Embedded Files
Purpose:
To become familiar with the way artists are responding to the issues in today’s world (as well as the past);
To understand characteristics of storytelling, both historically and contemporary;
To learn about contemporary artists, as well as Peter Bruegel and their work.
(Below, in order: James Kerry Marshall, Nijdeka Akunyili Crosby, Aliza Nisenbaum.)
Untitled by James Kerry Marshall, Painted in 2009.
Wedding Portrait by Akunyili Crosby, Painted in 2012.
Queens Lindo y Querido by Aliza Nisenbaum, Painted between 2012 and 2023. Part of a collection of paintings.
Marshall, Crosby, and Nisenbaum in particular all pay attention to the smallest of details that unite everyone as human, such as a workplace or family. Marshall and Crosby also portray themes from specific cultures. While Marshall speaks of bringing power to darker skin tones and breaking ancient beauty standards, Crosby incorporates bits of her Nigerian tribe's culture through traditions, like bringing wine to your significant other and kneeling before him as a proposal of marriage, as depicted in the central image above. She also includes a Nigerian style of clothing with references to her culture, relationships, and life. A technique noticeable throughout the styles of the first two artists is the use of bright colors on clothing and in backgrounds, forcing the focus of the image to be the people, while Nisenbaum uses eye-catching, contrasting colors and a lot more shading from end-to-end in her work, making the art busier and allowing for focus to drift over all of the details.
The Triumph of Death by Peter Bruegel, 1562
Pieter Bruegel's scenes have many more people in them, and often the paintings will have themes of humanity such as war, religion, death, and even regular child's play. The one to the left, titled "The Triumph of Death", shows hundreds of skeletons launching an attack upon on and destroying the city. While the skeletons march in an organized manner, the humans panic and scatter under the threat of death. The bottom left corner is the most interesting to me; it shows what looks to be the king of the city lying at the mercy of a skeleton who holds an hourglass as if to tell him that he ran out of time, and that now each and every person will pay the price. Bruegel also uses a lot of color throughout his work, but many of the people in the paintings are white. He lived either in a place where black people were not considered to be as significant, or that was relatively homogeneous.
While artists from hundreds of years ago like Peter Bruegel addressed issues from their time in their work, such as war and plague, more artists today focus on themes of oneness, humanity, and incorporation of all cultures into pieces. The energies of the paintings contrast, too; while there is chaos and fighting in The Triumph of Death, Crosby and Nisenbaum's works are more relaxed, showing people laying about or engaging in calm interactions. Brighter, more eye-catching colors are also used in the modern paintings, bringing more attention to specific parts of the paintings, while an array of more dull colors are used throughout Bruegel's work, contributing to the panic. The story in The Triumph of Death is told by the various little interactions between the humans and the skeletons all over the battlefield, while in Wedding Portrait and Queens Lindo y Querido, you must look over all of the details to find the true story the painting is telling.
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