“Café Fortune Teller” is a oil on canvas painting which was created by Mary Hoover Aiken in the year 1933. Mary Hoover Aiken was from Cuba, New York and was alive for eighty seven years. The picture is a self portrait which shows Aiken as a fortune teller in a small island off the coast of Spain, Ibiza. At first glance you would think that the woman is just simply playing solitaire and minding her own business. However a closer in depth analysis shows much more that at a first glance. “A picture is worth a thousand words” is a very fitting statement to describe this painting. There are many strong background details that capitalize on the main theme within the painting itself. This painting is set in the earlier times in hispanic culture …show more content…
The definition of solitary is done or existing alone. I don’t believe that just because this woman is alone in this cafe means she is done or existing alone. I think she is simply minding her own business and living as an independent woman in this hispanic island setting. She shouldn’t have had to come there with a man simply to enjoy herself and to have a fine day by herself. I believe that the misconceptions of the strength of women is what led Aiken to create this painting in the first place. Living in an oppressive environment towards women must have been immensely difficult to a strong woman such as herself. “Café Fortune Teller” is a oil on canvas painting which was created by Mary Hoover Aiken in the year 1933. Mary Hoover Aiken was from Cuba, New York and was alive for eighty seven years. The picture is a self portrait which shows Aiken as a fortune teller in a small island off the coast of Spain, Ibiza. At first glance you would think that the woman is just simply playing solitaire and minding her own business. However a closer in depth analysis shows much more that at a first glance. “A picture is worth a thousand words” is a very fitting statement to describe this painting. There are many strong background details that capitalize on the main theme within the painting itself. This painting is set in the earlier times in hispanic culture where women were deemed of lesser value than their male companions. While we also saw this in american culture in the early 1930’s, this painting shows more of the oppressions mentioned in hispanic culture. There are many theories to what this picture actually depicts however I believe that this has to do with sexism and the courage of women in earlier times. The painting “Cafe Fortune Teller” shows a woman’s strength and men’s skepticism of her in a public setting. The picture in some ways could be seen as sad or even depressing
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
Carol Armstrong begins her essay by pointing out the two main points that come about when discussing A Bar at the Folies-Bergere. These two points are the social context of the painting and its representation of 19th century Paris, and the internal structure of the painting itself with the use of space. She then goes on and addresses what she will be analyzing throughout her essay. She focuses on three main points, the still life of the counter and its commodities, the mirror and its “paintedness”, and the barmaid and her “infra-thin hinge” between the countertop and the mirror.
I found the photography piece “From the Road to Tepeyac,” by Alinka Echeverria intriguing. This photography piece was a man kneeling down with a sculpture tied to his back. The woman in the statue had a green flag with multiple stars draped around her. This woman appeared to be the Virgin Mary. Underneath the Virgin Mary was an angel with green, white and red wings. The colors on the flag around the Virgin Mary and the angel’s wings represent Mexico. Also, the stars on the flag present the repetition constructed in this photography piece. There is no physical line for the foreground; however, this piece directs the eye from one point to another by implication. When I first saw this photography piece, I questioned why the statue of the Virgin Mary and an angel were on the man’s back. I realized the Virgin Mary and ...
In the Wallach Gallery exhibition of Anna Hyatt Huntington’s sculpture (1876-1973), the viewer gets to discover different versions of the emblematic figure that is Joan of Arc, from small bronze medals, to much bigger works of art. A digital replication of the initial statue that was unveiled at Riverside Drive and 93rd Street in December 1915 is also available the public in the gallery. The success of the Joan of Arc – or The Maid of Orleans’s depictions results from the symbol that she fosters in European and American culture: a French medieval patriotic heroine who received visions directly from God and who was told to help France combat the English domination and who died burned at the stake, as a martyr.
In the documentary Reel Injun by Neil Diamond it talks about how Native Americans are discriminated against in modern and early America. It shows how discrimination affects the natives in multiple ways, some feel as if they are unwanted on America and don’t exist. Also in the poem In Response to Executive Order 9066: All Americans of Japanese Descent Must Report to Relocation Centers by Dwight Okita and the letters and reports regarding Japanese internment by Various authors shows how the Japanese were discriminated against for their heritage and background. Also, how that discrimination separated families and made the Japanese feel as if they were unwanted in America. Finally in the book Breakfast at Sally’s by Richard LeMieux it tells a true
Knowing full well that her heart belonged in Europe, Mary longed to be back in France and working full time as an artist. Eventually, through commissioned paintings, she was able to save enough money to move to move to Paris. She studied all the famous paintings of the old masters and learned their how to paint with their old style techniques. Mary Cassatt eventually tried submitting her works into the prestigious Paris Salon, only to be rejected. She did not let that stop her however, and tried many times to get into the Salon. She eventually was accepted and had work shown and seen by many people. Being able to show work at such a highly honored place gave Mary the publicity she ne...
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.
Just from this short quote, one can see the independence she wanted the women in her stories to feel without having a man in their lives.
Esperanza, a Chicano with three sisters and one brother, has had a dream of having her own things since she was ten years old. She lived in a one story flat that Esperanza thought was finally a "real house". Esperanza’s family was poor. Her father barely made enough money to make ends meet. Her mother, a homemaker, had no formal education because she had lacked the courage to rise above the shame of her poverty, and her escape was to quit school. Esperanza felt that she had the desire and courage to invent what she would become.
Edna seeks occupational freedom in art, but lacks sufficient courage to become a true artist. As Edna awakens to her selfhood and sensuality, she also awakens to art. Originally, Edna “dabbled” with sketching “in an unprofessional way” (Chopin 543). She could only imitate, although poorly (Dyer 89). She attempts to sketch Adèle Ratignolle, but the picture “bore no resemblance” to its subject. After her awakening experience in Grand Isle, Edna begins to view her art as an occupation (Dyer 85). She tells Mademoiselle Reisz that she is “becoming an artist” (Chopin 584). Women traditionally viewed art as a hobby, but to Edna, it was much more important than that. Painting symbolizes Edna’s independence; through art, she breaks free from her society’s mold.
In “The Fortune Teller,” the author, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, uses symbolism to prove to one that an affair is not worth a person’s life. He uses the letter to symbolize hate between Villela and Camillo regarding the affair. This very ambiguous letter has terrified Camillo and put an end to his life. The letter enhances the theme of the short story by showing the anger and hate that Villela now had for Camillo. This hate is a focal point in the short story that leads to ending the affair along with Camillo and Rita’s life. Ultimately, the affair caused a large amount of tension between the three. However, the author was successful in grabbing the reader’s attention with the letter as the turning point of the short story.
The idea of the alienated artist is very common in feminist works. Esperanza, the protagonist, is alienated from the rest of society in many ways. Her Latino neighborhood seems to be excluded from the rest of the world, while Esperanza is also separated from the other members of her community. Members of other cultures are afraid to enter the neighborhood because they believe it is dangerous. Esperanza seems to be the only one who refuses to just accept Mango Street, and she dreams of someday leaving it behind. She is considered an artist because she has an extremely creative imagination which creates a conflict with the type of liberal individuality she seeks. This creative "genius survives even under the most adverse conditions..." (Gagnier 137). To escape the pain of this division, Esperanza turns to writing. She says, "I put it down on paper and then the ghost does not ache so much" (Cisneros 110). Gagnier sees a "distinction of the writer who nonetheless sees herself as somehow different, separate..." (137).
The artist used colors and light to draw one’s attention to the diner and the people in it and then to the only character not facing the viewer. This emphasis with the use of colors and light means “that our attention is drawn more to certain parts of a composition than to others” (Getlein 127); when the emphasis is on “a relatively small, clearly defined area” (Getlein 127) this is called a focal point. The focal point in this piece of art is not only the brightly lit diner sitting on the corner of an empty intersection, but also within the diner, where the eye is drawn to the individuals in the diner. In addition, the woman stands out in particular because of her red dress and the bright color of her
I think that the narrator feels much alone in life, even though she has a family who cares for her. She is clinically depressed so naturally she is going to feel isolated from the world. Speaking about a house that the narrator grew up in, she writes, 'and there was one chair that always seemed like a strong friend.