Fine Art Painting and Interior Spatial Design - Coursework Example

Interior Design – Painting By Location of the The world today is becoming dynamic and complex, so has the design industry. People continuously demand for both qualitative and quantitative progress in their projects. As a result, designers have to scale up their skill, and stretch their creative prowess to the limit. A good example of modern day dynamism is the architectural milestones achieved in the Abu Dhabi construction industry. Notable projects include; the Viceroy Hotel, the Capital Gate Building, and the Ferrari World Abu Dhabi. Such monumental constructions require hyperactive design activities to make them pleasant and appealing. However, big-money projects are not the only ones that require magnificent artwork. Even small projects require input of good artwork. Economic activities such as tourism further increase the need for uniqueness, newness and originality. Therefore, designing must meet these needs in order to be complete. This paper is a discussion on fine art painting and interior spatial design. In the paper, I delve into finding out the essentials of interior design, and how it has evolved over the years. I seek to establish the design practices that have dominated the industry, as well as figure out ways that I can contribute to the industry to make a positive impact. Fine Art Painting and Interior Spatial Design Introduction I have always had interest in fine art painting and interior design because of two main reasons. First, they embrace beauty. The key objective of fine art painting is to enhance beauty of any piece of work. Secondly, they incorporate elements of secrecy and mystery. This makes any work of fine painting open to millions of interpretations. According to McCullough (2010, pp. 24), Roger Ulrich considers abstract art as ‘ambiguous and open to interpretation.’ Even so, my interest in interior spatial design has to do with the fact that I enjoy creating ‘beauty’ in given spaces. Beauty makes the environment more conducive, and people tend to work better in such an environment. Due to the ever-increasing world population, demand for places where people can relax and have a time on their own has similarly increased. Generational change has also led to continuous shift in tastes. Spatial design comes in handy to sort these problems. For these reasons, this essay seeks to research and discuss the relationship between abstract painting and interior spatial design. Furthermore, the essay will include empirical studies of various artists and professionals in the field of fine arts and design. Discussion Having the expertise in painting and spatial design bestows me with the ability to contribute to the society. One major contribution that delights me is helping people make their homes attractive. Art should be beneficial to all people as one of its major objectives is to provide happiness and satisfaction to humanity. Anything humans deem significant in their lives has to have some aesthetic value. Beauty makes humans love something more, most of the time unknowingly. Interior spatial design is quite an expansive field. Foremost, interior design requires drawing building plans that recognize the significance of adequate interior spaces as well as easy to understand rooming. It is ironical how one can visit a building for the first time, but yet still access its wash room with lots of ease without asking for any assistance. Such is the work of proper interior design. Architects need differentiate various sections of houses in terms of the significance attached to them. As a result, they are able translate that significance to space. Depending on overall space available, architects work out a formula on how to award space appropriately to each section of a building. Apart from providing rooms with adequate spacing, architects need to ensure that the insides of buildings are adequately lighted. Most people, especially in residential areas, prefer natural lighting to artificial lighting. Therefore, it is critical that architects draw plans that are landscape-friendly, which enable natural light penetration into all of the interiors. Distance of an interior from a light source for example, should dictate an architect’s choice on the size and number of windows. A large room will require more windows to adequately illuminate it, while a small room will require fewer windows to illuminate it. Various lighting demands require specific types of painting. In situations where ample light is required, for example lecture halls, bright colors are preferred over dim colors. Where dim light is required for example movie theatres, dim colors are preferred over bright colors. Interiors are synonymous to privacy. For this reason, architects should establish plans that provide secrecy to occupants of buildings. The need for privacy makes most office dwellers to segregate certain rooms for particular purposes. One will come across an interviewing room in an administration block of a big company, or an examination room in a hospital’s service bay. Therefore, architects contemplate in advance such special requirements of privacy to come up with ideal interior plans. Here, painting serves the purpose of capping good architectural work. Special needs for such private rooms dictate type of colors painters decide to use. Another crucial aspect about interior spatial design is furnishing. A good designer should be able to sort all problems regarding furniture. Determining the type, size and amount of furniture suiting a particular room are some of the skills interior designers have endeavored to master. In addition, good interior design ensures furniture arrangement does not consume space and their color matches that of the walls. Abstract painting is an art that is too technical for lay people to understand. One not only needs to have a keen "eye", but also the intellectual and emotional capability of appreciating particular perspectives that pertain to abstract painting. In actual sense, one has to possess knowledge on different cultures, psychological perspectives of human life, an artistic mind and so forth. An important factor, when dealing with abstract painting, is the fact that not everything, which people see is factual or real. When professionals observe paintings, they not only concentrate on the strokes of the brush or paint that an artist uses in the creation of a pictures. There is more to the paintings than one could comprehend. Texture, hue and other unseen perspectives could make one relate with the emotions of the artists who comes up with a given abstract painting. Nasgaar (2008) posited that in abstract painting, the artist takes a particular idea from reality, then distorts, intensifies and generalizes it. By use of different colors, shapes and strokes, the artist brings in the spiritual, emotional and other immaterial aspects that one could not directly interpret as it appears. Essentially, traditional abstract paintings by various artists in many parts of the world were meant to please the masses due to their aesthetic nature. However, by 1900, a new form of artistic approach had begun to flourish in Europe as well as Asia. Artists started to be more dynamic and adventurous in their work, due to a more flourished way of thinking. (Nicholas 1993). During the early years of the 20th century, Russian revolutionary artists, for example Naum Gabo, left Russia for other parts of Europe such as Munich and Paris where new styles of painting were being adopted. While in Munich, Naum met a fellow Russian artist, Wassily Kandinsky, with whom they attended a cubism exhibition. Cubism was adopted as a new style of painting then. It entailed use of geometric shapes such as circles, tapered triangles, and interlocking planes in making paintings. Equally, cubism was taking root in Paris. Here, Antoine Pevsner is quickly learning this style from artists such as Alexander Archipenko. Pevsner is later joined by Naum, his brother. El Lissitzky is also another revolutionary Russian artist who traveled to Germany and Brussels to learn architecture. The period after 1919, marked a turning point in the art of Russia. At this time, most of its Artists were returning back home due to effects of World War 1. Most important though, it was the adoption of constructivism, a new artistic philosophy. This new way of art borrowed from the practices of Alexander Rodchenko. Artists such as Naum Gabo and Kazimir Malevich in their works pioneered it. Constructivism entailed use of abstract painting in mechanical mobile objects. The first exhibition of constructivism held in 1921indicated an angular style of work. Its use in interior design is evidenced in Vladimir Tatlin’s works, for example his proposal for the Monument to the Third International in 1919 (Nicholas 1993). He proposed use of internal searchlights and projection screens. Angular stationing of projection screens is still applicable to date in interior spatial design, for example in movie theatres. In 1934, Constructivism was adopted by Socialist Realism. However, the fundamentals of constructivism in abstract art continue to nourish the architectural and other design practices of today. The amazing thing is that, everyone who comes across an abstract painting tries to unveil the thoughts and figurative imagination behind these pieces of art. Unlike any other kind of art, a person who possesses a piece of an abstract painting could keep it for ages without having interpreted its meaning. Therefore, the value of such a work of art increases as time progresses in the sense that, it portrays not only its aesthetic value, but also the mysterious thought behind its conception. To me, this enigma has been the driving force towards establishing an interest and career in the field of fine arts. The simplest and "easy to read" example that I usually give is that of the value of money, in that, almost everyone understands the importance of money and its value. However, it is not the numerical connotation on the piece of paper or coin that signifies its value or strength, but on what that sheet of paper could buy. It is in the sense that users of money give it value and not the vice versa. The same concept applies to everything in the possession of humanity. Everything in the universe has value and beauty, but the "strength" of the value depends on the availability and dependency on those things. People sometimes value an abstract painting at millions of dollars in that it cannot no one could duplicate the picture. Subsequently, I know that with my interest in Interior design and abstract painting, I could be able to show my clients and the general masses at large the value of what they possess. More so, how they could make their simple or complex lives valuable. I draw my interest in abstract painting from various artists such as Gerhard Richter. Incredibly, the way Alsop works his designs is controversial in that, according to Dunn (2007), Alsop starts his designs in form of painting. It is after the painting that he figures out whether one could transform the image into a building. Better still, he has to consult the surrounding community on the designs before he could convert them into a building. It is unconventional considering that most architects give themselves higher statutes above lay people and hence consultation is out of the question. I always hold the opinion that the community should be involved in my designs in that they are the beneficiary of the product. Since I am always of the view that we as the artists should keep on "discovering" new heights in designs, I hail Alsop. He believes that modern architecture is outdated. More so, his designs get the inspiration from what the future anticipates. He is of the opinion that all the designs should be for the benefit of humanity and improvements of their lives. At some point, Alsop and Gerhard Richter hit the same note in that, some of the Alsops designs are foods of thought to the masses as they arouse Imagination. I could give almost all the credit to Vladimir Tatlin, a Russian artist who was instrumental to the unveiling of Russian constructivism. He left the then traditional pictorial artistry for more unconventional use of materials such as metal, glass and wood. Mostly, his works exhibit the diversion from the conventional use of art to other uses that are more practical. With some of his ideas, I have been able to observe that art is not a process and therefore should not be at the confines of particular materials for design. Pellizzi (2013) posited that Tatlin did not believe in the aesthetic value of art, but rather on what the works of art could express in terms of practicability. It means that his works were revolutionary in that he tried to bring them out from the drawing board into realistic and palpable works that could have been of service to humanity. What motivates me in design is that as an artist, I could gain recognition by using unconventional methods to develop works art. That is how Tatlin transformed into a respected architect and as such, his works are still influential in the current world. He revolutionized art in a way that saw the incorporation of common materials and objects that people used every day. It was an idea that was beyond the confines of traditional art. He believed that art was not about conventional or unconventional designs, but rather a way of life. When I compare Tatlins work to that of Richter, they both hold that the reality of particular abstract images should not have their basis on the “face value”. They further hold that the images should induce emotional expressions that the picture intends to portray. I have always epitomized El Lissitzky works. He was a Russian artist who used his works to exert changes in the political arena and the society as a whole. Even with the theoretical and abstraction form of his works, Lissitzky’s art was still functional in terms of addressing the issues on politics in the Soviet Union at that time. El Lissitzky always inspires me since he has a way of using unconventional ways of art to portray his strong political sentiments. Unlike other artists at the time who used their work of art for aesthetic functions. (Spencer 2004). Lissitzky saw his works as a mode of covert communication to the masses and the state. Faithful to his works, he challenged the traditional form of art by introducing the three-dimension space imagery, which he combined with architecture. To me his new approach to art was and is still motivational. Just like Tatlin, Lissizky was of the belief that art did not have to be abstract, but that it could interface with life. I concur with him in that, every work which an artist creates, should be of open and beneficial to the masses. Lissizky’s works spoke volumes to the masses. He was instrumental on development of graphic productions and even architectural designs of buildings that communicated strong sentiments towards the change of the political arena in Russia at his time. His concepts brought on the idea that architecture was not only an art of creating things for "beauty" purposes, but also as a form of communication to the masses through designing of objects. My inspiration on abstract painting and interior spatial design has its basis in Lissizkys idea that the future of art has its foundation on its ability to collaborate with other disciplines. Some of these disciplines are such as architecture, drawing, and so forth. Camillo Sitte’s ideologies influenced the architecture of between the 19th and 20th centuries greatly. His theory essentially talks about space. In his theoretical concepts, he looks much more into the quality of spaces on which designed buildings stand. Essentially this theory intends to improve utilization of space, while at the same time not compromising the quality of buildings. In early days, critiques discredited Camillo’s concept arguing that it was a way of discrediting the work of designers. Surprisingly, Camillo’s ideas hold a lot of significance in modern architecture. Therefore, I believe that space is an important aspect in design. The major objective of all artists, across all ages, has been to communicate to the society certain phenomenon that take place. Artists make their work capture their true feelings or opinions on the goings on in their society. Over the years, technology continues to improve, most notably since experiencing the first industrial revolution in 1760. Since then, art and design has embraced computer-powered technology. However, of more significance to artists, is the urge to capture the change in feelings of the people after the start of the industrial revolution. Romantic paintings depicted the earliest stages of the industrial revolution. Such pictures dominated the start of the 19th Century, and they were a reflection on the happiness of people advancing technologically. One such drawing is the ‘Salisbury Cathedral’ of 1825. Realism in art and design was another change brought about by industrial revolution. Change in technology had opposite impact on some people; hurting a few while rewarding others. Artists undertook to reflect this scenario. One common realist artist is Courbet. One of his popular paintings is that of ‘Stone Breakers’ of 1849. Towards the end of the 19th century, impressionist artists inherited the realist artists. These artists were characterized with soft brush strokes, but with lots of blending of colors. Claude Monet is one example of these artists. Lastly, the post-impressionist artists inherit the impressionist artists. These artists represent the post 1900 era. During this period, the urban theme dominated most artistic paintings. Societies had become industrialized and they were fast embracing urban life. Post-impressionist artists include Andy Warhol, and Whistler. One popular post-impressionist painting is, ‘Nocturne in Black and Gold- The Falling Rocket’ by Whistler. Conclusion Subsequently, I believe that some of the ideas in my possession shall be evolutionary in interior design. I recognize the fact that times are changing and so are the designs. What abstract paintings mean now, they will not necessarily hold same meaning in the future. As a result, I have to swim fast in the evolutionary art tide. With technology in place, it has become easier to design new and unconventional designs, whether architecturally or in craft. I cannot compare to modern art to the ancient design when everything was manual and hand created. Originality currently is wanting and that is why I have to refresh myself by reading the works of ancient artists repeatedly. I usually do this not only to get the feel of “hands-on” approach to art, but also to learn how to acquire that critical eye for originality and creativeness. It is in this respect that Mitchell (2007) postulated that paintings are one of the principal modes of preservation of the origin of art. References Dunn, N., 2007. The ecology of the architectural mode, P. Lang, Oxford. Mehring, C., Jeanne, A. N., Gerhard, R. and Jon, L. S., 2010. Gerhard Richter: early work, pp. 1951-1972. Mitchell, T., 2007, What do pictures want? The lives and loves of images. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. McCullough, S., 2010. Evidence-based design for healthcare facilities, Sigma Theta Tau International, Indianapolis. Nasgaard, R., 2008. Abstract painting in Canada, Douglas & MacIntyre Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Vancouver. Pellizzi, F., 2013. Res Anthropology and Aesthetics: Spring/Autumn 2013: Wet/Dry, Peabody Museum of Archaeology, New york. Spencer, H., 2004, Pioneers of modern typography, MIT Press, Cambridge. Webber, N. F., 1993. Dynamic Aesthetic of a Revolutionary Era. In: Art: Russian Constructivism. s.l.:s.n., pp. 162-183. Read More