#colorfocusblack

[colorcapacity]

Color Focus: Black

This week to study black I chose to research “The Eye like a Strange Balloon mounts Toward Infinity” a lithograph by Odilon Redon and “Crest” a emulsion board by Bridget Riley. I found both of these pieces incredibly interesting due to their abstract and imaginative nature.

Bridget Riley’s “Crest” is an example of her incredibly popular style “Op Art”, an illusionist geometric form of abstract art. This artwork is considered important because of its use of simple geometrical shapes set out in intricate, repetitive patterns to create movement as well as other optical effects. It is art because of its complex and unique ability to affect the viewer's physiology and psychology of perception. This artwork’s use of black shows us the complex ability to create motion through extremely harsh contrast. Bridget Riley chose to use black in this piece because of its ability to achieve contrast and create unique optical illusions.

“The Eye like a Strange Balloon Mounts toward Infinity” is an example of Odilon Redon’s individualism and belief in the superiority of the imagination over observation of nature. This work is important because of its rejection of realism and impressionism in favor of a more personal artistic vision, which made his work unique. This is art because of Redon’s technique and ability to achieve gradations of tone, fine-line drawing, and rich depictions of light and dark. Redon’s use of color teaches us about the immense amounts of tones available in black. Redon chose to use black in this piece to emphasize a sense of mystery within a mystical space. Redon made close to thirty etchings and two hundred lithographs, and worked almost exclusively in black and white.

[bricecborchers]

Robert Motherwell “Elegy to the Spanish Republic No 110”, 1971, acrylic with graphite and charcoal on canvas, 82” x 114”.

The word “elegy” is a type of poem that usually is mourning the dead. I think the Spanish republic Motherwell is referring to ended in 1939. There was a civil war that happened to end the Spanish republic. I think this piece might have been done in satire as if to say “oh forget about all the lives lost, our government used to be so great” 

Bridget Riley “Crest” 1964, emulsion on board, 65 1/4” x 65 1/4”.

This piece is super neat to look at. I really enjoy Riley’s use of optical illusion in this. I also just love the simplicity of the black and white. Because of the title and the way this piece looks, it reminds me of waves at the ocean. I really wish I could see this piece in person because looking at it on my small computer screen clearly does not do it justice. 

[just-a-strawman]

Color Focus: Black

Robert Motherwell “Elegy to the Spanish Republic No 110”, 1971, acrylic with graphite and charcoal on canvas, 82” x 114”

One of the over one hundred paintings of the same name created by Motherwell, “Elegy to the Spanish Republic No 110” is a monument to the Spanish Civil War, an event that left a lasting impression on Motherwell from the age of 21 all the way to his death. An abstract painting incorporating the medium of drawing into its form, “Elegy” symbolizes the cycle of life and death, and a preserved memory of the human suffering experienced during the war.

Black is used in this composition to contrast white, in what Motherwell called “a sense of life and death which to me is quite Spanish.” Darkness and light are often compared to death, and in this composition, “They are essentially the Spanish black of death contrasted with the dazzle of a Matisse-like sunlight.” Motherwell chose to use black to generate contrast, to call attention to its surroundings, and act as almost a ‘hole’ in the light. White and black are equal and opposite in this composition, and form parts of the same whole, united through their contrast.

Odilon Redon “The Eye, like a Strange Balloon, Mounts toward Infinity”, 1882, lithograph, 10 5/16” x 7 11/16.

“The Eye, like a Strange Balloon, Mounts toward Infinity“ is a post-mortem tribute to Edgar Allen Poe, and an early Symbolic work, recognizing the triumph of imagination and the supernatural over the mundane and concrete. Though not surrealist (as it is essentially an object that could exist in our reality), “The Eye“ nevertheless shows a bent towards what would become surrealist and eventually abstract work.

Redon preferred working in black and white, with the majority of his lithographs and paintings placing emphasis on value. Black creates the darkest darks, and with white, the lightest lights, and thus Redon used them to create the greatest possible range of value. Black is the perfect shadow and the perfect agent of contrast, being so distinct on the piece as to suck the light from the page, and direct our eyes towards it as either an extremely solid or empty space, of which this piece presents both (the swamp versus the eye balloon).

[jillxhahn]

Color Focus: Black

Bridget Riley “Crest” 1964, emulsion on board, 65 1/4” x 65 1/4”.

The first artwork I chose for this week’s color focus assignment was “Crest” by Bridget Riley. Bridget Riley is an artist who primarily focuses on Op art, which is illusionist geometric form of abstraction art. What makes Riley’s work so significant is her ability to create movement. This is called kinetic art. For year, Riley created this kinetic artwork, using repetitive shapes and lines with varying or equal distance between one another.  Her work eventually gained popularity around the 1960′s. As I read more about her purpose in creating these illusions, I found that she admired at how we see and wanted to recreate this incredible experience, sharing her wonder with the world. For years and years, Riley only used black and white in her art. I believe she used black and white because she saw them to be the most dynamic colors when placed together, stimulating the viewers eyes and warping their vision with the repetitive lines and the fluid curves. Their color and positioning is intention to recreate a feeling, a movement, an illusion, an experience as best as possible. The monochrome simplicity allows her to focus on the lines and the lengths that they are. The obvious creativity, vision, and fluid motion makes this art jump off and move on the page, fitting perfectly in the upcoming genre of performance art. 

Odilon Redon “The Eye, like a Strange Balloon, Mounts toward Infinity”, 1882, lithograph, 10 5/16” x 7 11/16.

Odilon Redon’s “The Eye, like a Strange Balloon, Mounts toward Infinity” is a lithographic artwork that acts as a perfect example of the present Symbolism movement during his time. When researching this work, I found it interesting to see that Redon’s work is not surrealism. His work was an effort to create from inspiration of the unlikely, and then pair those things with logical vision. Redon’s artwork has a dreamlike, magical, mysterious, and supernatural tone. The use of the lithograph allows this feeling to be even more apparent, because of the simpleness of the black and white, as well as the softness of the edges, and the full range of value. These are the primary reasons Redon used black in his work, giving this sketch a nebulous and mystical feeling, as if he is playing around with sublime and fantastic forces from elsewhere. Another interesting fact I appreciated about Redon’s work was the relativity to Edgar Allen Poe’s writings. Redon did not duplicate the same literary points that Poe used long ago, but he does used similar symbolism and parallels the meaning to that of the “evocation of the macabre world of the writer (theartstory.org).” The black hues and ranges of value allow the same darkness and mystery as Poe’s writings.

[colorinbloom]

Black Color Research

Robert Motherwell “Elegy to the Spanish Republic No 110”, 1971, acrylic with graphite and charcoal on canvas, 82” x 114”.

This piece was inspired by the Spanish Civil War. Motherwell uses the black figures as a memorial for all the death and tragedy that took place. I think the artist uses black to symbolize the consuming nature of wartime death. I’ve never experienced war, but looking at this piece kind of reminds me of how I felt when I saw the film 1917. In both the movie and in this painting, there’s this distinct feeling of overwhelm, like death is everywhere. It’s very somber. 

Odilon Redon “The Eye, like a Strange Balloon, Mounts toward Infinity”, 1882, lithograph, 10 5/16” x 7 11/16.

I didn’t find very much on this piece, but I was able to find that it was inspired by the work of Edgar Allen Poe. It’s not meant to illustrate any specific poem, but to evoke the feeling of macabre that comes from his poetry. The black Redon uses is softer and more diffused than Motherwell’s, and for that reason, it feels less overwhelming to me. It has a creepiness to it, but it’s not quite as heavy as other all-black works I’ve seen. 

[cinemagraphicmemory]

Black Research

Kara Walker “Slavery! Slavery! presenting a GRAND and LIFELIKE Panoramic Journey into Picturesque Southern Slavery”

“The cyclorama featured cut-paper silhouettes of enslaved Africans and their white masters amid light projections of rural wilderness.”

This work brought reality to a lot of their viewers about slaves and the way they were treated.  The silhouette depicts a vile scene that when done in black brings a stark contrast to the white walls, much like the story it is telling.  The black and white is so important as is depicts the past and the atrocities that were experienced. 

Odilon Redon “The Eye, like a Strange Balloon, Mounts toward Infinity”, 1882, lithograph, 10 5/16” x 7 11/16.

The first source I found immediately titled the article about Odilon Redon as “’Black is the Most Essential Color’: Odilon Redon’s Noir”.  I found that very fascinating because that was the goal of my research. To ask why and find the answer.  What I found was that he used black to express his emotions and imagination.  When you look at this work, you see the silhouette and can imagine on your own what colors there are, what the scene is depicting and the story it is trying to tell.  Black is void of emotion.  But it also can represent strong emotion at the same time.  It leaves it up for interpretation to the viewer.

SOURCES:

Kara Walker

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/59ywgz/kara-walker-showed-me-the-horror-of-american-life

Odilon Redon

https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/black-is-the-most-essential-color-odilon-redons-noirs/

[supertaterblogs]

Bridget Riley “Crest” 1964, emulsion on board, 65 1/4″ x 65 1/4″.

In this image, Riley creates an organization of multiple twisted lines that creates a sense of visual movement on a static and flat canvas. These works eventually became known as the “op art” movement, but Riley thought this perspective put limitations on her work. She then creates more works of art that involve wrestling with the potential and problems of pure abstraction and says that “Painting is a wonderful discipline and a great art form.” She was very interested in color, but couldn’t find any way to begin to understand basic color relationships. Instead of using just a simple black color, Riley uses a mixture of color harmonies and color contrasts to create powerful effects.   https://www.a-n.co.uk/news/a-qa-with-bridget-riley-painter/   

Odilon Redon “The Eye like a Strange Balloon, Mounts toward Infinity”, 1882, lithograph, 10 5/16″ x 7 11/16″.

Redon’s works are meant to be coherent and look upon this idea that “the head as the origin of the imagination and the spirit lodged in matter, not based on surrealism.”  The work evokes a sense of mystery within a dream world. Redon’s main objective is to create realistic visions by “approaching the unlikely and giving visual logic to the imaginary elements...” Redon is more of a modernist than a symbolist because he was also interested in scientific materialism. “His work was mainly based on his own private world expressed in personal symbols and allowed the viewer to understand what hidden realities lay within the forms.”   https://www.theartstory.org/movement/symbolism/artworks/

[lindseyposts]

I chose the eye balloon by Odilon Redon. It is significant because it is a parallel of the author Edgar Allen Poe's work. The eye represents the all seeing eye of God and is a symbol of the spirit rising from the swamp. It is important because it evokes mystery and questions about the spiritual realm and also because it was inspired by the famous author Edgar Allen Poe. It is art because the person behind it was creative and was inspire by the author. Redon created something mysterious and intriguing and used time, energy, creativity, and thought which makes the piece art. Redon was fascinated with black and thought it expressed his imagination and feelings better than any color. He used it to depict dark realms and plunge himself into the world of phantoms, monsters, and insomnia. It teaches us that there's so much more depth and meaning to black than it might seem and also that we all have our own interpretations and visions on what each color means to us.