Monday, January 17, 2022

Assignment 2 - Drawing as a Verb

Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-UcIEEhVka5SSAKWpSS0V7dGV7ybY53_LvbueNvoCRQ/edit


 1. An artist whose work I find bewildering, or difficult to understand yet pleasing, to the mind and senses (beautiful):

Rae Johnson:

Angels in the Palace, 1983. Acrylic on canvas, 2.15 x 1.69 m.

    I find Johnson’s work incredibly intriguing and beautiful. I enjoy how she uses the paint in lines of colour and allows the tool to be visible in the work (doesn’t attempt to hide brush marks for example). Her pictorial form of representation is stylistically unique. Something about Johnson’s paintings draw on a dream-like experience for me, although this is not something she mentions as a motivation behind her work.

    Johnson’s work to me gives off a deep melancholy and a sense of empathy to the viewer. Her art is very personal, but subjects/topics aren’t typically approached in a naturalistic way, which adds to the mystery of her pieces and grants each a stronger emotion (as well as a small peak into Johnson’s worldview and consciousness). 

    How I interpret her work is that the drawings are representations of what it means to be a woman as well as the effects that a disintegrating world has on a person. Pieces like Night Games at Paradise are all to familiar, and it’s no surprise this work was made earlier in Johnson’s career as it feels very much like the drinking scene of young adults. The use of the blue colour critiques this lifestyle while the title contradicts it (claiming a paradise). This paradox is so fascinating because it reminds me of the mixed feelings of social situations.

    Despite all the sorrow there is something really hopeful about her work. The way that angels appear in otherwise grim scenes add a spark of light to our menacing world but are mysterious in their intent - is it a grace or an omen? 

Overall, there is a lot to impact in Rae Johnson’s work, and that’s probably what I like most about it. She remained unpredictable, and her art developed with her to reflect her current situations and interests. Johnson didn’t simply stick to one subject matter, but still explored the ones she was interested in to their full potential.  

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nadjasayej/2020/03/13/looking-back-on-the-40-year-career-of-toronto-artist-rae-johnson/?sh=1cf309581a57

https://canadianart.ca/features/rae-johnson-the-angels-share/

http://www.cuttsgallery.com/exhibitions/rae-johnson-2/#/press-release

http://ccca.concordia.ca/bios/johnson_bio.html

http://ccca.concordia.ca/statements/johnson_statement.html

https://www.catalogmachine.com/cutts/catalogs/christopher-cutts-gallery-catalog-6.html


2. An artist’s whose work I find bewildering, or difficult to understand, unpleasant, or even repulsive (ugly):

Ruby Neri:


When I first came across Ruby Neri’s art in my research, I found it very unpleasant. However, upon looking more into the meaning behind her work, motivations, and her identity as an artist I respect what she does a lot. This doesn’t mean I find the work aesthetically enjoyable however, because I don’t. Still, I find that her art is meaningful, important, and interesting.

    What I like most about Rubi’s work is her connection to anthropological sculpture. Once I read this her art immediately clicked for me, making me think of “Venus Figurines” and how they gained this name because early scholars assumed the figures to have sexual importance because of their voluptuous bodies. Although the true purpose of said figures is still unknown today, it has been hypothesized that the had more to do with ritual, fertility, or even that they are self-portraits. There is an intensely strong connection her to Neri’s work, of which she mentions that at first glance people often assume to be hyper-sexual representations of women. Instead however, Neri is speaking to womanhood in all it’s forms. 

    Neri’s work in a way could be viewed as a reclaiming of the female figure, and the woman’s right to represent our own bodies, of which for much of history were almost exclusively represented by men.

What I don’t enjoy about Neri’s work is her style. I understand that it is a fusion between ceramics and street art, but I find something about the line work and how the faces are drawn unappealing. However, the actual form of her sculptures (not the paint job on top) I quite like. This has to do with my personal taste and nothing else. 
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