image essay #4

This painting entitled "Beethoven frieze: The desire for the luck," was painted by Gustav Klimt one of my favorite painters. He so eloquently details his paintings with elaborate textures and designs that are extraordinary for anyone to look at. When first viewing this painting I notice the stark gold of the knight against the white background. It is clear that the knight and the women dressed behind him are the object of our immediate attention. Then our eyes follow back to the left where the nude people stand pleading. Also from this portion of the frieze we also see one woman in the upper left corner on a cloud. The piece has a true sense of omission played by the knight ignoring the pleas, as well as the spaces that are without texture. The way the nudes are painted is relevant to there emotion. Their bodies are sharp and fragile. Perhaps these people are begging for money, are maybe more simply clothing. In either case the knight appears selfish and arrogant along with the women behind him appearing in vanity. The piece is agile and thrilling. There is a certain sense of romance, as in all of Klimt's painting; however this is counter played by people desperation. This piece is beautiful.

image essay #3

This image by Bansky is very interesting to me. It is extremely striking. Upon viewing the image something within me is stirred. I believe that this has happened with this image, along with most other Bansky imagery, because he plays with emotion, culture, reality, and what in our society is too commonly un-talked about. This image portrays a young girl with a bloody nose standing amongst the wreckage of houses, possibly her own. The image is immediately striking because the child is crying, holding her teddy bear, bleeding, with fear and lonesomeness. Bansky has created a piece that is exceedingly powerful using imagery that is recognizable. I believe that the girl is possibly located in New Orleans. There is a couple of Red Cross workers who are about to approach the girl, however television media are preventing them from aiding her. There is a camera man, a photographer and what appears to be a producer. The three men are trying to “capture a moment” using the image of the child as a sob story for the nation. The image is compelling and heart breaking. Bansky has used honestly black and white to expose the rawness that is this scene. He also splashes some red on the girls face and in the uniform crosses. This image creates tension both literally and figuratively within the context of two-dimension. The piece exhibits well thought out meaning with thoughtful symbols. Bansky’s image is very successful and a favorite of mine.

{blog entry 2}

I believe that this piece has the great ability to keep your eyes moving. The image contains much movement with the motion of stirring, and the objects that are tangled within the action. I feel that this piece has a high level of investment and that is clear to any viewer. The elements in this piece including: a spoon, a cup and saucer, a tea bag, swirls, and splashes of tea, make the viewer’s eyes stay. The meaning is apparent pretty soon after the viewer first looks at the piece, however, because of the attention to detail the viewer wants to keep looking. I believe I created a true sense of definition all throughout the piece, displayed in several different textures. There is a wonderful quality of scale; the spoon is very large as is the tea bag. An interesting portion of the piece is the tea bag string that is exaggerated in proportion and appears to be rope-like. The perspectives also change throughout the piece particularly with the spoon. The top of the spoon seems to be extremely close to the viewer’s eyes, and then extends backwards into space. The craftsmanship in this piece is also very well done. It is clean with little or no smudges. I think this piece is successful.