Contemporary artists who work with landscape and a range of viewpoints

Tacita Dean has had landmark exhibitions in London including the National gallery, National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Academy. 

'The Roaring Forties - Seven Board in See Days' 1997 is one of several chalkboard series that evoke black and white cinema, a series of storyboards. 'The Roaring Forties' is the name given to a zone in the Atlantic Ocean renowned for its gale force winds. 

In the ghostly chalk boards I see struggle and weather, might and fight against the winds and the sea. A large ship battles against the elements and the sea rages around it. The sky is vast. There is such a lonely, eerie, isolating feel to the drawings. 



Georges Seurat 'Landscape with Houses' 1881-1882

 Seurat is highly thought of as one of the most important Post-Impressionist painters, however he did deviate from this journey, from the spontaneity and speed of impressionism to a more structured art form depicting modern urban life. 


Similarities between Tacita Dean and Georges Seurat: 

In order to compare these two artists, I will only observe Seurat's drawings for this study. His paintings of landscapes are so calm and full of colour, it seems to difficult to pinpoint similarities, however with this drawings, I find this possible. 

Both artist with with line and precision. Each element of the drawings is clear and distinctive. 

Both artists have created a strong mood and atmosphere within the drawings. Seurat's houses have the same eerie and lonely feeling of Dean's drawings in 'The Roaring Forties' and 'Fatigues'. Both artists place you at the scene as a viewer looking into a believable and familiar scene but with a sense of. 

 Both artists in their drawings work in black and white, avoiding colour. 

 Differences: 

 Dean works in white line on a black surface. Seurat works in a dark line on a lighter surface. Dean's work is two tonal, black or white wheres Seurat's drawings vary in shade and tone, there are warmer areas to his drawings. 

 Seurat's drawing seem to contain more texture and and marks, there are spontaneous longer strokes in the sky above the houses in no set direction. Dean's lines are precise, long white lines that join. 

 Seurat covers more of his page with marks and textures. Dean leaves vast amounts of black space. 

 Seurat's houses are still with a sense of calm. Dean's drawing contain so much movement and energy, particularly in 'The Roaring Forties', so much power and might. 

 Seurat's houses are a picture of urban life, a captured moment whereas Dean's storyboard chalkboards are more poetic, leaving open ending, and endless thought. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Research Point - The still life genre  To approach such a huge area of research, I have decided to study a painting from each century and note down my observations on medium, style, application and the mood of each piece.  Pieter Aertsen 'A meat stall' 1551. Oil on canvas:  This painting offers a scene of abundance. A stall full of meat, of food. Outside of the doorway I can see many people going about their business, picking up supplies. In the immediate scene I can see fish and sausages, birds and ham and of course the most striking element, the head in the centre.  The oils are used here with such precision and skill. The colour is exact, so truthful. The scene has been depicted exactly as it would be caught on a camera in this modern age. There is no room here for an untruth. It is a photograph of the stall. A stark reality.  The shadows have been painted in so accurately on the white cloth just right of the head. In shade a pale grey. ...
Read more
Image
Research point:  Landscape artists from different eras Claude Lorrain 1604/05-1682 Claude Lorrain, born Gellee in 1604/05 is one of the earliest know landscape artists.  Rome was his interest and inspiration and where he spent a large amount of his life. Lorrain would sketch the Roman countryside with fellow artist Nicolas Poussin. These sketches would the be developed into oil paintings.  Lorrain was influenced by Northern painters, Elsheimer and Domenichino .  Lorrain's earliest dated canvas is 1629 with 'The storm' from 1630. 'The storm is a drawing/painting of an unknown location. Pen and brown wash are used on blue paper to depict a seascape. Figures on the beach are pulling hard to bring the ship to shore in the foreground. A ship floats wildly amongst the waves of the sea in the middle ground and in the background, I see the cliffs. Is it a real scene or is it fictional? There is such energy in this piece, I can see the great effort ...
Read more
Image
RESEARCH POINT  Odilon Redon Here, I also found the pencil sketches of the trees to help with my study.  'Two Trees'  The dark bellows through the trees from behind, like there being an expanse of dark behind them. You can see the dark to the side of the trees too. The tone is bold and the darkest marks.  The light hits the trees further up. I think the light comes from the right hand side. There are dark marks that show the round shape of the trunks. The straight lines of the trunks appear delicate and look as if they move downwards, perhaps downward strokes of the brush and pencil.   The light especially hits the branch on the right side, this branch to my eye is the lightest part of the piece.  Redon also includes bobble like marks on the tree trunks to depict texture. Things marks appear round in shape and move upwards around the tree, again enhancing the appearance of their shape.  'Portrait of Madam Redon Embroid...
Read more