Arts Explorer 3: Art Critique

Art word of the week: Space

The textbook describes the use of space as:  "An artist's ultimate space is determined by the size of the canvas, be it paper, cardboard, wood, or a shoebox. Within the overall space, the artist must deal with the problem of arranging elements" (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009, p143).


Other things that matter when distinguishing space are: What shapes to use, where to place them? What to leave as empty space (negative space), and where to place things (positive space).  At the AGO one piece of art that really caught my eye was because of the amazing use of positive space and negative space by the artist.




Last week we had a chance to go to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) to visit the Maharaja exhibit. It was a truly amazing trip; having the chance to see the different pieces of art and pondering on the different styles each artist used to express his inner feelings was an absolutely amazing experience. While I was looking at the different pieces of art, one piece of art really stuck out to me: Piazza D'italia by Georgio de Chirico.

The sharp and bright colors and the extremely perfect and sharp lines just caught my eyes immediately. The way things are proportioned and placed and the way everything looks so calm and quiet (except for the train in the back) gives a very calm feeling. It looks like it is around sunset and those two men are about to conclude their meeting on a very important matter. I don't know why, but everytime I look at this picture, I get an image of myself with a guy (maybe husband, friend - I'm not sure) walking on the warm sand of the beach towards the sea, enjoying the beautiful sunset. Maybe it's because of the way the artist of this painting chose to proportion things or just the sunset or the way the shadows are presented.


This painting is an oil on canvas painted around the 1950s. The artist, Georgio de Chirico, was born in Volo, Greece in the year 1888 and died in the year 1978. 


"In 1910, Chirico began to favor lonely, deserted cityscapes with a dream-like feeling, paintings which lead to the formation of Surrealism" (Taken from http://wwar.com/masters/c/chirico-giorgio_de.html). I think this is why I immediately thought of the beach scene as soon as I saw this painting; it was because that's what Chirico intended to do.



The overall theme of the works in this room was Buried Treasure - The Unconscious in European Art. 

"We must change life" was the rallying cry of a group  of young Parisian artists in the 1920s. Known as surrealists, they challenged the conservative social, religious and sexual values of the middle class. Instead of order they craved chaos. Rather than focusing on the material world, they explored the realm of dreams and the unconscious. They uncovered what lies at the core of human existence - the irrational urges to love, desire, and to destroy.

As ECE's we need to keep our minds open to the various thinking and perspectives each child brings in our classroom. What one image may seem like to one child, may be completely different to another. Depending on the background and circumstances the child has gone through or come from, influences how and what they think. For one child, the picture above may represent a lonely, deserted place; for another it may represent something completely different.

References

(2010). Giorgio De Chirico (1888- 1978) Artwork Images, Exhibitions, Reviews. Worldwide Art Resources. Retrieved February 14, 2011 from http://wwar.com/masters/c/chirico-giorgio_de.html


Schirrmacher R., and Fox, J.E. (2009). Arts & Creative Development for Young Children. US: Thomson Delmar Learning.