MySiameseDream

Above: Paul Cezanne, Bend in Forest Road, 1902-1906, Oil on Canvas, 81.3 x 64.8 cm.

I have chosen this painting because;

1. I love Cezanne.
2. I love this period in history, and
3. I thought it woul dbe interesting to compare to my last post of the painting by Fred Williams, created over 70 years later half the way across the world.

In his early career, Cezanne was a member of the Impressionists, a group of artists working in France in the 1970s, banded together by the general aim of painting everyday life Parisian life, one of the first movements that moved away from the tradition of grand narratives. Another key features of the Impressionism was au plein air painting, or, ‘painting out of doors.’ The Impressionists were also concerned with capturing light and atmosphere surrounding objects, hence the loose and ‘impressionistic’ characteristics of their art, a features apparent due to the urgency of capturing fleeting moments.

With that background in mind, the influences of impressionism can be seen in this painting from Cezanne’s post-impressionist period. The stylistic features of impressionism (loose, sketchy brushtroke, bright colour palette) can be seen, however, Cezanne has moved further towards abstraction. General forms have been created, and brushtrokes become ‘chunkier’ and thicker; fewer and fewer strokes have been used in the construction of the image. This has obviously given the composition a geometric-like structure, and there is a flatening of the picture plane created by the lack of perspective (this flatness of the picture plane was a feature common to all Modernist art movements).

Above:  Fred Williams, Landscape with Goose III , 1974 , oil on canvas.

Last week I went to the Art Gallery of South Australia to see the Fred Williams retrospective exhibition, Fred Williams: Infinite Horizons. Primarily a landscape painter (although he did paint some figurative works), Williams sought to capture the beauty of the Australian landscape. He painted in an abstract manner, and reduced the landscape to its most basic elements in order to capture the essence of place.  Interesting, William’s works became less abstract throughout his career, moving towards more recognisable forms, although I find both equally as beautiful.  

The work I have included above, Landscape with Goose III (1974) is a work made in the middle of Williams’ career. Here the palette is a lot brighter and varied than his earlier works. You are able to see the canvas is broken down into three basic sections; the foreground, comprising what seems to be a creek running through the landscape; a row of trees which is darker and defined by the vertical lines of the trees trunks; and the sky which is calm flat in comparison to the other vibrant and loose elements. These elements give the painting a sense of tradition linear perspective (that is, we feel there is a sense of space and distance, rather than a flat canvas), reinforced by the narrowing of the creek, where the viewer is positioned low in the canvas. Also, the loose sketchy style of the brushstrokes gives it a very impressionistic sensibility and dynamic feel.

It is also interesting to the name of this painting: Landscape with Goose III. Can anyone see the Goose? I have seen the painting several times and have been unable to see it! This painting is the third in a series of three, all titled Landscape with Goose. Whilst spotting the Goose in the first two, I have been unable to do so in the third. Perhaps Williams’ is pulling our leg here? Setting us up to look for a third Goose that actually isn’t even there! It is important to remember that artists are just people, some of which have great senses of humour…

Above: Mick Namarari Tjapaljarri, Tjunginpa (Small Mouse Dreaming) at the Site of Tjunginpa, 1997, Synthetic polymer paint on linen, 183 x 153cm.

Hello everyone!

Recently I have felt the need to have a creative outlet which allows me to talk about/dicuss/delve into art other creative meadiums outside of an academic discourse. I am hoping for this space to change directions a little, becoming a place where I can express my thoughts and opinions about artworks and the way they sit in a various frameworks of ideas, periods, and cultural contexts. As a person who is undertaking post graduate studies in art history (hopefully by the end of 2013 I will have a double Masters degree- Yay!) I hope that I can use these skills in a less formal manner to talk about what I am finding interesting!

I thought I would start of this little experiment with an artwork by Australian Indigenous artist Mick Namararu Tjapaltjarii (yes, it’s a mouthful to say out loud!). Namarari is an Aboriginal man who comes from the Australian Western Desert. This landscape is a harsh and formidable environment, which only those with a great intimacy with the land and its hidden native treasures are able to survive this country. This sacred knowledge is passed down from generation to genertion in the form of story and song; these stories are reffered to as dreamtime stories, dreamings, or tjukurpa in Aboriginal language, and they tell tales about finding food, various animals, and thee land in general. Aboriginal people believe all these things are connected through their ancestors who created the land many thousands of years ago.

In a contemporary context, this traditional of passing on knowledge still occurs. As a man of the Tjapaljarri kinship, Namarari is custodian of the ceremonies and mythology associated with the Tjunginpa (mouse) dreaming. By using a reduction of narrative elements Namarari has captured the mood and essence of country. The many dots seem to represent the microscopic life of the desert and illustrate the richness amongst the epic expanses of sand. This life and movement symbolises ‘the footprints of the mouse and also kampurarrpa (bush food) and flowers, for which they foraged in the area.’ [1]Through using a purely abstract mode of representation, Namarari has embedded the stories of his dreaming within the work.

By controlling the density of the dots, Namarari has created various tones of depth and shading, comprising a large component of the composition. Deep caverns seem to recede into the canvas at its darkest points, and the lighter yellow areas rise as though the painting captures the geographical features of the country from an aerial perspective. A minimalist palette of red, orange, yellow and black has been used to connote the dry warmth of the Western Desert. The various tones also give a wonderful sense of rhythm to the image, capturing the shifting air and light of the desert, representing the subtle contours of the Tjunginpa hill site north-west of the Kintore community; the geographical area this painting represents.

Personally, I think this painting is a beautiful example of just how contemporary or modern an Aboriginal artwork can be within a Western art discourse whilst still maintaining a sense of authenticity and tradition which is true to cultural roots. Also, it is just so darn beautiful, it’s almost hypnotic! 

Acrylics, oils, stencil, spray paint on canvas pad.

I did this painting back in 2009 and didn’t think anything of it- so it got added to the pile of crappy art out the back and it some how re surfaced. I actually quite like it now, especially the snowflake stencils. My brother wants it a a birthday present.

Over the past week I have been loving life interstate in MELBOURNE!!! (hence the lack of posts) Some friends and myself got some cheaps flights over there and spent the week just chilling out, catching up with friends, watching a football final and seeing some wonderful art (although my uni work is suffering for it). So we went to the Time Burton Exhibition at the ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image… aaaaaaaaaanndd I am now completely in love with Tim Burton! Prior to seeing this exhbition I was never really a huge fan, all the darkness and skeletons aren’t really appealing to me… BUT! After seeing the ENTIRETY of his fabulous collection of art work from decades of creating, I see him in a completely new light. He directed many movies that I didn’t know he was the creator of, but mostly he does amazing amazing amazing sketches (he also has a thing for Johnny Depp, he’s been in like 7 of his films)! He has an amazing grasp of light and dark and is so talented in creating an atmosphere. So don’t be surprise if I’m posting a lot of his work over the next few week… I’m a little bit excited about him at the moment hehe.

Me and Vince just chillin’ on the catbus… (From Totoro)

Nude in Blue, 2010. Acrylic on cavas.

This is a really shitty photo of this painting. Anywhooo painted in red and blue, like passsion and sorrow, I was thinking of love and intimacy when i painted this. Because being vulnerable with another person is a pretty scary thing, but ultimately worth it. 

Hands, 2009. Charcoal, texta, acrylic, ink, on craft paper.

I like hands. And I like drawing on brown paper. This was taken back when I lived at College and I had a really annoying room mate who wanted me to make my bed all the time. She would also leave her morning alarm on and then go to breakfast so I’d have to get out of bed three times to turn it off. Yep. Sleep-ins in my room were totally feesible. She also liked to schedule “roomie meetings” where we would discuss issues of the room and how to resolve said issue. I had visitation days in which my friends could come over. Good times at Aquinas College….. (ie not recommended unless your a meat head).