Museum Assignment

Painting: Latin American art. Jose Clermerte Orozco (born in 1883 In Cuidad Guzman Mexico) Died in 1949 in Mexico City. Grupo Erotico (Allegorical Figures), 1945. Oil on Canvas. Next to the entrance and next to Candida Portnari (born in 1903 in Sao Paub, Brazil) Brazil Wood, 1938. Pencil on Craft Paper. Died in 1962 in Rio de Janeiro.

Brief description of painting: In this painting, there appears to be a male figure carrying a female figure on his shoulder. The male figure appears to be running away from something. It appears that he may have just rescued a damsel in distress. As he is running, he is stepping on what appears to be two evil creatures.

Shapes – A shape is a two-dimensional figure that may regular or irregular in appearance. In this painting, both regular and irregular shapes were used. Irregular shapes were primarily used in this painting. The irregular shapes are unique and have the outline of a human figure. There are four distinct irregular shapes in this painting, which are the male figure, the female figure, and the two evil looking creatures toward the bottom of the painting. These irregular shapes are considered biomorphic because they resemble living beings. The regular shapes in this painting can be seen on the evil figures toward the bottom of the painting. Regular shapes are geometric shapes that have a name, such as a circle or square. Circles were used to make the eyes of the creatures. The head of the creature, most towards the bottom of the painting, is shaped like half of a heart. The legs of the creature have a rectangular shape. There also appears to be a triangle shape in between the two evil looking creatures. The other green creature has a round curvy shape around what should be his belly. The shapes in this painting were used to help define the characters.

Balance – Balanced can be defined as the way visual elements are arranged in the artwork to create a sense of equilibrium. The colors in the painting are balanced; For every dark shade there is a light shade that accompanies it. For example, the main focal point is the white, pale figure and he is balanced by a dark looking female figure that he is carrying over his shoulder. The background color is predominantly white and is balanced by shades of blue. The evil figures that the white male figure is stepping on are balanced in that one of the figures has a light color and the other has a darker color. There is also an asymmetrical balance within each of the figures. The arms of the male figure are similar in size but are not identical; the same thing can be said about the legs. The legs of the female figure appear to be visually balanced as well, but they are asymmetrical.

Line – A line can be defined as a point of movement that can vary in length, width, gesture, color, and direction. The artist uses different lines in this painting. The artist outlines both the body of the male and female figure with dark lines. Lines are also used to show the physical strength of the man in the painting. Cross-contour are used to show the muscles in the arms are highlighted through the use of dark lines. The chest muscles are also highlighted through the use of dark lines. Contour lines were used on the female figure to detail her arms and her legs. Diagonal lines on the legs of male figure suggest that he is moving in a forward direction. Diagonal lines on the legs of the damsel suggest that she is dangling while the male figure runs with her on his shoulder. The lines used to create the face of the male figure point in the opposite direction of his movement, suggesting that he is looking back as he runs away.

Value – Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a hue or neutral color. A value scale shows the range of values from black to white and light to dark. Lightness and darkness is shown in different areas of this painting. For example, the right side of the painting is primarily white with shades of blue going towards the middle of the painting. The left side of the painting is blue primarily towards the top with shades of white going towards the middle of the painting. The male figure in the painting is white, which peach colors primarily around the neck and face. The female is dark in color and her body is highlighted in red and blue colors. Towards the bottom of the painting, there are dark greenish figures (possible demons or warlocks) that the male figure appears to be stepping on while running. The center of focus in this painting is the male figure. He is light in color and attracts the most attention in this painting. The female figure he is carrying is dark and also attracts attention because she offsets him with her dark colors. The two evil shaped figures toward the bottom of the painting also illustrate value because one of the figures is light and the other is dark. Value is used in the painting to help create balance.

Texture – Texture refers to the quality of materials on the surface and can be either actual (tactile) or implied (visual). This painting is two dimensional. This means that the texture is implied or visual because the physical texture cannot be touched. The quality of the brush strokes in this painting gives me the impression that the texture would be rough or gritty. The brush strokes used in the painting are broad and impulsive, which makes the painting dynamic to the eye. Texture is used to help give the painting a character.

Scale – Scale can be defined as a relative size or proportion that determines the measurements of dimensions within a design or artwork. The scale used in this painting give the illusion that relationship between the two human figures and the evil figures are correct in size. At eye level, the two human figures appear to be about the same size. The way the two human figures are arranged, give the illusion that they are running on top of two evil figures. The scale is used in this painting to make it appear lifelike. The scale also shows that the larger objects (the male and the female figure) have a greater importance to the painting than the smaller objects (the evil figures).

Perspective – Perspective is the way that three-dimensional objects are represented on a two-dimensional surface. The objects are placed on the plane surface in a fashion where the artwork appears at a certain distance and height upon a transparent plane. This painting has a normal viewpoint or perspective because the figures are placed in a realistic fashion. The male and female figures are placed mainly in the upper part of the painting and the evil figures are placed below. This scene would appear in this fashion at eye level. In this painting, there is a zero point perspective, which means there is no vanishing point in the painting. This painting does not contain any parallel lines. Perspective is used to help the painting look real.

Sculpture: Francisco Zuniga (born 1912 in Costa Rica; died 1998 in Mexico City). Evilia Sentada. (Evilia Sitting, 1969) Bronze)). Next to Carbs Merida (born 1891 Guatemala City) Guatemala; died 1984 in Mexico City) The Three Maidens in acrylic on polished parchment mounted on panel.

Brief Description of Sculpture: Appears to be a large Native American woman sitting on a block or stone. She seems to be in deep thought and her eyes are closed.

Volume – Volume can be defined as a space within a form and how that space interacts with it. The sculpture has a definite volume. It appears to be thick, solid, and is three-dimensional in space. Since the sculpture mimics an actual human being, there are different volumes within the sculpture. Each volume is made up of a solid form that has a particular form in size. The sculpture is made up of how these volumes are joined together. For example, the head of the woman has its own volume; the arms and the legs of the woman have its own volume; the body of the sculpture has its own volume. Though each of these units have their own volume, each volume joins together to make up the sculpture. Though the size of the sculpture is not in a life-like size, the roundness of the sculpture indicates that it would have the volume of a real human being.

Mass – Mass is defined as the visual weight of an object. In this sculpture, the visual weight appears to be evenly distributed. It does not appear to be any more weight on the bottom as there is in the top. It appears to be even due to the fact the lady in sculpture is sitting on a block. The sculpture is an exact replica of the silhouette of large woman. The sculpture appears to be solid in weight. The sculpture is made of bronze, which has mass. The sculpture exists in three-dimensional space.

Balance – Balanced in defined as the way in which the elements in visual arts are arranged to create a feeling of equilibrium in an artwork. If I were to draw an imaginary line down the middle of this sculpture, both sides would not have equal weight. This means that the sculpture is unbalanced. This unbalanced artwork gives me the sense that the woman is possibly in deep thought or may have anxiety. This sculpture also has an asymmetrical balance because although the part of the woman visually look the same, they element on one side or different from the elements on the other side. To illustrate this, look first at the arms and hands of the woman. Visually they appear to weigh the same, but they are arranged differently in the sculpture. The left hand is placed against her face and right arm is placed in normal fashion. The legs also have an asymmetrical balance because they appear to be similar but are placed in a different fashion. The woman crosses the right leg over the left leg. Asymmetrical balance is used in this sculpture to give the sculpture a more exciting look.

Texture – Texture refers to the quality of materials on the surface and can be either actual (tactile) or implied (visual). I was physically unable to touch the sculpture to feel its texture due to the fact that the sculpture was secured inside of a glass case. Since the sculpture is three dimensional in shape, it should have a tactile texture. This sculpture has a tactile texture or real texture because the sculpture can be touched. It is not a painting. I would imagine that if I were able to touch the sculpture, it would be hard with a smooth texture. The shapes used in this sculpture do not appear to be too complex and the surface texture does not appear to have too much detail.

Proportion – Proportion refers to the scale relationships of one part to the whole and of one part to another. In this sculpture, there is an appropriate balance between the size of the woman’s body and her limbs. This sculpture has great proportion and appears to be asymmetrical. The head of the lady is small in proportion to her body. The lady appears to be heavyset. She has a large body type, large arms, large legs, but the features on her face are normal. Her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears appear to be in normal proportion. Though the woman’s left hand rest against her face, the size of the woman’s arms is in equal proportion to each other. The woman’s right leg is also crossed over the left leg, and the legs are in equal proportion to each other. She appears to be a normal lady. The lady has ideal proportions for representing a human figure. Though this model of a Native American woman is smaller than the real human being it mimics, it is in proportion to the actual human being.

Scale – Scale can be defined as a relative size or proportion that determines the measurements of dimensions within a design or artwork. The size of this sculpture affects how I relate with it. When I glance at this sculpture, it doesn’t appear to be that tall or large in size. Scale is used in this sculpture to show the size of the parts of the woman’s body in proportion to her whole body. This sculpture has a good scale because it has a good relationship between dimension and idea. This sculpture is able to stand free. Scale is used in this sculpture to give the viewer the feeling that the sculpture is actually life size.

Space – Space is defined as the area between, around, above, below, or contained within objects. The space in this sculpture is in three dimensions, meaning it has length, width, and height. I believe this sculpture has positive space because the space of the shape represents the subject matter. What is inside the sculpture is a mystery. Looking at the sculpture, it appears as if it is reaching out to enter into our space. Space can be bounded or unbounded. Space can negative or positive. Negative space is the remaining space in the background. This sculpture does not have negative space.