Jacob Jacques

My assignment for the Chicago trip blog was originally going to be on the “Three Walls Gallery”, but I was not really sure about where it was and missed going to the gallery. So now I will blog about two art pieces from the modern wing inside the Art Institute of Chicago.

The two art pieces that I was attracted to in the art institute were paintings from the modern Europe area. The first painting was one from an artist I haven’t heard of before, Kurt Seligmann. Kurt was a Swiss born surrealist artist and was part of the surrealist circle. He made the painting “Melusine and the Great Transparents” 1943 which is oil on canvas.

Kurt Seligmann

It is a very exciting painting with organic shapes flowing all around. It is very surreal, nothing stands out as an ordinary object or shape that you would see daily, but there are some elements that point towards some shapes in a subtle way. The twisty ribbon looking shapes in the background resemble in my opinion tornados or high plateaus.  Which gives the feeling of chaos or unsettlement. The figures in the foreground are brighter hues than those objects of the background and have the same ribbon or layered cloth look to them and almost look as though they are sagging in areas. Taking the entire painting in I see panic looking objects near a cliff or edge of some sort in the foreground and three tornados spinning out of control in the background, but it could be anything to anyone and I believe that is why I like it so much.

 

The second piece of art I choose from the modern Europe area was a painting done by the famous artist Salvador Dali called  “The Anthropomophic Tower” that was made in 1930.

Salvidor Dali

The medium used to make this piece was pastel and stumping on tan wove paper.  Like most of Dali’s pieces it is unusual. In the foreground you have the top third of a beautiful women with long upward flowing hair that looks as though it makes the shape of another female body. Then in the background there is a tower with a bush behind it and two circular figures set in front of the tower a little distance.  Its not hard to see what Dali was trying to discreetly to depict, because the background is obviously a set of male gentiles. This is an interesting piece and seems to have something to say about the beauty of women and man and their differences.

 

Both of these paintings and artist have something in common, but also hold their differences. Some of the things they had in common were both artist were surrealist and part of the surrealist circle. They both also used flowing ribbon/hair styles that resemble each other quiet a bit. Another thing is that both pieces put you into a surreal environment with a landscape. Though these pieces have much in common they also have their differences.

Some of those differences are very obvious ones. In the Kurt Seligmann piece “Melusine and the Great Transparents” there are not exact figures, but in Dali’s “The Anthropomophic Tower” there is a women’s body and a tower with a flag. Also the artist used a different type of medium, Seligmann used oil on canvas and Dali used pastel. Then each piece has its own feeling to it. Dali’s piece seems calmer with the pastel hues and soft edges, while Seligmann’s piece has a panic or excited feeling and uses much brighter hues than those in Dalis piece.

The similarities and differences are strong between both of these pieces, but they don’t make one better than the other. I have always loved the work that Dali has done and I’m excited that I have found a new artist to look into that has similar qualities to Dali.