Art is an expression and exploration of emotion for the artist and the emotional experience of the observer.
The question was what is the purpose of art, what purpose do artists serve. Although there are times when art doesn’t fulfill this purpose. For instance, when most art was commissioned portraits by the wealthy. Art, still in its whole has served to express an emotion of both the artist and to extract emotion from the observer. Where this emotion really starts to shine is the Romantic era. This was a time when art really started to surface for art’s sake. This is not to say art for art’s sake wasn’t made before then but precious little art from before this exists that was not commissioned by the wealthy or was an extravagant hobby of the well to do. Before you say it yes, the Classical era broke from this as art became more and more a means of the people but the Romantic era is were this really took hold.
Emotional art in the Romantic Era
Romantic art’s purpose was almost exclusively emotional. The colours, the brush strokes, the subjects. The idea behind it seemed really to see how much emotion one could put onto a canvas. Romantic art had a huge range of styles, exquisitely polished almost photogenic painting to loose stroke, colour oriented impressionism. The emotions could be conveyed with the subject matter, the background, or the colour. Political, personal, or abstract.
The Romantic era was full of emotion, especially in the wave of impressionism. Impressionism with its focus on colour movement, and broad brush strokes instead of defined lines, impressionism expressed sorrow, peacefulness, love, even fear (although I’ve yet to find a piece of impressionism that shows anger.)
Gloria, by Giuseppe Mentessi – 1901 Italy
I was able to find very little about this painter or his work. He lived from 1857 – 1931 which is a bit ‘late’ for romantic art but he fits there so well. This one by him, a man in shackles hugging a girl who is obviously heart broken. Father and daughter? Grandfather and granddaughter? Are they saying goodbye or having a teary reunion? Even though you can’t clearly see the man’s facial features the way he holds his arms and the position of his hand’s clearly show he is trying to console the girl while she is emotionally distraught. The blue colouring adds to this feeling of sadness and despair. You can almost hear him saying “It’s going to be alright.” This painting gives very little clues about if it is a statement on some larger history at the time or a scene witnessed or imagined by the artist but the emotional connection between the subjects is almost palatable.
Gaetano Bellei 1857 – 1922, Italy
In a different vain by the same artist. A happy scene. Bellei painted a few such scenes with Grandmothers and children. While the children happily beg the Grandmother for something she looks right at the audience. Her joy conveyed in her eyes. A happy painting but also one that brings knowingness of youthful pleas and promises of “I’ll love you forever”s
Old Man in Sorrow by Vincent van Gogh. 1890; Saint-rémy-de-provence, France.
Another painting of sorrow. It would be hard to see anything other then the sadness of the subject as he cries into his hands. An old man alone in a chair while he weeps. Would this express the same level of emotion if he were wearing pink or red instead of blue? What strikes me most though is the detail of his hair. It allows us to not only see his age but almost see what his face looks like and gives us context for ever part of the way his body is positioned in the painting. Something that bought this old, hard working man to sob.
Snow Storm: Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth by J. M. W. Turner 1842 London England.
And not to let anyone think those are the only emotions that can be translated onto canvas we have a painting that promotes fear. A boat caught in a rough storm, the dark clours and waves, the angry, destressed lines of the water. The light from the boat. You can feel the fear both as empathy for the crew and as an observer standing in safety.
Emotional Art Today
Dies Irae by unknown 2010
Written on this piece of amazing 3D street art is ‘Dies Irae’ which is latin for Day of Wrath. This piece has a lot of emotions involved, agony, rage, hopelessness, acceptance. There are people trying to claw their way our of the pit, others seemingly giving into their fate, some reaching for help, and one screaming in anger. They are descending into this hole as the ground crumbles around them. Each individual distinctly shows their emotions as they sink into the ground.
Baby Things by Tracey Emin 2008 Kent, England.
At first glance, they appear to be a forgotten or lost bit of children’s clothing or item. Perhaps left on a railing or near a stairway and misplaced or found by a passer-by and hung on the rail to be retrieved by the owner. On closer inspection one would find Tracey Emin’s baby items are actually intricate bronzed sculptures not forgotten but carefully placed.
Baby Things by Tracey Emin 2008 Kent, England.
Seemingly forgotten they are a commentary on high teenage pregnancy rates. To me, they envoke sadness, even without any background as to the meaning or why the ‘lost’ baby items suggest a loss of innocence. A loss of happy times and well-loved things and memories. Their placement and life-like qualities speak volumes to the pieces. Many appear to be instantly discarded or almost entirely unseen. Hidden away from view or ignored as litter. A striking image of something lost.
ABOVE THE DREAMLESS DEAD Various authors; book edited by Chris Duffy. 2014
As World War 1 dragged on soldiers started to express themselves through poetry. This graphic novel puts to visual arts the words written in those pomes so long ago. Above The Dreamless Dead is the cover of this graphic novel. War art is often filled with emotion, especially of hopeless-ness, sadness, regret. I find this image striking with the bits of paper surrounding the solider kneeling among the barbed wire. A man under him, dead in the ground. The colours, the positions of the solider, the loose paper, even the title ‘Above The Dreamless Dead’ all inspire an emotion of loss. Not of aggression, or duty but of mournfulness.
Artists serve as a visual expression of emotion. Both emotions you have often but also deeper emotions in sometimes surprising and unusual contexts. The trick being of course that without a guide telling you what the art is ‘supposed’ to be about we have to take our cues from the art itself and it may or may not be what the artist had intended. Like a good novel though art takes us on a journey of emotional attachment to stories that aren’t necessarily our own.
My personal journey with art as I have taken this class has been surprisingly educational. Although I wouldn’t say I learned to appreciate art more then I did before I was certainly pushed to experience and seek out artists that I was unfamiliar with. Both in reading other student blogs and when researching my own I would often follow the rabbit holes of google, clicking for more information or searching for an image. I would sometimes find myself exploring and coming back to many pieces of art that I doubt I would have discovered otherwise. This was sometimes helpful as I wrote blogs or sometimes distracting as I fell into Romantic art while trying to find examples of Classical. I was occasionally surprised by choices my fellow students made and had to seek out new and interesting information about that art they discovered. Such a large world ours is, with much history and art in it. Sometimes we are moved by surprising forces in art and comfort zones are expanded as we appreciate these new experiences.
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Work Cited
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“Romanticism – Art History 101 Basics.” About.com Education. N.p., 2014. Web. Nov. 2016.
“Street Art by Urben in Germany.” Street Art Utopia. N.p., 2015. Web. Nov. 2016.
Reporter, Daily Mail. “Controversial Artist Tracey Emin Makes Waves with Seaside Trail of Lost Baby Clothes.” Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 2008. Web. Nov. 2016.
Bates, Rupert. “Tracey Emin – ‘Baby Things’, Bronze Sculptures.” Emin International Homepage, 25 July 2014. Web. Nov. 2016.
“Dies Irae.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. Nov. 2016.
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Music 200x fall semester 2016 