Tryptic
Exhibition Text:
Inspired by the expressionist movement and incorporating work from Edvard Munch and Francis Bacon, I chose to take an unrealistic approach towards my piece. Each canvas was made with own sketches and self taken photographs. The separation of canvases serves to tell three different stories/conflicts I have witness either internally, within my community, or in society overall.
Materials
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Meaning of the PieceThis piece holds many meanings which are mostly metaphorical and hold symbolism. Beginning with the first canvass which is a painting displaying who I am, here I wanted to explore the idea that I can not seem to hold my head up and keep going. Therefore, I use skeleton hands and my skin is starting to melt. The placement of my hands work in order to express the emotion of anxiety and agony. I also used a dove to represent the calmness I seek and value in others which is taking a journey, eventually reaching myself. Continuing with the next canvass, which is used to show how I affect the environment. Here I used two geese, symbolizing migration as I am planning to move a lot but unlike these birds which usually travel as one, my birds are both going opposite directions because I am still not sure where I am going(lost at the moment). The last canvass was used to show how the environment affects me, here again I used a bird now a crow to symbolize negativity. I also used a hand which was begging representing the poverty around us, and they work together to express that many of us see people begging and don't even think twice about their struggles. Lastly, the tree branch works as the support system that connects all these parts of my life together.
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Artistic Inspiration
One of my inspirations for this piece was Francis Bacon's “
Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X” , which was painted in 1953 followed by many more similar paintings known as the ‘screaming pope series’. His famous paintings lie post WWII, where he displays the human body and face in a distorted and often referred to as grotesque form. Doing so to depict the human figure to represent loneliness, violence, and suffering. Bacon had been working on “Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X” for years, exploring the idea in 1946 Southern France. His painting explored the idea of creating a person with a loss of faith and suggested an existential agony. The form in Bacon's piece is what had primarily inspired me to incorporate his art into my painting, however, after researching further and learning about the paintings desire to express an agony and suffering I knew this idea was an element I would want to express onto my piece. Another artwork that inspired my work was Edvard Munch’s, “The Scream” painted in 1893. “The Scream” also became Munch’s iconic pre-expressionist painting which inspired art, plays, shows, and movies. His piece was a breakthrough in expressing feelings, emotions, and inner thoughts rather than technical skill, which was critical at the time for new aspiring artists. Although quite criticized at the time for this unordinary painting Edvard Munch created a path for expressionists artists to come. Munch’s goal through the piece was to express the anxiety and inner struggle that came from creating something important leaving less room for beauty and skill a common goal for any artists. The piece was more of a personal experience a concept I wanted to express in my painting to represent a inner struggle and anxiety which is part of any individual and primarily myself. |
Francis Bacon, "Study after Velasquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X" 2015, Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
Edvard Munch, "The Scream" 2011, Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
"The truth behind Francis Bacon's 'screaming' popes | Art | Agenda." Phaidon. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
Shabi, K. "Meaning of The Scream (1893) Painting by Edvard". 12 June. 2013. Web. 31 Jan. 2017. |
Reflection
The outcome of this piece turned out as I had hoped and planned. It was difficult to create a expressionist piece that held some realism to it as well. I have always struggled with painting, mainly with skin tones and people but I believe the projection method of transferring my image to the canvass produced a more proportionate and successful piece. I also found my meaning and connection to the main idea of: who am I, how do I affect the environment, and how does the environment affect me, to be expressed well as I used extended metaphors and expressionist views to shape the meaning of agony in my piece.
Connection to the ACT:
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your work.
Francis Bacon and Edvard Munch are two similar artists which used a feeling of agony and anxiety to explain the common emotions expressed by human beings. This expression of feeling and emotion is a key element which I wanted to display in my piece doing so in a small self portrait of myself.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors from my research both approach the idea that these paintings were made to show inner struggles we face but lack to let out.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspirations?
A conclusion I discovered was that at the time these two paintings were created they were criticized due to the goal of art, to create beautiful pieces even if they lacked meaning.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea was to express my anxious feeling that make up part of who I am, reaching to the theme of self-discovery.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your
research?
An inference I made was that both paintings might have been emotions expressed by the makers themselves rather them expressing the feelings of others around them.
Francis Bacon and Edvard Munch are two similar artists which used a feeling of agony and anxiety to explain the common emotions expressed by human beings. This expression of feeling and emotion is a key element which I wanted to display in my piece doing so in a small self portrait of myself.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors from my research both approach the idea that these paintings were made to show inner struggles we face but lack to let out.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspirations?
A conclusion I discovered was that at the time these two paintings were created they were criticized due to the goal of art, to create beautiful pieces even if they lacked meaning.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea was to express my anxious feeling that make up part of who I am, reaching to the theme of self-discovery.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your
research?
An inference I made was that both paintings might have been emotions expressed by the makers themselves rather them expressing the feelings of others around them.