’s training and connections were extremely helpful to launch her career, refuting Kelly’s argument that women only were taught “charm” during the Renaissance. In addition, Sofonisba married her second husband for love, not for money, debunking Kelly’s argument that marriages during the Renaissance were not based on love. Though Sofonisba’s life as a woman is a unique case in terms of wealth and profession, her success and fame, talent, and marriage (van dyck?) disprove Kelly’s argument that women did not have a Renaissance during the Renaissance.
In “The Photograph”, Enrique Amorim, writes about the tale regarding Madame Dupont, a woman who wants to show her mother that she is doing well in life. As a result, Madame Dupont decides that the best way to represent the life that her mother hoped that Madame had was by hiring a photographer to take her picture. She tells the photographer, “I want a portrait to send to my mother. It must give the impression that it was taken in a real house. My own house” (202). The wording in this quote alone, gives a sense of loneliness as she uses the word “impression”. Thus, it can be inferred that Madame Dupont does not possess adequate living quarters that would allow her mother to feel at ease. The photographer appears to be familiar with this type
Peter Skrzynecki explores this notion through his poem Migrant hostel. Migrant hostel speaks on life not being permanent insinuating that change will overcome and that the immigrants had to adapt to the new life. When the poet speaks of the instability of change within the life of the immigrants, he uses the birds as a metaphor of life not being stable and definite. In relation to the birds Peter uses zoomorphism to further accentuate the notion of change “we lived like bird of passage” the birds symbolise impermanence in the migrants’ lives, the birds never stay in one place they are always changing locations. The birds correlate with the migrants and empathise with not having a stable residence to call home. This poem shapes our understanding by assuring the reader that there is no permanency in the world but just temporary times in life. Peter Skrzynecki presents the temporary side of life through imagery, using the weather and the seasons to express how it is never one weather or one season. “Always sensing a change in the weather: Unaware of the season” Peter delineates the instability within things we cannot control, the weather and the seasons change but they are never the same, this often catches us
The picture has many wholesome elements to it. Venus is only one example. The next wholesome element to the portrait is seen in the upper left corner of the picture. It is in this corner that Zephar and Chloris fly. Zephyr and Chloris are the wind-gods and they are actively blo...
From the piece of artwork “Rain at the Auvers”. I can see roofs of houses that are tucked into a valley, trees hiding the town, black birds, clouds upon the horizon, hills, vegetation, a dark stormy sky and rain.
The portrait depicts a young woman sitting down on a balcony with a rural landscape in the foreground. The name Mona Lisa translate to the phrase, “My lady Lisa.” The medium of the portrait was an oil paint inscribed on a poplar panel. Leonardo likely began the painting in 1503 and finished it around four years later. Although some historians believe, the painting was never finished despite its plethora of detail and specialization. The woman in the painting is unknown; some believe the woman is the female version of Leonardo da Vinci h...
When first approaching this work, one feels immediately attracted to its sense of wonder and awe. The bright colors used in the sun draws a viewer in, but the astonishment, fascination, and emotion depicted in the expression on the young woman keeps them intrigued in the painting. It reaches out to those who have worked hard in their life and who look forward to a better future. Even a small event such as a song of a lark gives them hope that there will be a better tomorrow, a thought that can be seen though the countenance by this girl. Although just a collection of oils on a canvas, she is someone who reaches out to people and inspires them to appreciate the small things that, even if only for a short moment, can make the road ahead seem brighter.
This is an image that I think of when I consider Japanese culture. They love gardens like this and you see similar images often when considering their culture. It is difficult to tell for sure, but the people in the distance appear to be dressed up. It is as though they have put on their best clothes to step out and enjoy this relaxing setting. I believe that this print is successful at capturing a moment in the mid 1800’s very well. It causes me to sense and experience what the artist was trying to capture. This print seems to conform to the formal theory of art. The print has only images of each object. None of them are particularly detailed or real to life but they do a very good job of organizing and describing the basic elements of the scene. It uses similar colors, shapes, and lines to those one might find in this garden in
Gilbert’s use of imagery emphasizes the wild, vibrant, energetic nature of the city of Naples. It becomes clear that, In Gilbert’s eyes, Naples is a city unlike any other. The author writes, “An anthill inside a rabbit warren, with all the exoctism of a Middle Eastern bazaar and a tough of New Orleans voodoo” (Gilbert 175). This shows us how Gilbert sees Naples better than if she had chosen to describe the city detail by painstaking detail. Gilbert combines aspects of places in other countries in a way that gives the reader a clear image of Naples overall atmosphere. Gilbert writes, “The city is all decorated with the laundry that hangs from every window and
There are several elements in this painting which may be difficult to interpret but may have meaning, such as; the headdress on the ground, the horse on the flag, the two men in different style and colored clothing, the smoke that appears much darker, and the two men pointing away from the scene, the wind direction being portrayed differently.
In conclusion, the pieces have a variety of similarities as well as differences. Both pieces are double portraits that show the difference in time periods in which they were created and the way artistic tastes change over time. Both works of art seem to express differences between light and dark. Though both pieces have similar subject matters they vary in the use of medium and technique to create stark contrast with each other.
In the beginning of “I Only Came to Use the Phone,” Maria sets herself up to be trapped after her car breaks down, and she gets on the bus. “Maria looked over her shoulder and saw that the bus was full of women of uncertain ages and varying conditions who were sleeping in blankets just like hers.” (72) this should foreshadow that something is not right to Maria, but she just goes with it. Maria is the only women that talks on the bus, she is not acting like the other women at all. “She was less certain when she saw several women in uniform who received them at the door of the bus, pulled the blankets over their heads to keep them dry, and lined them up single file, directing them not by speaking but with rhythmic, peremptory clapping.” (73) Maria realizes once again that she is out of place and that she should get out of here as soon as possible. The first line of the poem Exile, “The night we fled the country,” (1) this family is taking a risk as they are leaving their country illegally. The family is setting themselves up to be trapped if they get i...
...rivers of paint rush across the dark black ground, creating writhing intertwining shapes that suggest figures in a landscape setting, but without any specificity whatsoever.