Richard Estes

While flipping through The Art Book at Lilly Library, I stumbled across an image that appeared to be a photograph rather than a painting. It was a sample of the hyper-realist work of Richard Estes. Born in 1932 in Illinois, Estes studied at the Art Institute of Chicago before moving to New York in 1959. He worked as a commercial artist in publishing and illustrating before becoming a full-time painter. In 1968, he had his first solo exhibition at the Allan Stone Gallery and Hudson River Museum, and in 1971 received a National Endowment Fellowship Award for Painting. He published his first print portfolio in 1971 and became recognized as one of the most influential figures in contemporary realism. He has since received several other awards for his work and currently lives in New York and Maine.

As subjects for his work, he largely focuses on familiar city scenes, painting them with stunning photorealist detail. He photographs the subject and then works from the photograph to reproduce it with paint.

Study Drawing: New York Restaurant
Source: The Art Institute of Chicago

As scene in the image above, Estes begins his works with sketchy, study drawings, mapping out relationships between figures and objects in his subject scenes and determining areas of light and shadow.

After the study sketch comes a study painting, which adds color to the work but still leaves meticulous detail to later rendering of the work.

Study Painting: Figures in Cafeteria (oil on canvas)
Source: Artnet, NY Marlborough Gallery

One such study painting is included here, depicting some figures in a cafeteria scene. Estes has begun to fill in the colors of the scene, but has yet to include the detail that gives his work its signature photorealism.

His finished pieces demonstrate an unbelievable attention to and ability to create exquisite detail, as demonstrated in the following figure.

Painting: Lunch Specials (oil on canvas)
Source: Artnet, NY Marlborough Gallery

I particularly like this work because it appears that one of the individuals in the scene (the man in the purple shirt in the eatery) caught the artist in the act of snapping this photograph.

Estes' use and depiction of reflection in his work is especially amazing to me. Almost all of his subject scenes contain beautifully reproduced reflective elements (windows, cars, metallic surfaces), and I think that this feature in particular assists in elevating his work from being realistic to being photorealistic. Some of this can be scene on the eatery window in Lunch Specials above, but the following examples serve to highlight Estes' use of reflection in his work very well.

Painting: Citarella
Source: Artnet, NY Marlborough Gallery

Painting: Kentucky Fried Chicken
Source: Artnet, NY Marlborough Gallery

In Citarella, we see an example where Estes produced identical mirror images of the same scene in one painting, both in the restaurant window and in real life. And in Kentucky Fried Chicken, Estes uses the distorted reflection on the hood of the car to give his audience a view of objects that cannot be scene within the frame of the painting. These reflections serve to give his work a depth and a realism that would be lacking in their absence. 

In Richard Estes' work, I admire the extreme amount of detail and realism that he is able to achieve. His work makes the viewer do a double-take and leaves them in disbelief that they are in fact looking at a painting rather than a photograph. 

Sources:
Meisel, Louis K. Richard Estes: The Complete Paintings 1966-1985. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1986. Print.

Richard Estes. Artnet: The Art World Online, New York. Web. 2 Mar 2014. <http://www.artnet.com/awc/richard-estes.html>.

Amy Sillman: one lump or two

Painting is perhaps more vital today than any time since the heyday of the New York School in the late 1940s and 1950s and Amy Sillman, the American painter who works in Brooklyn is one of its most influential practitioners and thinkers. Through her dramatic shifts in style, sophisticated writings, and her role as head of the painting program at Bard College's prestigious MFA program, she has proven that the basic building blocks of 20th-century painting are as relevant as ever.

I went to Boston during this Thanksgiving Break and visited the Institute of Contemporary Art there. That was how I got to know this artist and appreciated her works in Amy Sillman: one lump or two-- the artist's first museum survey. This exhibition follows her development as an artist from the mid-1990s to the present, as her work moved from drawing to painting to moving images, and from figuration to abstraction.

I was immediately attracted by her work, which is, to me, a perfect combination of figuration and abstraction, simple but deep and full of stories. Her works are big, confident and sensuous and can trigger all the joy, exuberance and imagination.

Me & Ugly Mountain, 2003
oil on canvas
Collection of Jerome and Ellen Stern

Above is a photo I took when I was at the exhibition of one of my favorite work of hers--- Me & Ugly Mountain.

In it, a lone figure drags behind her, by virtue of a thinly painted line, an enormous bundle of neurotic energy. Inside the transparent sack is a jumble of lines and shapes that cohere in to a bag of figures, a cacophony of people. Placed in front of the landscape and pressed up against the picture plane, the sack dominates the composition, its shape resembling an eye, mouth or breast. Inside the satchel, one can isolate individual figures, not that different from the comical personage who pulls them along.





I like it because her use of figuration and abstraction in this painting. She uses figuration on the lone figure and the background of the snow mountain, while she uses some abstraction when depicting the whole mess in the lone figure's head. This use of abstraction signifies the mess, complaints, worries and pain inside the lone figure's head. It also indicates that the bag of mess is not real, only abstract thoughts inside her head, but the beautiful snow mountains are true and should be appreciated.

"S", 2007

This work is very abstract and perfectly shows Sillman's value of painting. Some painters are on a quest for truth and beauty, however, through this painting we can conclude that Sillman is not one of them. Her affection of artworks, are "dirty", "backward" "not pleasant" and "amateurish". Her goal is not to shock the viewer, in the way of some contemporary art provocateurs. Sillman's medium could be said to be comic awkwardness as much as it is oil or ink. She is always interested in jokes and humors.

In her painting, there is often something off balance. We can see this painting, with its broad neon strokes, is off balance everywhere. Casual strokes form "S" everywhere, small or big, upward or downward. But when you focus on one particular "S" in it, other strokes that form other "S" become a framework that contains the former "S". Again, this multi-interpretation shows the deepness, convolution embedded under the simplicity and crudeness of her work.

The Elephant in the Room, 2006
oil on canvas

The elephant in the room which is a phrase that means something present but invisible, determinative but denied, served as the loaded title of what is in retrospect one of Sillman's key works--- a large and, for Sillman, uncharacteristically empty painting as shown above. Densely layered but sparingly drawn, the canvas features two perpendicular blocks of color--- opaque apricot in the canvas's lower portion and , atop that, a rectangle of gradated yellow--- that describe a space containing little more than what seems a slumping, implausibly green elephant trunk. In the manner of Cy Twombly's graffitied penis-breast notations, however, this appendage also reads alternately as a female nude and as something tumescently phallic. Significantly, this figure casts a shadow that partially but ominously occludes a sliver of translucent, pale purple and gray landscape, barely visible on the right.



The interpretation of Sillman herself about this painting is sex, however, viewers can also interprete the elephant as something else. Again, this kind of combination of abstraction and figuration leaves great space for us to imagine and interprete by ourselves.



References:

The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. "Amy Sillman: one lump or two, west gallery, October 3- January 5, 2014". <http://www.icaboston.org/exhibitions/exhibit/AmySillman/>
Loos, Ted. "Blobs and Slashes, Interrupted by Forms". The New York Times, September 26, 2013. <http://www.amysillman.com/uploads_amy/pdfs/37f1e2d9.pdf>
Smee, Sebastian. "Witty and bright, Amy Sillman's work is freshly urgent." The Boston Globe, October 5, 2013. <http://www.amysillman.com/uploads_amy/pdfs/8351d781.pdf>
Norden, Linda. "Amy Sillman: The Elephant in the Painting". ARTFORUM International, February 2007. <http://www.amysillman.com/uploads_amy/pdfs/d806c45e19.pdf>

Donatello

Sagrestia Vecchia- La cupolina affrescata.

Donatello
By Lynea B.

Donatello, born Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi in Florence around1386. He was a popular early Italian Renaissance artist who produced many sculptures during his lifetime. His sculptures were made of marble and bronze. Having been educated in his youth at the home of the Martellis (a weathy family of art patrons and bankers) he received artistic training from a goldsmith and then apprenticed with a metalsmith and sculptor. His early work followed the Gothic style but he later developed a more emotional style that incorporated perspective for a realistic look. I’ve selected a few images from the book “Donatello in San Lorenzo a Firenze” that showcased photographs taken by Aurelio Amendola of some of his works. Most of the images in the book depicted Biblical scenes—Donatello was known for doing commissions for churches and of Biblical characters. Donatello died in 1466 in Florence.

I was drawn to the image above because I was particularly drawn to the colors, which the scanner did no justice to. The contrast of the gold and yellow to the backdrop of the dark blues of the night sky are really amazing. This painting was done on a high, domed ceiling. This is one of the few, non-Biblical works of Donatello.

Pulpito Della Passione- Crocefissione.

The reason I chose Donatello was because while browsing the stacks in Lily library, I was drawn to the long spine of the book that had his name written on it in all caps. I honestly knew nothing about Donatello beside the fact that one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was named after him, meaning he was a Renaissance artist. I wanted to know more about him and see some of his work. That proved to be a bit difficult when web search kept giving me the Ninja Turtle instead of the Italian Renaissance Artist. Donatello was mostly a sculptor, but using the internet to find images of sketches he might’ve done was pretty much impossible because sketches of turtles was all I was finding. Unfortunately, the book I used as my main source had only photographs of sculptures and buildings. This makes sense granted that sculptures are more likely than sketches to survive hundreds of years.

Pulpito Della Resurrezione- Ascensione.

Sagrestia Vecchia- San Giovanni.

I think these sculptures really show the emotional style Donatello became well known for. He moved farther and farther away from the expressionless, Gothic style with long emphasized lines and more into a emotional, realistic style. One of his most famous works, a sculpture of David, was done during an earlier part in his career and exemplifies the Gothic style. 

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.