1. Description: Look at the work carefully and describe what you
see and/or what is happening in detail. Get as much background
information as possible, such as the title, date, artist, country of origin,
medium etc. Ask yourself: what is already known about the time period,
style, artist, etc.? Is the work representational,
non-representational or realistic? Does it make use of modified
images? And so on.
Late Afternoon Twilight-This painting is of a
small town in the suburbs. There are two horses pulling a man down the road
into town. This is realistic since this painting is of real ordinary life in
the 1920’s. This was a time in which the Great Depression was evident but do
not know for sure if this painting had anything to do with that. Also, the
title may give away what influenced Burchfield; simply late nights ride in
town. Twilight could mean that the night was awakening.
Untitled (Horse and Buggy)-This drawing is of
literally a horse and buggy traveling down a dirt road to a town. The land
around the horse and buggy is scarce so this must have been in the country
somewhere. Burchfield must have wanted to represent time and show the dirt road
as a symbol of old times. This work is realistic because this depicts real life
in the 1920’s. The media used to create this work offers the feeling of the
“dirt” road affects.
Grain Elevators-This painting represents
the late 1930’s grain elevators at the site of a river or lake. These factories
symbolize hard work and dedication toward the specific company that is
displayed in the painting. This work is representational and realistic because
of the detail that was put into it.
2. Formal Analysis: Pick apart the composition or design. Ask
yourself: What elements are emphasized? How are they used?
What principles? How? What design type?
Late Afternoon
Twilight-The elements and principles that are emphasized are line, texture, space
and color. Lines are represented in the sky, ground and building in the
painting. This gives it the texture that can be displayed when looking at this
up close. The space is presented to the left of the town and the sky. This
negative space represents different tones of color. All of which are neutral
shades of brown, yellow and orange. The type is infrastructure or architectural
design.
Untitled (Horse
and Buggy)-The elements and principles that are emphasized are line, texture and
space. The lines are represented in the dirt road, horse, carriage and land.
This gives a sense of pattern to the drawing. Texture is displayed when looking
at the dirt road. It is as though you can reach out and physically touch it.
Space is demonstrated throughout the drawing to display the land and
desert-like atmosphere.
Grain Elevators-The elements and
principles that are emphasized are line, variety and unity. Lines are displayed
in the factories, ripples in the water and clouds in the sky. They are straight
and curvy lines. Variety is represented between the buildings, lake, and homes
surrounding the painting. Unity is displayed because the whole picture comes
together and each piece has a specific meaning for being in the spot that it
is.
3. Bracketing: Artists often refer to things from everyday life in
their art. Sometimes when we look at a work of art we are reminded of
another artist or style of art. Sometimes we notice iconography we are
familiar with. Think of what you are reminded of when you look at the
work.
Late
Afternoon Twilight-When looking at the work, I immediately thought of the wild
west or a cowboy movie. It made me envision how life was in that time period.
Untitled-Horse
and Buggy-This work makes me appreciate the forms of transportation we
have today and the quality of the roads. I can’t imagine how much time was
wasted and how uncomfortable the rides must have been.
Grain
Elevators-This work makes me think of the grain elevators in the
First Ward of Buffalo towards the end of Louisiana Street. I think that times
were rough because people were not getting paid like they should have and
conditions were not the best that they could. Trying times were definitely a
struggle for most individuals in the 1920’s and 1930’s.
4. Interpretation: Stop and look at what you wrote down in steps two
through four. Put all the information together to determine the meaning
of the art. What strategy is the artist using? Are there any
symbols, metaphors or allegories that tell you anything about what the artist
intended? Do you have an emotional reaction that you think the artist
wanted you to have? Make your conclusions from the previous steps support
your interpretation.
Late Afternoon Twilight-The painting is
represented by how the artists reflected on a specific time period. This was
influential to Burchfield because he beautifully painted an image that impacted
him. I am sure he wants his viewers to think about how life truly was and think
about the proximity.
Untitled Horse and Buggy-The drawing is a step
back in time of how “uneasy” life once was back in what we consider ancient
history. I think that artist was trying to convey possibly a time when he rode
in a buggy and convey that times were tough. It is much different in our
society today.
Grain Elevators-This painting represents
hard work in the past and makes us appreciate what we have in our lives today.
Burchfield would have wanted viewers to reflect back in time to realize that
life was not easy at all. Working for hardly any pay increased the feeling of
struggle.
Questions about the exhibit:
1. What is the title of the exhibit? The title of the exhibit is John R. Oishei
Foundation & Anthony J. Sisti Galleries. Of the three pieces of work I
chose, the years range from 1920-1938.
2. What is the theme of the exhibition? The theme of the exhibit is Charles
Burchfield’s perspective on life.
Questions about the physical space:
1.
What type of lighting is used? Dim track lighting is used to represent the mood
and character of the artwork.
2. What colors are used on the walls? White walls are presented throughout the
gallery.
3. What materials are used in the interior architecture of the space? There are
a few benches for those who would like to sit and take more time to reflect on
the work. Also, some artwork is displayed in glass cases to ensure that viewers
do not touch it.
4. How is the movement of the viewer through the gallery space? The artwork is
spacious and allows many people to view at the same time. The open space helps
the exhibit flow more easily and freely.
Questions about the artwork:
1. How
are the artworks organized? There is no particular order except for the way
each gallery is placed.
2. How are the artworks similar? All of one artist represents each section of
the gallery.
3. How are the artworks different? The artwork is made differently as far as
which media was chosen to create the masterpiece.
4. How are the artworks framed? From the looks of it, all three are wooden
frames.
5. How are the artworks identified and labeled? These are identified on a
plaque placed to the right or left of the painting. It represents the artist,
their date of birth, the title of the work, media used and where the artwork
came from. The three that I chose from Charles Burchfield were gifts that were
donated to the art gallery.
6. What is the proximity of the artwork to each other? They are all within a
few feet of each other. The size of the gallery was not very large so it made
viewing the artist more enjoyable and surreal.
What did you think of visiting the Gallery and purposefully
looking at the exhibition from a different perspective - the physical space,
the architecture, theme, etc.?
I thought it was interesting having to visit the gallery
from a different perspective. It made me look at specific things that I would
not normally notice on a normal visit. The space was easily accessible making
it easy enough for several people to view at the same time and still feel
comfortable. The architecture was designed in a way to wrap you around in a circle
leading you to another part of the gallery. The theme was Buffalo in the early
1900’s from Charles Burchfield’s perspective on life.
