Howardena Pindell changed the purpose of her work while keeping the same undertone of a particular style in each of her pieces. While she changed her media frequently, she kept the sporadic yet purposeful placement of elements as a theme in each of her series. Each section (Memorist, Traveler, Activist, and Scientist) connects to a part of her life and allows her work to develop with her while also giving a detail explanation as to why. Her work developed with what was going on in her life, like her accident in 1979, to what was going on in the world that inspired her more 'social justice' like pieces. Separating her work into four sections allows the audience to absorb the deeper meaning in each art piece. For example, I was captured by Pindell's DNA piece because of the connection to her memories and the importance of the hands (as they are what creates the art and part of one's identity because of their unique fingerprint) With the work organized into a section, Memorist, I formed a better understanding of the piece and its purpose after learning about her accident and why she felt the need to make the pieces based on herself as an entity. Each section shows her development as an artist and separates it into broad stages. Studying her work shows other artists how your art will change based on what is going on in your life. While that could mean a change in subject it could also mean a change in medium or style or purpose, for example her pieces in The Shape of Numbers series versus pieces such as Autobiography: Air (CS560) . Bringing your work back to yourself and allowing it to change with you as you develop as a person is what Howardena Pindell is expressing in her different series and it what other artists should be encouraged to do. Her work had many striking aspects to it, which led it cover many Artist Habits of Mind. The few that stood out to me were Engage & Persist, Envision, and Express. Her art always sprouted from personal interest or the message she wanted to leave on the art world. With mixed media pieces she created many activist pieces that strongly expressed her opinions on different issues at the time. She created abstract pieces that seemed slightly chaotic but every single one of them had a method to their madness. The way she made art was so creative in itself and the way she managed to put such a powerful meaning behind all of her pieces makes it so much more awe-inspiring. Most of the steps of the Artist Process can be found in her pieces. The information given about each piece and section of work show the inspiration behind the piece which explains the main focus. There's not much present evidence of planning in her work, which is the only step of the process that isn't evident. The creation of her work is what is displayed on the wall, specifically zoning in on the use of each material and how she manipulated it. Lastly, the reflection of her own work is shown thought the following pieces and what she learned from her different experiments with different medias and techniques. My own work recently majorly changed. I currently have many series planned that I hope will express a deeper meaning (one that I formed based on what is going on in my own life). However I do make a lot of work that is simply me messing with a pen and nothing more, but I find satisfaction in having an aesthetically pleasing piece or just an image that pleases the mind without having to think of the meaning behind it. Part of my current work connects to the meaningful series-style of Pindell but the other half contrasts to what was displayed in the museum. First Image: Pindell/DNA, 2012, offset lithograph, Edition 9 of 40 Second Image: Autobiography: Air (CS560), 1988, Acrylic, tempera, oil stick, blood, paper, polymer photo transfer, and vinyl on canvas Abstract ExpressionismHELEN FRANKENTHALER American, 1928-2011 Mother Goose Melody, 1959 Oil on Canvas MORRIS LOUIS American, 1912-1962 Claustral, 1961 Oil on Canvas These two above images contrast as one falls into the category of abstract expressionism and the other is none objective. The Abstract Expressionist piece has expression and meaning shown through the brush strokes and purposeful mark making done by the artist. The none objective piece had an aesthetic goal, but it is not expression a specific emotion or scene. HEDDA STERNE American, born Romania, 1910-2011 No. 3 - 1957 Oil on Canvas Abstract Expressionist work shows the relationship between the artist and the canvas and how the artist interacted with it. These pieces often have an assortment of colors, especially color-field works.. This piece has obvious motion and mark making with each brush stroke. It is a dynamic piece, and each mark has a specific and meaningful purpose. RON GORCHOV American, born 1930 Wedding, 1979 Oil on linen Each of these pieces has blatant mark making and movement. The piece by Jackson Pollock holds a story because of the layering and how the lines flow dynamically. The Twombly piece holds a story in because of the lines and how they draw your eyes to other parts of the board in order to put the piece together. Lastly, the Gorchov work shows large brush strokes that were most likely made from the shoulder. They seem slower than the Pollock painting, mostly because it is acting as a background and does not have a point to being more complex. CLYFFORD STILL American, 1904-1980 1965 No. 1, 1956 Oil on Canvas Lastly, these images above show the artists process and goal through the elements of art and the principles of design. Each piece has line, color, and mostly likely a suggested form. Each of the principle designs can be used in every piece because it is what makes a piece different from the others.
2 Comments
Amelia Seabury
11/28/2018 11:32:23 am
I was interested in your focus on creating meaning in artwork in the Howardena Pindell post. It was a topic I had mentioned but you dove deeper and made connections to your own art sketchbook. I agree that meaning makes art even more inspiring and that sometimes art just for the sake of art is fun as well. I liked that you chose a bunch of new pieces that I hadn't seen or hadn't included in my post so I could see your perspective. I particularly liked Ramus Major by Charles Clough because of the movement caused by amorphous shapes.
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MM
11/29/2018 11:41:38 am
Check the spelling of "EXPERIENCE" :) You said, "Bringing your work back to yourself and allowing it to change with you as you develop as a person is what Howardena Pindell is expressing in her different series and it (is) what other artists should be encouraged to do." YES! I agree - do this! You may have misunderstood what I was going for in comparing/contrasting ABSTRACT and NON-OBJECTIVE work... both images you presented are Abstract Expressionist. What I want you to be aware of is when there is recognizable subject matter or not. AbEx work is usually non-objective but not always (see Willem deKooning). Otherwise, a good post with lots of thoughtful information (maybe a few typos :). PS - I missed the piece by Hedda Sterne - good for you for finding it! Remind me to talk about her if I don't.
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Julianne
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