Works of art are characterized by many visible and implicit details that form them. Images, shapes, and colors can express the feelings and moods of a painting, while the author’s style and the title of a painting or series characterize its background. In this paper, three artworks are briefly reviewed to demonstrate how different details reveal the meaning and emotions of the work and their authors.
The first work, “Painting,” is Francis Bacon’s canvas that depicts a black silhouette of a man surrounded by raw meat. This picture is a response to the harshness and inhumanity of war and the accusation of humanity for the deaths and horrors that this fight brought (Kleiner, 2016). The silhouette of a male figure was probably inspired by photographs and images of European and American politicians and officials that were often depicted in newspapers during the war (Kleiner, 2016). The second photograph, “Flowers on Body,” is feminist artist Ana Mendieta’s work that depicts a woman’s body on the ground covered with wildflowers. This work belongs to the Silueta series and addresses the issue of life and death, as well as the experience of childbirth (Kleiner, 2016). In a broader sense, the photo concerns the theme of the connection between humans and nature, since the authors with her works demonstrate the literal reunification of a person with nature.
The third work, “Backs” by Magdalena Abakanowicz, presents sculptures of human figures, or rather many backs. The sculptures are made from natural organic fiber, which the artist often uses in her works because it is the basic building material of organic life in the world, like animal and plant tissues (Kleiner, 2016). The shapes of the sculptures are of particular importance as they resemble the figures of slumping people and express submission, fear, and anxiety. In addition, all the figures are similar and have no distinctive features, which shows the merging of the personality with the crowd. Therefore, this review demonstrates that many details, from materials to images and forms, can reflect the meaning and emotions of artworks.
References
Kleiner, F. S. (2016). Gardner’s Art through the age: A global history (15th ed). Cengage Learning.