blog #4

European Symbolism
I propose an exhibition were viewers could look at the image and take the knowledge of symbolism used to make their own perspective of what the images represents. We can start the exhibition by only showing European symbolism paintings with artist like Gustave Moreau, Odilon Rendon, James Ensor, and Edvard Munch. Will name the exhibition European Symbolism.

We first start the exhibition by letting the viewers know a little history of symbolism painting.

So will start with this information first.

In the late 1800’s European symbolists opposed the values of rationalism and material progress in the Western culture instead they explored nonmaterial realms of emotion, imagination, and spirituality. (Stokstad) Symbolists did not portrayed the traditional iconography but through ambiguous subject matter and formal stylization of hidden and exclusive meaning. Instead of giving an image a representation of the world they transformed appearances in order to give pictorial form to psychic experience. (p. 785)

Then well tell are viewers what are the four European Symbolists were going talk and view their images.

Gustave Moreau, Odilon Redon, James Ensor, and Edvard Munch

Will start the presentation with Gustave Moreau.

Gustave Moreau was an older academic artist who’s Symbolists recognized him as a precursor. The Symbolists admired Gustave renditions of the biblical Salome were a young Judaean princess in beginning of her mother, Herodias, Performs an erotic dance before her stepfather Herod, and demanded in return of the of John the Baptist head. (Stokstad) This peace he called The Apparition. Gustave draws the viewer’s attention by placing the saint’s head in midair with dripping blood and glowing holy light. Even though Gustave make beautiful and elaborate architecture, his styles of sensual beauty make Salome take the role of femme fatale “ the fatal woman” who attempts to destroy her male victim. This fantasy was in the imagination of Symbolists, because of feminism of the nineteenth century. (p. 786)

After the viewer knows a little information of the image, then we start asking questions about it for example if they agree with symbolists, or did they believe the picture represents something else or does the background fades away leaving the saint to be attention graver?

Then we continue with Odilon Redon.

Odilon Redon began his exhibition with the Impressionist in 1886; he departs from their artistic goals by using nature as a point of variation for fantastic visions suggestion loneliness and unhappy. Redon created black and white images he called Noirs, which is “Blacks” In his piece of The Marsh Flower, A Sad And Human Face. He has a sad face as part of flower. Making the sad face the attention point of the image. Just like in Moreau having the saint’s face in the middle of the image. Redon used black background and white to show the emotion of the sad face that is part of the flower. (p. 787)

After they this information we ask the same question what does the sad man represents, does it has to do anything with science, is he trying to combine nature and science?

Then we continue with James Ensor

James Ensor was Belgian painter and printmaker studied four years in the Brussels Academy. Like Rendor, his wired and anxious visions from observation of the real world made him create unusual images. Using his experienced he had when his family selling masks during the annual pre- Lenten carnival. Came the inspiration for his piece The Intrigue. In this image he made the people wearing the masks look comical. The sharp colors makes the image have a sense of sketching, the rough paint expressive the hardness of the people. (p. 787)

Again we ask the viewers the what was the purpose of making their faces look comical and Why did he uses such rough brush strokes in there faces does it meaning anything?

Are last artist will be Edvard Munch.

Edvard Munch most famous piece was The Scream. Which is” unforgettable image of modern alienation the merges.” Symbolists believe it was a picture of him expressing his feelings. Munch recorded the painting’s origin in his diary: “ One evening I was walking along a path; the city was on one side, and the fjord below. I was tired and ill…I sensed a shriek passing through nature…I painted this picture, painted the cloud as actual blood.” (p. 788)

Knowing this information we can tell viewer why they think used a skull to express a human person? , Why are the ears covers while the skull is screaming or is he trying to cover up something?

After completing this exhibition will have a better understanding of European symbolism and used their own imagination of what they think the image represents.

All these images have one thing in common it makes the viewer think of what the image may represent. Also the images have a non-real style to them. Making them imaginative with a sense of symbolism. Also the uses of lines and color this images used makes the viewer think of what colors used say different emotions and if thin lines are used for different gestures or decoration. All this artists used color as a big part of their image to show emotion of what they were felling. Like in Munch The Scream he used red clouds to represent blood. But question is why, all these images are asking the same question why did the artist did what he did.

I wanted to an exhibition were viewers can participate and learn and learn about the artist at the same time. Give them the chance to explore different cultures. Because there not really a wrong or right answer viewers can bring friends and families to discuss what they think the picture represents.

This is my proposal for a new exhibition project.



Sources
Stokstad, M. (2008). Art History: A view of the west, Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.