Monday, September 10, 2007


Description: Horizontal and very busy- but not in a bad way. The colors used in this piece are very earthy and dark: Browns, blues-dark, cobalt and a little aqua- light pink, gray, manila, black and red. There is also a tiny little flower of yellowish orange. The picture flows from the top left diagonally towards the bottom right, getting very busy in the middle. Large negative space can be found in the lower left and right hand sides and some om the top right. Shapes include circles, some looking like mandalas, roses and lines forming into what resembles, to me at least, raw iron chandeliers or some form of hanging light fixtures.

Interpret: This piece kind of makes me think of a bittersweet celebration-like a funeral. You're happy the person has moved on but at the same time it is still sad. The dark color of the blue isn't a calming one, it's one of mourning combined with the gray above it makes for a dreary left side of the painting. The light blue roses, however, counteract against the dreariness of the dark blue and gray, brightening it up a bit. As the eye moves towards the right of the page the colors soften to a light pink and manila giving it a feminine quality. There's much more activity on the right side of the painting, the celebration part of this funeral. All the circles could be interpreted as representing life and the never ending cycle of it, while the flowers could represent life and or love (you can even see a heart in the painting). Like the flowers, life and love do not last forever and will eventually wilt away. The circles and connection of all the lines helps show how everything in our lives is connected.


Evaluation: I would buy this painting and put it on the wall of my dorm if i could. The representation of celebrating life and death is eminent and displayed very well. I like how the colors make their own story and the circles, flowers and 'chandeliers' fit into the message the colors are conveying. This is aesthetically pleasing .

1 comment:

Pat Autenrieth said...

Excellent description and interpretation, but try not to make broad interpretations ("circles could be interpreted as representing life...[etc]"). Just stay with your own impressions and opinions. However, in the evaluations your conclusions don't always follow logically, and can be elaborated a bit.