Barrett- 'Interpretations & Judgement: Controversial Art'

     In all forms of art, whether the artist is a writer, film director, photographer, or painter, a critic's response is essential in how viewers/readers may perceive the work of focus. As a critic, what and how art is described is greatly influenced by the way in which the critic interprets and judges it. Just as how we determine what art may be 'the best of it's time' or even 'the best of it's kind', we determine what art may be the most meaningless, perverse, offensive, and essentially the most controversial; our ideologies (norms, values, and beliefs) control our interpretation and manipulate our response to works of art. Barrett explains this through the interdependence of describing, interpreting, and judging...

Chris Ofili's The Holy Virgin Mary

          "For example, I could say that the culture in which I live informs me that Manet's 'A Bat at the Folies-Bergere' is important (judgement), and when I look at it I see a woman and a bar in front of a mirror (description), but the woman's reflection in the mirror does not make optical sense (interpretation), and therefore I think that Manet's is not a very good painting because it does not accurately portray what I know to be real and, at the minimum, paintings ought to be optically true (judgement)."

     By looking at works of art that have been put under the category of controversial and examining critic and public responses, Barrett identifies the connection between interpretation and judgement.  He pinpoints four categories of controversial artwork and gives key examples of artists and their works that have received negative feedback.


     Religiously Controversial Art-  In October of 1999, an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York contained a painting by Chris Ofili called, The Holy Virgin Mary. Ofili's Virgin Mary is black with African facial features and is surrounded by cut outs of butts that resemble angel wings. Protestors from the Catholic League stood outside the museum to hand out 'vomit bags'. The controversy went national when the mayor of New York condemned it and demanded the painting to be removed. Ironically the mayor had not seen the painting but claimed it represented "Catholic Bashing" and "Hate Speech". 

Eric Fischl's Birthday Boy

     Sexually Controversial Art-  Painter Eric Fischl has been considered as a quite controversial artist. Some critics love his work and some greatly dislike it. Two of Fishl's paintings, Sleepwalker and Birthday Boy, were removed "in light of American taste and notions of decency" from an episode focusing on American contemporary painters in the American PBS TV series 'American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America' . His painting Birthday Boy show a naked woman with her legs spread towards a naked young boy on a bed. Flam from the Wall Street Journal wrote, "Much of his straightforwardly realistic, sometimes flat-footed, imagery is overtly sexual. And it is also fraught with suggestions of alcoholism, voyeurism, onanism, homosexuality, bestiality and incest - all set smack in the middle of suburban middle-class America."  

Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms

     Ideologically Controversial Art-  Not all controversial art pertains to social or cultural taboos. Sometimes the controversy is simply critic disagreement on whether or not an artist's work deserves artistic acknowledgment and serious interpretation. The American illustrator Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) created more than 4 thousand images in his life, mostly for magazine covers, and advertisements for campaigns and companies. His Four Freedoms was viewed by over 25 million people during World War II.  Much of his work consisted of American suburban family life, accentuating aspects of social stereotypes that were associated with the idea of 'the American Dream'. Many critics found his works to be bland and too transparent to have received interpreted thought. Whereas with the recent trend in vintage and 'retro' artwork, Rockwell's art has been getting more attention. Laurie Moffatt of 'Newsweek' wrote, "Norman Rockwell reminds us of our humor and humility, our happiness and humanity. Those are not bad qualities to embrace."

Michael Ray Charles' Cut and Paste

     Racially Controversial Art-  There are artists that cause controversy by using explicitly racial and racist subject matter in their artwork to express and raise awareness of social issues that should be addressed. The African American painter, Michael Ray Charles, focuses on stereotypical racist images of blacks within American visual culture which are associated with slavery, southern black folklore, and 19th century minstrel shows. His satirical painting Cut and Paste, asks his viewers to attach stereotypes of choice to a man running down the street.  Football, hair pick, banana, knife, chicken, purse, handgun, or tie? Filmmaker Spike Lee wrote in a catalogue of Charle's work, "Michael Ray Charles attacks some serious issues and with a deft humor, which is very hard to do. He makes you laugh whiles he's killing you. That's a real artist. "Black viewers are frequently the viewers that are most offended by Charles, depending on age and geographic regions, according to Juliette Bowles, a writer for International Review of African American Art. Some critics argue that his artwork, and others like him are "making their reputations and large sums of money off of their own people's suffering, and are repeating monotonous themes to exhaustion, and are catering to the base interest of white curators and collectors."

     By reading through the short summaries of Barrett's four controversies and his examples, there aspects from each type that form the base of artistic controversy. All controversy, artistic or not, has more than one side of interpretation. Aesthetic judgments of art are typically based an individual's or a group of peoples' moral criteria. These moral criteria's contain their norms, values, and beliefs which also contains their emotional and social taboos. What crosses the line of 'comfort' for one person can simply be another person's everyday perception on an aspect of life. For an art critic, when interpreting and responding to a piece of art that encompasses subject matter that could be viewed as rude or offensive, it is important to take in all surrounding point of views on the piece in order to give a well rounded response. Barrett states, "Multiple interpretations of a controversial work of art can bring rationality to a controversy." 

Cannon Dill (AR8)

Cannon Dill's 'Special Delivery'

Cannon Dill's album cover for The Cavities

     Cannon Dill is an illustrator and muralist living and creating artwork in Oakland. His subjects are mostly of animals, typically wolves and foxes; birds seem to have recently made their way into his creativity as of his recent solo show "Heavy Water" at LeQuiVive Gallery. The old and vacant buildings surrounding his home provide him with an industrial canvas, his murals blanket the walls of deserted architecture with radiantly variegated canines. The creatures embody human emotion and physical forms, denoted by the detailed contour lines that shape their mischievous or somber expressions, and elongated human-like limbs.

David Hale's 'Silence'

     Both artists, Cannon Dill and David Hale are similar in that much of their subjects are animals created through dark contour lines. Their illustrations have a very cartoonish look to them, with the exception that Hale's animals stay true to their anatomy. Although Hale's animals are physically realistic, the animals themselves are formed through human designs, tribal mandalas form into a head or body. Dill's animals exhibit many human physical and emotional qualities, as well as the incorporation of subtle tribal-like designs. The beauty of Dill's artwork is his humanoid canines and birds that make us ask, "What is running through their minds?"

Piece from Dill's solo show 'Heavy Water'

Cannon Dill's 'Beyond Lost'

Images of Artworks Provided by:

www.hifructose.com

www.cannondill.com

www.davidhale.org

     

Beth E. Wilson's Descriptions & Yigal Ozeri's Paintings

     Art critic Beth E. Wilson is a prime example of a writer who knows how to capture the visual beauty of art through words. In her article 'Vanishing Point: Where Worlds Collide', she provides a stimulating description of the artist Yigal Ozeri's set of work. His paintings present human figures clothed in a fashion from the Renaissance, a number of which are hidden behind a foggy veil made from a layer of vanish and linseed oil [Wilson]. She states, "Ozeri bases these figures and fragments from old masters such as Cranach and Zurburan, evacuating much of the human form from the paintings, but leaving abstract architecture of their elaborate clothing and drapery, oddly preserving a human presence in the absence of the people themselves." [Wilson]
     This short exert from Wilson's article holds some of the key aspects of lively descriptive language that succeeds in capturing the readers' attention for the rest of an article. For example she wrote
"... leaving the abstract architecture of their elaborate clothing...", instead of writing, "... leaving the unique design of their fancy clothing...". The vocabulary she uses to describe the forms and social content (the human figures, their presence, and lack of) within Ozeri's paintings better creates a visual image in the mind of the reader, as well as providing a 'voice' that the reader can follow. While she expresses her visual and mental views about his artwork, she is also building a foundation for the reader/viewer to build their own visual and mental connections to Yigal Ozeri's paintings.

'Describing Art': Barrett Chapter 3 Description

     In Barrett's chapter 3, 'Describing Art', he writes about the importance of using 'lively' descriptive language when critiquing and discussing works of art in order to captivate the readers attention. Having a detailed description of the visual and mental aspects of a piece of art can help the reader (and viewer) better understand what they are viewing, and your specific interpretation of the piece. Barrett emphasizes that what must be brought up while critiquing is how and what mediums are used, what forms are present in the image (abstract or realistic), and the subject matter. As you discuss these aspects it is important to use visual words like 'flowing' or 'radiant' while also using comparisons, cultural contexts, and personifications. By doing this, as a writer and a critic, you are able to illustrate the connections between each aspect of the art, allowing the viewer/reader to have a better understanding of the art and even a better grasp as to why or what feelings arose within themselves while observing the piece for the first time. Within chapter 3, Barrett provides numerous examples of criticisms about multiple pieces of art which greatly accomplish an effective criticism.

David Hale (AR7)

     Since the birth of internet, online news articles, and social media, artists have been able to show their artwork to people from all around the world. While searching for a tattoo artist that could fulfill the dream tattoo someone has always wanted, the internet has become the best way to promote and discover the artist that would do the job. Without the help of this, finding David Hale and his artwork in Georgia while living anywhere else in the world would have been very unlikely. Although it is hard to find many articles online that dive deep into his artwork, the few that exist (as well as many small articles and comments) all praise his creations and admire his "mindfulness and wisdom far beyond his chronological age" [literacyhead.com]. 

     In Hale's drawing 'Song of the White Deer' (collaboration with Kris Davidson, 2012), a variety of animals all connect with one another while surrounding a head of deer. A male human head is split in half, both sides of the face surround the animals in a way that seems as if the head had encapsulated them but are now free. Deer, birds, turtle, snakes, butterflies, a flower, and a human; all the organisms within this piece are entwined within triangular designs and geometric patterns that form mandalas. This forms a sense interdependence... a reminder of the web of life. Hale states on one of his websites that he dedicates his work
"to Father Sky and Mother Earth in hopes of a generation that will heal our relationships with that which brings us Life"[davidhale.org]. 'Song of the White Deer' is a piece of art that more than adequately portrays his love for nature and his understanding that all things are connected, one organism cannot exist without the other.

     A horned skull that greatly resembles one of a bull is the main subject of a tattoo Hale did in 2011. The top of the skull and horns are decorated with a 'tribal' star mandala design made from heavy and light contour lines, as well as small dots and circles. The base of the skull's horns are wrapped in beaded twine with feathers hanging from them. Only black ink was used to tattoo the skull, but the flowers surrounding it are vividly colored with orange to red petals with aqua-green leafs. The skull looks as if it could be an object of spiritual significance. Perhaps a shaman's sacred tool, a decorated skull of an animal totem who's spirit would rise from the ground and the flowers that grow from it to dance along with it's human relatives in ritual.

     Tattoo body modification has existed for thousands of years, it is one form of art that has had true spiritual importance in rituals; whether it's a part of a youth's wright of passage into adulthood or a way of showing respect for spirits that watch over an individual. Skin is not just a canvas to hold a design, tattooing is about connecting to something deeper than skin, or something far outside from it. Back in 2006 David Hale had an interview with Hybrid Sessions, an online artist blog, to talk about his art, tattooing, skateboarding, and music. In a question regarding his unique tattoo work he mentions opening his first tattoo studio and said, "I feel tattooing is all too often thought of as a commercial art form, and this sacrifices its nature as a sacred art form. By working on my own terms, I am able to focus on the aspects of tattooing I feel are significant to our growth as a collective" [hybridsessions.com].

   
   

       

David Hale (AR6)

     David Hale is a illustrator, designer, muralist, and tattoo artist who lives and works in Athens, GA. Back in 2006 he received his BFA in Painting from University of Georgia in Athens. He is currently the owner and lead tattooist of LoveHawk Studios in Athens. He has a deep love and spiritual connection for the world and nature which is incorporated into his artwork. Much of his paintings have animals as his subject, many of which are birds of prey like hawks, owls, and eagles. His artworks have organic, natural tones of colors and mandala geometric patterns in others. Over the past few years his tattoo work has become increasingly well known in the world of body modification, people will travel from all over the country (even outside the country) to get a tattoo of his artwork. Each tattoo is unique to all others that he has done.

     His painting, 'You Will Die', a human skull is in the foreground of an orange-red circle resembling the sun. There is a heavy use of contour lines, and a variety of gray and tan tones of color to create depth and detail to the skull. The lines form sharp crystal-like shapes and edges that are forming on the surface and inside the skull cavity. Mushrooms are growing from the orifices and cracks in the skull. Although the title of this piece seems to sound ominous, the content in the painting is brighter. The human skull is an aspect of death but the mushrooms growing from it signify birth. The circle behind the skull displays the fact that life and death is a cycle of nature. One organism dies, but another is born and grows.

     Many of his tattoos and illustrations have a heavy influence of North Western native american animal totem designs while still maintaining his own distinctive style. It comes to no true surprise that Hale's art incorporates their designs, native american spiritual beliefs and myths are deeply tied into connecting and respecting 'mother earth' and all the beings that manifest from her.


   

   

Martin Wittfooth: Empires & Animals (AR5)

The Baptism, Oil on canvas, 2011

The Sacrifice, Oil on canvas, 2011

       


















    Martin Wittfooth is an artist who works and lives in Brooklyn, New York. When living within a city, every person is surrounded by industrial empires. They dominate and bombard our senses. The consequences of global industrialization be easily forgotten and hidden away when living inside something that is itself a product of industrialization. Wittfooth's oil paintings delve deep into the distressing truth of industrialization's impact on on nature. Industry's modern 'empires' are fueled by greed without guilt and domination without disquiet. His painted landscapes are visually and mentally intense. The main subjects of his paintings are animals that we all know and love in harmful and toxic locations or circumstances. His work can catch the eye of any animal lover.

The Spoils, Oil on canvas, 2011

     In Wittfooth's oil paining called 'The Spoils', a white pelican stands at the edge of a rocky shore. Pearl, gold, and jeweled necklaces are worn around her neck and are draping from the inside of her pouched bill. When looking closer you can see dark oil dripping from her bill. Behind her is a dark, rough ocean and a sky filled with smoke from a fire off in the distance. It can be quite easy to see that this is a painting of a coastal oil spill. It is a unfortunate environmental catastrophe that has happened many times since the beginning of ocean floor drilling for fossil fuels; one of the most recent and devastating was the BP oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico. Spills devastate marine ecosystems, including animals that thrive off of them like sea birds. It takes years for ecosystems to get back to a healthy level.

     The pearl and gold jewelry hanging from the pelican's neck symbolize human greed. What must be mentioned about the painting is that there is an absence of humans, no boats or helicopters heading towards the fire to extinguish it. The absence of human activity represents that humans, specifically industrial empires, are disconnected from the environments that they use and abuse for economic gain. This is an aspect that repeats in many of his paintings. Wittfooth's landscapes of human induced environmental catastrophes, occupied by animals that try to survive it, implore his viewers to rethink our way of life and question the social structures that control it.