Formalism In Art History

Major Jackson is an American black poet. His poem “Might Pawns,” could be easily inferred to be about him, or about someone dear to him. Major Jackson’s poem, “Might Pawns,” uses a significant tone and unique symbolism to present that person issues does not affect ones intelligence, as one perceptive should be judged not where they came from, but how their mind speaks. The poem is one stanza, thirty-two lines, and only uses one period throughout the entire story. This causes the speaker to eventually start reading at a fast tone, which eventually shows the urgency the author is trying to portray.

An artist in particular who was an advocate for tolerance and an end of discrimination was the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson wrote a song called “Black or White” after undergoing a skin surgery. Before the surgery he had black skin and then after the surgery he had white skin which made many start to act hostile towards him and his change. The world perceived him as someone completely different however he was trying to prove that he was still the same man he was prior to the surgery. It promotes the idea that no matter what skin color or race one is, we are all human beings and should all be accepting of each other’s differences.

Allen Guelzo’s Thesis was centered around the idea that Lincoln viewed emancipation as “a goal to be achieved through prudential means, so that worthwhile consequences might result.” He argued that every gradual step Lincoln took towards the abolition of slavery was done to “balance the integrity of ends with the integrity of means,” to accomplish this while still placing the constitution above all of his personal opinions. Guelzo then presented and answered four questions that he believed arose as a result of his prudence argument; why is the language of the Proclamation bland, did the Proclamation actually do anything, did the slaves free themselves, and finally did Lincoln issue the Proclamation to only to prevent European intervention or inflate Union morale? In response to the first, Guelzo makes the point that the Proclamation was a legal document, and that “every syllable was liable to… legal

Like all of the other paintings that are on display at the Seattle Art Museum, the museum provides a text that summarizes the details of the series and how and when they were painted, as well as Lawrence and his goals for the piece. However, two other texts are included that other art pieces are normally not accommodated with. These include Lawrence’s simple captions for each of his paintings, and a poem by Langston Hughes that embodies the message of the migration in striking verses. Lawrence’s inclusion of captions that are for the most part no longer than two sentences long for each of his sixty tempera paintings provides a humble yet strong impact on its viewers. Likewise, Hughes’ lyrical accompaniment provides yet one more type of text, which balances the art of words and the art of paint on canvas.

Alfred de Musset – 19th Century French novelist wrote this quote for his play in French as “Les grands artists n’ont pas de patrie”, it translated in English as “Great artists have no country”. From Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, WH Turner, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol what do they have on common, apart from being some of the greatest artists in the world as we all know and being leaders of their art movements? (pause…) They obsessed with volume and conscious learning and they all created what they loved! They studied fundamental classical art and then later on were open to influences from others. They masterpieces are not bounded by space or time.

Because of this, he will instead write and type his emails in blue ink. Ruhnke also uses binders of what he refers to as life colors: blue, green, and white. Just like black, Ruhnke also avoids red. Although Ruhnke admits that superstitious rituals are completely irrational and nonsensical, he has no plans to alter his ways. “In 16 capital trials, he said, he has had only two clients sentenced to death and none executed - an accomplishment in a field where the goal is to save a defendant’s life”(pg.

The Post- Impressionist period follows the Impressionist period by splitting artist into two sides. Some artist felt that the artwork during the Impressionist period may have been too sketchy and lacked formal structure (Frank, 2014). Still, other artist thought there was too much emphasis on objective observations, which caused a lack of personal expression and spiritual content (Frank, 2014). To examine both types of art methods, I choose an example of both kinds of artwork, which are displayed in the same organization, the Art Institute of Chicago. The first artwork is A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, by Georges Seurat in 1884, and features a systematic and “scientific” technique.

This artwork was painted in 1888. In this year Van Gogh had big hopes that his movement would undergo a success- and so after going back to Arles (Having received an offer to work for his brother in exchange for a sponsorship))-he thought of starting a school with Gauguin and other painters(YouTube, 2006). Vincent painted but discovered that his dream was not being achieved because of Gauguin’s non-appearance. During his solitude, waiting for Gauguin, Van Gogh painted 14 artworks (among them “The Night Cafe”). These paintings were the beginning to his love for complementary colours (Metmuseum.org, 2014).

Van Gogh’s ‘’Starry Night’’ has more definite figures as opposed to Munch’s the ‘’The Scream’’. The human figure on the foreground leaves one wondering if it is a man or a woman. Each painting have a fluid brush stroke style which gives that distorted look to it and motion seems to be prevalent in each piece. Though the scream was supposed to show the sun setting, still, it’s ushering in to the dark. Both paintings are also inspired by true personal experiences by the artists.

In the 18th century, another one of the greatest artist of all time, Vincent Van Gogh illustrated a very personal painting. The Starry Night is now one of the most widely known paintings in the world, but the story and meaning is not. Both artist used dark and grim themes when it came to their creations, and that is what draws the public to them. In today 's society we are able to relate to the deeper and more mentally touching symbols of these pieces of art. Andrew Wyeth’s painting, Christina’s World shows a young woman in a empty field looking up at a grim farmhouse on a rustic summer day.