Location of the Print:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://kornguth.com/printmaking/images/printmaking13.jpg&imgrefurl=http://kornguth.com/printmaking/index.html&usg=__dn2JYaIubJrwiGbDhM1PUpRmnU8=&h=530&w=354&sz=68&hl=en&start=23&tbnid=vURQu-WdzaLEwM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=88&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dprintmaking%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D18
Martin G. Kornguth was born in 1939 in the Bronx. He spent some time as a secondary school art teacher. He was also a political cartoonist and has spent the last twenty years as a studio artist. The majority of his work has been derived from observations he has made, opinions he has had, as well as commentary on certain issues. In much of his work, he uses the human figure to get across the topic or idea he is trying to portray.
The print that I was most impressed with was done through intaglio and etching. The print is entitled “The Hockey Fan.” In the print, a woman is portrayed at a hockey game looking as if she is staring at something in the distance. The fans around here seem to be captive by the game, looking down at what must be the hockey rink. The woman looks as if she is somewhat bored, sitting with her legs crossed and her hands as if she were almost twiddling her thumbs to keep her occupied. Her coat is still on and buttoned, as if she is ready to leave right at that moment.
I think the part of the print that stood out to me the most is the wooden bench that the people are sitting on. It as if that bench drags the audience into the print with the woman. The wood is very detailed, showing the graininess of it. The fact that no one is sitting to the one side of the woman may also represent that she is waiting for someone to join her at the game. This could be the reason that she seems a bit anxious.
The woman is mainly white in the print. Her face and coat, as well as her hands are all white. The rest of the figures in the etching are presented as darker, almost as off in the distance. It looks as if the woman is in her own world. The floor is very dark, making the woman stand out even more from the background.
The detail is this print is amazing. From the wood grain to the hair of the man sitting next to the woman, there seems to be a great deal of work and time put into this print. The lines are very distinct and clean. That is another reason why I believe I enjoy this print so much is the clearness of it. The print is a decent size, 23' high and 15.5" wide.
Overall, I enjoy this print and the other works I have viewed of this artist. Although I do not understand the majority of the messages he is trying to portray if any. I do like the detail in most of his prints as well.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
King Leo's Vision
http://www.shawndemarest.com/images/King_Leo_s_Vision2.jpg
Similar to the way I have found other prints I like, I found the works of Shawn Demarest through Google. Shawn studied many different types of art, including air painting and design. There is not much information about Shawn beside what the short bio provides. However, Shawn's works are quite interesting to look at since the approaches of "view/respond" and "listen/follow" are used. Shawn has a website as well as a blog that displays both oil paintings and prints the have been completed.
Shawn does etchings on copper plates and uses etching, drypoint, aquatint, and open bite in the prints. The prints are all very unusual. Most of them are somewhat abstract in their portrayal of people or animals. The one image that caught my eye is entitled "King Leo's Vision." The print depicts King Leo laying at the bottom of a tree with an angelic woman floating above him holding flowers. The woman looks almost as if she has butterfly wings along with a halo above her head. King Leo looks quite relaxed with a small smile on his face, as if he is pleased with this beautiful woman hovering above him. The tree in the print is large, with buds as if spring is just around the corner.
The print incorporates a great deal of lights and darks. The background is lighter, with the tree being made up of mostly darks, bringing the tree forward from the background. King Leo's robes are intricately decorated, but remain mostly dark. The woman is mostly dressed in white, flowing material. I think Shawn does a great deal with the contrasting in this print. Although the print is somewhat simple, there is a great amount of detail in the tree trunk and the clothing on both King Leo as well as the woman.
Shawn also does not use very distinct lines. The lines that make up the faces and bodies of both King Leo and the woman are almost messy looking, for lack of a better word. The lines are overlapping and criss-crossing in some spots. I believe that the purpose of this use of lines is to make the image seem almost dreamlike in a sense. The clothing and bark of the tree is done in the same manner, but there is a great deal of detail put into both aspects. The tree bark looks realistic in a sense because the bark weaves in and out. The clothing has a great deal of patterns.
I do enjoy this print because although it looks great from farther back, it is definitely not perfect from close up. I feel like this type of print teaches a lesson to print makers that the lines and portrayal in the etching does not have to be perfect. It is okay if lines are a little bit off. The print will hold its own. I also feel that the detail added made the viewer's eye move across the print, from the designs on the clothing to the details in the bark of the tree.
Similar to the way I have found other prints I like, I found the works of Shawn Demarest through Google. Shawn studied many different types of art, including air painting and design. There is not much information about Shawn beside what the short bio provides. However, Shawn's works are quite interesting to look at since the approaches of "view/respond" and "listen/follow" are used. Shawn has a website as well as a blog that displays both oil paintings and prints the have been completed.
Shawn does etchings on copper plates and uses etching, drypoint, aquatint, and open bite in the prints. The prints are all very unusual. Most of them are somewhat abstract in their portrayal of people or animals. The one image that caught my eye is entitled "King Leo's Vision." The print depicts King Leo laying at the bottom of a tree with an angelic woman floating above him holding flowers. The woman looks almost as if she has butterfly wings along with a halo above her head. King Leo looks quite relaxed with a small smile on his face, as if he is pleased with this beautiful woman hovering above him. The tree in the print is large, with buds as if spring is just around the corner.
The print incorporates a great deal of lights and darks. The background is lighter, with the tree being made up of mostly darks, bringing the tree forward from the background. King Leo's robes are intricately decorated, but remain mostly dark. The woman is mostly dressed in white, flowing material. I think Shawn does a great deal with the contrasting in this print. Although the print is somewhat simple, there is a great amount of detail in the tree trunk and the clothing on both King Leo as well as the woman.
Shawn also does not use very distinct lines. The lines that make up the faces and bodies of both King Leo and the woman are almost messy looking, for lack of a better word. The lines are overlapping and criss-crossing in some spots. I believe that the purpose of this use of lines is to make the image seem almost dreamlike in a sense. The clothing and bark of the tree is done in the same manner, but there is a great deal of detail put into both aspects. The tree bark looks realistic in a sense because the bark weaves in and out. The clothing has a great deal of patterns.
I do enjoy this print because although it looks great from farther back, it is definitely not perfect from close up. I feel like this type of print teaches a lesson to print makers that the lines and portrayal in the etching does not have to be perfect. It is okay if lines are a little bit off. The print will hold its own. I also feel that the detail added made the viewer's eye move across the print, from the designs on the clothing to the details in the bark of the tree.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)