Medium Specificity

What is art? How do we define art? A quick search on Google would define it as: the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. An even broader definition is: the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance. The art form of painting, which was my medium of choice, is a vessel which can hold any number of ideas and messages. 

For the medium specificity assignment, I chose to model the work after the artwork of Piet Mondrian. Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter in the early 20^th century famous for his works involving primary colors and geometric shapes surrounded by vertical and horizontal black lines. His style was influenced by Picasso and Braque as it morphed into his signature non-representational form which he termed Neo-Plasticism. Neo-Plasticism experimented with elements of cubism which would follow soon thereafter. 

I personally love art that has been produced from the Northern parts of the world such as the Netherlands, Norway, or other Nordic countries. The soft light associated with that region of the world as well as the use of that light in art is fascinating to me. The flat picture and structural lines were also particularly drawing to me as an aspiring cinematographer due to the use of line and depth of filed in film. Another huge aspect of cinematography is the use of shape and color to develop mood and tone throughout a narrative. 

This medium serves as a celebration of the Neo-Plasticism and work of Mondrian. I would say this piece serves as a celebration of the life and work of Mondrian because it incorporates the stylistic use of black lines, geometric shapes, primary colors, and even elements of nature. In the piece, there is the shape of a lily that outlines the majority of the shapes and colors that exist within. I wanted to experiment with the fundamental shapes- triangles, squares, and circles that stemmed from the base of the flower, mirroring the veins of an organic flower. I thought that the use of text within the piece also lent some mood and overall theme of the piece.What I found most interesting is that in the earlier and later life work of Mondrian, Piet explored naturally occurring shapes both in nature and geometric's. Evening: Red Tree is an example of this mesh of primary colors and a shape found in nature, blended by bold, blackened lines. This earlier work signifies the beginnings of Mondrian towards his later artistic style. 

I wanted this piece to tie back to the abstract use of art and qualities within the medium. Similar to the 4'33" by John Cage that spoke about the use of sound in a live performance and the qualities associated with that medium, I wanted to create a discussion centered on the emotions evoked by different mediums within art. In this piece, I wanted to explore the themes derived from Mondrian's style and using a medium that was rich with his signature. What does this piece say to the individual? What are the themes that one can derive from piece? Would it be more similar to the wintry climates of his earlier work or the exploration of space and shape in his later work? These are questions I hope that would spark a discussion from the piece.  

It’s important to note that this piece breaks the rules as exemplified by Mondrian’s style. The blend of naturalism and realism incorporated into the lily illustrates Mondrian’s roots meeting his signature Neo-Plasticism style. The geometric shapes filled by primary colors, and, connected through curvy black and bold lines, breakaway from classic Neo-Plasiticism by using the background lily shape. I thoroughly enjoyed this specificity assignment. It helped me to appreciate the exploration of different mediums to voice my artistic voice and draw parallels through a variety of art mediums.