1966, For Which I have No Clever Title. Hey Wait--

     The next piece of art we'll be taking a look at is more of a tone piece.  This is "In The Dull Village" by David Hockney:

"In The Dull Village" - 1966

     The first thing to note about this etching is that it is based on "In The Dreary Village" by Greek poet Constantine Cavafy.  The poem has several different translations, all of which are inanely difficult to locate, but the story is more or less the same in each one:

In a dreary, destitute, dull village

far beyond the back of beyond

(so it seems to him)

a handsome young man

is store assistant.

He's longing to get to the bright lights

(such they appear, viewed from the squalor here)

of the nearest glowing city, 

music and dancing and song.

For now, he waits for trade to slacken off

in two or three months it's bound to happen

Then he can escape.

Meantime in the dreary village

asleep in his single bed

after hot hours of longing and regret

there comes to him in all its beautiful sparkle

the hallowed shape of satisfied desire.

     In the etching, we see two men, naked from the waist up, laying in bed together.  One man looks relaxed, perhaps sleeping with his hands behind his head.  The surprise on the face of the man next to him suggests that this etching is an interpretation of the final stanza of the poem.

     Both the poem and the etching depict, above anything else, a sense of boredom and complacency.  The poem does so by textually expressing a longing for something more, and having that longing manifest itself in some uncertain form.  The etching depicts this tone more in the framing, style, and placement of everything.

     Note the outlines: thin, very non-obtrusive.  This gives the whole thing a very downplayed feel.  The angle at which the audience views the scene taking place is very flat and unassuming.  The biggest break from this uniformity is the sleeping man on the left.  His bold, dark body hair, not to mention the large black shape above his head certainly draw attention to him and place him squarely outside the reality of the rest of the etching.  His bedfellow, too, seems incapable of believing his presence.  Add to it, the sheer number of differences in the appearance of the two men: The sleeping man is hairy, and has a mustache, and short, dark, combed hair; the other man is hairless, clean-shaven, and has longer, messy blond hair.  

     Since the poem indicates in the "handsome young man" a desire for the city life to break from the dull monotony of the village life, it only makes sense that the "hallowed shape of satisfied desire" would be represented by someone completely anterior to himself.  

     As for Hockney's decision to depict two men, rather than a man and a woman: the boy in the poem longs for the life of hedonism found in the city, indulging in one's innermost desires.  It would not be much of a stretch to believe that a young man in such a dull, repressive village as the one depicted would have unexplored homosexual tendencies, for which he feels the city would be a suitable outlet.  Not to mention the fact that Cavafy was one of the first poets to write about homosexuality.

My Opinion

     I don't like this piece as much as I am intrigued by it.  Usually when there are works that exist in multiple mediums to tell different parts of a cohesive story, I become fascinated.  Obviously, since art is a subjective medium, there is no way of knowing every possible detail between the two interconnected pieces, and this just sends my brain into a euphoria of deduction.  I always have to try and fill in what's missing, I want to be the one to figure it out, and I feel like there are unsolved mysteries between these two works.  I can't say for sure why, but there's just something about them...

     Well, that's all for now!  Hope you stop by next time!

     

Are You Ready for 1965? 1965 is Ready for You

     How have I not included anything from Salvador Dali up to this point?  Ah well, here's "La Gare de Perpignan."

"La Gare de Perpignan" - 1965

     Discerning the symbolism of Dali's work is certainly not an exact science, but I can take a crack at it.  This painting is named after a train station in France called the Perpignan Railway Station.  It was here that Dali had a very profound vision about the origin of the universe in 1963.  This vision led him to declare this train station "the center of the universe."  In light of this, the painting is likely meant to symbolize exactly that.  We see the locomotive (representing the station itself) being placed above Christ and the focal point of these great beams of light, which are the center of the universe.

     To the left, the image of a couple hoisting sacks of grain into a cart represent the value of hard work.  Next to them, a young boy holds his hat in front of him and looks toward the ground.  This body language is typically used to denote respect towards an authority figure (at least during this time period).  If I were to guess, I would say that this quadrant of the image represents the more positive forces in the universe.

     To the right, the outline of a couple fornicating is visible.  Just a ways off from them, a woman clasps her hands together and holds her head down, obviously in mourning.  This segment of the image also has a much cooler, bluer color scheme to it.  All these things together, as well as this quadrant's position opposite the one containing the good positive forces in the universe, lead me to believe that this represents the negative aspects of the universe, the examples given being sin and suffering.

     In addition to all this imagery, the theme of grain sacks is ever-present.  I feel this is meant to symbolize all that is to be gained from these different aspects of the universe.  If we look at the sacks on the positive side, they all have a more uniformly round, full look to them.  Conversely, on the side f negativity, we see the sacks, while certainly not empty, lack the fullness of their counterparts.  They are all limp around the midsection, still hollow.

     At the bottom of the painting, a child stares up at the center of the universe, with a sack of his own, filled with all he has experienced and learned through his childhood.  This child is neutrality.  He has yet to decide which side of the universe to gravitate towards, though he has taken steps in the direction of sin and suffering.  Perhaps he was tempted by the "pair" of shoes seen just above him to the right.  I put quotation marks around the word "pair" because one of the shoes appears to be merely a reflection of the other, perhaps representing the illusory advantages of instant material gratification.

My Opinion:

     I really love this painting.  The imagery is so evocative and engaging, even on a purely visual level: it's just nice to look at.  The colors are warm and smooth and the images presented are pleasing to the eye.  Definitely a fine piece of work from Mr. Dali.

Hope to see you again next time!

1964 Is A 'Go!'

     Today, we're going to be looking at a very profound piece of art.  So profound, in fact, that President Obama hung it in the White House.  Immediately upon seeing this painting, one becomes aware of its significance.  This painting is Norman Rockwell's "The Problem We All Live With."

"The Problem We All Live With" - 1964

     Now, let me start with the immediately noticeable: the title.  When you hear "The Problem We All Live With," what do you expect?  You likely expect (like I did) a depiction of some universal societal problem whose particular brand of annoyance we all have simply grown accustomed to.  But Rockwell has taken the road less traveled with this title.  Rather than showing something that people at the all had to deal with, he showed something that people at the time refused to deal with: the prejudice and mistreatment of African Americans.  Everyone simply lived with it.

     Moving on to the painting itself.  The eye is immediately drawn to the little black girl, just off from the center of the frame, so I'll start there.

     The girl in question is one Ruby Bridges.  Ruby was one of the first black children to be placed in a white-only school, in an effort towards desegregation.  If you want to learn more about her story, you can find it here.  Ruby's pose says a lot about what she represented at the time; her back is straight, her feet are positioned in a marching stance.  One of her hands is balled in a fist, the other wrapped tightly around her textbooks.  Her stance is one of resoluteness and bravery.  She knew the risks she would face, and she knew she might even be putting her life in danger, but she faced this challenge anyway.

     On either side of Ruby stand four U.S. Deputy Marshalls.  They are depicted mid-step of a very brisk walk.  What is striking about these men is the choice of color on their clothing.  Two of the men are depicted wearing grey suits, and the other two in more off-white colored suits.  Methinks this was no arbitrary decision.  Since none of these men are specifically wearing black or white, but are instead wearing shades of grey, this is likely a manifestation of the law enforcement attitude towards the situation.  They were neither in favor of or against integration (publicly, at least), but neutral: shades of grey.  Contrast this with the very striking colors used on Ruby, and the symbolism becomes pretty apparent.

     Moving on to the background, which contain two of my personal favorite details.

     The first thing of note is the tomato splattered on the wall.  At first glance, it looks like blood.  I'll let that speak for itself.  But the thing that caught my attention was the pattern of the splatter.  The individual streams seem to burst out from the center of the point of impact, which is normal.  But, at the top of the stain, there is a gap with more tomato juice around it that brings to mind the image of a powerful bird triumphantly soaring into the sky.  Seems like more than coincidence.

     The next background detail is the word "Nigger" right above Ruby.  What is interesting about it is the way it's written:  it's grey, faded, and wispy.  The way the letters are written are evocative of a vengeful ghost's warning written on the wall of a haunted house.  This could be seen as representing the haunting shadow of racism always looming over the African-American people.

My Opinion

     I think this painting is amazing.  Truly astonishing.  The way it's staged and the simplicity of it manages to say so much with so little.  It really is a spectacular piece of artwork ( I may even buy a print of it)  i don't really know what else to say about this painting.  It's fantastic.

Until next time!