Analysis of David Parks Ethiopia - Essay Example

Visual Analysis Paper Introduction The Bay Area Figurative Movement was an art movement that began in San Francisco Bay Area. This art movement was founded by visionaries such as David Park who deviated from the then current art style of Abstract Expressionism and moved towards Figurative Art Style. While initiating, abstract art was mixed with figurative style but later the artists began focusing on figurative style. The artists of figurative art style combined the elements of figurative elements with abstract painting. Thus the paintings that emerged contained figures that were hardly recognizable with their abstract imagery. This paper is an attempt to analyze one painting from this particular era, namely, Ethiopia. This painting was done by one of the founders of the movement, David Park in 1959. This painting is done on canvas with oil. It is housed in the Lowe Museum of Art and is considered as the masterpiece of that particular time period. This painting would be analyzed using other paintings of the same era in order to better understand the context of the painting and the purpose it serves. The painting is expressively compared with others of the same era in order to serve the purpose of a suitable comparison. Analysis of David Parks’ Ethiopia The title of this particular paining by David Park is shroud in mystery. The painting does not have any connection with the word Ethiopia. This is similar to some of David Park’s earlier paintings where the audience has no inkling about the context of the artwork. One such example is the work by David Park titled Four Men (Jones, 57). The most notable aspect of the painting is its combination of figurative art with abstract bold colors. The painting quite like others of the same era had a clear figure that could not be classified as an abstract object; with its distinct shape of the human figures. However, the use of bold colors done in thick slabs of paint points towards an abstract quality of the painting. This painting, in this regard, can be compared with other figurative paintings. One such particular painting is the Four Men by Park where the viewers are able to discern the four men in the painting; however the detailed facial expression are not properly viewed through the black and blue slabs of paint that Park employs to demarcate the features. The use of colors in the painting is quite similar to other paintings of David Park. It has the same use of deep and bright colors. The painter, here, has used the technique of applying various coats over the original painting. This was a technique that was a characteristic style of the era and can be observed in almost all the paintings of the era. An example of a painting where the painters employs the use of thick slabs of paints is the Cup and Saucer created in 1957 by Biebenkorn. In this painting, the artist applies paint in spontaneous strokes without paying attention to the detailing of the objects. The painter applies various coats on the cup and saucer to give off the effect of the particular era. The subjects in the painting take up almost the entire space of the painting, leaving no room for the background. These subjects have placed where closed together which is a characteristic that David Park’s painting acquired over the years. The figures are painted closely together. This comes in contrast with some of the earlier painting by Park where he painted a wide space between the figures. The subjects in the painting appear to be two men and two women. These figures are shown naked with no sense of modesty within them. The woman on the left, it seems, stands with one hand on her hair and the other left loosely about. She stares at the viewer. This gives off a feeling that the woman is confident in her nakedness. The nakedness of the figures of this particular era was not quite uncommon. This can be observed in various paintings of the same era including Loiuse (1960) by David Park. In this picture also, the female stands with a naked pose. She is not ashamed of her nakedness. This is obvious in the way that she stares at the viewers without even bending her posture or trying to hide her nakedness with her hands. Rather she keeps her hands firmly behind her back which further protrudes her posture. Even though Park has used simple lines and shapes to create the facial expressions but despite this he has managed to convey the emotions of the characters. There seems to be an expression of disbelief of the faces of all these characters. This is evident by the Park paints the characters with a gap between both lips. These lips are painted are slashes; however with the side view of the man and woman in the foreground, the expressions become more focused. The parted lips could have been Park’s way of expressing the racial background of the characters. The idea could have been to make pouting lips that are a facial characteristic of the Ethiopian people. The painter has also employed the use of painting two poses of the figures. The frontal and the side pose. The woman of the left has a frontal pose while the two men and one woman are shown with side poses. The rear pose is missing from the painting and perhaps consciously left out by the painter. Even in his figurative art, Park has been able to show the source of light in the painting. This is shown in the way that Park uses the color white in the painting. Through the use of this color, Park has managed to give off the idea that light is coming from the left side of the painting. The back of the man in the extreme left is illuminated completely while the rest of the figures have shades of light cast on them. Another aspect worth noting about the painting is that the color tone of the figures darkens from the left to the right. It is more apparent when one compares the figures on the extreme left and right. The man of the extreme left is more like a white man with a pinkish tone. The woman on the extreme left however resembles more of the people from Ethiopia; the place that shares the same name with the painting. The painting also lacks a sense of perspective. This is mainly due to the absence of a properly defined background. For the background, Park adds bold sketches of paint. This could mean anything; a blurred space. This was a feature that was quite common in the figurative art of the Bay Area. An example of such a painting is Louise by David Park. Though Park has defined the background to a little extent but the absence of a perspective is still felt. The audience can make out that the figure stands before a tree with fruits hanging on it. But the rest of the background is just thick slashes of paint that is observed in almost all of the paintings by David Park and others of the same era. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be said that the Bay Area Figurative Movement was a distinct art movement from the figurative art movement. It was so in the sense that it infused abstract expressionism of the previous era with figurative art; thus creating an art with distinctive figures done in bold sketchy colors. These figures were not as detailed as the figurative movement; yet they contained a different beauty with their beautiful colors. The painting, Ethiopia by David Park is a testimony to this. It contains the use of bold colors and represents two men and two women as subjects. This painting is quite like others produced in the same period; with its use of deep colors and undefined features of the figures. Work Cited Jones, Caroline, Bay Area Figurative Art: 1950-1965, USA: University of California Press, 1990, Print Read More