Comparative Analysis of Art Pieces - Book Report/Review Example

A Comparative Analysis of Meditation on Tom Thomson by Robert Kroetsch and Pine Trees, Georgian Bay by Arthur Lismer Everything on earth shows certain degrees of uniqueness, for no two things are exactly the same. On the other hand, how ever different two things may be from each other, there will always be something in common between the two because there are certain conditions that are common to these two things. This brings us to two works of Canadian artists, one a poem and the other a painting. They have impressive similarities in terms of theme, setting, atmosphere, and general impression conveyed. In this essay, each of the art pieces will be analyzed individually. Then there will be a comparison towards the end of this article. Meditation on Tom Thomson by Robert Kroetsch and Pine Trees, Georgian Bay by Arthur Lismer show several similarities even if they are created by different persons of different milieu, background and inclinations. Meditation on Tom Thomson by Robert Kroetsch Robert Kroetsch is a writer, an editor and a teacher who was born at Heisler, Atlanta on 26 June 1927. He taught at State University of New York, Binghamton until the late 1970s. His novels are set mostly in Alberta which has been critically noticed by the readers and critics. According to reviews, "Kroetsch is a synthesizer of new literary theory." He is therefore a creator and a critic, one attribute that really proves his genius. My first impression about Meditation on Tom Thomson is uneasiness for it gave me an uncomfortable feeling that a person would address a dead person in that manner, a manner which seems so irreverent and sarcastic. Actually, this is the first time that I have been exposed to this kind of poetry. The language is not euphemistic as I often experience with poems. In my limited experience, I thought poetry should always make use of formal and figurative language that even negative themes would still be portrayed "beautifully." Theme The poem speaks of death of a friend. It illustrates the manner Tom Thomson died alone and in an unknown time and reason of drowning, "the way you drowned all alone/with your canoe and our not even knowing/the time of day and the grave mystery/of your genius interrupted." The persona grieves for the death of his/her friend so this poem is some sort of an elegy but with a different style. The persona appears so brutal in the way he/she swears and says "I love the way you drowned." There is a doubt if the persona envies the dead person in saying "damn your jack pines they are beautiful/I love your bent trees and I love your ice/ In spring candled into its green rot/damn your jack pines they are beautiful" because these might have been used ironically to show the frustration and disgust the persona feels for the unexpected and unexplained death of his/her friend. Setting As explained in the biography of Robert Kroetsch, he usually set his novels in Alberta. This poem may also be set in the same place. The dominant images are the pine trees with ice in spring as well as the lake with canoe in it and a man drowning. Atmosphere The dominant feeling is more of anger than grief. The persona uses the word "love" but it is not meant in the usual friendly and positive way. It is more of the opposite which is hate or abhor. The images also show a grim picture for instance the description of the pine tree is "bent" in contrast to its usual straight trunk pointing upwards. "Candled into its green rot" also depicts a bleak scene and "ice in spring" seems inappropriate for spring is a sign of rebirth and ice is more appropriate with winter which is analogous to death. General Impression Conveyed The eventual effect of the poem on me is that of a grim reaction at the realities of life. This is an angry expression, an angry poem to that effect of an angry persona. Based on personal experience, anger seems to be a natural twin of grief. There is a need to throw blame at someone or something for the cause of the death of the loved one. The words "free daddy, FREE FREE FREE" in capital letters are only indications of hopelessness and helplessness amidst the dreadful hands of mysterious death or accident. Pine Trees, Georgian Bay by Arthur Lismer Arthur Lismer is a painter and an educator who was born at Sheffield, England on 27 June 1885 and died at Montral on 23 March 1969. Lismer studied at Sheffield School of Art in 1899-1906 and at the Acadmie royale des beaux-arts, Antwerp in 1906-07. Although he was heavily influenced by John Constable, he later "developed a powerful expressionist style" that marked his individuality and unique position in the field of visual arts. His paintings were different from his contemporaries but they were accepted because "they seem to have developed from a form of deep, personal expressionism." Indeed looking at his work draws me to it in such a different way. There is some affinity in the mood it evokes, one that brings uneasiness in my inner self. It is attractive in its own foreboding way. The intense feeling is really oozing from the lines, color and shades used to portray the pine trees. Theme The whole picture depicted by the painting is gloom and hopelessness. The clouds and darkening surroundings spell of despair and even impending death. There is an air of mourning for something lost or about to be destroyed. The color, clarity and intensity of the strokes of the brush give an effect of strong negative feelings, the most probable of which is the opposite of hope. Setting As the title of the painting reveals, the setting is somewhere in the Georgian Bay. There are only two trees although its title, Pine Trees, suggests plurality that is more than just two. The cloudy sky is the background of the trees and only a small portion of the ground at a distance is shown. This reveals that the point of view of the viewer is on the ground looking upwards. The twisted branches and trunks are emphasized. The dark and intense shade of the color shows an unhappy atmosphere. Atmosphere As mentioned above, the choice of colors implies a negative mood, one of gloom and mystery. The twisted branches and trunk, as well as the leafless parts are unpromising suggesting drought and decay. This painting provokes an atmosphere of hopelessness and despair. General Impression conveyed The painting is attractive not because it is colorful and bright but because of its foreboding effect on the viewer. The bare and twisted branches suggest old age, sickness and death. The dark clouds behind it do not promise a fair weather but some sort of a storm. This storm would eventually contribute to the final demise of the pine trees. The painting has an eerie effect on me. Given a chance of owning it, I would keep it not because of the message it conveys but because of its value and the genius of the artist who created it. The Similarities of the Two Objects of Art The Meditation on Tom Thomson by Robert Kroetsch and the Pine Trees, Georgian Bay by Arthur Lismer are so much alike in several ways despite their difference in genre and in authorship. Theme Both works of art speaks of a negative life experience. The poem speaks of an untimely and mysterious death of a friend. Though the persona grieves for his/her friend, he/she does not express it in the usual expected way of simply crying and passively accepting the reality of death. He does it with anger and powerful outburst of intense emotions as shown in the choice of words such as the swearing and the use of irony and sarcasm. In the same way, the whole picture depicted by the painting is gloom and hopelessness. This is shown in the clouds and darkening surroundings that spell of despair and even impending death. There is also an air of mourning for something that is lost or about to be destroyed. Moreover, the color, clarity and intensity of the strokes of the brush give an effect of strong negative feelings, the most probable of which is the despair. The images in the painting are not really "beautiful." Similar to my expectation of a painting to be positive, the distorted, twisted and drying pine trees with its bleak background evokes a negative effect on me. I am drawn to it not because it is my idea of beauty but because it awakens in me a sad feeling of some past experience, one of hurt and loss. Setting Maybe since both artists are Canadian in origin, they came to have similar affinity to their native land. The settings are both speaking of Canada and its natural environment of natural resources and vast isolated territories. Not to mention the many unexplained deaths and missing persons in it s history. Interestingly, both works of art refer to pine trees. This is the dominant image that shows the similarity of experience of both artists. In addition to the pine trees is the body of water. In the poem it is a lake while in the painting it is the Georgian Bay. The poem speaks of storm and this is also shown in the painting through the dark clouds and dark background of the pine trees. There is also the mention of twisted and broken joints. It seems that the two artists were at the same place when they created their works of art. Atmosphere The atmosphere in both art pieces is negative. It is associated with death, hopelessness, anger and grief. There is a sad note in the air as the images are presented in the dark, bleak and twisted forms. There is also a foreboding essence of unsolved mystery. Death can be so cruel and the cause of death more cruel. Tom Thomson in the poem died of drowning in the lake in the midst of a possible storm. The painting seems to predict a gloomy effect of a bad weather as shown in the dark clouds and bare twisted branches of the pine trees. There is even no touch of hope at the end of the poem and in the painting for the poem does not even hint at the revelation of the mysterious death nor any ray of light to signify a positive happening after the storm in the painting. General Impression conveyed As a reader, the poem leads me to the heart of the persona. He/she feels helpless and hopeless, and at the same time he/she is frustrated that he/she is unable to help his/her friend in the deepest trial of his life - death. The painting also has the same negative feeling of drought, sickness and pain in the way the trees are depicted - they are old, dry, twisted and unproductive. It appears that these trees will have to go their final state of demise too. Conclusion Human experience is universal. Finally, this is the realization I have experienced after analyzing these two pieces of art. There is no other reason why these two artists of different milieu, background and inclinations. The products of their experience, feelings and training have brought in them a reproduction of this universal thing. Both works depict life especially at its lowest. Loss of life or the foreboding message of a coming destruction is expressed in both the poem and the painting. It is amazing how these similarities can be produced differently. Works Cited Barbour, Douglas. "Robert Kroetsch." The Canadian Encyclopedia. (05 December 2009). Lismer, Arthur. Pine Trees, Georgian Bay, 1931. Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of H. Mortimer Lamb VAG 41.4. Kroetsch, Robert. Meditation on Tom Thomson. "Time, Space and Place Le temps, l'espace et le lieu." International Journal of Canadian Studies Revue internationale d'tudes canadiennes 15, Spring / Printemps 1997. Varley, Christopher. "Arthur Lismer." The Canadian Encyclopedia. (05 December 2009) . Read More