Analysis of Artworks about Family - Term Paper Example

ARTWORKS As the basic unit of society, the family reflects all the dynamics that transpire within it – the human interactions, the emergence of social, cultural, political and economic issues and how they are addressed, and so forth. This dimension has been explored by art, whose depictions, as will be seen in this collection, demonstrate the family in its various state, not necessarily in the context of development, but in the way it adapted to or dealt with issues that confront its stability and survival. For this collection, I have used images by various artists – Charles Thevenin, Andy Warhol, George Harper and Gwyneth Leech. Each of their work explored the concept of family visually including the underlying themes that they are set against. Drawing: “Oedipus and Antigone” (1715-1774) by Charles de Thevenin In the legend on the catalogue where this painting, Oedipus and Antigone, was listed, Charles Thevenin wrote: “The fugitive proscribed by his son wanders during a violent storm in an arid and savage countryside… His daughter makes a an effort to calm him.” This 18th century work in sepia was a study for a painting that was exhibited at the Salon in 1792. There are several variations to this Sophocles drama. In some paintings, Oedipus is depicted as one on the verge of madness, in some, he was so pathetic and miserable. But, always, there is the dutiful and protective figure, shielding the weakened form from the harshness of the elements. A look at the faces of the subjects and our knowledge of the history of the tableaux, enable us to see a dimension in family relationship that is characterized by gender conflict and the roles gender play in addressing the dilemma. Oedipus is being guided by her daughter after having been exiled by his son. Thevenin highlighted an important insight: as the father and son engaged in mortal conflict, the daughter remained loyal and duty-bound. The situation saw an undermined paternal authority, which rendered the family unit vulnerable. But most importantly, one sees that the intervention of the female figure to calm the dispute between the two males in the family represented the roles that women generally play in mitigating conflicts within the family. Art explored another treatment for the female form here. In other instance, women are the objects of the struggle between men. In this painting, the other pole is depicted. “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men” (1963) Silkscreen on Canvas by Andy Warhol. Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (Rauschenberg Family) is one of Andy Warhol’s collaboration with fellow Pop artist, Robert Rauschenberg. The art work is a combination of images of the Rauschenberg family and was inspired by a documentary of the same title made by James Agee and Walker Evans published earlier. The title came from a passage in Apocrypha, Ecclesiasticus which began in these phrase: “Let us now praise famous men and women, and our fathers that begat us.” In examining this work of art, it is important to underscore that it was an attempt to translate visually what Agee and James have produced in their documentary, which was the illustration of the desperate poverty in three rural American families. Even though the Rauschenberg’s family, whose pictures were used, was not destitute, they appear to be sufficiently ordinary – enough to define the phrase “poor white thrash.” Besides this literal requirement to poverty, there are more effective techniques employed to communicate its objectives. For instance, the use of sepia and the repeating images demonstrated the concept of codification within a sign system. In addition, the fading and shadow effects enabled Warhol to manipulate the imagery in the order to show the kind of loss that the original documentary deplored. Amidst this depiction, the family is shown, sharing the fate of modernity with all its exigencies. Furthermore, the immediate art-context of the use of the Rauschenberg family portrait is made the viewers uncomfortably aware of the indignities suffered by American families who had been neglected by the larger society. Image: Family of Slaves at the Gaines House (1861-1862) by George Harper Houghton. This photograph was taken by George Harper Houghton sometime between 1861 and 1862. The imagery, presented in sepia dramatized the plight of a family of slaves in American South. The montage appeared to be prearranged, with the subjects sitting in front of their quarters, probably dressed in their Sunday clothes, grimly looking at the camera. A closer examination of the photograph, however, would reveal several important information. For example, there are at least two generations of families present and perhaps living in the same house. Then, there might be the presence of an unwed mother, and there is the condition of their house – constructed by wooden planks, leaning on the brick home of their master. If a narrative would be told about the people present in the photograph, it would not be a story about how slaves are being maltreated in the plantation. The family appears to be healthy and in good condition and therefore, the presentation seemed to be veering away from the usual slavery critique. The story is being shown to us by the children. The photograph is about how it is to be born in bondage, the depiction of the outcome is on the face of the parents, old beyond their age and the tragedy of the inevitable fate, etched on the innocent and expectant faces of children, those who, unfortunately, would inherit the collars of slavery. It is, hence, easy to understand how each of the faces turn to us in resignation, perhaps with a hint of accusation: Is this all there is to life? Painting: “Family Album” (2007) by Gwyneth Leech. The microcosm of the American family seemed to materialize in Gwyneth Leech oil painting called Family Album. It was exhibited in The New York Public Library last March 2009 under the classification, Mixed-race and Alternative Family Portraits. There are three modern family issues present in the painting which reflect the trend in the modern American society. The first is the racial element. More and more American families are consisted by members who come from different ethnic groups. The portrait demonstrated this with the little Asian girl leaning on the shoulders of her brother. The benevolence evoked with this imagery tells the viewer that diversity is here and it is not entirely a bad thing, particularly when harmonious familial relationship must be taken into account. Secondly, the portrait reflects the increasing incidence of single parenthood in America. As married couples separate in increasing number, more and more families became female-headed. This has significant implications on the economic status of the families. It underscores the fact that women must bear the burden of single-handedly providing for the family – both working and tending to the household – in order for the family to get by. In addition, this also highlights the kind of support that the family and its members now require. This, now, is the third element in the portrait, which is the role that the relatives play in maintaining harmony and stability of the family today. In Family Portraits, Leech depicted the diversity of household types today and, certainly, their differing needs in order to survive. Familial support as shown by the relatives lending a hand, became suddenly necessary again. Conclusion The images used in this wall demonstrate that art is able to describe, praise, criticize and even reject elements that define families. In addition, as the images used herein depict issues that the family faced throughout the years, one sees how the unit was able to respond to the social, political, cultural and economic movements in the period and society wherein they were produced. Read More