Tim Burton

I have been a big fan of Tim Burton for a while now and have gotten into many arguments over whether he is really an artist or not, since his role in his most recent works has been as director or producer. Last year I visited the MoMa’s exhibit of his work and was finally vindicated—Burton not only designs the characters for most of his films, but has a whole collection of previously unseen drawings, comics, and storyboards (mostly unrealized projects).

It was really inspiring for me to see his drawings, which combine several styles I admire. I have long been envious of the clean line-based style that has become increasingly pervasive through mediums such as manga, web design images, screen printed t-shirt culture, and tattoo-inspired art. However, I hate drawing in this style and find it extremely difficult. I find myself drawing in an expressive manner which is usually unrepresented in line drawings. The reason I was drawn to Burton’s drawings this semester was his ability to combine comic-style and line, while keeping it expressive and emotive.

Tim Burton was born August 25, 1958. He grew up in Burbank, CA, which he found to be a stifling environment. He was an avid fan of pop culture and collected greeting cards, comics from newspapers (many humorous editorials), and lists of horror films he enjoyed. He also kept sketchbooks, where he started to develop the aesthetic that is so iconic today. Burton also won various local contests for posters. When Burton was 18 he won a scholarship to attend CalArts, the fine arts school created by Disney. In 1979 Burton became an apprentice at Disney and worked in various aspects of animation. Many of his drawings for the projects he worked on were never used, often because they were too dark or strange. He found the studio contract life oppressive and the result was a prolific period in his private drawing. The ideas behind Nightmare Before Christmas were developed during this time.

Burton’s work is dark, surreal, often makes use of distortion, and has a wry humor similar to that of the editorial comics he collected as a teen. The term "pop surrealism" is often used when discussing his work. The child/parent relationship and isolation are both recurring themes. His work is very character focused, which is why it makes sense he went into animation rather than fine art.

These days Tim Burton has become a household name because of his involvement in such smash hits as Sleepy Hallow, Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and Batman Returns. Despite his mainstream studio connections, his work is still very alternative and inspires a cult following.

Untitled (Cartoon Series)

c. 1980-86. Pencil on Paper.

This piece is a good example of Burton's humor manifested through distortion and cartoony style. I really like the hair, particularly the girl's hair. I think that the line value shows the curved shape of the head well.

Sorry for the crookedness of the above piece--I haven't yet mastered my scanner. I really like this piece because it shows how a somewhat messy (or expressive) style can still result in a clean image with defined shadows and highlights.

Untitled (Romeo and Juliet)

c. 1981-84. Ink, marker, and colored pencil on paper.

Obviously. this is in color and not done with materials we have been working with in class. However, I wanted to include this drawing because it is one of my favorites. The swirling water reminds me of the sky in Starry Night. You could just discount this swirly-ness to a cartoon style, lacking any real skill, but I think it can also be seen as a reference to great art from the past. This piece is also a great example of his character and story-driven work-- the series this piece is from is a Romeo and Juliet story about a romance between a land mass and an ocean mass.

References:

Magliozzi, Ron; and He, Jenny. Tim Burton. New York: the Museum of Modern Art, 2009.

http://tourdrobe.com/tag/tim-burton

http://www.artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=2786

http://endofthespectrum.net/?p=141

-Hannah

Dave Gibbons

This is Danny's "Random Blog Post."
Hope you enjoy.
The "Real" one is to come.

Dave Gibbons, the illustrator of the hit comic - er, I mean, graphic novel - "Watchmen," has a particular knack for detail and symbolic imagery.

For instance, in this first image, the decrepit wall above the man's head (Night Owl, for the curious) echos the emotion of the figure below. His rich textures clearly organize the frame so that the reader can quickly process the parallels between the objects (additionally, the empty suit next to the empty man. Quite something, really). Finally, even his minutia lend themselves to profound communication, such as the man's frowning face in examining the smiling pin (the object in his hand).

This phenomenon would not be quite so notable if it didn't hold for virtually every page of the book Watchmen. But, as you may have guessed, it does.

Gibbons has been drawing for a living pretty much from the start, writing his first fan comic at the age of 15 (Source). Even though comics are traditionally marginalized as somewhat juvenile, he manages to make really deep visual connections with the story and the reader. For example, take this bizarre picture. Frankly, this is really odd, but there is a lot of interesting material here. The bizarre sheen of the doll's hair is made to greatly contrast the rough green of the pilot's copter. In the second frame, when it takes on the pilot's perspective, the foliage (not the blue sky) becomes the background, establishing contrasting colors and textures for the different entities: smooth and garish for the doll, intricate and natural for the pilot.

And so on. Long story short, Gibbons has given an art style that has been reserved traditionally for children a nuanced revitalization, and that is what makes him worthy of a blog post.

Edgar Degas

The paintings and drawings of the French artist, Edgar Degas (1834-1917), contribute a unique style to the world of art. Considered by many to be an Impressionist painter, Edgar Degas actually did not want to be categorized as an Impressionist. But Edgar Degas could not have gotten to this level of art without the classical training he went through as a young man. The sources of his main inspirations came from pieces of work in the Louvre and from Italy; the frescoes and paintings that he saw on his trips to Italy captivated Degas, and his earlier works of art somewhat reflect the classicItalian styles.

However, as he progressed with his art, he turned towards a more modern approach to his drawings and sketches. Steering away from landscape paintings, Degas decided to focus on study drawings and paintings of more simplicity which was influenced by Japanese art. He started to draw ballerinas and his passion for studying ballerinas increased in the 1870's. He was able to create a link from the traditional techniques with modern styles. While his technique stayed classic, he explored a new subject through ballerinas. Ballerinas, who are incredibly flexible are able to move in different ways compared to non-ballerinas. Their movements and elegance were captured by Degas in his drawings. He studied them in various poses and excellently captured their poses. One of the many reasons why I personally chose Degas is because he chose to study ballerinas. In one subject, he could draw many different sketches: one for each pose a ballerina could hold. The poses that were portrayed were not always finale poses that depict the ballerina in the best light. What I like about his work is that it was very realistic and relaxed. Ballerinas are not always poised and perfect; and Degas showed this. He caught poses of them during practice and showed the true nature of ballerinas.

For example:

Dancers Dancing at the Barre (1877)

Mixed Media on Canvas

Although this is a painting and not a drawing, the composition of this piece is really appealing. I like how the ballerinas are not completely centered on the canvas. It shows off the more modern approach to paintings.

Untitled Sketch

Charcoal Pencil

Although this is only a sketch, it is still a really appealing piece to me. The sketch has short strokes which shows that it is a sketch, it still captures a majority of the detail with such simple strokes!

Dancer Adjusting Her Slipper (1873)

Graphite heightened with white chalk on faded pink paper

This is not a typical ballerina pose that you will see in performances. Instead it is what the title suggests. Also, this type of drawing is one of my favorite styles. This drawing looks like a simple sketch and the simplicity of this draws me in. It's a simple figure drawing with no details on the background; the ballerina is the only focus.

Heather Horton

Heather Horton was born in 1974 in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Despite majoring in English Literature, she went on to graduate from Sheridan College's Interpretive Illustration. Program.

In 2002, 2003, and 2007 she was elected into The Federation of Canadian Artists, the Society of Canadian Artists, and the Ontario Society of Artists, respectively. Her work can be seen throughout various galleries in the United States, the UK, Germany, and of course, Canada. One can also find her artwork in Ankara, Turkey in the Canadian Embassy's permanent collection. And in Autumn of 2007 she was profiled on the Bravo! show "the Artist's Life."

Heather Horton mainly focuses on portraiture and still life in her paintings. Her art is very expressive though simultaneously unrestricted when it comes to her brush strokes. What is interesting about her is that she claims nature and her surroundings drive her desire to paint although her main inspiration is the human condition; she also states that are paintings are very realistic "but quite abstract when viewed up close."

I chose Heather Horton because since high school I have always admired her abilities to make quick and direct strokes come together to create realistic and expressive portraits of humans. Humans are my favorite art subjects, and we are both interested in the human mind and condition. I also chose her because her work seems to capture some of the hardest things to accurately portray. For example, in my opinion clear shower curtains are very difficult to paint, especially when people are behind them; yet, Horton has been able to make the process look simple while showing doing what she does requires much skill and time.

Here are some examples of her work that I like:

I

Laura (Curtain)

2006

Oil on Canvas

The Wedding Dress

2007

Oil on Canvas

She also paints landscapes. Here is one of those:

Bennett's High Island

2009

Oil on Panel

Mark Rothko

In the beginning of Mark Rothko’s career, he was still known as Marcus Rothkowitz, the name he was given at birth. He changed his name in 1959; close friends have speculated that a dealer asked Mark to change his name to indicate a change in his artistic style. Another explanation is that due to increasing Nazi sympathy in the US, he anglicized his name to obscure his Jewish connection. However it is not known whether any of the explanations is true.

Marcus Rothkowitz was born 1903 to a well-to-do pharmacist family in Tsarist Russian Empire. Due to changing political climate, Marcus’ family decided to immigrate to the United States on August 5, 1913. The family settled in a Jewish community in Portland. Marcus attended Shattuck Grade School and Lincoln High School, where he excelled brilliantly as a student and was subsequently admitted to Yale University in 1921. During this time, he fostered interests in art, music, literature, debate, and radical causes. Above all, he did exceptionally well in mathematics and considered becoming an engineer. Marcus left Yale in 1923, partly due to financial difficulties. As Marcus wandered about, he reached the conclusion that art was the passion of his life and became entirely committed to art.

In the Thirties and early Forties, Rothko explored a variety of themes, including myths and subway scenes. During this time, he became very good friend with Adolph Gottlieb, with whom he shared many interests and exchanged thoughts constantly. Both artists are intensely interested in the primitiveness of myths. This is evidenced by common themes found in both Gottlieb’s and Rothko’s paintings between 1941 and 1942. In 1942, Rothko made the transition from daily subject matters such as Subway Scenes from 1938 to Antigone and The Omen of the Eagle.

"Subway Scene", 1938

"The Omen of the Eagle", 1942

"Antigone", 1941

Many found it very difficult to classify Rothko’s art. His art in the late WWII stood between surrealism and abstraction. In his 1945 masterpiece, Slow Swirl at the Edge of the Sea, he depicted anthropomorphic forms that suggest human figures. This transition symbolizes a break from his former stagnant expressions; he became less attached to mythical themes but more to abstract possibilities.

"Slow Swirl at the Edge of the Sea", 1944

By late 1940s, Rothko, along with the rest of the New York School, began to abandon Surrealism and create his own mature style. By 1947, he began to use large patches of color and increasingly simplified his paintings. During 1959-1950, he finally developed a unified, consistent, and mature vision. The first hint was shown in his multiform created in 1948. He then limited his number of colors in order to accentuate the expressive possibilities of his drawing.

"Untitled [multiform]", 1948

I chose to write about Mark Rothko because of a deeply personal experience. During my senior year in high school, I decided to take art, a subject that I had never touched prior to taking that class. I remember walking past the far corner of the art room and ran into a poster of Yellow, Red, on Orange, 1954.

" Yellow, Red, on Orange", 1954

I stood and gazed at it for minutes, and it brought me to tears. Up to that point, I never imagined that a piece of artwork could speak to me the way Rothko’s works did. The universal nature of Rothko’s paintings enabled me to see the world through his vision. Only because Rothko was able to break away from figures and forms and all that his education had taught him, his paintings are unconstrained by time, condition, or circumstances.

Bibliography:

Rothko, Mark, and Diane Waldman. Mark Rothko, 1903-1970: a Retrospective. New York: H.Abrams, in Collaboration with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 1978. Print.

"107 Study Images for Art After 1945." College of Marin. Web. 04 Nov. 2010. http://www.marin.edu/art107/107ArtAfter1945StudyImages.htm.

"Mark Rothko." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 04 Nov. 2010. .

Andrew Goldsworthy (1956 - present)

(Below) Goldsworthy at work

(below) Reconstructed Icicles around a tree, 28 December 1995

(below) The Neuberger Cairn, 1st April 2001

My chosen artist is the English natural landscape artist Andrew Goldsworthy who collaborates with nature and its elements to create his site-specific art. He is successful in making “something from nothing”, through accidental discovery and contribution from the elements. He takes strolls in the woods, along riverbanks, down beaches, and without any tools at all, creates his beautiful art from the objects and materials he finds by chance; using his intuition. His art evolves from its surroundings; involving him in a learning process through working with nature where he relies on what materials nature will give him to produce his works

Goldsworthy’s goal is to develop a growing understanding and sharpened perception of nature by directly participating in it as intimately as he can and this is why I have chosen him. To him; seeing and understanding nature is a way of renewing the relationship of human existence within the environment, and that we as humans have some ability of controlling nature, but eventually, in the end, nature controls us. Andy Goldsworthy’s work involves the use of common natural and found objects, such as reeds, thorns, twigs, berries, pebbles, ice and snow. He almost never incorporates the assistance of any unnatural materials; often only using his bare hands, teeth, and found tools to prepare and construct his pieces. Through this creative process, Goldsworthy attempts to understand the richness and uniqueness of the site in which he is working. “Learning and understanding through touch and making is a simple but deeply important reason for doing my work.”

As most of Goldsworthy’s work is ephemeral, and disintegrates in less than a day, perhaps even within seconds, he contradicts the permanence of art in its historical pretence. “My sculpture can last for days or for a few seconds, what is important to me is the experience of making.” Goldsworthy’s work Derwent Water, Cumbria, (see below) a piece constructed out of twigs delicately arranged, demonstrates the transitory nature of Goldsworthy’s works and challenges traditionalistic notions of art.“I can't edit the materials I work with. My remit is to work with nature as a whole." Goldsworthy creates works of art which do not only draw attention to themselves, but to the environments in which they are placed. He processes “raw materials” in the literal sense of the word; materials as they are found in nature.

(below) Derwent Water Cumbria. Feb 20 1988

Due to its ephemeral nature - (the temporality fascinates me), Goldsworthy uses photography as a form of documenting his work. Some of his works, such as his massive fir cone-shaped stone ‘Three Cairns’ last for decades or longer, while others, like an armful of snow thrown into the air, are destroyed within seconds and only continue to exist as photographs, which Goldsworthy ensures to capture immediately after completion of each of his pieces. “Photograph has become the way I talk about my sculpture…”

Edward Hopper, 1882-1967

Nighthawks, 1942, oil on canvas

Hopper's works present a strong front of "American sensibility," but they also portray a stark sense of isolation, loneliness, and eerie individualism. As a result of these attributes, his works came to characterize the Great Depression period (though the artist himself managed to avoid the economic hardship of the time).

Born in New York in 1882, Hopper used New England and New York as some of his primary landscapes. One of his greatest influences was Robert Henri, the mentor under whom he studied. Other influences include de Goya, Velazquez, Manet, and several other classically realist artists. Though Hopper took several trips to Europe at the beginning of his career, he was never influenced by the rise of cubism and abstraction that seemed to characterize the works of his contemporaries.

Check out some of my favorites:

New York Movie, 1939, oil on canvas

Chop Suey, 1929, oil on canvas

Prospect Street, Gloucester, 1928, watercolor on paper

Summer Evening, 1947, oil on canvas

House by the Railroad, 1925, oil on canvas

Ok, so maybe I had a hard time picking just a few favorites. But if you look at all of these paintings, including the landscapes and the streescapes, what's interesting is that the subject isn't actually the house or the people depicted. There's a sense that the atmosphere—the mood itself—is the real subject. I especially like that the style is a rougher kind of realism. Even in the watercolor painting, there's a scratchiness, a kind of expression in the strokes that makes these paintings a little less severe. The last painting depicted, House by the Railroad, is considered Hopper's first "mature" painting, which truly expresses the themes and style that came to inspire each of his subsequent works. His use of architectural elements to create strong lines in his images lends to the overall sense of structure and, often, vacuity that makes use of the physical space to express the metaphysical.

If you've ever been to New York (or any large city, for that matter), you might understand why I love these images. Yes, there's a sense of isolation and loneliness in Hopper's paintings. But there's also a sense of the familiar, the concrete. It's this dual sensitivity to the comforts (and confines) of an ordinary setting, and the feeling that one can be lonely (even in a crowded room) that makes these paintings so irresistibly familiar to us all. Consider his street scenes and landscapes, too. These serve as representations of his mastery of the use of sunlight: he illuminates just enough...and then allows you to focus on the shadows, too.

Hopper said that he didn't see how some of his paintings, especially Nighthawks, could really be that lonely. He simply thought he was, perhaps unconsciously, painting the sense of individuality and isolation that comes from living in a big city. He came to be known as the artist that could provide a physical representation of loneliness and boredom. Of his own work, though, Hopper once said that though he never tried to paint the "American Scene," he was always trying to "paint himself."