Museum of Modern Art Compare & Contrast (Warhol & Delaunay)

Warhol "Gold Marilyn Monroe"

Delaunay "Simultaneous Contrasts: Sun and Moon"













From the Museum of Modern Art, I chose to compare and contrast two works entitled "Simultaneous Contrasts: Sun and Moon" and "Gold Marilyn Monroe". The prior was painted by Robert Delaney in 1913 (dated 1912) with oil on canvas. It measures 53" (134.5 cm) in diameter. The latter was painted by Andy Warhol in 1962. Mr Warhol used synthetic polymer paint and oil on 11 1/4" x 57" canvas, as well as silkscreen to create this work of art.

"Gold Marilyn Monroe" is so distinct mainly because it is stunningly simple in its composition. There is not a lot to look at, and a strangely calming sense is immediately felt upon observation due to the vivid gold. There is an image of Marilyn Monroe, smiling and looking very glamorous, in the center of the canvas. Her portrait is enclosed in a smaller square and is surrounded by the thick, powerful gold border. The representation of Marilyn is peculiarly small. This is most likely a device to immediately draw the viewer's attention to the picture, as is the powerful gold border. Marilyn Monroe is a fascinating icon of 1950's Hollywood glamour. By surrounding her picture with this overwhelming border in gold, which is a flashy and eye-catching color, the artist succeeds in re-creating the ever present glitz and glamour that surrounds her persona. However, this gold is not quite solid. Its values vary from dark to light, creating a textured and rather antiquated look. Thinking philosophically, the border itself and its differing gold values could represent the constant watch and imperfect expectations that we as a society expect from and hold against public figures.

Monroe's hair is painted a bright, unnatural looking yellow. It can be said that she represents the original 'blonde bombshell' of the early Hollywood era. Even though it's an unnatural color, this brilliant yellow shade seems to signify the epitome of a blonde. It emphasizes what she is universally recognizable for. Her skin is also painted a light, but intense shade of pink. Perhaps this is done for technical reasons; to make her image immortal. By creating this type of mood, it gives the impression that Marilyn is not only a historic and cultural figure in American, but a legend as well. By placing her directly in the middle, Warhol puts Monroe on a pedestal. She is instantly seen as someone of great importance and reputation. She is also alone in this painting. This lets us feel not only the uniqueness of her situation, but the solitude or even loneliness that celebrities all too often claim their recognition places on them. While largely painting an image that highlights and celebrates glamour, this painting, through it's composition, also effectively conveys the constraints and illusion of such glamour.

Visually very different from "Gold Marilyn Monroe" is a piece of art that toys with color on a perceptual level. "Simultaneous Contrasts: Sun and Moon" is very attractive to look at; almost peaceful like "Gold Marilyn Monroe". The colors used are very distinguished and a bit more varied, but still quite similar to those used in Warhols piece. Delaunay uses bright reds, oranges and yellows, as well as light and dark greens and blues. There are also some sporadic faint traces of pink and purple. While the colors are more balanced here than in Monroe, they are quite similar and the yellow/orange/gold color on the right is also the most prevalent and most arresting color in the piece. Here though, the colors work together to create a primal, raw, rough, wild, natural and earthy atmosphere; it is much more free than "Gold Marilyn Monroe". The juxtaposition of the natural essence of Delaunays piece with the societal essence of Warhols piece is compelling. The composition is an intricate mix of various, irregular shapes and lines. The rough, jagged looking brush strokes mixed with the smoother ones add to the unruly character of the painting. The shapes are abstract. Yet when placed together as a unit these shapes seem to be part of a bigger depiction; like we are seeing just a small portion of a much bigger picture. With it's dynamic colors and intriguing composition, the piece softly speaks to a larger story similar to the effect shown by Warhols Monroe. Another very noticeable and important element of this painting is the shape of it as a whole. It is unlike most conventional paintings in that it is spherical. Considering in the title of the pieces, the words 'sun and moon' are found, it is probable that Delaunay was referencing the actual shape of the sun and moon. Regardless, the paintings unique, strong and effective framing again makes it comparable to "Gold Marilyn Monroe" with it's big bold gold frame. Delaunay uses many different artistic techniques including color scheme and depth sensation. By using these artistic methods, a strong and mysterious narrative is effectively suggested.

"Gold Marilyn Monroe" and "Simultaneous Contrasts: Sun and Moon" both work with similar colors and unusual formatting, but in very different ways. And while speaking to us through two entirely differing artistic styles, both pieces give a comforting yet haunting impression of a story untold.

J. Killeen
Apr. '05

Metropolitan Museum of Art Response (Picasso & Beckmann)

Picasso "The Old Guitarist"      















     
Beckmann "Vaudeville Act"








One could argue that the main focus on both Pablo Picasso's "The Old Guitarist" (1903, oil on panel ) and Max Beckmann's "Vaudeville Act" (1934-37, oil on canvas) is music. These artists illustrate two very different viewpoints towards instrumentation and what effect is has on our lives.
In Beckmann's Vaudeville Act, the viewer's eye is immediately drawn to the white guitar/banjo, held by a girl dressed in bright yellow. The girl is making eye contact with the viewer, suggesting she is one with the instrument. She is surrounded by people, apparently drawn together by the music. The room seems to be brightly lit and an intriguing atmosphere is felt as the viewer wonders what her music is truly communicating to the people she is surrounded by in the painting. She has a slight smile on her face, implying she is playing happy music.
Beckmann's piece is ultimately about this one girl in particular and her relationship with music. One could say she plays the instrument to attract other people because she simply likes attention. Yet one could argue that she plays to attract others because she is lonely. Either way the paintings story might play out; it obviously revolves around the music created by this girl and her guitar.
In Picasso's The Old Guitarist, the viewer is shown a world that starkly contrasts with Beckmann's Vaudeville Act. In this piece there is a man playing a guitar, lying on the ground in dark clothes. He looks cold and lifeless and may not be playing the guitar, but just holding it. His skin is horrible shades of blue and grey- this man certainly looks dead. The environment is just as cold looking- it is dark and empty and the man is completely alone.
The only warmth this painting has at all is the sienna colored guitar in the old mans lap that almost looks radiant set against the colors of its surroundings. If the man is dead, the viewer may assume that the man kept the guitar dear to his heart during his life. It is as if the mans life and energy is literally transferred into the instrument. The brightness of the guitar itself may represent the passion for music the old man once possessed. Since the man is alone and looks lifeless, a negative atmosphere is immediately created. However, the life still shown by the guitar leaves the viewer with a positive message. This mans life ceased with his body, but his passion will live on in the music he created.
Both characters in these paintings display a person relationship with music- an instrument in particular. If the girl in Vaudeville Act was in fact a boy or if the man in The Old Guitarist was a woman- these two paintings might fit together perfectly to tell the story of a specific persons relationship with music. During the persons life they played beautiful music and were famous for it. When they died, the music died as well, but the instrument- the "part" of the person that actually created the music- lives on. Vaudeville Act illustrates the rush of life one feels from a public performance. The Old Guitarist explores an instruments intimate connection with a person. Both of these paintings exemplify the brightness that music brings into our lives. Picasso's and Beckmann's paintings both aim to show us that music is more than what we might initially assume it to be. Music moves past just being noise and becomes an expression of the person creating it. Music almost takes on the role of an actual person in the way it shapes how we think, feel and live. Beckmann's Vaudeville Act teaches us to enjoy music and Picasso's guitarist teaches us to treasure it.

J. Killeen
Nov. '06

Susan Graham Sugar Model Photographs Response

"Untitled Landscape (Sugar Coaster2)"

"Untitled Landscape (Sugar Wagon)"











Susan Graham's photographs of sugar models are highly stylized and use this style to make the message known and more strongly based. To an extreme, Graham keeps the detail of the imagery in only the areas necessary to convey the message/theme. Graham's photos can easily be broken down into two areas of consideration- the sugar models and the environment that surrounds them. The environment of the photographs, as well as the black and white quality, helps emphasize the importance of the sugar models themselves. The models are what we as viewers are intended to focus on and essentially remember. The imagery is suggestive of a dream. We remember certain parts of dreams while other factors in the dream (the setting for example), seem to fade out in lack of importance. This is similar to the effect of the imagery in these photographs. 

In "Untitled Landscape (Sugar Wagon)", (Gelatin Silver Print, 2000, ed.2/10), the theme of a dreamlike world is perhaps the most evident. This is due to the imagery. All of Graham's photos are simple when it comes to the surroundings, but this photograph is exquisitely clean in it's emptiness. There is barely a noticeable grain in the print and there is no blur within the fore-to-back ground transition- a clear line makes the separation. If it weren't for this noticeable line, a separation between the similar values of the sky and ground would not be as evident. The wagon sits eerily off to the right side looking just as empty as its surroundings. 

Our eye is drawn to the sugar model by more than one device. The horizon line leads our eye easily from left to right as we come upon the wagon. Our eye is always searching for something to concentrate on, so simply put- there is nothing but the models to look at. Since the environment provides nothing of any real substance to concentrate on we are ordered to look at the wagon. In this way, Graham uses the setting to spotlight the wagon. It's this mix of directness and mystery that makes these photographs comparable to dreams. Like a dream, upon interpretation, we may also be able to recall what we saw but not understand it. We see a wagon, in a desolate place, but are given no real answers as to what the story is behind it. Even the title gives nothing away, stating only the obvious. We still dig deeper at the puzzling nature of the photographs, like a dream, trying to uncover any more details to come to a better understanding. These photographs impress us as well as confuse us as interpreters. They show us what to study and remember- like we remember specifics from dreams, but never exploit the importance of remembrance- like our dreams are always open to interpretation. 

We interpret dreams similar to how we interpret imagery in art- we make a story out of it. Graham's imagery has the benefit of telling many stories by leaving much to the imagination. So much of the story is based on the sugar models that the fact that they are made of sugar is rather unimportant. It is about what the models convey, not about what they are made out of. Graham proves this point by taking pictures of the models which on their own are beautiful and telling pieces of artwork. By putting them into photographs, she gives them another medium to tell a different story in.

The imagery used in "Untitled Landscape (Sugar Coaster2)", (Gelatin Silver Print, 2001, Artists print), tells a very different story than the previously discussed sugar wagon. Here we have more of a dramatic scene, with an airplane flying midair passing over a rollercoaster in the distance. The story is definitely left to interpretation because these two objects are not interacting so much as existing in close space. The story seems not to be about an event so much as a moment- maybe not an all important moment, but a particular moment. This again brings us back to the mystery element of dreams. Why this particular moment was framed we do not know, but because it is framed, we know that it is special. Graham's images teach us to look at the things we see every day and in our dreams and to appreciate them, not for what they do or how they might affect us, but for what they are.

J.Killeen

Feb. '06

Museum of Modern Art Response (Munch & Margritte)

Munch "The Kiss"

Margritte "The Lovers"













In the painting titled "The Kiss" (oil on canvas, 1897), artist Edvard Munch explores two themes- love and isolation. Similar themes are also seen in Rene Margritte's "The Lovers" (oil on canvas, 1928).In both of these paintings there are two people locked in a kiss, yet we see not a single face in either. We do not see the faces of the lovers; therefore we can only see the connection between them. By using different ways to convey isolation, the artists show us- not two people in love, but the love itself.
In "The Kiss" there is a man embracing a woman in a dark room. Everything about the scene is dark- the lighting inside the room, their hair and clothes. Everything is dark except for the curtain on the left side of the painting which is lifted up to reveal a bright and sunny day outside of the dark room. This dramatic lighting effect stresses the theme of isolation. Outside of this dark room where the lovers hug, there seems to be an opposing world. The figures faces are blurred together, almost merging as one as they passionately kiss each other.
Munch uses relaxed brushstrokes and dreamy colors to underline the significance of this particular kiss. His technique classifies the world he paints as one set apart from the world we see everyday. The setting of the painting is a very important element. These two lovers are comparable themselves to the setting in which they embrace. Just like the room is dark and unknown, so are they with their dark attire and blurred faces. Through the window we see a bright and totally different world than inside, which isolates the figures. Yet it does not seem as though they are trapped by the room. It seems that they choose to meet in this dark room. Their love is hidden in the dark- apart from a recognizable world outside. The setting's mysterious quality makes the embrace poignant; making us believe this is about more than just two people kissing. By translating the essence of their love into the atmosphere of the setting, Munch encapsulates the entire idea of romance- the idea of love itself as an entity.
In Rene Margritte's "The Lovers", there are also two people kissing. Their faces are not blurred and they are not in a dark room- but their faces are still hidden. Their heads are covered by bags. They are kissing each other with the bags over their heads. We do not see their bodies so we do not know if they are embracing and the setting is not specific because the view is close-up, focusing only on the cloaked faces kissing each other. Although the background looks like sky, there is a portion of building that appears above and to the right side of the lovers. It looks as if they are outside, underneath a terrace. It also appears that they are wearing formal wear.
Margritte's painting technique is more realistic than that of Munch. The colors are not bright, but there is a light from an unknown source bringing out shades of red in the woman's dress and the wall to the right. Other than that the colors are slightly dreary. While in "The Kiss", the setting stresses isolation, in "The Lovers", the absence of a setting stresses isolation. If the lovers did not have bags over their heads and we still saw a close-up of their faces, we would interpret that as simply two people in love, kissing one another, who possibly have a story to their kiss- but we might not read into the story of the characters very much. This emphasizes the idea that this painting is not about the people so much as the event. Since we do not see their faces, we see their connection- the love itself. It is as if Margritte pulls us into the world of the kiss these lovers share through the omission of a meaningful setting. The lovers have bags over their heads and are blind to the setting around them; therefore so are we as viewers. The small part of the scenery we see consists of the dreary colors that are there strictly to be unappealing. Margriette paints a mystery that is all too solvable. He catches our attention by making us wonder why we're seeing people with bags over their heads. He eventually states that all that we see between the lovers is all that matters- the love itself.

J. Killeen
Apr. '06

Photo Communication

If you ask the question "what is art?" you most likely will get many different opinions, but art is not something that can be easily defined. There are several different dictionary definitions of art. Art is firstly defined as a "human effort to imitate, supplement, alter or counteract the work of nature." This definition describes the actual act of creating art. The question of what can be considered art is still unsure. I truly believe that anything can be considered art. It is something that has endless limitations, if any limitations at all. Therefore I believe that a photograph, without doubt, can be considered art.
I am very interested in the idea that while a painting or drawing is usually automatically considered art, a photograph isn't always. This concept is completely irrational if you ask me. I understand why people think this way, but I also understand why they shouldn't. Paintings, drawings and sculptures are considered art because they are basically the earliest forms of what we believe art to be. For one to understand why photography can be considered art, the fact that art is constantly changing and evolving needs to be accepted. A photograph didn't exist a thousand years ago so it makes sense that it's not on the same level as a painting or drawing. Art is all about ideas though, and throughout time human minds develop, therefore our ideas develop- therefore art develops! I believe that a thousand years from now things will be considered art that don't even exist today.
If you believe that art techniques and art itself advances then you will be able to understand why a photograph specifically can be considered art. Let's destruct something like a painting, which most people usually consider to be art. What is a painting made of? A canvas or paper and paints. These things are not of the extraordinary. They are things that exist in the real world, obviously. A photograph can be destructed to that same level. It is made of paper and chemicals. This is only the basic idea of what makes a piece of art though. Most people would argue that it's not what physically makes a painting that makes it art. Well then what is it about a painting that makes it art? It is the intention! This was created by an "artist" they might say. Well if this same artist instead of painting a picture- pushes a button on a camera, who is to say that the painting is art but not the photograph? If the artist, or whoever is "behind the steering wheel", has the intention of creating art, then whatever they create cannot be denied the title. Labeling common objects as art is the act of taking this entire concept to a broader level.
J. Killeen
Oct. '05

Style: Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen are style icons for good reasons. They always have an air of chic sophistication to their looks.

Both girls look simply stunning in these dramatic yet tasteful Dior dresses; Ashley wearing Vintage Dior at the 2011 Met Gala (above) and Mary Kate at a 2006 Dior Fashion show in Paris (below).

The way Mary Kate styled this magnificent gown with a pewter colored fur shawl and a red artists slouchy hat gives it an artistic and almost fairy tale feel; It is fabulous! A similar fairy tale or even Renaissance feel is evoked by Ashley's Dior gown with it's voluminous sleeves, yet it stays modern and sexy with the simple black column bodice and skirt with a delicious side slit. It could stand to be styled with a statement piece necklace or a pop of color on her feet, but as is, it is a truly refined look.

Even their every day looks are often a sexy mix of business and boho chic. The slouchy top and slim bottom with the high heels silhouette is killer; it's so sexy in an understated way.

Below is another choice fashion moments from the twins. At the 2010 Elle Fashion Awards, Ashley wore a vintage Christian Lacroix gown which is a truly gorgeous dress to behold; it is so lovely and ethereal, like a modern day dress for a princess. It's dramatic yet subtle at the same time which is no easy feat.

Again, these looks show their taste to be sexy yet in an understated way. The Fendi platform shoes add to the princess feel with their unique bow attribute. Mary Kate wore an all black Lanvin dress which effectively emulated her strong, professional style sensibilities, yet you can also sense her bohemian style due to the sheer skirt and the outfits overall silhouette.