Module 5--Art Gallery Visit-Responding to Artwork

While visiting the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, I took note of a lot of works of art. I really liked certain pieces, and disliked others. One piece that really made a large impact on me was an oil on canvas piece by Jackson Pollock entitled Convergence from 1952. When I read the memo about the work of art, I was in awe. Pollock originally wanted the piece to be black and white and the piece had started out like that. Then, in an attempt to ‘save’ the disaster he started, he added color. The mere fact that the artist thought that this piece was a failure is outrageous. I was in awe from reading this fact. Another piece that impacted me was an oil on canvas piece entitled Niagara by Frank M. Moore from 1994-95. From a distance, this work of art appears to be a painting of someone filming the scene of Niagara Falls. However, up close, in the water and the mist, you can see chemical formulas of what is in the mist and water. This piece is simply amazing. I really enjoyed it.

A couple other pieces of artwork were also very intriguing. I felt a connection with the artists in two specific works of art. Another piece that was oil on canvas piece by Adolph Gottlieb from 1946 entitled Pictograph was particularly connecting. I feel that the artist simply placed some color on canvas then started drawing random things, and blotted over again the things that he feel he messed up on. I connected with him on this painting with this idea in mind, because that is exactly how I paint. If I do not like something, I simply cover it up and start anew. I also connected with Mark Rothko on his oil on canvas, Orange and Yellow from 1956. Orange and yellow are my favorite colors and the way he uses them in this piece is simply riveting. In this painting, Rothko blended the squares without edges in such a way so that the viewer’s eyes can move seamlessly from one area to the next. Rothko did not want viewers to think about him while experiencing his paintings, so he tried to remove evidence of the process of creation. That is talent and very creative.

There were also a few pieces that I would like to learn more about. One is oil on canvas entitled Country Wedding from 1942 by Doris Lee. Lee painted a simple country landscape with a small wedding inside the church in the middle. Your eyes are immediately drawn to the big white church in the center of the piece as everything else around it is darker in color. Another piece that I would like to learn more about is by Philip Clarkson Elliot from 1943, oil on canvas entitled Shelocta. In Shelocta, a man is walking across a wide bridge reading a newspaper. There is not much color in the painting and there is not really a focal point. I would like to know more about this artist and his work.