Content:    

This project focuses on the significance of reflective light, the brilliance of background, and the aesthetic appeal of mundane household/ kitchen objects and food when presented in certain contexts, A’ la Giorgio de Chirico (pictured), Vincent Van Gogh and Hope Gangloff. It is a meditation on the otherwise ignored beauty of the things we own by portraying these objects with careful attention to the colors and shadows they emanate, using their relationship to space as a way of bringing them to life.  An essential aspect of these domestic portrayals is the background color, mood and context in relation to the subject: color schemes (analogous vs. complementary), the way certain objects stand out in different spaces, e.g., a bedroom, darkened nightclub, nature, and what is going on behind the scenes. The context raises questions like “how and why did these things end up here?” The project was inspired by avidly admiring, reading about and getting in contact with artists, and then seeing the world through the eyes of their drawing styles.

The project involves making drawings to encompass a range of styles from favorite artists while developing a personal brand in drawing that convinces the viewers of my perspective. The project demands careful contemplation and meditation of each subject matter: a practice that when assimilated into one’s lifestyle lends to a greater appreciation of color and shape. What makes fine art fine?

This project will be informed by reading: Van Gogh In Arles (Pickvance 1984), an analysis of Van Gogh’s life and work during his time spent in Arles, France, showcasing a plethora of vivid portrayals of the town, and people he encountered, coupled with biographical accounts of each piece (This project will attempt to emulate Van Gogh’s schematic sense of color and geometry used in forming compositions, and portraying objects against a background) ; Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire (1968) is a study of ways to eloquently view and describe the world from the vantage point of a trailer, alone in the middle of a desert expanse, seeing each life form emphasized by vast fields of color and light. My third reading choice, Still Looking (2005) by John Updike takes an up-close look at the history of American art. This informs the artistic process of my project by analyzing what holds our attention in an oil painting; the harmonies, balances that take place on a flat surface in a domestic representation.

In my selected seminar reading on the “Lykov Family”, I am inspired to depict the connection between people and their spaces, the relationships that can be developed over time to the surrounding environment of a home amidst adverse climate conditions, represented through still life drawings. Other references for drawing will include Cézanne  (2005) by Alfonso Gatto and Marc Chagall and the Lost Jewish World (2006) by Benjamin Harshav.

Form:

The art work for this project is color pastel, a medium that can best capture imagination with something that ranges in many bright, malleable shades and is capable of creating layers, leaving no blank space. The compositions will be full, and vivid, and draw in the viewer’s imagination.  

 Production:

The twenty to thirty chalk pastel drawings will vary in size, color, composition and tone, conveying the mood of everyday things accentuated by their colors, using different backgrounds to tell a story and create a certain highlighted atmosphere, while drawing from each of the readings as a direct inspiration. With the help and collaboration of classmates and artists friends with a knack for composition, a small critique will take place to find out what does and doesn’t work as preparation for our Tuesday class.