M.C. Escher

M.C. Escher

Eric Lo

Maurits Cornelis Escher, more popularly known as M.C. Escher, was an artist active in the 20^th century. Escher employed a number of creative techniques and created an assortment of unique pieces, a number of which I will look at more closely. Although Escher initially attended school to study architecture at the Haarlem School of Architecture and Decorative Arts, he transferred to studying graphic arts after a brief time. Following his schooling, M.C. Escher decided to travel and ultimately found himself in Italy, around which he moved for many years while making art. Due to the war, Escher finally moved back to the Netherlands with his wife.

M.C. Escher’s artwork included a number of styles that ranged from drawings to lithographs. His famous style paired mathematical precision along with space, division of planes, tessellations, and perspective to produce impossible, infinite scenes. Many of his works play tricks on the natural eye. Scenes appear realistic, but when examined in detail, prove to be impossibly structured. Other works may not include these interesting scenes but nevertheless incorporate similar artistic techniques to bring them to life and serve Escher’s purpose.

Waterfall (1961)

Waterfall is one of M.C. Escher’s most famous pieces. His use of shading in this black and white piece provides perspective. The waterfall appears to fall from a structure a story above the house. Yet, if one follows the path of the water, he will notice that the water in fact flows at one level and thus technically cannot drop down a floor. The waterfall is merely an impossible illusion created by the other building structures in the piece, which are set on different levels. The perspective provided by these buildings, which are arranged on separate levels, relative to the waterfall plays a major role in tricking the observer. Escher uses a number of other techniques to construct this image to serve his purposes. His use of line weights allows him to bring the complex structure to life and along with shading, creates a three-dimensional image. Escher also makes use of empirical perspective by not only creating the main focus of the image, but also constructing a less-detailed background. These techniques are all techniques we have learned in class that help enhance the represented scene.

Ascending and Descending (1960)

Similar to Waterfall, Escher makes use of relative space and perspective to create an impossible reality that only becomes obvious when examined closely. At first glance, Ascending and Descending presents a building structure approximately four stories tall. However, it is the scene at the top of the structure that proves the most interesting. Here, it would appear that the individuals littered across the top are climbing a stairwell. Yet upon further inspection of the stairs, it becomes clear that the stairs do not actually lead the figures upwards. Rather, the whole path stays at the same level, defying the norms of perception. The rest of the structure is constructed and shaded in a way that makes the scene appear normal. Again, Escher made use of shading and differing line weights to create an impossibly real three-dimensional structure. Relative perspective also plays a role in the illusion as well. A close look at the walls next to the stairs shows that they become elevated, even though they do not.

Drawing Hands (1948)

Unlike Waterfall and Ascending and Descending, Escher does not create an impossible illusory scene in Drawing Hands. Instead, his usage of line weights and shading really come alive to create a piece that incorporates both one-dimensional as well as three-dimensional aspects. One can tell that the sleeve areas of the arm are drawn with a rather constant line weight and no shading is involved. These basic lines serve to create a one dimensional quality. On the other hand, Escher makes use of differing line weights and shading techniques on the hands and drawing utensils to make them appear three-dimensional. The detail and shadow used are remarkable. The contrast between the two modes is stunning and truly shows how the use of techniques such as line weights and shading, which we have already learned in class, can bring a drawing to life. 

References:

F. H. Bool, ed.: M. C. Escher: His Life and Complete Graphic Work (New York and London, 1982) 

D. Schattschneider: Visions of Symmetry: Notebooks, Periodic Drawings and Related Work of M. C. Escher(New York, 1990)

Schattschneider, D.: M.C. Escher: Visions of Symmetry, Thames and Hudson, London, 2004.

Jan Willem Vermeulen. "Escher, M. C.." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 27 Feb. 014. <http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T026652>.

"M.C. Escher." Totally History. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. <http://totallyhistory.com/m-c-escher/>.

Michael Whelan

Source: Google Images - Science Fiction Cover Art

"Don't judge a book by its cover." Metaphorical meanings aside, I often find it difficult to follow this saying when actually searching for a book to read. Anyone who has ever walked through a Barnes & Noble without an author in mind can attest to the difficulty of finding an appealing book out of the masses. I find this especially true for the science fiction genre where literary clichés of time travel, space ship disasters, and humanoid aliens are ubiquitous. How then do you select a book? Besides reading the back cover synopsis, you can examine the illustration on the front cover.                                                  

Michael Whelan is an editorial illustrator famous for his book cover artwork for science fiction novels. Born June 29, 1950, much of Whelan's childhood was spent in transience due to his father's job as an aerospace engineer. During that time, he witnessed many air force missile launches and explosions, which he later stated were an influence in his decision to make artwork for the science fiction field. Whelan attended San Jose State University as an Art, and Biology (Pre-medicine) major in 1968. He did some illustration work for the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, but he found the field of medical art too limiting, so he instead abandoned his science studies in favor of the art path. In 1974 he was enrolled at The Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, but landed his first commercial job within his first year of school.

For the past 35 years, Whelan has had a prodigious career, illustrating hundreds of book covers, and earning himself multiple awards and even a place in the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Let me show you some of his work that I think exemplifies his skill as a cover art illustrator.

Source: Wonderworks

This set of works details the process behind the illustration for the book "Ensign Flandry" by Poul Anderson, 1979. Whelan starts with study drawings and sketches before his final acrylic painting on illustration board. Note the art director's comments to put the man and alien woman in more aggressive poses and to give the alien woman a more humanoid face.

Source: Wonderworks

Juxtapose the color sketch above with the final cover art on the left. You can clearly see the effect of the aggressive stance for both of the featured characters. There is a lot of information to be gleaned from this simple change.









 

Source: Wonderworks

This piece was for the book "Time and Again" by Clifford D. Simak, 1976. It is a great example of how Michael Whelan can convey a lot of information from the story in the limited space of the front cover.

Potential readers would want to know why the man's eyes are glowing, why his space suit is ripped, and what he is reading.

Source: Wonderworks

 
I am also quite impressed by his ability to make aliens and science fiction environments realistic. In this sketch the scale of the human astronaut and the alien creature are believable and even familiar.

Source: Wonderworks

 

















"With Friends Like These," the cover painting for the book by Alan Dean Foster, 1997, actually features Whelan and his wife Audrey. They are sharing ice cream with a colorful cast of aliens. Look at the way the light from the window behind Audrey illuminates the characters, and notice the shadowing on both  humans and insectoids.











 

Source: MichaelWhelan.com

Entitled "Trantorian Dream," Whelan utilizes space, with ruins in the foreground, towers in the midground, and a galaxy in the background to show just how small the man is in comparison to the universe. 
 
The famous science fiction author Isaac Asimov praised Whelan by writing, "It seems to me to be rather marvelous to be able to illustrate not a concrete scene but an abstract imponderable, and in such a way that it seems to brighten and deepen the book even to the writer himself."

It is in this way that I find Michael Whelan's work to be superb. He is given a fictional book, a written world, and is asked to create a single image that can both attract the reader's attention and hint at what greatness there is inside. He must provide the starting point for reader's imaginations to transport them to alien worlds. Whelan's favorite quote, by G.K. Chesterton, sums up his role.

 "The dignity of the artist lies in his duty of keeping awake the sense of wonder in the world."



References:

Whelan, Michael, Polly Freas, and Kelly Freas. Wonderworks: Science Fiction and Fantasy Art. Virginia Beach, VA: Donning, 1979. Print.

www.MichaelWhelan.com

Google Images

Gerhard Richter

"Art is the highest form of hope" - Gerhard Richter

Having viewed one of  his works in the Centre Pompidou recently, I was excited to learn that I recognized the name of the second highest earning living artist at auction--Gerhard Richter. I chose Richter because his art is very intriguing. It appears his works span a great spectrum and there is little to be said to tie them together, but I wanted to study his works a little more closely to see if I could find a connection. 

Richter was born in 1932 in Dresden. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts under Karl Otto Götz. Although trying out some performance art, he considered himself to be a painter and used photographs as a starting point in most of his pieces. 

For example, in 1024 Colours No 350-3, Richter reduces painting to a bare minimum, its "elemental physical existence". All that is left in this painting, although based on an already existed color chart, is the "naked physical presence of colour as the essential material of all painting" (Grisebach). 

Richter, Gerhard. 1024 Colours No 350-3. 1973. Centre Pompidou. 

Source: Personal photo

In the late 70s, one notices a shift in Richter's work toward the more abstract. He maintains a vivid color palette as well as the idea that his work is copied from a photograph. Here is an example of one of these paintings:

Richter, Gerhard. 2.1.1978 (22). 1978. Kunstmuseum Winterthur. 

Source: http://www.francesoir.fr/

In May 2013, his 1968 work, Domplatz, Mailand, sold for 37.1 million dollars at Sotheby's in New York. Richter held this record for another six months until Koon's took the record with his Balloon Dog sold at Christie's for 58.4 million. 

Richter, Gerhard. Domplatz, Mailand. 1968. Don Bryant. 

Source: www.gerhard-richter.com

From my research I found that my original perceptions of Richter were right--his work does span a great number of mediums. This is, however, his goal. He does not want to be tied down as an artist with one particular style, but instead, following in the footsteps of Arp and Picasso, wants to test out abstraction in many different styles. Although this approach has often been criticized, he stands firmly by the idea that this was a conscious choice that allowed him to deeply and freely investigate all there is to painting. 

The following images come from the book I discovered in Lilly Library that highlight some of Richter's drawings. 

Richter, Gerhard. E. with Child (recto). 1967. 

Source: www.gerhard-richter.com

Richter, Gerhard. Study for the Presentation of 'Grey Pictures'. 1975. 

Source: www.gerhard-richter.com

Bibliography

Lucius Grisebach. "Richter, Gerhard." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press.Web. 1 March 2014.

Gerhard Richter. 2014. Web. 1 March 2014. 

Schwarz, Dieter. Gerhard Richter: dessins et aquarelles. Paris: Musée du Louvre Éditions, 2012. Print. 

Joan Miró

I decided to focus on Joan Miró because I visited the Fundació Joan Miró, a museum dedicated to his work, when I studied abroad during the fall of 2012. This museum is located on top of a mountain, and is a bit of a hike to reach. However, when you arrive at the top you have a beautiful view of the city.

Before I visited the museum, I didn't know much about Miró other than what I had learned in my Spanish classes in elementary school. In viewing his works, I had a sense that I had seen them before. His works are very memorable and bold, and will likely seem familiar to many.

I have included a number of photographs that I took at the museum. 

On the left is a tapestry created by Miró.

On the right is a view of the basement floor of the museum.

The roof of the museum.

Below is a shot of Barcelona taken from the roof of the museum.

On Joan Miró i Ferrà
Joan Miró was born in 1893 in Barcelona. His early work was influenced by cubism, Fauvism, and the artists Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cezanne. The time period considered to encompass his early works extended to around 1922. During this time Miró's work was often of landscapes in Montroig, where his family's farm was located. The Farm is considered to be one of his best works from this time period.

The Farm 1921-22 is a very detailed painting, rich in descriptive information. Hazan writes that in this painting, Miró was able to paradoxically capture both a representation of a farm, and the process of representation itself. 
(Photo taken from Faerna)

Though Miró's most commonly used medium was oil paint, I located some drawings that he did at a young age, which seem to have foreshadowed his whimsical style.

According to Malet, these were Miró's earliest drawings, completed before he entered the Exchange School of Fine Arts. It can be deduced that they were drawn prior to 1907.
(Photo taken from Malet)









Miró returned to Paris in 1923, and it was around this time that Surrealism began, a sort of combination of reality and a dream state. Miró's work began to reflect both this movement and the Dada movement, which sought to "put an end to all sorts of preconceived ideas and invent new systems of expression" (Malet). This makes more sense when we examine a work from early on in this era. 

Catalan Landscape (The Hunter) 1923-24 shows an abandonment of realistic depiction. Each object is highly stylized, with Miró changing a natural object into an imaginative one. Objects are reduced to a few defining, or not so defining, characteristics. 
(Photo taken from Hazan)

The turning point in Miró's career was in 1940, when he painted a small series on paper called the Constellations, which were "inspired by contemplation of the starry sky over the Normandy coast" (Faerna). The way that these painting cover and extend to the edges of each sheet of paper create the feeling that the paintings are continuous and can be joined. An example of this follows.

Woman Surrounded by the Flight of a Bird 1941
(Photo taken from Malet)

The final years of Miró's career involved the use of a lot of black, and a looser application of paint to the canvas. These are perhaps his most recognizable and memorable paintings, due to their bold simplicity. Malet writes that "Miró did not change his language but gradually refined and reduced it to the purely essential, without ever abandoning the themes that had always been his main concern: the earth, the sky and the heavenly bodies, women, birds..." (Malet). 

Fascinating Personage 1968
(Photo taken from Faerna)












Though Miró's work clearly evolved throughout his lifetime, his entire body of work is memorable because of its bold colors. To me, his work seems to slowly evolve into highly simplified representations of things that had always been his favorite subjects.


References
Faerna, Jose Maria. Miró. Trans. Elsa Haas. New York: Harry N. Abrams Incorporated, 1995. Print.

Hazan, Fernand. Miró. Trans. John Greaves. New York: Portland House, 1989. Print. 

Malet, Rosa Maria. Joan Miró. Trans. Kenneth Lyons. New York: Rizzoli International Publications Incorporated, 1984. Print.

http://joanmiro.com/joan-miro-biography/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Mir%C3%B3

http://www.ndoylefineart.com/miro.html