James Robie Art Gallery Visit Assignment - Essay Example

Gallery CSUN Art Galleries, Main Gallery 18111 Nordhoff Street Northridge, CA 91330 Gallery open from Monday to Saturday, from 12pm to 4pm and Thursday evenings until 8 Exhibition from February 12 to March 26, 2011 James Robie, artist My life as Art, 40 years of Graphic Design and Fine Art . The exhibition shows the different styles he used in his statutes. The "Conjurer" differs from the "Shrine" ,because he has used a silver type of oxidized paint to express the soul and the body. The body is strong, large and has four angles.

Perhaps, I am mixing the two up. The arms are silver in color and are half circles. He shows the head as a half circle. the body stands on a wood base of dark wood. The "Conjurer" is strong and powerful because the whole body is visible to the viewer. You really don't have to use your imagination to see the body. Why the name "the Conjurer"? He is a strong wizard. His art is old and his feats are to change the fate of those who ask. The half head shows the size of the moon. A wizard or conjurer practices his art at night.

The "Shrine" represent a couple under the umbrella of unity. It is a kind feeling as the man and wife are united into one. There is a mixture of modern as seen with the top and of native culture. It could be African or it could be from the depths of South America. The soft light wood with the oxidized green shows life which has become united in time and aged with experience. It is interesting to note that though there are angles in this statute, the majority of the statue is a solid piece of wood.

The couple is facing each other. Normally Robie uses different pieces and forms in his statutes. In the "Conjurer", he used a vibrate wide spread silver showing the magic. Perhaps this is why we see him as moving his arms We see the "Shrine" as a still peaceful moment of a couple looking out. Each of Robie's statutes show different angles of the person both physically and spiritually. Both these pieces show the diversity and talent of the artist. Angles and flowing lines are important. The different sizes of the wood bases are in proportion of the statue.

I see them and continuing with the theme. The base of "the Conjurer" is round as his head. Had it been in 90° angles, it would have shown the limitations of a Wizard. His powers are unlimited. The base of the "Shrine" is a double piece of wood in perfect 90° angles. The "Shrine" is in tribute to perfection. The gallery was nice, but it was hot. I do not like modern art because it takes so much reflecting in figuring out what the artists wanted to express. I thought Robie's statutes were an exception because of their simplistic nature and his use of other styles of art.

The viewer can see other cultures in his work. These pieces were nice because of the simplicity of the use of material. You were not over stimulated by different colors. The technique of using oxidized colors is not common. It give an old feeling to the work. Word Count: 551 References: Art Galleries, Web 21 March 2011. http://www.csun.edu James Robie, My life as Art, 40 years of Graphic Design and Fine Art. Web 21 March 2011. http://aigalosangeles.org Robie, J. The Conjurer and The Magician.

Web 21 March 2011. http://web.me.com/jamesrobie