Analysis of Visual Culture - Essay Example

?Visual Culture Introduction Visual culture is an in-depth analysis of how different visual products are used to express culture ad defined by different beliefs, values interaction patterns that differentiate between social groups. This study utilizes the close links between culture and art which amplifies events that artist experience within their culture. Art and literature have been quoted as a reflection of culture (Mirzeoff 2002, p. 10-180). Visual art is basically art forms that create creative products which are mainly visual in nature such as drawings, paintings, ceramics, sculptures, photography, videos and films. Just like in any other artistic work visual products tell a story from the perspective of its creator and interpreted by its user. Illustrations are a group of visual art that includes drawings, paintings and photographs. This essay describes how drawing and paintings are used to define gender, gender roles, social events and economic differences among different cultures. To do this specific cited art works have been analyzed in relation to time of production and social economic environment within that time. Visual art: paintings and drawings Art causes people to look closer at social issues, other people, their emotions, the environment and life forms around us. It brings out issues that are usually ignored or are not easily perceived through highlighting the impressions that such issues communicate (Mirzeoff 2002, p. 10-180). Through illustrations such as pictures, drawings and paintings artist provide their audience opportunities to change their thinking perspective and appreciation of messages behind the art. Close analysis of drawings and pictures one is able to understand the artist’s self expression through their visual product. Audience find ways to draw encouragement, purpose and excitement about the things expressed. Simple statements presented through visual material such beauty of landscape, unique culture, political environment, social events and others help the artist to communicate an idea, emotion or purpose in their work. It remains clear that culture influence art and hence visual products may be understood through the perspective of the culture that inspired them. Different cultures have a different view on social, political, economic activities and the role of different sections of their populations. While some sections allow for liberal thinking and free self exploration, others are conservative remaining rigid to structural changes that limit level of adjustment and self expressions. As a result, some art may not be appeasing to the rest of the world but to the culture that inspired them they may be the most beautiful visual products. Gender roles and socialization patterns can be analyzed through close comparison of inspiring factors of different eras and environmental factors. There is a great difference between drawings and photographs done earlier and those done within the era of modern art which stretches from 19th century to date. In the modern era artist are inspired by style, color and medium prompting experimenting more with these factors. Paintings done prior to this period were mainly done on wood or canvas. Philosophies that define modern economy and politics have been linked to modern art such as capitalism, self consciousness, and perspective. For instance paintings by Jack Ventrriano depict culture of Scottish people especially revolving social event which are emphasized in Scotland. In his painting The Singing Butlers which became Britain’s best selling image in 1992, depicts a scene where a Scottish pair had escaped from a party and is dancing out on the beach sand while their servants keep guard. With the sky foggy the servants are shielded under umbrella. The oil on canvas painting demonstrates the artist view of how beautiful life is, and dancing is a way for interpersonal connections. Further the painting indicates diligent and committed servants at the service of their bosses’ event in the stormy weather. This painting has been reported to inspire positive energy from its audience who come from a wide array of social set up: soldiers at war in Iraq, grieving families, people who have lost their friends. This indicates how paintings inspire emotions in the user to fit within their context. The bright reflection of natural light on the beach sand gives a clear view of the lady’s bear feet and her care free attitude. The Big Tease is oil on canvas painting done by Ventrriano that depict the position of women in society. In the painting of a couple, the man sits on higher positions than the lady who looks back at him as if asking a question. Interaction between men and women has attracted a lot of attention from artist since this is mainly defined by culture. This visual product demonstrates the changing position of women in society during the 21 century (Edelman 2000, p.15-200). Al though men continue to dominate social conversations women is empowered and question issues that they do not comply with. Presence of five lighting bulbs in the painting indicate changing scene that accompanied the 21st century activism for gender inclusiveness and feminist empowerment. Contrary to previous art work where women were mainly represented in darker shades and dull lighting. There was shift form traditional view on natural male supremacy to the idea that sexes are equal but different. Traditionally women were depicted as weak intellectually and physically always subordinate to males who view her with superficial expectations of unduly wise for self renunciation and not self development (Mirzeoff 2002, p. 10-180). Feminist activism of the 20th – 21th century to date has seen women take up roles on decision making in relationships and also in public service such as politics. The lady in a bright colored dress with red poker dots, sleeveless and hair combed to one side revealing her bright face is a symbol of fashion. Women in this era embrace feminism in all aspects which was reflected by greater self confidences. Contrary to Venttrino’s painting Andrew Geddes work between 1784- 1844 depict women who are socially alienated by a conservative society. They dress in conservatively in attires that cover their body. In the Mrs Greatorex painting done in 1840, the lady is seated in the dark background converging her head to toes. Her eyes look straight ahead with a show of discontent with her current condition. Her attire reveals that she belongs to the affluent social class, but this does not satisfy her ambitions as indicated by her distracted look. This mode of dressing is inspired by dominant fashion win Great Britain during that period. Conservatively large dresses with narrow waistline were the dominant trend among women in this era. Similarly in the painting of The Artist Mother, 1822 the woman is withdrawn to herself with a hood covering her head and hanging towards her face. Despite being a mother to an artist she looks remorseful and languishing in poverty. This could be interpreted to illustrate economic disempowerment of women in the society during this period. Geddes applies variation in light intensity to indicate emotions and time. The fact that most of his paintings have generally darker background has been interpreted as a reflection of the artist personal life. Despite his achievements and recognition he could have been struggling with personal problems which registered as a dark background in his subconscious. Gender socialization is an essential aspect of human society hence dominant topic among artist (Mirzeoff 2002, p. 10-180). Art is inspired by events in the immediate community and detailed analysis of paintings across generations yield information on dynamisms of gender with changing economic and political topography. Human personality traits are nurtured from a tender age evolving over time into defined characteristics in adulthood. The fears and excitements in a young girl are explicitly depicted in the Norman Rockwell’s 1952 painting titled A day in The life of a Girl which consist of 22 different illustrations with each vignette indicating events from the start of the day to the evening when the girl goes to bed. Variation in quality of lighting is utilized to represent change in time of the day; the moonlight is cool than the bright light of a bedside lamp. This illustration could be analyzed to indicate socialization patterns in male-female interaction in the 1950s which included constant tussles for supremacy (Edelman 2000, p.15-200). The female gender was socialized to do similar things as males as indicated by the involvement of a boy and girl in swimming, bike riding and at the party scene. Women are sentimental and keep the memory of their daily events in journals (Mirzeoff, 2002 p. 10-180). The girl says a prayer before retiring to bed. Religion is an essential part of culture and children are socialized to believe in existence of supernatural authority to who controls the universe (Thornton 2008, p 5-188). Male aggressiveness is illustrated in A day in the life of a boy painting done by the same artist. The boy in the picture plays baseball, and the facial expression indicates focus, determination and energy. A striking difference between art work done by men and that done by women is the way in which gender roles are clearly depicted. Drawings and paintings by men dominantly have women either absent, in the back ground, in within a darker backdrop or performing subordinate roles such as serving meals or listening or being sentimental. Male illustrators were intrinsically aware of socialization patterns within the society. On the other side, visual art by a female artist does not sexualize the feminine body rather indicating pride and acceptance of their body form. Nurturing nature of women is explicitly illustrated by art work by fellow women. For instance, Mary Cassatt did a series of paintings with the title Mother and Child which give an insight into the strong emotional and psychological bond between a mother and their children (Mirzeoff 2002, p. 10-180). Having lived during an era where mother were delegating their maternal roles to servants and adult self-consciousness dominating over the existence of children Cassatt sort to stand out from the crowd. Detailed analysis of her art work gives preference to the child with striking clear appearance of the faces of children in all her paintings. The mother is present, but their faces are not shown allowing for more attention to the child and mothers as nurturing with humility. There have been on going debate on ‘ why there have never been great female artist?’ with several theories being flaunted to explain why women have not accorded equitable recognition in the field of art as in any other professional fields. Male dominance has been attributed to cultural and social structures that allocated men more preference to women. Men artists attracted more admiration on the basis of their outstanding work and also due to their status and eccentric ways (Mirzeoff 2002, p. 10-180). Women relegated their dreams and ambitions to take up the role of being a wife and mothers hence ending up living under the shadow of their male counterparts. There are not as many female impressionist as male hence work done by women failed to gain exhibitions in public Political events are also reflected in visual art products. For instance Norman Rockwell art work was an influence by political debate of his era which sort to establish social justice by bridging social inequality in the American society (Edelman 2000, p.15-200). Events that occurred during and after the world wars led to increased global exposure with societies demanding social freedoms. Although these freedoms were covered in the Bill of Rights in the US Supreme law in the form of Ten Amendments to the U.S constitutions. Some sections of the society felt segregated from these constitutional rights (Edelman, 2000, p.15-200). African Americans, immigrants and women of all ethnicity were segregated receiving discriminative recognitions by the society. This inspired Rockwell work on the famous for freedom paintings: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom of want and freedom from fear. These artistic pieces depict the movement to allow for individual preferences and diversity within modern society. In the freedom of speech and freedom of worship, the dominant character possess striking difference from the rest of the crowd, through attracting attention due to their rebellion against conformity (Edelman 2000, p.15-200). Owing to the fact that these pieces contained a message shared across US and globally they became the most widely distributed work by this recognized illustrator. Rockwell is quoted as to having defended his work from critic by the phrase ‘I paint life the way I would want it to be’ (Edelman 2000, p.15-200). This further confirms that through influence by the social environment; illustrators just as other artist apply their skills and talent to produce artistic statements that are self expressions. They are individuals who creatively express their identity which is constructed along their personality, ethnicity, life stage, religion, class and politics (Mirzeoff, 2002, p. 10-180). Social events form the pivot on which interpersonal interactions take place. Family parties, dinners, dance events are some examples of social events that dominate artistic illustrations. Family interactions are depicted as the central social interaction with the basic unit as the pillar of social coherence (Thornton, 2008, p 5-188). Economic class is clearly depicted through dress modes of characters and decentralization of characters that are not centre of attention on the illustration. For instance in Venttriano, The Singing Butlers, servants are illustrated having characteristic uniforms and holding items for their masters. The dancing couple is elegantly dressed to signify their class status with the lady dressed in an deep red evening dress and opera long hand gloves though not wearing shoes, the gentleman is in an elegant suit which is different from one downed by the butler. Fashion trends are characteristic to social changes. In pre-activism era conservative trends in long dresses, dull colors, hats, suits for men were dominant attires (Mirzeoff, 2002, p. 10-180). During and after the activism era usually during and after the WW II fashion trends shift to embrace liberal acceptance of out spoken women who are more confident. Short sleeved, hemlines and less formal dressing for men are evident. There is notable reduction in use of women are elements of entertainment through visual pieces containing naked women as was the case earlier. Changing face of economic activities may also be comprehended through a close study of pictures, drawings and paintings through various economic eras. Recent illustrations contain elements of capitalism characterized by busy urban centers, widespread industrialization and development. This is contrary to past items where farming and rural activities were adopted by visual artists. Farm animals, vast agricultural land, piles of hay were dominant economic activities in art work prior and during the 19th century (Edelman, 2000, p.15-200). These items have been replaced by concrete buildings, populated streets and shopping malls in post world war visual art. Globalization phenomenon has resulted in increased immigration to urban centers in pursuit of a better life and a general shift from agriculture (Mirzeoff, 2002, p. 10-180). A similar shift is depicted in art, for instance recent illustration by contemporary artist Stephen Wiltshire has earned recognition for his drawings on major cities around the world usually based from his panoramic memory. These drawings illustrated striking development in major urban centers characterized by unique landmark buildings and busy streets. His latest drawing of New York City on 76 meters canvas was based on a single 20 minute helicopter rides over the city. Emotional attachment with the city contributed to his explicit illustration of buildings and other elements in the drawing. New York, Tokyo, London are economic centers of their respective regions and this pieces of art indicate how economic events influence content in art. How explicit details are added depends on the artist self expression of their interest and preferences during their work. However, interpretation remains opens to user’s interest and points of emphasis. Artist emotional conditions or their past experiences influence how they translate ideas into final artistic products. Environmental effects such as wind, storm, sunlight, storms have been widely represented in illustrations. This is an indication of appreciating nature and its contribution to inspiring events that the artist draws their motivation (Mirzeoff, 2002, p. 10-180). Lighting variation for stormy weather, bright reflection for natural lighting communicate more than the weather element in art rather indicating the mood of the artist as they worked on the piece (Mirzeoff, 2002, p. 10-180). Happiness and excitement are illustrated through bright light, serenity by calm weather while emotional turbulence through stormy weather. Sand beaches and calm parks indicate relaxation while forest and expansive lands indicate roaming thoughts. Art users attach meaning depending on their personal experiences. Conversely culture is inspired by art pieces by virtue of being a form of media. Public display of painting and drawings communicates artist’s intentions. For instance, the display of Rockwell paintings of Four Freedoms in public institutions such as schools, postal, law courts provided a platform to communicate the basic human rights and emphasis their accessibility to all. US army marshaled its resources’ to go into war on a redefined objective of making these freedoms achieved for its population (Edelman, 2000, p.15-200). Similar effect on culture was through Vettriano most sold painting which elicited emotional consolations soldiers at war and families that had lost close members or friends (Edelman, 2000, p.15-200). Social interaction receives wider attention from all media including illustrations being based on male- female socialization. This interaction was greatly influenced by art especially through the depiction of gender differences and aggravation for inclusiveness and social justice. Publication of art products led to the growing acceptance of art as a profession (Edelman, 2000, p.15-200). Conclusion Art derives its inspiration from the environment which is uniquely defined by culture, social interactions, religion, economic class and political philosophies. Detailed analysis of visual products provides the audience with the flow of social dynamism through time and art as the factor that narrates that story. Interpretation of art products and appreciation of its intellectual value is influence by personal characteristics of the user hence varied meaning attached depending on the perception of the audience. Paintings and drawings are main categories of artistic illustrations that utilize visual communication of simple statements that have greater implication to both the artist and audience. Visual art attracts more attention than any other form of art due to its minimalistic idea representation that establishes a conversation with the audience. References Mirzeoff Nicholas, 2002. Visual Culture Reader. Routledge Thornton, S, 2008. Seven Days in The Art World. Norton and Company Edelman, M, 2000. From Art To Politics: How Artistic Creation Shape Political Conception. University of Chicago Press Appendixes The Dancing Butlers http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llaspvD7JN1qbbmero1_1280.jpg The Big Tease http://www.ebuypainting.com/images/photo/large/V7/V7-0148.jpg Mrs. Greatex http://www.tate.org.uk/art/images/work/N/N05/N05068_9.jpg A day in the life of a girl http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/wp-content/uploads/satevepost/saturday-evening-post-cover-1952_08_30.jpg Read More