NGA

I chose two examples from the National Gallery of Australia exercise; my most favourite and my least favourite works.

Artist: Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen
Title: Paris la nuit (Paris by night)
Date: 1903

This is a lithograph made by French artist Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen. It is titled Paris la nuit (Paris by night), and depicts a rather gloomy scene of the streets of Paris. What I really like about this image is its detail and shading, particularly in the shadowy man in the front. I love the detail in the face and the way the light is falling on his left side, creating interesting shadows on the other side. And although there is a lot of detail in his face, his body is dark and is almost swallowed by the ominous surroundings, this gives a sense of anonymity. The only pure white part of the image is in the mans face, giving the viewer a point of interest. Aside from this however, is a lot of action and movement in the background, which provides a more detailed and interesting scene.

image taken from: http://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail-LRG.cfm?IRN=50731&View=LRG

Artist: Jim Dine
Title: An Animal
Date: 1961

I couldn’t find an image for this artwork, but the title ‘An Animal’ basically says it all. All this artwork is, is a dark canvas (mainly blacks and browns) with an animal pelt stapled to it. At a first glance it is hard to see the pelt as it blends with the dark colours of the canvas. But once I made out the image for what it is, I couldn’t help but feel rather sickened. My extreme disgust for animal cruelty plays a large part in my distaste for this image, and although the animal was probably not harmed, it is hard to get away from that thought while viewing it. I really did not like this artwork, as to me it had appeared as if he had gathered up some road kill, skinned it and stuck it on a canvas. I also prefer artworks to have a certain degree of skill behind them, and although abstract art may contain a certain amount of ‘creative eye’ by the artist, generally I do not like this style.