Appreciating Art

As I walked through the Sacagawea Art Collection, this colorful piece by Mai Wyn Schantz- Oil on Aluminum, stood out to me the most. I connected particularly with Mai's artwork because I work early enough to be able to see the sun rise, something I never take for granted. So now that I think about it, sunrises are one of my favorite things (along with the sun setting, of course).

I immediately notice the focal point as the sun about to rise, as if Mai wanted to give the viewer a sense of anticipation for the day to begin. The contrast to this is the remains of the night, light to dark blues and purples, floating slowly up the aluminum sheet. It is then that I see the color ending by a horizontal border of aluminum – showing the grayscale that's underneath the oil. I can now note the space the piece lies in, and the lines that are present. The text explains, “Lines may be straight, angular or curvy. They may be thick or thin, continuous or interrupted. The edges of a page or screen represent lines” (p.46). Despite the line where the water meets the sky, most lines in this painting make out the shapes of the clouds, and the reflection and ripple of the water.

Why do you think Mai decided to use her medium (aluminum) as a horizontal border? Do you think this intentional border helps gain texture and negative space or limits the colorful focal point with dull tones?

Next, I recognize the horizontal line perspective, where the sky meets the water. This gives me a feeling of distance with the horizon. The yellow in the center also creates an atmospheric perspective that allows the blue tones to circulate the image and move the eye into the center of warmer colors. Also note the fading into lighter blue on the water from the reflection of the sun's rays. The layout appears visually unbalanced to me, and going back to the atmospheric perspective, Chapter 5 of the text mentions, “ Colors in the foreground have darker richer values than colors in the distance, which tend to fade and wash out” (p.54). In this case, the rising sun is creating a fade within the water that reflects the lighter areas of the sky.

I found this piece to be aesthetically pleasing, and was able to connect it further with a photo I took last year:

I couldn't help but relate Mai's paintings to the warm colors presented in my photograph, with their being a horizontal line perspective with the water and sky. I also found an appreciation for cool and warm saturated colors, which adds asymmetrical balance.

It's said that “good design controls the eye's flow through composition” (p.53). I think that has been greatly achieved here!