Line + Pattern

Circle Limit IV





M.C. Escher
1960 print
black, white, and ocre,
    on laid Japan paper
printed from two blocks
48cm X 53cm, image being 41.9cm in diam.
National Gallery of Cananda






        Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898, Leeuwarden-1972, The Hague) is one of the world's most famous graphic artists. His art is enjoyed by millions of people all over the world. His art can be seen on the many web sites on the internet. He played with architecture, perspective and impossible spaces. His art continues to amaze and wonder millions all over the world. In his work we recognize his observation of the world around us and the expressions of his own fantasies. M.C. Escher shows us that reality is wondrous, comprehensible and fascinating.
       Circle Limit IV, also known as Heaven and Hell, has fliping angels and demons. I find this one the most interesting of his works because  the demons are most defined and it isn't until you look closely at the image that the definition of the angel also becomes prominant. The lines of the demon's wings help shape the wings of the angels and the heads of both embrace each other within the pattern. I do not know how religious a man Escher was but this pattern seems to identify a struggle between "good and evil".


http://www.mcescher.com/

Shape + Color

Broadway Boogie-    
     Woogie


Piet Mondrian
Dutch 1942-1943
Museum of Modern Art
Oil painting
 4' 2" x 4' 2" x 0' 0"                                                             

            Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Mondriaan, after 1906 Mondrian, was a Dutch painter. He was born March 7, 1872 in Amersfoort and died February 1, 1944 in New York City.  He was an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement and group, which was founded by Theo van Doesburg.

             Broadway Boogie-Woogie is a painting by Piet Mondrian completed in 1943, shortly after he moved to New York in 1940. Compared to his earlier work, the canvas is divided into a much larger number of squares. This is my favorite piece of Mondrian's. The streets, buildings, and lights of the city seem to be mimicked here through color and shape. It seems playful and exciting. Before this painting was created Mondrian had left his home where the war was very prominent, and full of sorrow, and created a new life for himself in a place full of life and happiness. This painting shows the joy of this life change very well.

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=78682

Color + Emphasis

Liberty Leading The People





Eugene Delacroix
Oil on Canvas
Musee du Louvre, 1830
260 cm X 325 cm









         Ferdinand Eugene Victor Delacroix (1798-1863), more commonly known as Eugene Delacroix, was a French painter who had a profound influence on the Romantic movement. Known as a "master of color," Delacroix became a pupil of the English Romantic landscape artists and took from their techniques, to develop a unique and memorable approach to color. The impact of literature and both historical and contemporary events, coupled with his ingrained artistic technique helped to create an explosive viewing experience on canvas.
         The bright red, white and blue of the flag at the center of the canvas leads the eye on a journey.
Delacroix echoes this same color scheme just below the flag on the clothing of the man reaching for Liberty. His sash is red and a white shirt peaks out from a blue jacket. The colors of the flag represent France and the Revolution. These fighters, the rich and poor of Paris, are united, with Liberty, in their fight for freedom. I am fascinated with this painting. The emphasis created with the bright colors shows the triumph of Liberty and her people even though their freedom came at the cost of many lives. It is very true to form.
   

http://www.eugenedelacroix.org/

pattern

Boooyalla, no.1






Campbell Laird
pigment based inks
paper, canvas, and plexi












      Campbell Laird was born and raised in Hobart, Tasmania. After retiring, from a successful life of Rock n Roll, Laird moved to New York City in 1985 where he lived for twenty years.Since 1993, Laird has been experimenting with large format inkjet printers in ways not intended. By printing multiple passes of simple lines and shapes he creates intriguing new compositions alive with his distinctive textures and colors. In 2005, Laird moved to Venice, California where he still resides today. His works are in a great many private collections all over the world.

      I find this piece interesting because the pattern being used seems to simulate interlocking, colorful fish swimming in formation on the paper. His works have a very 1950's modern vibe to them. The colors are muted, the paterns simple. I find myself mesmorized by them while at the same time feeling completely relaxed.


 http://www.campbelllairdstudio.com