Transcript Abstracting the Figure

Abstracting the Figure
Analyzing Art
Seeing Things Differently
Portrait of
Sally Taylor Smith
Adalbert Wunder
ca. 1850-60
Reflection
• Make a list of facts:
• Make some inferences:
Self-Portrait
in
Green
Gertrude
Abercrombie
1938
Reflection
• List of facts:
• Compare with the portrait of Sally Taylor
Smith:
• Does Gertrude look as friendly as Sally?
• Why or why not?
Figure
by the
Window
Manierre Dawson
1915
Reflection
• What is different about this picture?
• Which picture seems to have movement?
• What might this picture represent?
Young Woman
with a
Water Jug
Jan Vermeer
1662
Reflection
• What is similar to the Dawson painting, “Figure by
the Window”?
• What is different?
• Do you think Dawson used the Vermeer to begin
his composition? Why or why not?
• Is it okay for an artist to copy another artist’s
work?
• Why or why not?
Colour
• Abstract artists use a variety of
strategies as they choose colour for
their paintings.
– Local Colour
– Emotional Colour
– Arbitrary Colour
Local Colour
• Artists might use some of the colour that is
actually present in their subject matter as
a beginning for their colour choice.
• Yellow = blonde hair
• Pink = Caucasian skin colour
Emotional Colour
• Sometimes artists use colours as stand-in
symbolism for emotion.
• Bright red = anger
• Cool blue = sadness
Arbitrary Colour
• Arbitrary colour choices might be part of a
program, eg: variations on blue, or chosen
by chance (close your eyes and choose a
colour).
• May be whatever colours are available to
the artist.