Thursday, October 18, 2012

QMA trip

Havana-born Rene Portocarrero's Cuban carnival painting is what I will describe. It really caught my attention because of the shapes and different colors of the painting. I this painting I saw different geometric shape mostly different sizes and shapes of triangles and some circles. The background looks blackish but it has a variety of colors. So that’s the negative space and the positive space is obviously the different triangular shapes. Also this is a 2d shape of artwork. There are complementary colors with a lot of different value of color. For the texture I have to say its implied texture because on a 2d paper the artist uses texture to create detail and create space. As for the composition and the design principles there’s a sense of unity because there’s so many similar shapes together. Also there seems to be a repetition of triangles but they all are different in color. So it has visual rhythm as well. I can’t say there’s approximate symmetry but if you fold the picture in half you can see that they are very similar. And the focal point has to be the colorful shapes because they attract attention.

The second article I want to discuss is a photo of a bunch of bananas on fire in flames, emerging of a Victorian footed stand. The banana represents a history of exploitation dating back to the workers strike in 1929 on a banana plantation in Santa Marta, Colombia. The conflict resulted in injuries and deaths. He creates visual commentary on the untold suffering of the anonymous victims of the harsh economic practices that allow a select few to be able to afford such lavish decorated objects. Now the photo has unity and repetition because there’s a bunch of bananas bunched in together and creating a powerful image because of the flames on top. Also there’s chiaroscuro, value and shadows. The shape is organic obviously because it’s something natural you see in nature. And I have to point out that it has a 3d shape because it provides us with depth. So overall this photograph is a very symbolic way to show the suffering of the victims that died and got injured.  

1 comment:

  1. (365 words, assignment was 400-600 words) Peter: Your write so observantly about many elements of these works, and you chose interesting pieces to write about. You could have actually named the colors- which complementary colors? Good comment on the creation of texture on a 2d surface. 4/5

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