Landscapes and People

                                                Landscapes and People

                We have in mind, landscapes that lean toward abstraction.  In some ways a landscape painting is not so demanding.  The perspective can be a little off and not noticed.  The lighting of your choice can be different than you observe. The self imposed demand is to make the painting interesting, alluring, melancholic -- whatever mood you can muster or desire.

        We will exhibit the way artists abstracted the landscape.  You may notice we have seen some of this in an incidental way in previous posts.  You can use the search bar for Ralston Crawford, Louis Kahn, Anke Roder, Richard Mayhew, and Etel Adnan.

                                                      Mary Heilmann

        Mary Heilmann  was an artist with a playful, inventive, and sometimes casual looking approach.  See a series of her paintings starting with one called This 'n That.                                  

      Well, how is it an abstracted landscape?  It looks like rock strata in the background, as studied in Geology.  Or the stripes of a flag.  But then, it could be horizontal bands receding into the distance.  On top of that we might interpret blacktop highways and a few narrow paths. Or they could be suspended black platforms or curtains.  

        The far blue could be ocean with yellow sky above and the little wedge of near blue could be a lake.  Notice the shaped canvas moving our eye down and to the right.  The charm of "rouge et noir", red and black, is also operative here.  

    Is the painting too busy?  What changes might you contemplate to make it simpler or more unified?

         Next see an unusual painting with a sculptured overhanging top.

Perhaps it is low hanging fog or a fungus growth or sea foam coming toward shore.  It is claimed to have paper mache mulch used on top.  And here is another quiet painting called Maricopa Highway.

                

        It is on a shaped canvas and sparse.  You can figure it out.   Now we go toward large. See the painting called Long Line which measures 2 feet by 8 feet.                                

      But it could and was made even bigger.  See it along a wall, into a corner, then wrapping around onto a further wall at the Whitney Museum in New York City.                  

        Mary Heilmann designed the chairs as well.  She says the chairs are meant to invite people to linger.  The large bank of windows on the right looks out on the Hudson River.  There are photos that include people but they distract from contemplating the whole art space.  Do you care to interpret the wall painting?  Clouds, land, water, river, smoke, island?  

                                                      Milton Avery

                Milton Avery's works have a kind of free form, taking liberties with perspective, texture, and detail.  Some might say they have a child like character -- not a criticism.  See his seascape called Green Sea.

                                        
            You do get a sense of crashing waves.  Note the big crash and spray in the background.  Notice the black stone outcrops.  A semi-dry brush can be pulled over some parts, skipping lightly over the surface leaving a texture of canvas showing.  The whole painting forces you to see and imagine differently.  There are only two main colors, black and green, with possibly just a little brown at the lower left, but maybe just a black and green mix.  The sea looks raised up or it is just a big wave-wall coming in.  Overall the painting is consistent within itself.

        There is no sign of people or human made objects so the scene could stand in for some wild, remote, distant past.

            Avery also painted people.  See a painting of his daughter from 1946.  It is called Homework.                             

                It is unconventional.  Can you describe some of the ways?  Avery seems to have a fondness for black or is it very dark brown?  Do you see any complementary color combinations?  Are the legs believable?  From which direction is the light coming?  Avery stretches people at times.

           See another -- Husband and Wife, 1945.

                Does it capture something about a long term marital relationship?  That was a time before television and the internet. People may have talked together or reminisced or taken stock of things in their life.  They might realize to say endearments to each other before one of them is gone.

                                                        Mitchell Johnson

            Mitchell Johnson has carved out his own means of showing and selling his work.  Perhaps you have seen his own advertisements of his work in the New York Times.

              He lives and paints in the East on Cape Cod and in the West in California.  He frequently radically crops a scene thus enhancing abstractness.   The one below is called North Truro, which is on the tip of the arm of Cape Cod.                        

                           

We see a beach towel or blanket on the fence and horizontal yellow paths of light from between houses.  Notice a mauve roof which is the complement of those yellow streaks.  What is your opinion of the sky?

            See Johnson's cropped life guard stand.

                                

            The colors are very saturated.  What time of day is it?  Johnson also has a range of cityscapes you might like to look up.

                                                     Vincent Van Gogh

    Van Gogh made more than thirty artworks -- paintings and drawings -- based on the sower.  The one below has a decidedly Japanese print look as with the tree in the foreground and the cropping.                           

    

        Note the complementary colors of dull purple in the foreground, blue tending toward purple in the middle ground, and the yellow green of the sky.  Some observers point out the sun is a halo for the saintly man sowing life into the soil.  And don't forget Jesus's parable of the sower.  The word of God, the seed, falls on receptive ears or not. 

         Next, see a woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige, The Plum Garden from 1857.  Van Gogh owned one of these prints and so admired it that he made his own copy - version.   Note the small writings.  They can identify the title, artist, publisher, and sometimes a poem.                                     

             See below Van Gogh's framed painting of 1887 based on Hiroshige's print.  The painting as well as a large collection of Japanese and other prints can be found in the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam.                                    

    

        You notice of course the bands of pseudo Japanese writing on the sides.  The coating of pigment color on the original wood block print paper is very thin and is sensitive to, that is, damaged by light. Hence, the prints are not on display or only very infrequently or under low light conditions.  Whereas the oil painting is more robust and can be readily seen and admired and lead you to learn about and appreciate Japanese prints.  

                                                         Bonus

         Consult this reference for more.   Wonderful explanations plus Van Gogh quotes can be found as follows:  do a Google search for Van Gogh and Hiroshige Byron's muse.  Choose the image with that caption then press visit.