Lucia Hartini

Spying lens

Describe and analyze

At the foreground, Hartini represented herself in the work as a female figure curling up in a fetal like position. The figure is naked, except for a blue-flowing cloth wrapped around her naked body. The cloth extends from the foreground to the background and connects the figure to the rest of the picture. Around the figure is a harsh landscape made up of lines of cracked brick walls and rough stone walls which slowly disappears into the sky at the background, creating a sense of depth to the painting. Hence, the foreground, middle ground and back ground are connected by the cloth and the walls.

Hartini has carefully outlined most of the objects in the painting. For example, the obvious cracks of the walls are drawn using black shadows and lines and the brick walls are brought out by the white lines. The contrast in colour brings our attention to the wall, since the wall itself is a form of line; it also guides our eye movement from the foreground of the painting to the background.

The female figure at the foreground has been simplified yet we can still recognize it easily. However, the proportion between the human figure and the walls is very unbalanced. The size of the figure is too big as compare to the size of the wall.

Also, there is a clear sense of space in this painting. The bright orange colour from the brick wall at the foreground has created the positive space while the black colour sky at the background has created the negative space.

Overall, the subject matter in the painting all has a well finished look. The brushstroke is extremely fine and the colours used are quite close to real life, even the cracks on the walls are carefully painted. Also, Hartini like to use complementary colours. For example, the blue- flowing cloth and the red brick wall. The use of complementary colours creates tension in the painting as the colours clash and cause discomfort when placed together. We can tell from the painting that Hartini has been influenced by surrealism. She placed these unrelated elements together and successfully created a dreamlike quality and an unrealistic feeling in the painting.

Symbolism

The use of brick walls surrounding the human figure brings out the idea of being trapped and corned. This can relate to the artist’s history as a domestic violence victim. The presence of the eyes floating in the air is the symbol of always being watched. The eyes surrounding the female figure and casting light beams on her naked body, thus represents the society’s eye on Hartini’s personal life. The blue- wrapped cloth has an idea of a safety net to hold and support the female figure. Hence the female figure is able to float in the mid air and unharmed by the harsh environment.

Frida Kahlo

“I was born a bitch. I was born a painter.” – Frida Kahlo

“I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best.” – Frida Kahlo

Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird

Compare and contrast Frida Kahlo and Lucia Hartini

These two paintings are quite similar in the way that both artists are trying to express their personal life through their art works. The use of symbolism is especially clear in both paintings.  In spying lens, subjects like the blue- wrapped cloth, the brick walls and the eyes surrounding the female figure all have meanings behind them. In Kahlo’s self portrait, the monkey resting on her right shoulder may represent one of her pet monkey. Since Kahlo was unable to give birth, the act of the money trying to free her from the thorns may symbolize Kahlo’s life with her pet monkeys. The monkeys might have given her some comfort even though she was unable to give birth. Also, the black cat resting on her left shoulder may symbolize the misfortune in her life as black cat carries the meaning of bad luck while the insects on her head may suggest flight and freedom.

The painting style of the two artists is also very similar. They like to paint their subject matter in a realistic way, the brushstrokes are almost invisible and the colours used are relatively realistic. However, both of them are not interested in painting a purely realistic scene; instead, they arrange the symbolic elements to communicate their feeling and idea through the paintings.

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Rene Magritte

‘ My painting is visible images which conceal nothing… they evoke mystery and indeed when one sees one of my pictures, one asks oneself this simple question ‘What does that mean’? It does not mean anything, because mystery means nothing either, it is unknowable.’ – Rene Magritte

Personal values

In the painting, we can easily identify the subject matter. They are all things form our everyday life and things we are very familiar with. There are a comb, a matchstick, a shaving brush, a bar of soap, a wineglass, a bed and a wardrobe in the painting. Magritte has painted the subject matter in a very realistic manner, the brushstroke is almost invisible and the colours used are very close to real life. However, despite painting the subject matter in a very realistic manner, Magritte has deliberately arranged the subject matter in an unrealistic composition and made them at a very strange proportion to one another. For example, the wineglass is almost as high as the wardrobe; the shaving brush is as big as the bed. This can never have happened in real life. The subject matter Magritte chose to represent in ‘ Personal Value’ are all ordinary objects commonly found in our daily life, however, by manipulating the composition and proportion of the objects, the familiar objects has became unfamiliar. When looking at each object individually, they are like photo of the real objects. However, when placing them together, the artist has successfully created a mystery.

Also, the idea of space in the painting is very blur. The picture of blue sky on the room wall has created a sense of infinite space as we can never see the end of the sky.  Moreover, the mirror on the wardrobe reflects a small part of the unseen side of the room, leaving space for our imagination to picture the entire scene of the room.

Hence, questions arise when looking at the picture; is the room getting smaller or the items getting bigger? How big is the room? Thus makes the viewers to wonder what is real and what is illusion.

My personal value room

I have no idea how to use Photoshop….anyway, I will just take a photo.

My personal value room consists of a laptop, a wallet, some stationery, a pencil case, my drawing book, some files and my house key with key chains. At the background of the photo, there is a laptop. My laptop is very important to me as it allows me to communicate with my friends through the social media platforms. It is also very useful when I need resources for my school works. Hence, the laptop occupies almost one third of the photo due to its importance in my life. The stationery on top of the keyboard of the laptop symbolizes my working style. Instead of writing on the paper, I prefer to type out my works. Hence, the importance of the stationery is slowly been overtaken by the laptop. At the middle ground of the photo, there is a wallet, a pencil case and a drawing book and some files.  The drawing book symbolizes my love towards art while the files represent my life as a student. The pencil case symbolizes my attitude towards life – like the words printed on its cover ‘Never Give Up’.  The wallet at the right hand side of the photo symbolizes my personality. Although the wallet looks old and worn out, even the outer layer is peeling off, I am still unwilling to change it. Hence, it shows that I am conventional and unwilling to adapt to new things. At the foreground of the photo is my house key. The key is exceptionally big as it symbolizes the importance of family. Hence, I deliberately placed it at the foreground to make the keys seems as big as the laptop.

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MC Escher

“My work is a game — a very serious game.”

“Are you really sure that a floor can’t also be a ceiling?”

– M. C. Escher

 Reptiles

The work is the life cycle of the reptiles. At the left hand side of the work, a small reptile is trying to break free from its own 2D image on a drawing book. The transition between the 2D image and 3D subject is extremely obvious as the artist deliberately made the head and a front arm of the reptile as realistic as a living reptile while the rest of the body as flat as the patterns on the drawing book. The transition of the second reptile is much more completed than the first one as almost two third of its body is emerging above the drawing book. The third reptile undergoes the complete transition from 2D pattern to 3D object, thus it is now free to move around. However, after going through a long and tiring journey around the table, the last reptile returns to the drawing book and becomes the 2D pattern on the book. This is the life cycle of the reptiles in the work, no matter how hard they struggle to break free from the 2D patterns, they will return to the same point in the end.In term of elements of art and principles of design, the reptile pattern on the drawing book is amazing! Escher has reduced the reptile patterns into basic shapes and lines, the simplified patterns are arranged in the way that they can fit into one another perfectly without any empty spaces in between (Tessellation).  One thing amazing about this pattern is that all the individual reptile patterns in it are exactly the same! They are of the same shape, size, even minor details like the angle they tilt their heads are exactly the same.

Moreover, Escher has shaded the individual reptile patterns into three different colours; grey, white and black. As the reptiles are closely packed together, the whole pattern can be a very interesting background design if we don’t pay much attention on it. However, if we look at the pattern closely, we will subconsciously place our focus on the reptiles with the same colour and ignore the rest. For example, if we look at the black colour reptiles, we will tend to neglect the white colour and grey colour reptiles. This effect also applies to the white colour and grey colour reptiles. Hence, there are multiple focus points in the pattern and made the design extremely fascinating.

Also, the work is very surreal as all the subject matters in the work are extremely realistic, the whole image is like olden time black and white photography. However, the content of the image is extremely unrealistic. First, the reptiles are even smaller than the book and the bottle. Secondly, the reptiles are crawling out from a design pattern on the drawing book! This can never happen in the real world. hence the realistic drawing of the subject matters and the unrealistic proportion and arrangement makes the work surreal.

The mood of the work is dark and solemn. Firstly, Escher only used white, grey and black in the work, these three colours are generally cool colours and bring out a sense of seriousness and heaviness. Moreover, the cycle of the reptiles from 2D to 3D and back to 2D also symbolise our society. The society is like the big reptile pattern on the drawing book while the people are the small individual reptile patterns which squeeze together and form the society. Just like the reptile that tried to break free from its 2D form but failed, there is no way a man can escape from the society. Hence, the meaningless and effort wasting struggling by the reptiles also brings a sense of sadness to the overall mood of the work.

Other tessellation works

Compare ‘Reptiles’ with ‘Hand with reflecting sphere’

Both artworks are extremely precise and accurate. In the ‘Reptiles’, the reptile patterns fit into one another perfectly without leaving any empty space in between. Moreover, each individual reptile pattern is exactly the same. In the ‘Hand with reflecting sphere’, the reflection created in the sphere is also very accurate. The reflection of Escher’s face is exactly in the centre of the sphere while the reflection of the room with all its furniture is at the background. Escher must have done a lot of researches in order to create works of such accuracy level.

Also, like the reptiles trapped inside the drawing book, the reflection of Escher is also trapped inside the sphere. No matter how Escher held the sphere, at eye level, shoulder lever or above the head, his reflection will always at the centre of the sphere whenever he looks into the sphere. Hence, the idea of being trapped can be seen from both artworks.

However, the subject matter reflected in the sphere has a relatively realistic arrangement and proportion as compare to the subject matter is the ‘Reptile.’ Hence, ‘Hand with reflecting sphere’ is more realistic than the ‘Reptile’ in terms of composition.

Overall, both artworks are rather surrealistic. The colours used are very limited. There are only three different colours, white, grey and black. Hence the mood of the works is rather solemn and serious.

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Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Christo and Jeanne-Claude were a married couple who created environmental works of art. They were interested in wrapping objects and exploring the transformative effect fabric and tactile surfaces have when wrapped around familiar objects. Objected they wrapped ranging from tin, oil barrel, to river, coast and building.

 

 

 

 

 

Wrapped Reichstag, 1995, Christo and Jeanne-Claude

 Question and answer

1) Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work is highly unique. How would you describe this artwork to one of your peers? Use art specific vocabulary, as well as adjectives to answer.

Wrapped coast is one of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s unique artistic creations for wrapping. It is approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) long, 150 to 800 feet (46 to 244 meters) wide, 85 feet (26 meters) high at the northern cliffs and was at sea level at the southern sandy beach. The coast was completely wrapped by a layer of fabric covering for a period of ten weeks before it was returned to the original condition.

After wrapping the coast, the artists successfully reduced the coast into numerous basic shapes and lines. Shapes can be in different size and form; some are so big that occupied one tenth of the coast, some are so small that they couldn’t be found from a far distance. The shadows which change with the direction of the sun also helped to create negatives spaces on the coast. The lines were presented in all the directions and in different thickness. They were created through different methods, some were just the edges of the rocks on the coast, and some were created by the ropes used to fix the fabric. This suggested the artists’ influence from cubism.

The physical textual and colours of the coast were hided under the layer of white fabric and were no longer visible. Hence, the artists had successfully provoked the viewers’ curiosity by only showing them the basic outlines of the coast, leaving space for imagination to roam.

The obvious sharp edges of the cliff also created a sense of solidity and stiffness while the continuous movement of the sea waves brought a sense of softness and liveliness. The formless, continuous movement of the water and the over-articulated immobility of the coast would then create a vivid, powerful contrast between the sea and the land thus brings a strong visual impact to the viewers.

The effect of the light and shadows on the white fabric also changes with time. In day time, the sun would shine on the fabric and turned the whole landscape into a bright orange. As the coast was wrapped by white fabric, people might even mistook it as iceberg from a far distance away. During the night time, there would be a distinctive contrast between the white colour coast and black colour sea. During windy days, the fabric would move in wind and there would be a similarity between the movement of the fabric and the movement of the sea waves. In some occasions when fabric accidently sank into the water, the movement of the water would then bring up the unstable form of the fabric.

Overall, this work is very unique and special. Unlike traditional sculptures and paintings, which can be kept for a long time, the work only existed for a short period of ten weeks. Although the beauty of the work was kept in photographs, we can no longer appreciate the real work.

2) In your own words, what is the subject matter of ‘Wrapped Coast’? What was the purpose of creating such a monumental work?

I personally feel that the subject matter of the work is the coast itself. The sky and the sea can be considered as the background of the coast. Instead of using brushes and paints, the artists merely used white fabric to wrap the coast. It changed the physical appearance of the coast magically. In my opinion, the purpose of creating such a monumental work is simply. The artists wanted to bring the nature into their artwork; they made use of the beauty of the nature and reshaped it in another way. Mostly importantly, the artists wanted to see their work in real life, not just on the canvas or in their imagination. Also, I feel for this work, this is not the end product which matters the most, the process of making it and the process of destroying it is equally important. The work is only finished when it vanished.

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Andy Goldsworthy- 21 Century Land Artist

Andy Goldsworthy is a land artist. The materials he used to create his works are usually the things from nature. For example: snow, ice, leaves, stones, branches etc. Andy Goldsworthy’s works are highly site-specific and most of them only existed for a short period of time. Works made of ice could not sustain after the winter and works made of flowers or leaves would eventually decompose and disappeared. Hence, we can only admire the beauty of his works through photographs.

His works are also created as a response to the changes on the earth like time, weather, nature, growth etc

“Movement, change, light, growth and decay are the lifeblood of nature, the energies that I I try to tap through my work. I need the shock of touch, the resistance of place, materials and weather, the earth as my source. Nature is in a state of change and that change is the key to understanding. I want my art to be sensitive and alert to changes in material, season and weather. Each work grows, stays, decays. Process and decay are implicit. Transience in my work reflects what I find in nature.” – Andy Goldsworthy

Questions and answer

1) “People do not realise that many of my works are done in urban places. I was brought up on the edge of Leeds, five miles from the city centre-on one side were fields and on the other, the city”. – Andy Goldsworthy. Uses the quote given above to find, describe and analyse a piece of Andy Goldsworthy’s works that would ‘fit’ in Singapore.

Rowan Leaves & Hole

This is one of my favourite artwork by Andy Goldsworthy. It was made in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in West Bretton on October 25th, 1987. England. One might easily mistake it as a painting from the first look at the photo; however, this is indeed a photo taken from Andy Goldsworthy’s sculpture work.

The work is extremely eye-catching due the strong colour contrast between the leaves and the hole. Andy Goldsworthy had deliberately selected those bright yellow rowan leaves to surround the black colour hole. There is a gradual increase in the colour intensity from bright yellow to dark red. The colour is extremely well blended and created a strong visual impact to the viewers. The arrangement of the leaves is also well organised and formed a perfect spinning circle. Overall, the photo reminds me of eclipse.

I personally feel that this work would be able to fit in Singapore. Singapore is a tropical climate country; it has a wide variety of plants species.  However, due to the rapid urbanisation, the island has lost up to 95% of its plant species. The process of the leaves decomposing could symbolise the lost of nature in the country. The black hole could symbolise ‘urbanisation’ and it is sacking in everything from the surrounding.

2) Discuss this work in relation to another named work by another artist that operates in a similar way

Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty

 

Robert Smithson is a famous America land artist. Like Andy Goldsworthy, Robert Smithson also made use of the materials found in nature for his art works. The Spiral Jetty was made of black basalt rocks and earth from the site, the artist created a coil 1,500 feet long and 15 feet wide that stretches out counter-clockwise into the translucent red water.

Unlike Andy’s Rowan Leaves & Hole, spiral Jetty was a huge project involved massive manpower and resources, it still exists until today. However, the primary concept behind both works is the same; they all aim to discover the beauty of nature and the power of nature on the works. Andy’s Rowan Leaves & Hole had disappeared shortly after it was built as the leaves decomposed and vanished into the soil. On the other hand, Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty has been submerged by the rising sea level numerous times during the past one century. The colour of the black basalt rocks has changed into white and pink due to salt encrustation.

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