There is a simplicity and a complexity in trying to replicate nature in art. It seems both easy and trite, yet isn’t easy to achieve in the slightest. The execution sometimes becomes abstract, such as in this case.
Tag: American art
Friday
This is the art of designing in multidimensional space – each layer clearly had to be meticulously designed on its own before being spliced together, else they wouldn’t work together so harmoniously. So many things could (and probably did) go wrong; I’d like to see the original models to see what changes were made between the conceptual models and the final piece, but they probably no longer exist.
Thursday
This isn’t your typical Tiffany glass vase; it’s not as schooled and elegant, the lines aren’t as crisp and clear, but you can definitely tell it’s from Tiffany as opposed to anyone else. It just has that panache.
Sunday
A lot has changed in St. Louis over the years, including urbanization, city blight, gentrification, etc., and that began as early as 1888 in some parts of the city. This painting embraces a kind of optimism about the pre-WWII industrial expansion that was going on in parts of the city and shows it off in bright colors and flashy ways that belies the truth of how the sprawl actually became more of a problem than a solution.
Saturday
I love this vase. It looks like toxic space goop from hell dripping all down its sides. I’m down with that aesthetic.
Friday
Hey, look! It’s another vase! You know why? Because it’s Thanksgiving and people have vases for centerpieces and stuff. Okay, that’s a stretch because cornucopias are the traditional centerpieces, but whatever. I give up and digress, but look at the color feathering on that sucker – isn’t it gorgeous? It looks like a rising red dust storm.
Thursday
I love the Art Nouveau in-your-faceness of this piece. There is absolutely nothing subtle about it whatsoever.
Wednesday
This looks so simple, but in reality, it’s very difficult: keeping the glaze out of certain areas is incredibly hard, even with tools and effort. It’s a very deco design before art deco was a thing, and it borrows a bit from the Aztec legacy.
Tuesday
This is kind of that bleak, desolate post-Civil War American landscape that we just kind came to expect from the Reconstruction era. The country was still divided and scarred and people were tired and not at all okay with any of it. The art of the time reflected that dismal quality and while beautiful and serene, many of the landscapes have this depressing quality that you can’t quite quantify.
Monday
This painting is insane. Off the charts. The lighting literally follows you as you move around the room and changes shape and does crazy, creepy things. It’s crazy, creepy, intriguing, and insane.