Pollock's Passion

Artist Jackson Pollock dribbling sand on painting while working in his studio - Photo by Martha Holmes image source


                                                          
Jackson Pollock, Autumn Rhythm (Number 30), 1950, Enamel on canvas, 8ft 9in x 17ft 3in image source



Defining non representational art can become a tedious and tricky enterprise, but fundamentally it should be understood as art that doesn’t represent a being, place, or thing. It shouldn’t be confused with abstract art which is the distortion of a subject whether it be a figure, landscape, or still life (being, place, or thing). The meaning of nonrepresentational art is entirely subjective to the viewer and lends a sense of freedom to both the artist and viewer. (1)

Nonrepresentational art usually contains so much energy that we are forced to pay attention. Whether the artist is working in gestures or simple shapes, lines, and colors, emotions can be felt. We study the relationship of shapes and form in design because simple shapes can make us feel certain emotions. Graphic designers, for example, utilize this energy to create simplified designs that can communicate product intent. The artists working in the Abstract Expressionist movement knew how to manipulate their materials to evoke emotions in their viewers without the use of a formal subject. 

Theoretically emotions can be conveyed through simple line, shape, and color, but the type of emotions felt are rooted in personal experience and culture. It would be remiss for an artist to assume that a person in Indonesia might have the same reaction to the color white as someone from the US. However a designer could assume that white might represent mourning for an Indonesian and purity for an American. The same can be said for line and shape.

The artists of the New York school, also known as Abstract Expressionists, like Jackson Pollock (above), believed that the purpose of their art was to communicate primal truths about the human condition. It was a response to a world turned upside down by war and economic collapse. They were influenced by new philosophies from Carl Jung’s primitive archetype theories to Existentialism. Existentialism was especially appealing to this school of art due to the position that an individual's actions give meaning to life. (2)

Pollock was a New York artist who was involved with the Abstract Expressionists movement during the 1940’s and 50s. Despite the name, these artists were intentionally rejecting representational forms. Their motive was to communicate the artist’s inner state through gestures and color. Pollock had developed a technique of dripping paint onto a canvas. He would use various instruments to spray the canvas including brushes and turkey basters. He was considered a gestural artist who tried to communicate emotions through action. He was searching for a deeper truth in a post war world, rejecting the past, and creating his own language. The Autumn Rhythm painting is an example of his raw spontaneous emotion being applied to an unprimed canvas(3)

Whether or not the viewer finds value in nonrepresentational art, it is impossible not to feel something when viewing it. The sheer size of the Pollock canvas is enough to evoke a reaction, but the gesture is pure energy. What type of energy you experience is entirely subjective, giving the freedom to explore the work not only with the eyes but with the soul. In Pollock's case, the gesture speaks. It is up to the viewer to decide what is being revealed.

Sources

  1. Gersh-Nesic, Beth. "What Is Nonrepresentational Art?" ThoughtCo., accessed April 4, 2021 https://www.thoughtco.com/nonrepresentational-art-definition-183223

  2. Oxford University Press, "The     Impact of Abstract Expressionism," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, accessed April 4, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/the-impact-of-abstract-expressionism/.
  3. Dr. Virginia B. Spivey, "Abstract Expressionism, an introduction," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, accessed April 4, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/abstract-expressionism-an-introduction/.

Savage Salvation

The Virgin of the Macana, second half of the 18th century, oil on canvas (History Collections New Mexico History Museum) image source

The painting of the Virgin of Macana, seen above, is an illustration of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. It was  a version of history as seen from the Franciscan perspective to inspire future missionaries. This painting, and others like it, were used to justify the atrocities inflicted upon the indigenous peoples during the European pursuit of colonization. The Franciscans viewed Mary as their protector and defender who oversaw their missions. God would have approved of the conversions which is illustrated above with God looking down and smiling upon those who are kneeling and praying to the Virgin Mary. 

The artist who painted this picture was most likely referencing the text, Teatro mexicano (1698), written by Franciscan Friar Agustin de Vetancurt as the main source for the battle. The text contained historical accounts of the uprising as told by Spanish soldiers as well as accounts from funeral orations honoring the Franciscans who were felled during the uprising. There is no mention of accounts given by the Pueblo people so we must assume that it was a lopsided historical viewpoint.

The central figure is that of the Virgin Mary as a statue with a wound in her forehead holding a macana, a wooden weapon that was used by the Nahua peoples of Central Mexico. The wound in her forehead represents the uprising and violence done to the statue during the revolt. The attempt to destroy the statue left a mark on it to be remembered as miraculous in the future.   On her left a Franciscan monk, and to the right, a Puebloan leaning on a macana. These two figures represent the two groups who were at odds with one another. The presence of the macana, which was not a weapon of the ancestral Puelboans, indicates a lack of care given to the detail of the Pueblo nation. Within the battle scene we have two types of Puebloans. In the background we have the savages that are busy mutilating and engaging in battle while the foreground shows the pious subjugated type. There is even an image of a Puebloan being hanged by the devil in the right background. There’s a lot of chaos that God is looking down upon including a small scene of Puebloans attacking a statue of the Virgin Mary. The artist was using tropes or stereotypical representations, to indicate that the noncompliant indigenous people were either savages (mostly naked but for feathers, brutalizing others) or subjugates while the Spanish soldiers and Franciscan monks appear to be victims and martyrs (kneeling piously with praying hands while being attacked).

The Fransiscan Missionaries were sent to the Americas in order to convert the locals to the religion of Christianity. They were zealous Monks who believed they were saving the souls of the idolatrous savages. When Sante Fe was founded in 1607 it was the Franciscans who looked to the spiritual salvation of the local Puebloans. It was not uncommon for them to abuse the people in their quest. This, of course, escalated the tensions between the two groups and eventually we had the uprising, or Pueblo revolt of 1680. A century later the region had been firmly reconquered by the Spanish, but the Franciscans were still sending missionaries in order to convert and save the souls of the indigenous population. This painting and others like it were meant to inspire those that would devote their lives to these tasks.

Art can be a powerful tool when used to promote a narrative, and this artist appears to have painted the Spanish in a positive and pious light while depicting the Pueblo peoples as savages in need of salvation. It’s a visual defense of the eradication and prohibition of native customs in order to save souls from eternal damnation. The Virgin of the Macana is a reminder that the Franciscans believed that God wanted the natives to convert them. It is a lopsided story that lacks a voice, but hopefully, we can restore this bias through research and understanding. By looking at multiple viewpoints and revisiting historical accounts we can re-contextualizing these works of art.

Source

Dr. Emmanuel Ortega, "The Virgin of the Macana and the Pueblo Revolution of 1680," in Smarthistory, October 16, 2020, accessed March 20, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/virgin-macana/.

Court of the Kongo Peoples

Kongo Peoples, Power Figure (Nkisi N’Kondi) c. 1850-1900, wood, paint, metal, resin, ceramic.(image source) 

Nkisi N’Kondi were Central African transformative power figures, or magical charms, used by spiritual specialists, or ngangas, to help solve disputes and bind agreements within the community. These objects acted as important mediators as well as criminal deterrents for their earthly counterparts.


The Nkisi N’Kondi was sometimes represented as an authority figure like a king or an enforcing lord, but it could be carved into an animal as well. The figure in the above image is posed in an aggressive posture with hands on the hips donning a headdress that was worn by chiefs and priests. The remnants of a beard are a rank design exhibiting seniority. These menacing and powerful attributes are what gave the figure its authority to conduct business. (1)


The figures’ head or stomach would have been filled with medicinal herbal ingredients called bilingo. The medicine was then encased with a reflective surface representative of the spiritual realm such as a mirror or piece of glass. The Kongo peoples believed that the herbs were sacred medicines brought to earth by the Great God, Ne Kongo. These herbs known as nkisi represented the spirits and could be called upon or awoken by supernatural forces wielded by the ngana, or priest. They are what empowered the figure with spiritual authority. Different medicinal combinations were used depending on the purpose whether it be benevolent or menacing.(2)


The ngana was a ritual specialist trained in conflict mediation of the body and spirit who oversaw the creation of the nkisi nkondi. Once carved the priest would endow it with power through the chosen nkisi. The ngana would have been the person called upon when an accusation was levied against someone. These disputes were known as mambu. The Ngana would then summon the spirit by driving sharp objects into the figure, activating the spirit within. The type of object used would have alerted the spirit to the severity of the crime. Nkondi refers to the figures’ ability to hunt and if a person was accused of theft for example, then the nkondi would hunt the person down and exact its punishment. The nkisi n’kondi was also used as a way to seal important agreements and punish future violators of the agreement. (3)


Because the nkisi n’kondi belonged to the ngana it would have undergone a significant transformation over time. The number and type of objects nailed into the figure would have been a testament to the priests ability to persuade the supernatural forces to intervene in earthly affairs. It would have been a visual deterrent to those who may be thinking of committing a crime or breaking an agreement. The figure above appears to have been used by a talented ngana due to the number of nails driven into it.  


Sources

  1.“Power Figure (Nkisi N’Kondi: Mangaaka)”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed February 27, 2021 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/320053.
  2.Dr. Shawnya L. Harris and Dr. Peri Klemm, "Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi), Kongo peoples," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, accessed February 27, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/nkisi-nkondi-kongo-people/.
  3.Victoria Hobbs, “The Function of a ‘Fetish’ Figure,” The Victoria and Albert Museum, accessed February 27, 2021, http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/journals/conservation-journal/issue-31/the-function-of-a-fetish-figure/.

Huang and Tosa

Attributed to Tosa Mitsunobu, Bamboo in the Four Seasons, late 15th to early 16th century, ink, color and gold leaf on paper image source

detail, Huang Gongwang, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, 1350, handscroll, ink on paper image source 

These two paintings, while speaking to the passage of time, exhibit different styles due to their locations, and the contexts in which they would have been viewed. Huang Gongwang's handscroll was a creative outlet meant for private contemplation while Tosa Mitsunobu's panels were meant to inspire the public.  Both artists are using popular local techniques to create the illusion of passing time. 

Chinese landscape painters, like Huang, were often Daoist looking to escape daily life by communing with nature. Mountains and water were important themes to the Daoists. They relied upon brushstrokes to give emotion to the painting. The above image, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountain, is an example of an imaginary landscape that was painted and embellished over a long period of time. The painting was a 22 foot long handscroll. This means that the viewer would have been intimately looking upon the scroll bit by bit as the painting was unwound. There is no way that the viewer could have seen the painting in its entirety. The viewer would have been on a journey through time as he/she focused on the sections flowing through the hands.(1)


Japanese painters during the Muromachi period would have followed Shintoism or Buddhism and utilized the Yamato-e painting tradition which is a term that describes something that is Japanese.(2) The above image, Bamboo in the Four Seasons, is an example of this because the subject matter, the changing seasons, is considered to be a Japanese theme. Another example of Yamato-e was the use of bright thick pigments like what was used to paint the spring flowers and autumn ivy. A person standing in a room with the five and a half foot tall painting would have been able to see the entire work. The purpose of the painting was to inspire Renga, a form of collaborative poetry that was popular at the time, and would have been viewed while the poetry was being recited. It was originally a multi-paneled wall that may have opened up to a bamboo garden.(3)


Huang was in his late seventies living as a recluse when he began his masterpiece. He used many different brush styles and techniques denoting the different moods and atmospheres. Painting was a means to convey his inner self which was a popular concept with Chinese painters. He painted when inspired and captured the passage of time through the use of multiple perspectives and subtle changes in textures and spacing. It was a deeply intimate painting that was not meant for public consumption.(1) The Tosa painting also captured the passage of time but through less subtle methods. For example, we know the far right panel represents spring due to the presence of violets and shepherd’s purse flowers. As the viewer moves to the left, summer, autumn, and winter follow, each containing elements that would denote the season. The elements used were part of a poetic language called Kigo that were meant to enhance the Renga recital. It is important to note that while the use of the bamboo element was considered to be Chinese in nature, the transition of the seasons would have been Japanese.(3)


Japanese landscape painters, while influenced by the Chinese, were able to develop their own language. The passage of time may be experienced universally, but the illustration of the concept varies culturally. The different techniques used in Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountain and Bamboo in the Four Seasons highlight how two regions can offer distinct viewpoints of the same idea.



Sources


1.Yamato-e, Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System, Jaanus, accessed February 12, 2021, http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/y/yamatoe.htm.

2. Hung Sheng, “Huang Gongwang, “Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains,” Smarthistory, November 28, 2015, accessed February 14, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/huang-gongwang-dwelling-in-the-fuchun-mountains/.

3. Dr. Sonia Coman and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Bamboo in the Four Seasons: painting and poetry in Japan," Smarthistory, March 16, 2018, accessed February 14, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/tosa-mistunobu.

the Davids (revised)

Michelangelo, David, 1501-1504, marble 517cm x199cm (Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence Italy)



Gian Lorenzo Bernini, David, 1623-24, marble, 170 cm (Galleria Borghese, Rome) (photo: Salvador Fornell CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) 

In the images above we see the story of David told by two artists more than a hundred years between. While the message stays the same, the political landscape changes. What sets these two sculptures apart from one another is their ability to tell the story while speaking to the era in which they were made. Michelangelo follows the classical structure that was popular during the high renaissance while Bernini uses baroque formulas that emerged during his time.


Michelangelo was working as an artist during a time of classical revival. After his success with the Pieta sculpture, he was commissioned to carve the statue of David for the Cathedral of Florence. It was originally to be placed more than 40ft above street level onto one of the buttresses which is why it is so large. It, however, ended up being placed in the town square outside a government building because it was so heavy.  Michelangelo's statue encompassed the ideal form often seen in the elder Greek/Roman sculptures. His use of contrapposto spotlights David’s superhuman beauty where the viewer can see the idealized musculature. This statue is composed in a restful position where the energy is building, but has yet to achieve its climax. We are seeing a snapshot of the figure right before he sets to work on the enemy who may be perceived as the recently ousted ruling family of the Medici, or even the extremest priest, Savonarola. Savonarola preached against the “vanities” and tried reforming the church, but was eventually executed. Michelangelo's David became a symbol of strength for the city of Florence. (1)


Bernini was working during a time when artists were engaging the viewer in a more active way. He wanted the audience to feel the energy and emotions of the subject and he did this by sculpting a less ideal figure that the viewer could relate to. He also pulled the audience into the sculpture by using diagonal lines that would engage the viewer. During the high Renaissance, when Michelangelo was working, artists often used the pyramid structure to build their compositions. It was a strong foundation that reflected stability. The Baroque artists, like Bernini, deviated from this structure and began using diagonals to make the composition more active. The idea was that the more relatable the art became, then the more the church would be able to affirm and strengthen the beliefs of its populous. This was important during the baroque period because it was a tumultuous time for the church. Bernini’s sculpture of David is a successful example of Baroque era techniques in that the action is unavoidable and engaging. (2)


These two sculptures are a good representation of the evolving nature of the Catholic Church and its influence on the people. When Michelangelo was sculpting his version of David the Church was strong, influential, and easily defeated its challengers. It was something to look upon with awe and reverence, much as Michelangelo’s sculpture of David, but by the Baroque period that foundation was beginning to crack. The Protestants would not be going away and the Church had to learn to live with the split. It responded by utilizing the now popular baroque style to emotionally engage their audience in the biblical stories. This is important because the once stoically distant Church authority is now actively inviting the viewer in. Art can be a powerful emotional guide, and the Catholic Church used that to their advantage.


Sources
    1. Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, "Michelangelo, David," in Smarthistory, December 6, 2020,  accessed January 28, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/michelangelo-david/.

    2. Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Gian Lorenzo Bernini, David," in Smarthistory, July 12, 2015, accessed January 28, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/bernini-david-2/.

Spring 2021 Intro to Me

 

Hi! My name is Ashley and this is my Dog, Diesel. I though you would appreciate his likeness more than mine. If you see him, then I'm probably not too far behind. 

This is my junior year and my first semester as an official fine arts major. I will probably seek out a job in graphic design/marketing of some sort. I am normally a lover of live music, but the pandemic has altered my ability and willingness to seek out such activities. I also like to hike. Since adopting Diesel I haven't been able to do much hiking because he's overweight with aggression problems, but we're working on it. This has been a year of adaptation. I still love listening to music at home, but the good people you meet on tour are missing from the equation. I also find ways of getting out with the dog and walking around the neighborhood while avoiding people. The trick is to do it at night. 

Last semester was my first Art History class. My favorite part of the class was learning about the landscape painters throughout Asia. I look forward to the many art works we will be exploring this semester.  

the Great Mystery

 With these two earthworks we are confronted with a great mystery. Why would ancient cultures create such laborious effigies, and after such an arduous task, what purpose/benefit would they serve? These types of earthworks are found throughout the ancient world and are an impressive display of energy. One day we may have the answers, but for now we can only theorize. 

The top image is an aerial photo of the Nazca hummingbird geoglyph located in the Southern desert of Peru. The lines were made by removing stones to reveal lighter colored rocks underneath. The darker stones were then placed along the borders forming an outline around the newly unearthed stones. Recovered wooden stakes at the site point to the theory that the lines would have been mapped out by stretching cords between the stakes to guide the workers along. They possibly used gridded drawings or textiles that they simply enlarged through the staking method. This massive undertaking would surely have had a purpose. One of the strongest theories point to the desert terrain and the peoples need for water. Could these be an ancient irrigation system? (1)

Even less is known about the origins and dates of the Great Serpent Mound shown in the bottom image. This earthwork is located in southwestern Ohio and there is a heated debate about when it was made. Like the Nazca hummingbird geoglyph it is massive in size. The Mound measures 1,300 feet in length and  one to  three feet in height. It is also an effigy, or representative of an animal, like the Nazca hummingbird. The intention here points to a celestial hypothesis rather than an earthly one, but like the Nasca Lines it may be a mapping technique. (2)

Notable similarities in the earthworks are the adaptation of important animal figures. Indigenous peoples had strong beliefs surrounding the spiritual power of the animals they encountered. It is possible that the Nasca was using tropical animals to signify a water source while the Serpent Mound may have been attributing the supernatural power of the serpent to their map of the stars. Obviously, they are both massive and can only truly be appreciated from an aerial vantage point. The mystery remains as to why ancient cultures would put so much effort into creating these immense geological artworks.

    Notes:

    1. Yantz, Jayne, "Nasca Geoglyphs," Smart History, accessed November 21, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/nasca-geoglyphs/.

    2. Brown, Katherine T., "Fort Ancient Culture: Great Serpent Mound," Khan Academy, accessed November 21, 2020, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/indigenous-americas-apah/north-america-apah/a/fort-ancient-culture-great-serpent-mound.