Nicole Eisman's ability to mix painting styles creates her style

In Nicole Eisman's "Brooklyn Biergarten II" we see so much happening, it's hard to know where to start. The diversity of colors and actions amaze and confuse the viewer. What catches my eye is Eisman's ability to develop and "hue" individuals as a way to highlight their diversity. I don't know if this was her intention, but for me it helps show that each individual is unique and coming from different places with different stories.

What I mean is both the range of colors she uses to form a figure, and the extent to which we can see details of that person. An example of this is the lower left corner: the man with the beer in his lap seems fairly developed and his skin tone true to your average white person's. In contrast, the person behind this figure has a sketchy blue blouse, with a washed out skin tone. Some figures in the painting have greenish or reddish skin tones. It were as if the detain and precision tell us something about the figures themselves, and their personalities.

Most people look bored, with most gazing off with their mouths closed. There is something that this does to the painting: it creates a contrast between the party 'essence' and the collective human emotion. In "American culture" -whatever that may be- we think of parties as loud, full of jokes and laughter, with plenty of drinking. Even if we feel anxious, we cover those anxieties to try to "have a good time" and avoid being a "buzzkill." We want the party mood to be happy. In this scene, I would say the mood for me is not 'happy' but content or even bored, or tired. No one is bursting into laughter, or even smiling strongly. What does this mean?

Eisman has a way of making a scribbly under-developed figure look complete. Look at the couple standing up on the right. They seem barely detailed, and yet there is a strong feeling associated with that couple. Even while least developed, they hold the most passion, arguably.

Another note on technique - the backdrop is a aqua blue color, which seeps into figures increasingly as you go backward. This is an effective way to transition into distance, and make us believe that the loose blue tree figures all the way back are connected to the scene. If there weren't any blue in the people sitting at the back, then it would seem as though these individuals were not connected to their environment.

I love Eisman's work - she can share so much in one scene. What do you like or dislike about her technique?

Contemporary Art - Comics and Abstraction

Contemporary art is one of the most interesting areas of art to delve into as an audience in my opinion. Much of older art and the other styles stick to strict rules or are bound to realism, but what is unique about contemporary art is that many of the artists have no rules at all. Not only can it be in a wide range of mediums, but a lot of the time the audience themselves have to consider whether the art is challenging or interesting. I believe that this allows for artists to express themselves in a much more personal way.

A lot of the class knows already my interest and draw towards comic book art, but one piece that I admire is how the art style has been able to model the characters story and background. At their start in the 1950s, comics did not deviate far from the newsprint style of basic grids, with more dialogue than imagery. As the medium grew in popularity, so did the artists creativity. In what is considered to be the Silver Age of comic books (1950-1971), many of the artists started to take inspiration from different art movements, most notably surrealism which helped to illustrate the bizarre and unique worlds that the characters live. As the characters as well started to become more well known, the artists could rely less on attention grabbing graphics, and the artist could fully explore their own artistic representation of the main character’s story. While this medium is primarily used for story telling, the artist was able to express themselves and utilize their own artistic vision to tell the story they wanted in their own way.

Another way that contemporary artists have been able to express themselves without needing to follow any rules is through abstract art, one of the most famous being Jackson Pollock. While at a glance some might consider his art to be scribbles and nonsense, it is far more than that. As an audience, you can feel the emotion through each stroke or splatter, and each one feels like it has a reason to be there. As a whole the entirety of his pieces complete the picture of the feeling Pollock was trying to convey through his art. While there might not be a traditional subject, or foreground, middle-ground, and background, the same emotion that any other traditional piece of art would attempt to convey is still all there. As a whole abstract art is a very interesting study into the evolution of visual art, and I believe an important push into expanding the field.

Social Relevancy Controversy in Modern Art

In recent years, cultural and intellectual discourse on race has remained in the forefront of discussion in the United States. With modern political civil rights movements, such as the Black Lives Matter movement, gaining huge social momentum, the popularity of social practice necessitates integration into the art world. Many contemporary artists attempt to create art that fits in our culturally diverse and multifaceted environment by creating art considered “challenging” or “interesting.” To create dialogue and to align with current social focuses, many contemporary artists respond to instances of police brutality, racism, xenophobia, and homophobia through their creative practices. Recent art centered around systemic racism has predominantly featured instances of pain and trauma for African Americans in the United States. The question remains, though, is the political shift of popular contemporary art responding to issues surrounding race a true catalyst for social change, or merely a spectacle to be profited from?

The art world continues to be white-dominated, by white artists, white subjects, and white curators. African American artists are habitually underrepresented in the mainstream art world. Due to this tendency, a segment of the racially challenging pieces of artwork created are by white artists. The interpretation of race and power has historically been defined by a white hegemonic standpoint, and thus this artistic appropriation sparks immense controversy over insensitive attempts at social relevancy.

Featured in the Whitney Museum’s Biennial show, Dana Schutz created a particularly evocative painting, Open Casket (2016), of an open-coffin with a distorted black male’s face. The painting is based on the photograph of Emmett Till’s funeral. Till, an African American boy who was brutally murdered at the age of 14, was falsely accused of flirting with a white woman. To force people to see the brutality of the lynching and to expose American racism, Till’s mother chose to have an open casket at the funeral. The issue of the portrayal in the eyes of many was the artist herself, a white woman. In protest of Schutz’s appropriative artistic lens, one African American artist stood in front of the work wearing a shirt with the words “Black Death Spectacle.” The majority of naysayers emphasized the fundamentally white supremacist nature of contemporary art, and the obvious unfairness of stripping art from those being depicted. In North Carolina, even, in Raleigh’s modern art museum, a show in 2016 chose to feature an exhibit of Margaret Bowland’s large portraits of African American subjects smeared with white paint. This collection, produced by a white artist, was met with distain in the arts community with accusations of cultural appropriation, as well. 

Art can help to make sense of reality and force onlookers to consider the visual more acutely. While acknowledging racial construction as a reality allows art to impact racial identity in the United States and challenge institutions, the exclusion of African Americans in the art industry disrupt appropriate representation and distract from potentially impactful art. Until the art world itself becomes a truly inclusive institution, the practice will struggle to make true social change. Though, despite unsettling images depicting African American suffering creating waves, the images certainly demonstrate the power of art to speak about race  and violence. 

 

Works Cited

“Black Bodies, White Cubes: The Problem With Contemporary Art's Appropriation of Race -.” ARTnews, 11 July 2016, www.artnews.com/2016/07/11/black-bodies-white-cubes-the-problem-with-contemporary-arts-appropriation-of-race/.

Menconi, David. “Critics Offended by Portraits of Black People Painted with White Faces. Artist Says They're Missing the Point.” Newsobserver, News & Observer, www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article209130184.html.

Kennedy, Randy. “White Artist's Painting of Emmett Till at Whitney Biennial Draws Protests.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Mar. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/arts/design/painting-of-emmett-till-at-whitney-biennial-draws-protests.html.

Muñoz-Alonso, Lorena. “Painting of Emmett Till at Whitney Biennial Sparks Protest.” Artnet News, Artnet News, 23 Mar. 2017, news.artnet.com/art-world/dana-schutz-painting-emmett-till-whitney-biennial-protest-897929.

Contemporary Art Essay- Firelei Baez and "Bloodlines"

Contemporary Art reflects different aspects of society and its people today. While trying to find an artist to analyze, I hoped to concentrate on an artist that incorporated a societal message behind his/her work. A contemporary artist that does an exceptional job of visualizing this reality is Firelei Baez, a Dominican artist who makes intricate works on paper and canvas as well as large scale sculptures. Her mixture of different types of media and metaphorical messages creates interesting compositions that reflect contemporary trends. 

As seen in the images below, Baez had a very unique style of rendering figures and patterns. I greatly appreciate her technique of having a central, detailed figure and a plain background in many of her art pieces. I hope to take inspiration from this type of composition because I very often try to fill up the full paper with immense detail, sometimes leading to busy compositions. Experimenting with this contrast would be an interesting way to bring attention to the central element of the artwork. A similar thematic element I have found within Baez's work is the concentration on female figures. I especially like how Baez uses saturated colors and detail to express emotion and movement within these figures and hope to draw inspiration from this going forward. Additionally, I am drawn to how Baez experiments with several different types of media and styles, but at the same time has a continuous thematic message that can be easily identified. After doing some research, I found that Baez tries to evoke conversation regarding culture and identity through her artwork, which is present in the pieces below. I appreciate how each individual art piece by Baez has its own significance yet her collection comes together as a cohesive set and hope to develop some of my own similar ideas for my artwork in the coming future.  

                 Examples of Firelei Baez's Art

     

I believe that one of Baez's most interesting artworks is “Bloodlines”. This drawing does a fantastic job of incorporating different types of media and ideas about race and culture and resonates with my interest in mixing different art styles to create a unified art piece.                                                             

                                      "Bloodlines"

                  

What I find particularly compelling is the juxtaposition of style within the art piece. The figure is painted in a modern, abstract style with non-conventional colors. I find the dripping painting technique particularly attractive as it emphasizes details within the figure. It is obvious that Baez layered different colors of paint within the figure to get the desired effect. This figure contrasts with the drawing element of the art piece. The majority of the paper is covered with an intricate design where the figure would traditionally have hair. This same is reflected in the piercing eyes that are very detailed and drawn in a similar style. I find it extremely interesting how Baez is able to express so much emotion in this artwork which such few details in the face.

Through its unique style and composition, “Bloodlines” reveals its message of racial stereotypes and pressures. Baez does an incredible job creating the figure’s elements without providing an obvious illustration. For example, when rendering the skin tone, she resorts to unconventional colors to create a dark tone. Even though it is not obvious at first, it is a very effective form of portrayal. A similar result is achieved through the intricate drawing present as the headdress. After some research, I found that Baez showed women in her artwork wearing tignons, an 18th century headdress imposed by law for women of color in New Orleans. Even though this headdress was seen as a form of oppression at first, it soon turned into a form of expression. This expressiveness is successfully shown with the drawing through the complexity of the design. I appreciate how Baez activated the space for the headdress and didn’t rely on a single pattern, adding to the movement of the art. Additionally, the use of a non-white paper base was a great way to increase the contrast present within the headdress. Because of this artistic decision. Baez was able to use both white and black charcoal to highlight the small details visible in the headdress. Another element of the art piece that I enjoy is the layering present in the watercolor. This is shown with the green tones present on the left of the figure. I would like to take inspiration from this art piece and add elements of it to my own artwork. For example, I really like the complexity of design present and will apply this to my future projects. Additionally, I think the contrast of using color as well as black and white within the same art piece is interesting will try to experiment with this style to create interesting compositions.

While Firelei Baez's artistic style is quite different than mine, I find her work to be expressive and unique. I appreciate her bold artistic choices with both media and color. Like Baez, I have found that most contemporary artists do an excellent job of developing a personal voice through their art. Going forward this semester, I hope to create a clearer artistic vision that expresses my interests and aspirations. 

Sources:

Images-

“Home.” Firelei Báez, fireleibaezstudio.com/

Guillén, Valeria. “Guillén WARP.” PAMM: Firelei Báez "Bloodlines", 1 Jan. 1970, guillenwarp.blogspot.com/2015/10/pamm-firelei-baez-bloodlines.html

“Firelei Báez.” Gallery Wendi Norris | San Francisco, www.gallerywendinorris.com/artists-collection/firelei-baez.

“Firelei Baez.” Morgan Lehman Gallery, www.morganlehmangallery.com/artists/firelei-baez.

Websites-

“Firelei Báez: Bloodlines.” The Andy Warhol Museum, www.warhol.org/exhibition/firelei-baez-bloodlines/.

“Firelei Báez: Bloodlines.” Piss Discus | PAMM | Pérez Art Museum Miami, www.pamm.org/exhibitions/firelei-b%C3%A1ez.

Njideka Akunyili and “Afropolitanism”

Njideka Akunyili and “Afropolitanism” 

The work of Nigerian born artist, Njideka Akunyili captured my attention as I scrolled through images of contemporary artwork. Not only because her colorful and textured pieces made my eyes travel throughout the entirety of the pieces, but also the culturally charged messages portrayed by her works as well as their titles left me thinking long after I had scrolled on to the next image. Her artwork belongs to a contemporary trend of “Afropolitanism” and explores identity and nationalism of African immigrants as they move out of their cultures into other cities and urban environments across the world.

Akunyili’s works are most often large mural style pieces made up of a variety of media. She uses colored pencil, charcoal, and fabric as well as newspaper cutouts, text, and photographs to create a collage styled piece. She uses detailed patters and contrasting bright and dark colors to entice the observers eye throughout the entirety of the piece. The majority of the pieces are set in the intimacy of an apartment living room or kitchen with furniture and picture frames filled with African individuals in tradition clothing or in familial groups.

What catches my eye most often in her works is not the individual or individuals that are the focal point in her pieces, but the faces of individuals collaged into the wall paper, the clothing, the floor tiles; and even more clearly, the individuals within the picture frames or television screens who’s faces are clearly visible and often looking directly outward. Often objects or clothing have similar patters as the background causing them to blend into the background and drawing more attention to the faces which are constantly peering from the background. The longer I spend looking at the piece, the more the faces appear.

What I like most about her pieces is the scale of the work, the African patterns and textures, and the unexpectedness of the messages and themes of the pieces. One of these themes has reoccurred throughout many of Akynyili’s pieces. It is the situation of a black woman in an intimate position or gaze with a white man either alone or in a small group setting. One piece in particular, Akunyili’s “I Still Face You”, appears to show some sort of familial setting with four African individuals in traditional African clothing gathered around a small dining room table closely looking at a young white man who is also seated at the table. This man is dressed in very western attire looking up at a black woman in a western styled dress. To me, this image encompasses the intersection of western and African culture as it seems to show an African woman introducing her white significant other to her family. The wall paper and the floor contain a collage of images seem to represent a deep cultural history and expansive African ancestry.  There is no hostility emitted by the various sides in the piece, but there is a sense of seriousness of the image representing the tension of cultural mixing.

Sources

Articles:

Editorial, Artsy. “The 20 Most Influential Artists of 2017.” 11 Artworks, Bio & Shows on Artsy, Artsy, 15 Dec. 2017, www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-20-influential-artists-2017.

Akunyili, Njideka. Njideka Akunyili Crosby, www.njidekaakunyili.com/.

Image:

Akunyili Crosby, Njideka. I Still Face You. 2015.