Movie Poster

Movie: THE DARK KNIGHT

Poster:

 

The Dark Knight (2008)

This particular movie poster is for the movie The Dark Knight, the major blockbuster released in 2008.  The movie itself was amazing, and I think that this poster also is quite effective.  The poster is effective and sells the movie well.  In fact, I plan to watch the movie again after writing this post because this poster is making me want to do so.

The poster is effective because it instills fear into the viewer.  If not fear, then it gives off a feeling of uneasiness.  There are many symbols and semiotics that create this uneasiness and fear in the viewers’ mind.  First off, to see a hero’s face in this state makes the viewer of the poster uneasy with the blood, the cards, the smile, and the knife.  The cards themselves show that the Joker is well involved with the plot, along with all the quotes written on Batman.  The cards create the shape of our hero, and the chaotic way it is taped together could represent the chaotic mind of the villain.  The knife, however, gives off the most fear, because the knife itself has blood on it.  We can infer from this that the blood-smile and the blood-stains were made by the knife, and the fact that it is on Batman means that Batman himself may be the main target.  There are also words all over Batman, most likely written by Joker (and most likely his thoughts).  These lines also epitomizes the twisted mind of the Joker, and how he has a plan to kill Batman.  The “ha ha…” that make up the Batman symbol illustrates how the Joker is mocking Batman and taking what he does as, well, a joke.

The elements and principles of design involved in this poster also helps to make it effective as well.  The lines and borders of the joker playing cards create the form of Batman.  This could represent an important idea that is revealed in the movie (although this is sort of a spoiler, but this post isn’t a review anyway), which is the idea that “Batman and Joker complete each other.”  Joker explains this during the movie, and how Batman “completes” the Joker.  Without Batman, Joker would be doing nothing with any worth, and he needs Batman for him to have any worth.  At the same time, he says how Batman is Batman because he is the Joker.  The villain completes the hero, and vice versa, and can be seen in this poster.  This adds to the principle of unity, because all the objects in the poster come together to create one entire idea.  Every object has its meaning and plays an important part in the overall theme and picture.  Aside from lines and form, there is also the emphasis of the color red.  The poster throughout has a dark tone, with the dark Batman and the desaturated colors of the playing cards.  These colors are coherent with the title: The DARK Knight.  However, the color red stands out boldly.  The red represents blood, but it draws attention because of its boldness compared to the rest of the poster.  It emphasizes the amount of blood shed that will be involved in the movie, and the knife helps to make the viewer understand that the main weapon will be this knife.

I wanted to turn the attention back to the phrases, and their relation to the picture itself.  The juxtaposition of the knife and the phrase “lets put a smile on that face” means that the Joker will most likely use that knife to carve a smile on the victim’s face (as he actually does in the film).  The phrase “why so serious?” is also written near the smile made from blood on Batman, also emphasizes that action.  He is going to carve the smile on his victim’s face because he doesn’t know why they are so serious.

Overall, I think this poster is a great poster.  It sells the movie well, and I think that part of its selling point is the conflict between the Joker and Batman.  It’s selling that it won’t center around Batman fully, but it will also focus on the Joker and his “plan” against Batman.  The poster is surrounded with mystery, fear, and uneasiness that makes viewers want to know more, which is what the artist wanted when he/she created this poster.

Now that I’m done, I will excuse myself because I am now going to go watch this movie.

Graphic Advertisement Critique

Advertisement for Sony Headphones

Critique:

This particular magazine advertisement was for new Sony headphones that claimed to deliver great, studio-quality sounds.  The first thing that comes to my attention is the Moai (the “Easter Island Head”) in the foreground with the Sony headphones on.  It catches my attention first because it’s in the front of the picture, and is also drawn the largest out of the rest of the Moai.  In addition, the Moai that Sony wants the viewer to focus on also is the only head that has a smile on its face, therefore standing out even more and grabbing the attention.  Because of that smile, it gives a more lightened mood to it, and a feeling of a peaceful yet entertaining night (to the head with the headphones).

The ad uses different elements and principles of design to help project its message.  It uses the elements of point and gestalt in order group the heads through similarity and proximity.  It illustrates the Moai in a realistic form, with realistic scenery and also using texture to show the roughness of the rocks that the heads are made out of.  In terms of principles, there is a balance between the four heads, although unequal sizes, and that balance creates a certain unity throughout the overall picture.  There is also certainly a lot of emphasis on the foremost head, with the headphones and smile and all the things I listed earlier that grab the viewer’s attention.  The quite yet happy mood, as explained before, is created by the lack of movement in the facial expressions of the heads.  It is at night, with no living creates and just four stone carvings of heads staring somewhere outside the borders of the drawing.  It creates a very peaceful mood, yet the smile makes the one Moai in front have that sense of happiness and a sense of being entertained without disturbing the peace around it.

I think that there are a couple different messages that this work shows.  One is the effect of the headphone itself (as said before), and its ability to deliver great-quality sounds without disturbing the peace around the listener.  The other is the satisfaction that one can get from using headphones of Sony’s quality.  The semiotics that I can see is the smile on the one Moai’s face using the headphones versus the lack of expression on the others that don’t use the headphones.  By putting the phrases next to the head – the words reading “Your head will thank you for it” – the advertisement connects the idea of “thanking” with “smile” by using the headphones.  It encodes within the ad that wearing the headphones will make one happy and thankful that he/she chose Sony.

Although it may not be the best ad out there, I believe it does a good enough job in communicating the positives of the headphones in such a simple way.  To someone who uses headphones to listen to music and sounds often, like me, it would definitely have a positive effect, because the serenity and happiness that comes out of the art shown in the ad makes the headphones quite attractive.  Even if it may not matter so much to some that it would not disturb the people around them, the fact that these headphones deliver studio-like quality makes it attractive, enough to make them think that if they buy the product, then they might just do what the ad predicts and thank themselves for buying Sony’s product.

Moroccan Culture Designs

MOROCCAN ART AND CULTURE

(3. What are the visual, social, and perhaps religious qualities of the design – How are the Design Elements/Principles used?)

Moroccan Carpet

Moroccan Carpet

Moroccan art has a deep commitment to complex designs consisting of geometric, floral, and calligraphic patterns paired with simple, bright, and sometimes whitewashed colors.  This mainly is because the main religion of Morocco is Islam, which forbids the representation of people and animal in art.  Therefore, by using complex patterns and abstraction, they create a different sense of beauty so that the viewer may focus on higher truths than humans and animals.

We can see in this carpet some elements of design, such as the use of patterns, lines, and different colors.  We can also get a sense of the textures through the shapes used.  This carpet also incorporates some principles of design, having a bilateral and symmetrical balance.  It also emphasizes proportion between the different sizes of each shape, but it has a sense of unity as well.  Despite being made up of different shapes and colors, it is all put together in such a unifying way that you see the carpet as a whole, and not as a bunch of shapes put together.

Moroccan Pottery

Moroccan Plate

Morocco is also famous for its beautiful pottery.  Like its carpets, Moroccan pottery has beautiful and astonishing designs made up of bright colors and shapes.  Pottery even varies within the country.  This plate was made in Fes, where pottery has a distinctive blue and white fassi design.  Another well-known city is Safi, where all their pottery is handcrafted with silver overlay.  It doesn’t change, however, that all are made with meaningful designs, styles, symbols and colors.  Although Islamic tradition forbids the drawings of humans and animals, it makes up for it by its designs and colors.  Even in pottery, we can see the floral and calligraphic designs that local potters use.  They are made even more special with the soil used to create the ceramics.  Morocco apparently has different types of soil that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

In this work of art, we can see – again – the very complex, yet beautiful floral patterns that Moroccan art is centered around.  Its radial balance of different shapes creates the form of a flower.  The unity formed by all the elements of design crafts a natural, organic, and realistic artwork of a flower, smoothed out on a ceramic plate.  The colors of the plate show a mixture of green and blue, mixing emotions of spirituality and naturalness, representing the Islamic idea of being able to show “higher truths” without showing humans or animals.

Henna

Henna Design on Hand

Henna comes from crushing the leaves of a henna plant in order to create a dye.  This can be used for hair treatment or, more visually, as dye to make decorative designs on skin.  Henna is not only for design, but also for sacred functions as well.  It is intended to beautify the body and invite good fortune into one’s home, marriage, and family.  Brides often decorate their hands and feed with dark designs in order to ensure good luck and fortune for the soon-to-be married couple.  Pregnant women (specifically around their 17^th month) will have their ankles designed with henna and an amulet to protect the mother and the child through birth.  These henna designs originated from the days of Egypt’s Cleopatra almost 5,000 years ago for decorations, but now have found their way into Moroccan culture with more sacred and spiritual meanings that protect the people’s way of life.

As we can see in this picture, the design isn’t a halfhearted attempt at drawing flowers on a woman’s hand.  The design takes a lot of time and is very articulate and detailed.  We can only imagine how long this must have taken, and the heart and emotion the artist implanted along with the pattern.  Even though there are no bright colors like the pottery and the carpet, the lines and patterns used still create beautiful artwork, which also gives it a sense of unification of the design and the arm.  It feels as though the arm and the design have become one, and the spirituality that the design possesses is also now part of the woman herself.

Moroccan Jewelry

Moroccan Earrings

Moroccan jewelry’s style of art is no different that all of the other handcrafted art of Moroccan culture.  It is still of complex designs that form a beautiful piece of work.  Although gold jewelry is limited to the cities, jewelry in silver is part of all Moroccan culture, both locally and in the cities.  A large portion of the jewelry made is also crafted with stones and enamels, adding color to the silver and more value to its overall worth.  Because everything is handcrafted, each piece of jewelry is made differently, with different patterns and etched designs, making each even more valuable to both the creator and the beholder.

These earrings are the same that is sold as souvenirs at local Moroccan markets throughout the country.  It’s made of pure silver, etched with fine lines and details and finished off with some color from the red beads.  This piece of art is in 3D, which helps to add actual texture out of the circular patterns.  It also has a great deal of balance, that even though the top of the earring is a large circle, it is perfectly balance with the smaller ones dangling on the bottom.

MOROCCAN ART IN TERMS OF AFRICAN ART

African art in general has many meanings behind art.  The Western idea of “art for art’s sake” is not something that translates well to African artists.  All art in Africa has meaning.  Whether it is function, craftsmanship, visibility, emotion, symbolism, or security, African artists create art with a purpose.  We can see in the several examples that all Moroccan art has a purpose as well.

• The carpet has a function of being a carpet.  It serves as decoration, as a carpet, and as a symbol of craftsmanship.  Depending on the number of knots and weaves determines the value and the amount of skill it took to create it.  It’s a symbol of the artist’s skill, and how important and valuable the carpet is.
• The pottery also has a function of being pots and pans and plates necessary for cooking and serving food.  Foreigners may purchase these pots and plates to serve as decorations, but to the locals and Moroccans, they are what they use to serve food, therefore a meaning of life.  They also signify the importance of an event, using different colors and designs for different events.  Using handcrafted plates add to the value of the food itself, making the meal more important and life and energy it gives more important as well.
• Henna has all kinds of symbolic meanings and purposes.  Not only is it used to make the woman’s body more beautiful, it is also used to create good fortune for the family.  Marriages will be successful and babies will be born strong if these markings are on the hands and feet of the woman.  It has the sacred function, and also acts as security for the woman.  It secures the woman and her family with good fortune, and a good future.
• The earrings and jewelry also have meaning in Moroccan art.  They are not hung for display at a museum, but they serve as the symbol for beauty and making the wearer more beautiful.  It also adds value to the human itself, with more jewelry making the person himself (or herself) more valuable.  It is also a symbol for the craftsmanship of the silversmith, who may also incorporate different meanings and symbols into the jewelry itself.

MOROCCAN ART AND WESTERN CULTURE

Although Moroccan art does not have the “art for art’s sake” that Western cultures posses, Morocco itself is starting to take in and absorb some of the European culture, especially the French culture.  We can see some similarities between the Western culture and Moroccan culture when we look at the works of art such as described above.  Much like the carpets, plates, and jewelry in Morocco, people of Western culture also use these things to decorate houses and indeed use carpets and plates for their main function.  Similar to African culture, the West also hold craftsmanship to be important, as we decorate our houses with these carpets because they are valuable, and we only use plates (fine china) like those from Morocco when it is a special occasion, thus increasing the value.  Western culture also consider jewelry to be important, and the more valuable the earring is worn at the time, the more valuable and important that person seems at that time.  Some people of Western culture also have tattoos that resemble designs similar to the Henna’s design, because they want to look good, and also perhaps for a different, symbolic meaning.  Morocco and Western countries may have different cultures and forms of art, but both have similar uses for similar products.  The West does indeed hold the art of Morocco (carpets, pottery, etc.) as being something important and valuable in their lives.  Though the purpose may be different, the value of the art does not change, and that is the similarity that we can see between Morocco and African art and the Western culture.

Sources:

http://www.authenticmorocco.com/moroccan_berber_rug_two.html

http://factoidz.com/the-stylistic-moroccan-art-in-ceramic-pottery/

http://www.hennacaravan.com/hands.html

http://www.moroccan-furniture-decor.com/pd_berber2.cfm

http://www.morocco-travel-agency.com/culture.html

http://char.txa.cornell.edu/nonwest/africa/africahi.htm

Reading Notes

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

POINT

• Forces to seek some kind of relationship or order
• Point of orientation; 2 points = line; 3 points = triangle
• Gestalt
  • Compulsion to connect parts
  • Fundamental tool the designer/artist uses to build coherent composition
  • Concepts
    • Closure: mind supplies missing pieces to complete image
    • Continuity: tendency to “connect the dots” = separate points as part of form
    • Similarity: tendency to group objects of similar shape or color
    • Proximity: group points and objects that are close to one another

LINE

• Psychological impact according to its direction, weight, and their variations = both visual and verbal functions
• Also parts of nature, but can act independently to suggest forms
• Can be combined to create textures and patters –> results in development of FORM and VALUE
• Can be implicit (edges and outlines of forms)

FORM

• Masses and areas defining objects in space; imply space
• 2D = height and weight; 3D = height, width, depth
• Organic: irregular in outline, asymmetrical (naturally occurring) <– not always the case
• Geometric: correspond to named shapes: square, circle, etc. (constructed or made) <– not always the case
• Realistic/Naturalistic: recognize everyday objects and environment
• Abstract: difficult or impossible to identify
  • Objective – derived from actual object
  • Non-objective – based purely on study of form, line, and color = unnatural
• Caricature: realistic images distorted to make statement about portrayed people. place, object
• Perception: affected by:
  • Viewpoint: position will emphasize or obscure features
  • Space around object: distract, alter, focus impression (plain  vs. cluttered background)
  • Lighting: sources of light (value)

MOVEMENT

• Literal – physical fact of movement is part of certain designed objects (e.g. symbolic forms suggesting motion of cars)
  • Before motion pictures = off-balanced positioning, multiple frames of imagery, stop-action, mobiles, dance
• Compositional – how viewer perceives compositions; how components relate and lead viewer’s attention
  • Static: eye “jumps” between similarities from repetition of shapes and contrast of color and value
  • Dynamic: eye flows smoothly guided by continuation of line and form, and gradation of color and form

COLOR

• Value: relative lightness or darkness of color
  • Contrast of value separates objects in space
  • Gradation of value suggest mass and contour of contiguous surface
• If value is…
  • close = shapes will flatten out, seem closely connected in space, none stands out from others
  • contrast = shapes will separate in space, some will stand out from others
• Hue – pure spectrum colors (has value) = colors of the rainbow
  • Painters Primaries – red, blue yellow
  • Printers Primaries – magenta, cyan, yellow
  • Light Primaries – red, blue, green (additive mixture)
  • Desaturated = reduced in purity/weakness
    • Tine = white
    • Shade = black
    • Tone = gray
• Complements: colors that are opposite one another on hue circle
• Afterimage: physical opposite generated by eye
• Illusions:
  • Color proportions = relative quantity to change feeling of the composition, even appearance
  • Simultaneous contrast = color appears to change when seen against different background
  • Optical mixture = small particles of different colors are mixed in the eye

COLOR PSYCHOLOGY

• Red
  • Positive: blood, energy, excitement, passion, erotic
  • Negative: aggressive feelings, anger, violence
• Orange
  • Positive:flesh, warmth (friendly), approachability, informality
  • Negative: lack of discrimination and quality
• Yellow
  • Positive: sunshine, optimism, upbeat, modern
  • Negative: overwhelming energy
• Green
  • Positive: nature, life, stability, restfulness, naturalness
  • Negative: decay, toxicity, artificiality
• Blue
  • Positive: coolness, distance, spirituality, reserved elegance
  • Negative: sadness, passivity, alienation, depression
• Violet
  • Positive: fantasy, playfulness, impulsiveness, dream
  • Negative: nightmare, madness

PATTERN

• Underlying structure that organizes surfaces or structures in a consistent, regular manner = repetition or skeleton
• Flow: follows paths of least resistance (water, stone, growth of trees)
• Branching: patterning in plant world (geological –> river deltas, crystalline formations)
• Spiral: galaxies, “fiddlehead” buds of ferns, forms of microscopic animals
• Packing and Cracking: compacted cells define each others space (mushroom cluster, deformed bubbles)

TEXTURE

• Quality of of an object which we sense through touch
• Bristly, Rough and Hard; Smooth, Cold, and Hard; Smooth, Soft, and/or Warm; Wet or Dry
• Creation of illusion of texture is important as well

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

BALANCE

• Visual Equilibrium
  • Symmetrical
    • Equal weight, “formal balance”
      • Bilateral – equal on either side of central axis
      • Radial – equal around a central point
    • Approximate, “informal balance”
      • objects of varying visual weights balancing one another around a fulcrum point
        • 1 large vs. lots of small

PROPORTION

• Relationship between objects of a whole
• Universal standard = human body (16th/17th Century – body was bigger and heavier)
• Architectural = spaces intended to impress usually dwarfs viewers (private homes – much larger)
• Distortions of proportions can represent different aspects of subject

RHYTHM

• Timed movement through space – creates predictability
• Linear Rhythm: characteristic flow of individual line (dependent on timed movement of viewer’s eyes)
• Repetition: use of patterns to achieve visual “beat”
• Alternation: patterns create repeating motifs (short/long, fast/thin, round/square, dark/light)
• Gradation: motifs patterned to relate to one another through regular progression of steps (event sequence)

EMPHASIS

• Point of focus, interruption – strongly draw viewer’s attention – break in rhythm
• Repetition – calls attention to repeated elements through force of numbers
• Contrast
  • set point of emphasis apart from rest of background, use of neutral background
  • color, texture, or shape/size or scale/detail (prolonged visual involvement through intricacy)
• Positioning – strategic positioning

UNITY

• Summarization, coherence of whole
• Pattern: underlying structure – most fundamental element for strong sense of unity
• Consistency: form and color
• Variety: common quality/meaning in style (fashion of the same time period)
• Concept: purpose of object unifies the design

PURPOSES OF ART

RELIGIOUS RITUAL

• Oldest purpose, art has served religion for centuries
• Church was primary patron of artists

COMMEMORATION OF IMPORTANT EVENT

• Historical event, or of individual (wedding, baptism)

PROPAGANDA/SOCIAL COMMENTARY

• Propaganda: persuade towards certain viewpoint (Rosie the riveter)
• Social Commentary: more aware of human condition as perceived

RECORDING OF VISUAL DATA

• Telling “truth” as seen

CREATING BEAUTY

• Eye-pleasing, although beauty is debatable

STORYTELLING

• Sequence of panels
• Subtle stores of ordinary people in just one picture

INTENSE EMOTION

• Facial expression and body language
• Dramatic or exaggerated color, light, and form

INTERPRETATION

• Subject matter at hand
• Human nature, human condition, nature, events capture artists’ attention

Principles and Elements of the Hirshhorn Museum

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

"Last Conversation Piece" by Juan Muñoz

Point:

When we look at this sculpture by Juan Muñoz, our eyes are forced to look at the piece as a whole, and not as three separate pieces.  Although each point is placed far enough to be standalone pieces, the four concepts of Gestalt theory (closure, continuity, similarity, proximity) forces us to seek some kind of relationship within the work as a whole.  Our eyes are then able to ‘connect the dots,’ and see that there is a full scene of a story that cannot be seen when looking at each piece separately.

"Tropes de Teens" by Stuart Davis

Line:

Stuart Davis uses lines of various colors and sizes to create a unique work of art.  Painting random lines will mean little, but when artistically constructed with different colors at different angles and curves, they start to form shapes that represent what we can realize, such as faces and hands and bodies.  This painting not only has visual functions, but also has verbal functions, being able to communicate different emotions by the look on the faces in the background.

"The Doubter" by Yves Tanguy

Form:

This painting is a great example of how there can be different forms of art.  It is a great example of abstract art, as we cannot tell exactly what geometric or organic shapes are drawn in this painting.  The abstract colors and shapes helps to create this three-dimensional surrealistic world.  It creates, like most abstract art, an unnatural, yet strangely realistic world full of unique shapes and colors.

"Horse and Rider" by Marino Marini

Movement:

This sculpture of a rider and his horse is a great presentation of the element of movement.  We can see the head of the horse tilted back with its legs straightened, forcing the rider to lean back and keep his balance.  The horse itself is an animal that represents grace, speed, motion, and power.  One can imagine this scene of the rider struggling to get control of his horse gone lose.

"White Relief over Dark Blue" by Ellsworth Kelly

Color:

This piece is simple, yet presents a great example of the element of color.  Although the color blue presents a cool and spiritual feeling, it can also mean sadness and depression.  To that, the bright white, as stated by the title, relieves the viewer of the sadness by adding to the piece more energy and lifting up the overall mood of the work of art.  It’s just enough relief that it does not overwhelm the blue, but it cancels out its emotional effect, making it a viewable piece.

"Wall Drawing #1113: On a wall, a triangle within a rectangle, each with broken bands of color" by Sol LeWitt

Pattern:

This wall drawing is made from the repetition of rectangular shapes.  The pattern, full of different colors, come together to create a triangle within a rectangle, as the title says.  Borders create definition, and even though the colors aren’t in a pattern, the borders the cells come to create allow us to see clearly what the overall shape is.  Patterns, in this way, are able to maintain order in a world of chaos.  No matter how disorganized the color pattern is, we can still see the overall picture: a triangle within a rectangle.

"Landscape with Poodle" by Jean DuBuffet

Texture:

Texture, by definition, is the quality of an object which we sense through touch.  But it doesn’t always have to be physical.  The creation of the illusion of texture is also important, and this piece creates that illusion well.  The patterns, shapes, and styles that exist throughout the painting create a busy feeling, and also a sense that the surface is really rough and hard.  Similar to a rocky road, the areas around the poodle create illusion of a rough texture, even though it is a two-dimensional picture.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

"Column of Peace" by Antoine Pevsner

Balance:

This sculpture is a perfect example of symmetrical, formal balance.  If we draw a central line down the middle, we can see that both sides are perfectly equal.  There is equal weight on both sides, and we see visual equilibrium that indeed gives us a feeling of peace inside.

"Woman with Baby Carriage" by Pablo Picasso

Proportion:

Proportion is the relationship between objects of a whole, and Picasso’s sculpture is a great model that shows proportion.  Although the actual sculpture is smaller than a regular human being, the way it is proportionally made with the baby carriage allows to know that it is an actual woman.  Because of its relation to the carriage and the piece as a whole, we can easily visualize a real life counterpart of a woman and a baby carriage.

"Morning Light (Dover Hills, October)" by Oscar Bluemner

Rhythm:

This painting has a visual beat and a flow through space to it.  The way the scene is split up into different rectangles gives an almost sequential order to it, and it makes it look as though each small rectangle piece represents a certain time of morning.  It’s darker on the right side, and it seems like each rectangle after is a period of time, slowly and gradually getting brighter and closer to day.  It creates a timed movement through the space within the frame of the picture, creating rhythm and a visual beat.

"Self-Portrait" by Francis Bacon

Emphasis:

Francis Bacon’s “Self-Portrait” has a great deal of emphasis, as we are forced to look only at the person in the painting.  The lack of a detailed background with a strip of brown as the only other detail in the background, creates a focus on posed man.  Bacon’s appearance also creates emphasis with him painted in a brighter color than the rest of the background.  There is a lot of space around Bacon in the painting, but we never focus on it, because there is so much emphasis on Bacon himself, with brighter colors and his pose.

"King and Queen" by Henry Moore

Unity:

This bronze sculpture by Henry Moore shows unity that can be shown through art.  Both the form and color of the two people are very similar, and their style is also the same.  Both the King and Queen look similar to each other in every way, from their size to their pose to their clothes.  The concept of a king and queen also unifies the design.  A king and queen must always be unified in order to rule their territory.  One can’t possibly live without the other, and that is well shown in this sculpture.  It is the same that even in this sculpture, the King cannot sit alone without the Queen, and vice versa.

CRITIQUE

"Penance No. 3" by Manuel Neri

This bronze sculpture, called “Penance No. 3”, was created by Manuel Neri in 1982.  When I first looked at it, I noticed immediately the different colors, but also the position of the person.  A person is on his (or her) knees, and when I look even closure, it also has the hands in front, as if it is repenting or saddened by what has occurred.  During the early 1980’s – around when this piece was sculpted – there were many wars and numerous terrorist attacks throughout the world.  There were hijacks and terrorist bombings in Canada, and also the Lebanon War of 1982.  America itself was still involved in the Cold War, and in 1981 were nuclear threats in the Middle East.  With Neri coming from a family that experienced the Mexican Revolution, these events might have had a great deal of effect on Neri, leading to a darker mood in this sculpture.

Neri uses a variety of colors in his sculpture, but nothing in order or pattern.  Colors seems to be precisely splattered all over the head and body, giving a more disorganized look that makes it seem like the person is having mixed feelings.  There is also a rough, hard texture to the statue, adding to the disorderly look in the work.  The lines, however, are still definite and clear, with curves to show that the sculpture is a statue of a person and not a random object.  Yet this seems to be the only function of the lines that Neri uses, to show that this is a person.  There is also a lack of movement, and the fact that the person is still creates more emphasis on the emotional aspect of the sculpture rather than the physical action that the person is taking.

I believe this sculpture’s has the meaning of looking at the world in sorrow, asking for forgiveness.  The colors and the pose that the statue is taking gives it that feeling, but also the lack of a face.  It might mean that he is trying to hide his face from the wrongdoing throughout the world.  The word “penance” itself means: voluntary self-punishment inflicted as an outward expression of repentance for having done wrong.  After researching what was happening throughout the world around the time this sculpture was being made, I would have the same feeling.  Wars, terrorist attacks, and nuclear threats throughout the world would have me asking “Why?” too.  Especially if the generation before me experienced a revolution in my home country – which was the case with Neri – I would also be asking God for forgiveness for the foolishness of mankind to be repeating the same mistakes over and over again.  I can relate to such feelings, because I’ve also had times when I was asking why I was making the same mistakes.  Perhaps Neri thought to express his own emotions through his art, and chose to create it in the manner that he did.  He did it to express his own feelings, by showing how he saw himself.

By showing his own feelings, I believe that this work has a good amount of intrinsic value.  It presents a good social message, and makes the viewer wonder why there still needs to be penance in what we do.  It makes us ask why we never learn when we make the same mistakes repeatedly.  The work has worth that it connects to the guilty and sad feeling inside we have when we do something wrong, and we have that desire to repent and ask forgiveness.  I also think that Neri’s sculpture has value because it could be beneficial to other artists and sculptors who look at this piece.  They are given a way to express themselves the way Neri did, to use color, texture, and the position of the figure to show how the artist themselves really feel.  It communicates an idea that certain artists may have not known before, which is why Neri’s “Penance No. 3” is not only a wonderful piece of art, but also an important and valuable sculpture that helps to express one’s true feelings of sorrow and one’s desire for forgiveness.