Merging the Traditional and the Modern Introduction
Throughout the history of art, a variety of artists made contributions in expanding the definition of art. Some dedicated their energy in a restrained way as a personal practice, some devoted their energy into fiercely challenging the society’s current aesthetic conventions. The two artists I am going to discuss in this essay are Marcel Duchamp and Gerhard Richter. Even though they lived in different time periods, they are both influential to modern art. They can be controversial for their particular artistic methods which are often being imitated but yet to be surpassed. Duchamp is a French artist lived from 1887 to 1968, a period when new forms of art was being continuously presented …show more content…
He selected images that were “unspecific, out of focus or duplicates, no longer felt to be suitable as a basis for other artistic works” and wiped large qualities of paint in a specific kind of motion such as pulling or dripping, to create a sense motion (5). By combining the method of photography and painting, he creates an illusionistic resemble of reality. It impacts the medium of painting in creating a contrast between abstract and figurative expression, also providing diversity in that it can be interpreted more freely by the audience. Even though painting can provide extremely high likeness to reality, it cannot compare to photography in terms of authenticity. However, the effortless way of presenting abstraction is also an irreplaceable quality of painting. Through suitable amount of exaggeration or creative depiction, painting precisely captures any subtle emotions or atmosphere which are invisible to the eye. Photography, on the other hand, aims to record an accurate representation of fleeting moments with a man-made machine. Nowadays photography is much more accessible and convenient due to widespread use of cellphones. It is also much more popular and believable than painting. Thus the photographic painting is a mix of realism with gestural painting, which could lead to an intriguing visual impact. In The Overpainted Photography, the image 1. September 98 is an imagery of mountain view. The thick but meticulous brushstrokes replace parts of the mountain while maintaining the overall structure by drawing similar shapes and colour patterns. The painting perfectly coordinates with the photography by creating a clear visual difference that layers on top. Although the painting is totally flat, a sense of depth and space is present because of the depth of the photograph. From a far distance, this image can be seen as a simplistic and realistic
Throughout the history of art, a variety of artists made contributions in expanding the definition of art. Some dedicated their energy in a restrained way as a personal practice, some devoted their energy into fiercely challenging the society’s current aesthetic conventions. The two artists I am going to discuss in this essay are Marcel Duchamp and Gerhard Richter. Even though they lived in different time periods, they are both influential to modern art. They can be controversial for their particular artistic methods which are often being imitated but yet to be surpassed. Duchamp is a French artist lived from 1887 to 1968, a period when new forms of art was being continuously presented …show more content…
He selected images that were “unspecific, out of focus or duplicates, no longer felt to be suitable as a basis for other artistic works” and wiped large qualities of paint in a specific kind of motion such as pulling or dripping, to create a sense motion (5). By combining the method of photography and painting, he creates an illusionistic resemble of reality. It impacts the medium of painting in creating a contrast between abstract and figurative expression, also providing diversity in that it can be interpreted more freely by the audience. Even though painting can provide extremely high likeness to reality, it cannot compare to photography in terms of authenticity. However, the effortless way of presenting abstraction is also an irreplaceable quality of painting. Through suitable amount of exaggeration or creative depiction, painting precisely captures any subtle emotions or atmosphere which are invisible to the eye. Photography, on the other hand, aims to record an accurate representation of fleeting moments with a man-made machine. Nowadays photography is much more accessible and convenient due to widespread use of cellphones. It is also much more popular and believable than painting. Thus the photographic painting is a mix of realism with gestural painting, which could lead to an intriguing visual impact. In The Overpainted Photography, the image 1. September 98 is an imagery of mountain view. The thick but meticulous brushstrokes replace parts of the mountain while maintaining the overall structure by drawing similar shapes and colour patterns. The painting perfectly coordinates with the photography by creating a clear visual difference that layers on top. Although the painting is totally flat, a sense of depth and space is present because of the depth of the photograph. From a far distance, this image can be seen as a simplistic and realistic