Creative Assignment 1

Creative Assignment Final Photos

Renoir, Odalisque, 1870 (Above)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a leading Impressionist painter and one of the most famous artists of the early twentieth century. This particular work by Renoir is called Odalisque. It was made in 1870, with oil on canvas and is one of his most famous works of art. The image is a portrait of an Algerian woman, who is actually a famous French model, Lise Trehot, lounging in her boudoir. The piece has a darkly seductive mood. Unlike Renoir’s other paintings of women this painting shows a woman far from his “idealized” (French Caucasian) vision. The woman sits in a provocative pose, legs spread and eyes daring, and skin tone of a sickly nature. She portrays a dangerous yet appealing emotion to the audience. During the time period this painting did not conform to Renoir’s normal works or the French ideals of beauty.

Renoir took many trips to Algeria in his life time, and portrayed his sightseeing through his paintings. This painting shows a hint of how the French or European lifestyle was introduced to the new lifestyle of the Middle Eastern world. I also find the work interesting because it shows how the French during the time has an obsession with Orientalism of the new culture introduced to them.

What I love most about Renoir’s works is his attention to decorative arts, such as patterns, colors, and textures. He also is not afraid to paint showing the visual strokes on the canvas. As an impressionist painter, figures are often fused with the background setting .

My appropriation of Renoir’s Odalisque tries to closely follow the impressionism style. I composed the image as close as possible to the original painting by using props and the position of the model. I wanted the model’s position to be the same to keep the daring pose and portrayal of seduction. I also made it important to focus on texture and color throughout the artwork. I chose textiles that closely matched those of the Algerian props Renoir used. I also wanted to repeat colors throughout the work to create a subconscious cohesion. I think what I found most enjoyable throughout this project was taking photographs of items and making them look like other items to the viewer. For instance, a carpet textile I had photographed was used for another purpose, such as a wall. What others see in the piece, is not actually the reality. Creating the foreground and background while trying to match the lighting was an enjoyable challenge. I purposely did not make the model a different skin tone, or edit parts of her body because I wanted to enhance her inner beauty and support realistic women's beauty standards. Overall I wanted to portray the woman in my artwork overwhelmed by the textiles and colors around her, while pushing the boundaries of emotions for my viewers.

Pollock, Blue Poles, 1952

Jackson Pollock was an influential American painter and major artist in the expressionism movement. This particular work of Pollock’s is titled Blue Poles made in 1952. He was known for his unique style of drip painting. Blue Poles contains a story within its chaotic canvas. The artwork contains shoe and footprints and even glass shards which show Pollock’s vigorous working techniques. Some believe that he made the blue lines to try and unite the painting together.

Even though the painting is just splatters of paint there is some technical ideas behind it. What I find most clear is the use of a consistent color pallet limiting to around six or less colors. There is also the repeating pattern of blue lines in the foreground. These are somewhat a subject matter in the artwork.

I thought it would be an interesting and creative challenge to choose Pollock’s work as an appropriation piece for my Photography assignment. This is because there is no actual physical object or scene within the work, meaning that my creativity would have to include some type of photography aspect. When I look at Pollock’s artworks, I always try to see something hidden within them, some deep emotion, or physical imagery. I believe many of our brains try and find something within the abstract composition. For my artwork I wanted to portray this thought into my own Pollock’s artwork using photography. I wanted the aspect of a person doing a unique pose coming out or blending in with the paint artwork behind it. I thought it would also be interesting to be able to clearly see the figure from far away versus looking from close up. I was somewhat inspired by the story, The Yellow Wallpaper, where the main character hallucinates a woman within the wallpaper, which some people analysis to be her own trapped emotions.

I created a color pallet that I enjoyed and would be visually bold. I then composed the paint by using Photoshop brushes until I found a scene that was similar to the chaotic painting of Pollock’s. I created the figure to be hidden in some aspects, where only highlights and shadows are visible to the viewer. I think what I enjoyed most about this work was trying to find a way to portray Pollock’s and my own emotions through an abstract way using photography.

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Ideas for Creative Assignment 1