The first color field painter I’ll post about is Mark Rothko. Rothko did not begin as a color field painter but he his best known for the paintings he did in this style.
Rothko was born in Russia in 1903. He and his family moved to Oregon when he was 10 years old. They struggled for money. Rothko did well in school and earned a scholarship to Yale University. He thought he would become an engineer or an attorney—careers at which he would make some money. In 1923, his second year of college, Rothko left Yale.
He moved to New York City and became involved with some artists. He began taking classes at the New School of Design. Arshile Gorky, whom I wrote about earlier, was one of Rothko’s teachers.
Rothko’s early paintings were somewhat realistic. They showed some recognizable objects such as people, buildings, and landscapes. (For an example click here.)
In the 1940s Rothko became interested in using mythology in his paintings. He thought he could best paint emotion by showing known creatures from myths. These mythological paintings were similar in style to Surrealist paintings. (For example: The Syrian Bull.) It didn’t take long for Rothko to decide that mythology was outdated. He began to believe that too many artists had already used myths in their paintings. He was also convinced that painting myths wasn’t the best way to show emotion in his art.
Mark Rothko’s art became more abstract at the end of the 1940s. He decided that simple shapes were the best for showing complicated feelings. The large, simple shapes allow you to feel instead of think when you look at Rothko’s paintings. (Examples: here, here.)
His later paintings, those from 1948 and later, show only two, three, or four rectangles lined up one of top of the other (vertically). He painted these color field paintings on huge canvases because he wanted the viewer to get lost in the painting. He didn’t want you to stand back from his paintings and look on. He wanted you, instead, to stand close and become a part of the artwork. He wanted you to feel the emotion he had painted. (For images click here, here.)
Beginning in the late 1950s, Rothko used much darker colors. He overlapped colors until the canvas was covered with deep reds, blues, blacks. He was painting sadder, angrier moods than before. (For images click here, here.)
Rothko died in 1970.
Return to main page.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Color Field Painting
My trip to Massachusetts was a lot of fun but tiring. I got a sore throat on the way home and by this morning it was killer. I'm feeling much better tonight, though! I hope you all had a good weekend, too.
Today, I thought I’d say something about color field painting. I plan to post about some color field painters this week.
Color field painting is a type of abstract expressionism that began in the U.S. in the 1950s. Color field artists did not paint recognizable objects. Like some other abstract artists you've read about, they were trying to paint emotion onto canvas. Color field painters also aimed to create more organized, rational, and ordered art. They did this by painting large canvases with solid, geometrical shapes of bright color.
There were, of course, color field painters who didn’t use geometrical shapes. There were also those who painted vibrant shapes but who, instead of filling them in with solid colors, used many colors to outline them. There are always exceptions to rules, especially in the art world. Once you’ve learned about some of these artists it will be clear to you what links them together under the style of color field painting.
Return to main page.
Today, I thought I’d say something about color field painting. I plan to post about some color field painters this week.
Color field painting is a type of abstract expressionism that began in the U.S. in the 1950s. Color field artists did not paint recognizable objects. Like some other abstract artists you've read about, they were trying to paint emotion onto canvas. Color field painters also aimed to create more organized, rational, and ordered art. They did this by painting large canvases with solid, geometrical shapes of bright color.
There were, of course, color field painters who didn’t use geometrical shapes. There were also those who painted vibrant shapes but who, instead of filling them in with solid colors, used many colors to outline them. There are always exceptions to rules, especially in the art world. Once you’ve learned about some of these artists it will be clear to you what links them together under the style of color field painting.
Return to main page.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Create Your Own Jacob Lawrence Inspired Series
On Friday you learned that Jacob Lawrence told stories by creating series of paintings. He illustrated one scene of the story at a time until it was complete. Lawrence was careful to use the same colors in each painting of a series. He did this by first planning each painting. Then he filled the colors in one at a time. For instance, he would paint all the red parts of the paintings, then all the yellow, then all the blue. Today, draw your own story.
Supplies Needed:
At least 5 sheets of paper
Pencil
Crayons
Decide the story you want to tell. It can be true, from you own life or from someone else’s, or you can make up a story.
Sketch each scene onto its own sheet of paper. Create at least 5 scenes. Jacob Lawrence’s series were much longer. His migration series was 60 scenes long!
Now color them in. You can color each picture separately or add one color at a time like Lawrence did.
Remember to number your scenes (on the back of each paper) so you can easily keep them in order.
Return to main page.
Supplies Needed:
At least 5 sheets of paper
Pencil
Crayons
Decide the story you want to tell. It can be true, from you own life or from someone else’s, or you can make up a story.
Sketch each scene onto its own sheet of paper. Create at least 5 scenes. Jacob Lawrence’s series were much longer. His migration series was 60 scenes long!
Now color them in. You can color each picture separately or add one color at a time like Lawrence did.
Remember to number your scenes (on the back of each paper) so you can easily keep them in order.
Return to main page.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Jacob Lawrence
Jacob Lawrence was born in 1917. His parents had just moved from the south to the north in a huge African-American migration that was going on at the time. The families who picked up their belongings and journeyed across the U.S. were looking for better lives. It was difficult for African-Americans to find work in the south and Lawrence’s parents hoped it would be different in the north.
The family moved around a lot and finally settled in Harlem, New York. Lawrence’s father left the young family so Lawrence lived in the apartment with his mother, brother, and sister. In Harlem, the family lived in a tall apartment building surrounded by other tall apartment buildings. Their neighbors were all African-Americans.
Lawrence did not do well in school. He was bored and frustrated that he only learned about white heroes. His mother signed him up for an after school program and the things he learned there changed his life.
At the after school program, Lawrence began to draw, color, and paint. By experimenting, Lawrence taught himself to paint. He also learned about some important black heroes, including Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas.
Lawrence’s family never had enough money and Lawrence had to drop out of school to get a job. When he was working he didn’t have time to paint but he longed to create.
When he was 21, Lawrence worked on the Easel Program which paid him to paint. During this time he began painting series. He wanted his paintings to tell a story. He painted a series which told the story of Harriet Tubman. He painted another that told Frederick Douglas’ story. He also painted a series about the African-American migration which his parents took part in. Click here to see some of the panels from the migration series. Lawrence’s series brought him fame. Suddenly painting paid the bills and more.
Lawrence created paintings about everything he saw. He served in the Navy during World War II and painted images of daily life. When he checked himself into a mental institution he painted pictures of other patients.
In his old age, Lawrence moved to Seattle and taught art classes. When he wasn’t teaching he loved to paint pictures of the workers construction buildings. He stayed in Seattle until he died in 2000.
Return to main page.
The family moved around a lot and finally settled in Harlem, New York. Lawrence’s father left the young family so Lawrence lived in the apartment with his mother, brother, and sister. In Harlem, the family lived in a tall apartment building surrounded by other tall apartment buildings. Their neighbors were all African-Americans.
Lawrence did not do well in school. He was bored and frustrated that he only learned about white heroes. His mother signed him up for an after school program and the things he learned there changed his life.
At the after school program, Lawrence began to draw, color, and paint. By experimenting, Lawrence taught himself to paint. He also learned about some important black heroes, including Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas.
Lawrence’s family never had enough money and Lawrence had to drop out of school to get a job. When he was working he didn’t have time to paint but he longed to create.
When he was 21, Lawrence worked on the Easel Program which paid him to paint. During this time he began painting series. He wanted his paintings to tell a story. He painted a series which told the story of Harriet Tubman. He painted another that told Frederick Douglas’ story. He also painted a series about the African-American migration which his parents took part in. Click here to see some of the panels from the migration series. Lawrence’s series brought him fame. Suddenly painting paid the bills and more.
Lawrence created paintings about everything he saw. He served in the Navy during World War II and painted images of daily life. When he checked himself into a mental institution he painted pictures of other patients.
In his old age, Lawrence moved to Seattle and taught art classes. When he wasn’t teaching he loved to paint pictures of the workers construction buildings. He stayed in Seattle until he died in 2000.
Return to main page.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Dubuffet and Art Brut
Jean Dubuffet, born in 1901 was a well-known and well-liked French painter and sculptor. Throughout his early life, Dubuffet had doubts about how valuable art really was. He ran the family wine business until he took up art full time in 1942.
In addition to painting and sculpting, Dubuffet helped show the art of the insane to the world. He even came up with the term “art brut.” It means “raw art.” What Dubuffet meant by art brut was art that came from inside the artist and was not influenced by what other people thought. This was true of the art of the insane.
As Dubuffet traveled and met artists, he discovered that others (who were not insane) could create raw art as well. People who didn’t fit into society could create art that was free of society’s influence. Dubuffet began to use the term “art brut” to talk about any art, whether the artist was sane or insane, that was created without the influence of society.
Dubuffet began to collect art brut works and eventually put them on display. The collection grew and traveled from Europe to the U.S. and back again. As Dubuffet became a well-known and somewhat wealthy artist, he hired about 100 people to find and collect art brut works.
Finally, in 1976, Dubuffet’s collection found a permanent home in Switzerland at the Chateau de Beaulieu. The space was once used for studying the behavior of the mentally ill but now houses the huge collection of art brut works.
In addition to painting and sculpting, Dubuffet helped show the art of the insane to the world. He even came up with the term “art brut.” It means “raw art.” What Dubuffet meant by art brut was art that came from inside the artist and was not influenced by what other people thought. This was true of the art of the insane.
As Dubuffet traveled and met artists, he discovered that others (who were not insane) could create raw art as well. People who didn’t fit into society could create art that was free of society’s influence. Dubuffet began to use the term “art brut” to talk about any art, whether the artist was sane or insane, that was created without the influence of society.
Dubuffet began to collect art brut works and eventually put them on display. The collection grew and traveled from Europe to the U.S. and back again. As Dubuffet became a well-known and somewhat wealthy artist, he hired about 100 people to find and collect art brut works.
Finally, in 1976, Dubuffet’s collection found a permanent home in Switzerland at the Chateau de Beaulieu. The space was once used for studying the behavior of the mentally ill but now houses the huge collection of art brut works.
I'm off to Massachusetts this weekend but I've already set up post for through Monday. Enjoy your weekend!
Return to main page.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
