Amy Kollar Anderson painting - Essay Example

Amy Kollar Anderson - Contained When I first saw this painting, I thought that the point of this work was to show a young girl who was restricted in her movements. The placement of the trees above the girl’s head shows this limitation quite clearly because it appears as though she is trapped. Also, the look on the girl’s face is one of fear and sadness at not being free to express her feelings. If the work was moved into a different setting, such as a lake or mountain top, then it would change the tone of the picture completely. Amy Kollar Anderson is trying to get the viewer to feel sympathy for the little girl, and this is only possible by placing her in a treacherous and restrictive environment. The artwork was made to show how people can feel sometimes when they are not particularly in a good place. This can be especially true for young girls, and the artist is trying to show the attitudes and feelings that are displayed when this occurs. Because of the position that the little girl is in, it is difficult to see whether she is sitting or squatting. If she is sitting, then this would suggest that she is comfortable where she is. However, if she is squatting, then maybe she really does not want to be there and if only staying because she is being kept against her will. The girl that the painting was based on is the little sister of one of the artist’s friends. This helps to bring out more emotion because the artists previously knew the subject of the artwork. When an artist has to work with an individual who they have not built up a friendship with, it can be difficult to display emotions and feelings in the picture. The colors that Amy Kollar Anderson has chosen are interesting because they are mostly red and green. This gives the setting a dark feeling and makes the viewer think that something else is going on in the painting. There seems to be too many leaves on the tree, but perhaps the artists deliberately did this because she wanted to enclose the space above the little girl. The small pieces of the sky that are shown are swirly and made up of colors that do not usually belong with the sky. The designs in the sky appear to be in the form of snakes, and this shape can also be witnessed in the leaves of the tree and also at the base of tree. Maybe the author did not intend to give the viewer a feeling that snakes were hanging from the tree, but that is the first impression that I got from looking at this picture. Moreover, the ground appears to either be made up of rocks or very large snakes. This also spells danger for the girl in the picture, and maybe this is why she has a worried look on her face. I found it interesting that the artist chose not to include any grass in the painting. Grass can be considered as a symbol of peace, and the artist is not trying to convey that message through this painting. I think that the reason why the artist made the little girl’s environment so harsh is so that the viewer would feel sympathy for her. If she had been in a nice pleasant environment, then it would have been hard to understand about her present situation. In fact, the setting of this picture is more important that the person actually included in the painting. This is because the body language of a person can be interpreted differently by many people, yet most people can understand the setting of the picture. The setting for this picture is very detailed, but it has to be because it helps bring out the emotions and feelings of the little girl. After looking over the picture several times, and conducted some research such as interviews from the artist herself, I found it interesting that my thinking was similar to hers in many respects. The whole idea of the girl being trapped is something that is easy to see. One area where I thought close to what the artist was thinking had to do with the objects located on the ground. The author stated that she wanted to use a ring of rocks around the base of the tree to signify that the girl was trapped and could not move. I think that the artist conveyed this idea well because I too was able to pick up on this small fact. This painting was made during 2007, which is an interesting year because there were not a lot of traumatic events that occurred that year even though the little girl is portraying fear. Maybe the artist did not want to link the painting to any worldly event and instead wanted to focus on an area of the girl’s life. It could be that something terrible has happened to her such as she has been beaten or maybe her parents have broken up. The innocence displayed on the child’s face, and also the surroundings that she is in, shows that all is not well with her. The interpretation of this piece of artwork does depend on the person who is viewing it. Someone who does not understand how the little girl is feeling will struggle to understand why she is feeling sad. For myself, I can sympathize with her because I have felt “trapped” on many occasions. This shows the quality of this artwork because it can give different interpretations depending on who is viewing it. Paintings that are simple and give the same feeling to everyone who sees it are not great works of art because it exposes the limitations of the artist. The reason why I chose this work of art is because it fascinated me from the moment that I first saw it. There is something about the young girl that is enchanting yet also brings about feelings of sadness too. Read More