2014+Lavinia+G

2014 Lavinia G

//‘Appreciating the paintings of Frida Kahlo & Vincent Van Gogh against their biographical contexts : How does the legend surrounding the personal tragedies of an artist’s life influence our perception of their work?’ //

OK Lavinia - some interesting sparks there! You need to set out a clear structure and focus however.

1st - complete the planning sheet



2nd clearly define the 3 or 4 key artists that you will focus upon, including why (they should be artists whose work you have seen)

3rd : chose maximum 2 or 3 works by each artist to describe and compare in detail (again - works that you have actually seen) If you are describing a steady evolution in the artist's style and approach relating to their mental condition or use of substances then choose works that will help you to illustrate/support the idea of change.

4th: Remember - this is a Visual Arts EE - not a Bio or Psychology essay. You must focus on describing artworks (albeit in the specific personal/social contexts in which they were made)

GM 23/07/14

Notes + initial sections

the complexity of the brain has left scientists and doctors baffled for centuries and continues to do so, surprising neurology experts with its inability to be understood. what i will be investigating, is how external influences upon the mind such as traumatic experiences, drugs and mental illness may affect one's style in painting.

neurologists and surgeons have discovered vital information about the anatomy of the brain and its functions: it is known that the cerebrum controls functions such as learning, emotions, hearing, movement and many more essential tasks. furthermore, it has been apprehended that the cerebrum is formed by two, left and right, hemispheres. the interest for this topic is focused on the right hemisphere, specifically in control of creativity, spatial ability, artistic, and musical skills.

PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS HERE

DRUGS HERE

the word trauma in itself derives from the greek word meaning wound except unlike many others, a wound on the brain may never fully recover and leave the victim with prominent scars.

the 'scars' could cause alterations in many aspects of one's life. it impacts the actual formation of the brain (if occurred in an early stage) as well as influencing the functioning of genes.

Art, in this sense can be regarded as one of two things, firstly a "cure" in which the artist\trauma victim use art as a defence mechanism against uncontrollable anxiety and has been said to effectively heal psychological wounds. the second school of thought states that art is not correlated to previous mental traumas and that the person was 'destined' to be an artist regardless of any previous cerebral strain.

this arises yet another query, do such experiences affect how creative an individual is ?

although the process of creative production requires controversial, precursory thinking and a broad vision, it also necessitates focus, deduction and con-fluency; thus, a balance of both hemispheres and overall stability. this though does not mean that an individual who does not retain these qualities in a non creative instance is incapable of having imaginative impulses.

this theory is exactly proved by the notorious and greatly admired Frida Khalo, who's traumatic experiences have possibly been her greatest source of inspiration as she successfully morphed her agony into direct creativity. again, her painting may be considered a coping method for her anguish, yet needless to say that without her pain her artworks would not exist. Frida's artworks evolved remarkably through her misadventures and the general passing of time. it was intact nothing but her misfortune that made her begin her art career. her first self portrait was painted while she was recovering from a terrible bus accident in which she broke her pelvis and spinal chord in 1926. this self portrait is entitled self portrait in a velvet dress. this painting is her personal interpretation of Botticelli's Venus, according to http://www.fridakahlofans.com/c0020.html. the two resemble each other in the positioning of the bodies and face, and both maintain the aquatic theme of the background but the two differ greatly in every other perspective. at a first glance, the main difference appears in the colour scheme and use. Frida used a darker pallet, portraying a tenebrous sky and a tempestuous sea of waves - contrasting to calmness of Botticelli's piece. furthermore, the tonality in Frida's skin and hair opposes that of Venus'; and this combination of atramentuous colour choice serves for a sombre feel to the painting.

in addition, like the vast majority of her paintings, Frida is not smiling in her self port rate. the choice of expression allied with the choice of colour portrays her state of mind - her sadness and desperation at the moment of painting. the agitated sea perhaps conveys her frustration for her segregation due to her injuries, and the complete contrast to the original painting emphasizes the symbolism behind it, this being that perhaps that despite her affliction, she will still allow something beautiful to be born - such as the birth of venus, the goddess of beauty.

this, although subtle, is a representation of how her accident allowed her to create a painting inspired by a scene of glory and beauty and transform it into one transmitting melancholy.

Frida's painting followed a very simple and traditional style in the beginning of her career, in which she painted portraits with the typically mexican scrolls containing the muse's name. this already had been a transformation from her still life paintings which recreated a more ancient reneissance style of painting. her portraits were simple and all very alike - busts, generally facing the left with little or no background and the name of the subject. the changes to her artworks as she endures various catastrophes are evident; in 1929 Frida gets pregnant but it unfortunately ends in a terrible miscarriage. in 1932, frida suffers yet another miscarriage after having to withhold an abortion the previous year. the miscarriage is only worsened through excruciating back pains due to her accident, this torture is represented in her piece "Henry Ford Hospital" which she painted in the same year. it was done with oil paints on metal and in this truly personal and afflicting composition Kahlo depicts her own misery in brutal clarity. this image, also known as "the flying bed" portrays Frida at the centre of the compositions and from her contorted,bleeding body sprouts umbilical cords connecting to the various most horrific stages of her life. at the bottom left is a side view of her female organs pointing towards an image of her broken body, representing the fact that she is physically unable to give birth and above her, is the crude image of an unborn fetus which is supposedly her own lost baby. to the right, is the image of a snail which comes to epitomize the slow painful process of her loss and recovery. the machine at the bottom left is a symbol for her necessity of mechanical help, due to her various inabilities. the orchid beside is is said to be an actual present from her lover, diego rivera and the pelvis on the far right is an anatomical sketch of her injury. the flower, unlike the other 5 images is the only one not representing her pain, this is a clear representation of her emotional attachment to him as she decides to include this amongst the other objects although it is the 'odd one out'. this attachment though, is what will cause possibly the greatest of her pains in the future. Frida maintained her signature monobrow, but below her eye lies a teardrop bigger than her eye itself. this addition is almost reminding of a religious image; like a martyred saint - and the unscaled size of the tear adds emphasis to the extent of her desperation. the whole painting has a very abstract and odd scale to it, Frida looks abnormally small in comparison to her bed, making her look contorted, fragile and inadequate for her surroundings - transmitting this sense of unease to the viewer, provoking empathy and concern. the angle of placement of the bed is yet again a point of emphasis for the tormenting atmosphere that Kahlo was attempting to convey. this abstract positioning makes it look even more surreal and with the images floating above her tortured body the canvas almost looks like a painting of a nightmare of most horrific innate fears. This unusual sizing of the composition renders the painting further intimate as the background, or lack there of, imparts solitude. the simplicity of it is almost haunting; the empty sky balancing between gray and blue, contrasting with an equally empty, flat and dark ground transmits loneliness as Frida is completely isolated with nothing but her pain. the buildings painted on the horizon are the factories of the Ford Motor company which Diego Rivera was working for. The image of the factory is painted in the distance perhaps to show how detached she felt from her husband but it was mainly included because that was indeed what Frida could see from her hospital room; and although she meant no disrespect to the Ford company, the view was anything but appealing and it adds to the image of an unhealthy scenario, with the industrial unnatural view in the background.

Rivera was known for his promiscuousness and the various acts of adultery he comitted in Frida's behalf - including sexual intercourse with both her sisters - caused suffering which is extremely present throughout the majority of Kahlo's artworks. "Diego and I", painted at the time when her husband was having an affair with the cinema star Maria Felix, is a painfully personal example of this. the painting reveals her true emotions - showing how again, her tragic experiences greatly affect her creative subconscious. the image of diego on her forehead shows that his presence is engraved in her mind, and although she has many other aches - this is the only one in her thoughts. this image is rendered extremely striking by her weeping face looking right into the eyes of the spectator and the motion of her hair delicately wrapped around her neck almost to suggest the soft strangling of her relationship and that it is slowly killing her like a rope. this similar theme was used in "Diego in my thoughts" which is a continuation of the previous, as a continuation of diego's cheating. this is very similar to the first, apart from the fact that her expression is no longer in tears, suggesting a perhaps even more tormenting sense of numbness to the situation. this in my opinion shows hoe her internal emotions are abstractly represented within her art. all, in this painting she is wearing a traditional "Tehuana" which Rivera was very fond of, again this is a subtle indication that despite the emotional trauma that he has put her through - her aim is to please him nonetheless.

this obsession for her husband is emphasized by the fact that in 1944, after she discover of his promiscuousness, she sill painted "Diego and Frida" where she illustrates not the two of them, but rather a single body with their two faces complementing and completing each other. the image delineates the fact that to frida, they were a single soul and her painting comes as a display of love regardless of tragedy. it comes to show Frida's talent in expressing her emotions through abstraction, and that perhaps sorrow was not the only stimulant for her creativity. and all her details portray what she feels in a spontaneous manner - in this particular painting, frida used a colour scheme consisting almost exclusively of red - symbol of love, passion, and warmth.

in 1939 Frida painted "the Two Fridas" in which she displays two identical figures of herself differing only in attire - one, on the left wearing an elaborate traditional mexican outfit and the other wearing more europen clothing. In this period, her and Rivera were divorced, and it is worth mentioning that before their encounter, Frida had a very modern european style in dressing while Diego always encouraged her to wear more conventional clothes. the Frida on the are both exposing their hearts

LG 17/09/14

Feedback from GM:

Focus on ‘Appreciating the paintings of Frida Kahlo & Vincent Van Gogh against their biographical contexts : How does the legend surrounding the personal tragedies of an artist’s life influence our perception of their work?’

Intro:

Brief mention of the cult of the tragic hero/victim/genius artist. Find quote on how the early death or tragic life of Cobain, Curtiss or whoever has coloured our perception of their work. Mention Pollock, but explain that your first hand encounters with the work of Kahlo & Van Gogh led you to focus on them.

You are seeking to understand if our perception of the artwork is significantly influenced by the personality cult surrounding their creators.

Is this a modern obsession phenomenon? (maybe mention Caravaggio – one of the earliest ‘wild men of Art’)

Section 1

Van Gogh

Brief outline of recorded tragedies, incidents and addictions etc (brothers death etc)

Link these with specific artworks that you have seen in which these factors are clearly evident

Then mention artworks which may be interpreted different ways depending on what you know about them (show field with crows to several people and ask them to describe it – then tell them that VG did it just before shooting himself in same field and gauge responses)

Kahlo

Similar to above (maybe show image of broken column and then explain about her bus crash)

Conclusion

(extent to which contextual knowledge extends our engagement and appreciation – versus the extent that it adds something to the work that wouldn’t otherwise be there)

<span style="color: #04442f; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Lavinia draft in progress: <span style="color: #04442f; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> suggested reading:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2012/apr/02/myth-of-the-suffering-artist

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/the-myth-of-genius

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/04/the-myth-of-the-tortured-artist.html

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">quote from 3rd source:

//<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">It’s interesting to note that Francis Bacon—the artist whose triptych garnered $140 million dollars at Christie’s last month—has his entire rat’s nest of a studio preserved down to the last flattened paint tube and soiled Band Aid in a Dublin Museum. The tortured visionary’s den. And viewers love it. Unfortunately, it’s hardly representative. The typical contemporary artist studio is less eccentric, filled with tools-of-the-trade, bookshelves, glossy art magazines, and memo pads covered with to-do lists. Is there an enterprise other than serial killing where those who study it are so satisfied by the squalor and instability of its practitioners? //