looking at art – PopCult Reviews

Looking at Art – The Bewitched Man

Welcome to Looking at Art. Here’s what we do: I just spend some time looking at the piece, writing down thoughts & questions I have. Thinking about how it makes me feel and trying to make connections. Then I will do some research and report back to you with any relevant details to the piece. Finally, I put all that together and contemplate how the piece’s meaning has changed for me & what my big takeaways are. Today’s piece is:

The Bewitched Man (1798)
Francisco Goya
Oil on canvas
42.5 cm × 30.8 cm

What I know about Goya is this: He was Spanish. He painted in the 17th/18th centuries. He has a painting of Saturn eating his children that is probably his most known work, at least to me. It’s speculated that he went mad due to the presence of lead in his paints.

Looking at Art – Self-Portrait of Suffering

Welcome to Looking at Art. Here’s what we do: I just spend some time looking at the piece, writing down thoughts & questions I have. Thinking about how it makes me feel and trying to make connections. Then I will do some research and report back to you with any details that are relevant to the piece. Finally, I put all that together and contemplate how the piece’s meaning has changed for me & what my big takeaways are. Today’s piece is:

Self-Portrait of Suffering (1961)
Ibrahim El-Salahi
Oil on canvas
30 cm × 41 cm

Looking at Art – Mural de La Plena

Welcome to Looking at Art. Here’s what we do: I just spend some time looking at the piece, writing down thoughts & questions I have. Thinking about how it makes me feel and trying to make connections. Then I will do some research and report back to you with any details that are relevant to the piece. Finally, I put all that together and contemplate how the piece’s meaning has changed for me & what my big takeaways are. Today’s selection is:

Mural de La Plena (1952-1954)
Rafael Tufiño
Painting, Mural, Oil on Masonite (20 panels)
4.6 m x 9 m

I chose this piece because it comes from Puerto Rico, and Ariana is from Puerto Rico. Beyond that and the essential information above, I have yet to learn about the history of this mural. I do know bits & pieces of Puerto Rican history. It is a colony (labeled ‘commonwealth’) of the United States. Puerto Rico was handed over to the United States in 1898 after being a Spanish colony since Columbus landed there. It was initially inhabited by the Taino indigenous people, who are now primarily interracial, having been forced into & more recently chosen to be in relationships with non-Taino people. Puerto Rico, like Washington D.C., is a place where the citizens do not have representation in the U.S. federal government and therefore are denied the rights enjoyed by the mainland states, Alaska, and Hawaii. They may vote in presidential primaries but are legally forbidden to vote in the general election unless they have residency in the States.

Looking at Art – Winter 1946

Welcome to Looking at Art. Here’s what we do: I just spend some time looking at the piece, writing down thoughts & questions I have. Thinking about how it makes me feel and trying to make connections. Then I will do some research and report back to you with any details that are relevant to the piece. Finally, I put all that together and contemplate how the piece’s meaning has changed for me & what my big takeaways are. Today’s selection is:

Winter 1946 (1946)
Andrew Wyeth
Tempera on board
79.7 cm × 121.9 cm

We’re around midwinter, so I thought this would be an excellent painting to discuss. I’m not terribly familiar with Andrew Wyeth beyond one other image, Christina’s World. I’ve always found that piece to be highly evocative, bringing up horror and cinematic suspense ideas. You have to look closely at it to see those elements coming out, but they are there. The same sort of danger you might encounter in a Coen Brothers film.

Looking at Art – Chinese Horse

Chinese Horse
c.15,000-13,000 BCE
Lascaux Cave, nr. Montignac, France

In the cinema, it is not uncommon to hear filmmakers cite paintings as part of their inspiration. It makes sense because film is primarily a visual medium, so the same elements of design & aesthetics present in painting are going to apply to movies. I only ever took basic art history classes in high school & college and know that I should be building my knowledge and understanding of this form. I want to appreciate visual art beyond moving pictures & comic books, so I’m starting by doing this series. In Looking at Art, I will pick a painting or sculpture and spend some time just looking at it, allowing myself to think about it & ask questions. Then, I’ll share some background information on the piece and wrap things up by synthesizing my questions and the facts.