The Aesthetics of Composition in Abstract Artwork: January 2006

Monday, January 16, 2006

Artwork of the month: Nintendo and "the Annunciation"

I have always found this painting funny. My first memory of truly looking at it was with Philip Hoffman, jumping in place, circling his arms like wings in front of it saying "pew pew, shoots it right into the womb like a laser, LIKE A LASER," and seriously I can never get that moment out of my head when look at this painting.

and why would I want to...

Just look at it, teasing the second world like an original Nintendo game, 8-bit and all. The bird shooting Jesus like a laser beam...

...shooting the kid right in there.

Girolamo de Santacroce

Italian, 1503-1556

"the Annuciation"

1540, oil on panel

A good comparison is Kid Icarus, the original Nintendo gem from 1986.

Scene from a Nintendo game with lasers.

With this side by side comparison of lasers and angels from the golden age of video games, we can reveal the truth of the annunciation. Jesus was shot into the womb with a laser beam. Right out of the mouth of a dove, or dirty street pigeon just take your pick.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Shark composition studies

These studies were improvisational and completed while watching live sharks at the underwater aquarium. Living in the midwest, it was the only place I could go to see live sharks.

I sat around the aquarium for a couple of days just watching and thinking about how to abstract a shark. I am sure the employees labeled me "the creepy silent guy drawing," and that's cool, I am sure I was just that.

Here are a few of the studies from that time.

This was back in a time when I was exploring the ideas of representation as abstraction...

maybe I will paint like this again someday, as it does have a bit of merit.

Wednesday, January 4, 2006

"Shark Compositions" series of paintings

This series was a painted during a time in my life (1998 - 1999) when compositional abstraction and my ideas of being the mental state of your work as you work on it was completely new to me. I had been a portrait artist that converted to still life, and abstraction just felt right. or so I think, memory fails us as we go back and look a our lives, as I am sure it is for me.

Artist statement

This series was intended to present the various mental states of an individual soldier during and after war. The mythology of the Hawaiian Islands to represent the identity of a shark as a metaphor to symbolize said mental state of a soldier. The mythology of the pacific islands believe that when an individual is acting out of place he is wearing the spirit and identity of a shark.

As a source of inspiration I looked toward the behavioral traits of schizophrenia; conflicts of confusion both rational and irrational, violence, an adolescent-like lust, and lack of self-control, as the foundation for my methods used in the application of paint.

War being what it is induces an almost schizophrenic-like psychology to the fundamental beliefs of right and wrong. Wrong is only in question when it is committed on the individuals perception of interpretation.

Adam M. Considine 1999