Art Comparison Paper
The two artist that i’ve decided to to compare and contrast are Daniel Gordon and his Piece “Pomegranate” (2007) from the contemporary artist movement and Richard Hamilton with his titled “ Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing?” (1956) piece from the pop art movement. I choose these two works of art because in each piece I believe that each one of the artist utilize different styles that are important elements that contribute to the culture of art and influenced many other creations today. Because of the innovative styles and creations,elements art is forever evolving. Both paintings differ in style but potray a similar depiction of distortion and illusion. Those factors single handedly draw me to these images because they are thought provoking and leave you with questions upon viewing the art work.Throughout this essay I will be analyzing and discussing the elements derived from each art piece as I compare and contrast the two.
Pop art is an artistic movement that developed around the 1950’s in the United States. This movement is somewhat defined as the motion of using prominent brnad good labels and other items from societys popular culture and integrate with elements of fine art.Pop art takes the material from the context it was originally intended for and removes it then either combines it with other objects, drawings, figures or distorts the object completely and the interpretation is left completly to the viewer’s contemplation. Pop artists use aspects from our culture such as advertising, comic books and everyday objects.
Contemporary art is simply defined as art that is being created during this current period of time or rather the art of today. Contemporary art is influenced by modern media, advancements in technology and challenging boundaries. Contemporary stemmed from modern art which lasted until the late 1960’s when artists turned away from their painting mediums and sculptures to experiment with new formats including photography, film and video, performance art, large-scale installations and earth works. Although many critics dont agree with these unorthodox methods, because they stray away from traditional art elements in fact they challenge many of the ele claim that “death to painting is near”, art isn’t defined by soley one definition because art is based on perception and interpretation that relies on a broad range of scientfic innovations and the internet. Like many art era’s most tend to have a central theme or focus, that can’t be explicitly said about contemporary art. Contemporary art explores the themes of being more socially conscious than past era’s with focusing on issues such as feminism, racisim, globalization and much more. They use real life as sources of subject matter.
Daniel Gordon is artist from Brooklyn, New York and was born in the 1980’s. He is a a photographer who is considered to be apart of the temporary atist movement , uses photography to create images that can alter a viewers perception with notions of artifice and authenticity. This artist uses a multitude of mediums to create his evkoing imagery. He takes different elements from pictures and magazines and compiles them together to create his idea of a portrait. In his art work “Pomagranate” he displays an image of a seemingly messy scene of a person enjoying a pomagranate. The image is both comical and and unsettling as you try to understand it’s significance. The image was put together with crumpled paper and found imagery to display this scene. In the scene it shows two unusually hairy arms extended forward in one hand which is formed by the crumpled paper holding a cigarette and the other hand is represented by a pixalated image of a hand it’s grasping a pomagranate. In the image the artist does a good job eith displaying the element of contrast in the image with the bright colors contrasting against the dark. The artist also uses proximity well, he has all the objects in the image assembled closely together so those objects are more accentuated. He also uses texture will within the details of the objexts like the persons arm, the table top pattern and also in the wood grain on the wall. I enjoyed this artist’s work throughlogh
Richard Hamilton was born in Britian in the 1920’s and he was one of the leading faces in the creation of pop art. His main mission and motivation behind pop art was to destroy the normal meanings and functions of art.As an artist Hamiltons purpose was to go against the grain and to stray away from the conventional. Hamiltons work repertoire is both well observed and playful. And no other artist’s work of the time period was as expressive at showing the spirit of the time and day in age. Hamiliton uses a variety of methods while completing is art pieces but he just wasn’t the ordinary painter , he ws also a collage artist which is where the concept of pop art was derived from. He completes his portrait “Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing?” by applying his preferred method of collage art. In his work he attempts to recreate his vision on the average home. The living room some representation contains of all the objects that wouldve filled a post-war consciousness home in the 1950’s such as a Man, Woman, Food, History, Newpapers, Cinema, Domestic Appliances, Cars, Space, Comics, TV, Telephone. I appreciate how he attempts to summarize the various influences that were beginning to shape Britian post-war and the rapid advancement of everyday existance . The photo is filled with hues of warm colors such as various shades of red, yellow, orange and brown, also their is some hints of black and white throughout the picture to add the element of contrast. Also Hamilton uses space well in the photo to draw the viewers eye, he uses overlapping imagery to make the objects in the appear closer. Throughout the photo you can see various items being used that would have been relevant to the time such as an old school hoover vacuum and a radio to potray the technology of the time. Also there is a good use of form in the picture with the different shapes that encompass the room such as the use of squares and circles to create the image of a living room. Also there is some texture used in this art piece such as the woodgrain design on the floor and the texture in the moon depicted on the ceiling. But overall I enjoyed viewing this work because of all the details and the complete make up of the image.
Even though these two pieces of art are fom two different time periods in art they both share a number of common qualities. The first shared quality that both paintings have is a similar overall composition with how the art work was completed. Both formats include a form of mixed media which means more than one medium was used to create the image. In each work of art both of the artist utilize image clipping to achieve an overall cohesiveness. Another shared element is the use of scale/proportion. In both pieces the artist have sized various objects larger or smaller to attract your attention to a focal point. When objects are enlarged they use the relative size of elements against each other can shift your attention to a focal point. When elements are designed with more of an impressive stature that usually denotes significance.
Some of the distinguishments between each piece are few because they are so similar but their several differences. One of the most noteable differences in the artwork is the sense of balance with the objects in the pictures. In Daniel Gordon’s “Pomagranate” The objects in the picture are distributed evenly throughout the photo, promoting equilibrium amongst the image. In Gordon’s art work he has numerous objects which sort of oversaturates the art piece making the focal point unclear. Another disparate element in the contrasting images is the concept of space used in both. I feel as if Daniel gordon presented the idea of space better by the way he displayed his images, although their were only several objects in the painting you know those objects hold some type of importance because of they way the objects are highlighted and shown. In Hamilton’s painting all of the objects are overlapping as he attempts to fill in the space of the picture and overall there is a lot going on in the picture so it’s harder to determine what the artist’s intended focual point is.
In conclusion I choose these two works of art because in each piece I believe that each one of the artist utilize different styles that are important elements that contribute to the culture of art and influenced many other creations today.