Bahagian 11: Penghayatan Asas Seni Reka - sambungan Warna
oleh Hassan Mohd Ghazali pada pada 11hb Ogos 2011 pukul 11.56 ptg
ESTETIK WARNA
Dalam penulisan saya Bahagian 9 dan 10, saya telah mengupas sejarah warna, Sifat Fizikal warna dan Campuran warna. Kali ini saya berkongsi maklumat akdemik berkaitan Estetik warna dan sedikit komposisi warna. Aspek warna adalah sangat penting bagi kita yang terlibat dengan Seni Visual, lebih-lebih lagi kepada seorang pelukis atau pereka.
Kajian tentang warna ada hubungan dengan mendengar muzik. Alunan muzik adalah gabungan antara composer, pemuzik dan penyanyi yang memberi kesan keharmonian dan sedap didengar. Oleh yang demikian, warna juga tidak bersendirian dalam mengadunkan sebuah gubahan. Pelukis akan menggunakan warna agar kesan sebuah karya seni visual akan kelihatan menarik dan bermakna. Warna juga dapat mengungkapkan persoalan isi dan makna, justru ianya memberi kasan pada perasaan kepada yang menonton. Sebenarnya tidak ada peraturan yang paling tepat untuk menentukan sesuatu kajian warna itu betul atau salah, namun dengan beberapa kajian eksperimen dibuat oleh tokoh-tokoh seni visual, kajian warna dapat memberi respon yang positf bagi menerokai kesan estetik pada sesebuah karya seni visual.
Kejayaan penggunaan warna bergantung pada pemahaman dari beberapa asas dalam hubungan dengan warna. Sesuatu warna dengan sendirinya memiliki karakter tertentu, misalnya menciptakan suatu suasana, atau untuk memunculkan respons emosi. Namun, suasana boleh berubah ketika warna terlihat dengan warna yang lain dalam hubungan yang harmoni. Sama seperti muzik yang boleh berubah-ubah dengan gabungan nada untuk membentuk harmoni yang berbeza, demikian juga pelukis boleh mencipta hubungan antara perbeza harmoni atau kontras dalam hubungan penggunaan warna.
1. Warna Penggenap
Warna penggenap adalah terhasil apabila dua warna yang berhadapan atau bertentangan dalam roda warna ). Penggunaan warna penggenap adalah biasa dihasilkan untuk menunjukkan penegasan atau kontra. Namun ada pelukis dan pereka (designer) menggunakan warna penggenap sebagai gerak balas emosi.Misalnya Lukisan catan Mary Cassatt bertajuk In the Loge dengan menggunakan bahan pastel (lihat rajah) telah menganjurkan seluruh berbeza warna yang kontra antara merah dan hijau. Penegasan warna merah dapat digambarkan melalui beberapa garisan merah menegak dan melintang figura. Penggenap yang menjadi kontra yang nyata ialah warna kipas diwarnakan dengan warna hijau. Pelukis Mary Cassatt sangat berkeyakinan menggunakan warna penggenap hingga pakaian dan rambut figura yang diwarnakan dengan hijau dan merah. Kesan emosi terpar dalam karya ini disamping memberi kesan estetik yang cukup berkesan.
Warna Penggenap - adalah warna yang bertentangan
Mary Cassatt - In the loge
2. Skima Warna Pengenap terpisah
Warna penggenap terpisah adalah pecahan dari roda warna yang menggunakan dua warna bersebelahan dengan satu warna bertentangan. (rajah) Dalam erti kata lain, pelukis akan memilih dua warna yang bersebelahan dan mengenal pasti satu warna sebagai pelengkap dalam roda warna. Sebagai contoh,pelukis memilih warna Kuning dan warna Ungu adalah sebagai penggenap. Tetapi bukan menggunakan ungu sahaja sebaliknya pelukis itu memilih untuk menggunakan warna yang terletak bersebelahan dengan ungu pada roda warna. Oleh itu, warna Kuning mungkin seimbang oleh biru-ungu dan merah-ungu, dan kuning mungkin seimbang dengan merah-ungu dan biru-ungu (bukan ungu). Sebagai cotoh pelukis menunjukkan sebuah kaarya yang dihasilkan oleh Vincent Van Gogh bertajuk ‘Terrace of the Cafe at the Place du Forum in the Evening’, (1888) menggunakan bahan cat minyak atas kanvas. (Rajah), kesan skema pecahan warna pelengkap. Van Gogh menggabungkan biru dengan pelengkapnya ialah warna merah-jingga dan warna kuning-jingga. Pewarnaan agak dramatik, tetapi agak sedap di mata melihat karya ini. Sekali kita melihat karya ini kesan warna panas menonjol berbanding warna sejuk iaitu warna biru.
warna penggenap terpisah
Van Gogh- cafe
3. Skema Warna Triadik
Sistem warna triadik ialah rangkaian tiga warna asas (utama) dan tiga serangkai warna kedua berdasarkan roda warna. Triadik yang utama adalah dari tiga warna asas di mana warna kuning adalah paling atas, kerana warna kuning intensiti paling kuat. (lihat rajah), mana kala segi tiga kedua adalah warna sekunder. Tujuan utama organisasi skema triadik adalah untuk memperlihatkan tiga segi yang berbeza dari segi kekuatan cahaya dan intensiti. Triadik pertama adalah warna-warna kuning, biru dan merah yang mempunyai kekuatan kontras sementara triadik kedua adalah warna hijau, jingga dan ungu yang memiliki warna yang lembut. Kesan ini mungkin berlaku kerana antara dua warna dari bahagian triadik warna umum: Orange dan hijau keduanya mengandungi kuning, jingga dan ungu keduanya mengandungi merah, dan hijau dan ungu keduanya mengandungi biru. Maka skima warna menengah (intermediate) dapat di atur dalam dua triadik menengah (intermediate) (lihat gambar). Di sini, juga, kerana kita bergerak lebih jauh dari kemurnian warna asas, warna kontras antara kedua-dua triadik yang lebih lembut.
4. Skema Warna Tetrad
Hubungan antara warna berdasarkan pada segi empat sama. Ia dikenali sebagai sistem warna Tetrad. Sistem ini terbentuk apabila empat warna yang digunakan dalam organisasi. Untuk mendapat sistem ini ruang sekitar roda warna dan mengandungi warna utama (asas), warna kedua (sekunder) dan warna ketiga (tertiar) digunakan untuk mencari empat warna yang tergolong sebagai warna tetrad (lihat rajah), Empat segi yang digunakan untuk memilih warna tetrad boleh dipusaingkan agar pemilihan warna menjadi kenyataan. Kesan yang menarik ialah terdapatnya warna-warna penggenap dan harmoni apabila menggunakan sistem ini.
Skema Warna Tetrad
5. Skema Warna Analogis
Warna analogis (Analogous) wujud apabila warna-warna tersebut berdekatan atau ‘jiran’ dalam skema roda warna. Pemilihan warna berdekatan itu akan menghasilkan kesan warna harmoni (lihat rajah). kesan yang ketara pada warna analogis ialah warna-warna ini masih mengekalkan ciri-ciri yang sama intensiti. Warna analogis tidak hanya dikelompokkan dalam kumpulan intensiti warna spektrum namun terdapat juga melalui warna-warna natural dalam nilai warna yang sama. Oleh yang demikian ada kalanya warna ini juga disebut sebagai warna monokrom apabila warna yang digunakan mempunyai ikatan yang sama namun ‘tint’nya sahaja berbeza.
* Analogis adalah diambil dari istilah DBP
Warna analogis
6. Warna Monokrom
Skima warna monokrom disebut juga sebagai 'warna sewarna' terdapat juga buku yang menyatakan ‘monokromatik’ yang melibatkan penggunaan hanya satu warna. Warna ini juga boleh dikategorikan sebagai warna harmoni. Warna boleh berubah dari segi nilai warna melalui tambahan warna hitam atau putih. Pelukis Mark Tansey sangat gemar menggunakan warna monokrom dalam karya-karyanya salah satu karyanya ialah Triump over Mastery II (1987). Menggunakan bahan cat minyak atas kanvas. Penggunaan monokrom memberi kesan pada mood karya. Tansey juga menggunakan monokrom sebagai satu cara untuk menekankan perbezaan tekstur lebih perbezaan dari segi nilai warna yang digunakan.
Triump over Mastery II
7. Warna Hangat dan Warna Sejuk
Suhu warna boleh dianggap sebagai satu cara lain untuk menetapkan skema warna. Berdasarkan roda warna, semua warna-warna tersebut dapat digolongkan ke dalam salah satu daripada dua kumpulan: warna panas dan warna sejuk. Warna Merah, Jingga, 8dan Kuning adalah berkaitan dengan matahari atau api dan dengan demikian dianggap sebagai ‘panas’. Sementara itu warna-warna seperti biru, hijau, ungu, dan biru-hijau, yang berkaitan dengan hawa, langit, bumi, dan air; adalah disebut warna sejuk.
ASPEK KOMPOSISI WARNA DALAM KARYA SENI
Warna juga mempunyai komposisi tertentu sebagai peranan dalam berkarya. Dalam perkembangan dunia seni lukis barat, pelukis menggunakan warna sebagai menimbulkan objek yang dilukis. Dalam catan relisma warna digunakan sebagai memperkenalkan objek yang dilukis agar menepati bentuk asal, misalnya melukis buah-buahan, warna-waran di campur agar menimbulkan rupa objek sebenar. Warna juga digunakan sebagai alat representasi pelukis dalam menterjemahkan makna. Oleh yang demikian, warna mempunyai peranan sebagai menentukan komposisi artistik dalam sesebuah karya. Antara lain tujuan warna ialah:
1. Memberi kualiti ruang dalam satah gambar dalam karya seni.
2. Menghasilkan kesan suasana dan idea yang tersirat.
3. Memberi kesan ekspresi dari perasaan dan emosi diri pelukis.
4. Untuk menarik perhatian secara langsung terhadap penumpuan objek dari segi komposisi dan organisasi pengkaryaan.
5. Bagi menimbulkan kesan nilai estetik melalui penggunaan antara warna.
6. Memberi kesan penampilan objek yang dilukis.
* Penulisan ini adalah petikan buku Seni Visual yang akan diterbitkan oleh Penulis.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Hassan Mohd Ghazali Penyataan Seni adalah Peniruan adalah dari kata-kata Plato... yang menyatakan mimesis... atau peniruan... dalam bukunya Republik..(picasso hanya mengulangi kata-kata Plato).. dalam buku Republik plato menyatakan seniman seperti pelukis perlu dibuang daerah kerana ia meniru dari tukang yang mendapat ilham dari tuhan...Plato memberi contoh ilham yang tuhan beri kepada tukang kerusi dan membuat kerusi.. akhirnya pelukis meniru kerusi... kerusi yang dilukis bukan sebenar...hanya ceminan kerusi...kenyataan Plato ini lah mencetuskan suatu teori seni iaitu teori peniruan atau yang disebut sebagai mimesis... Namun Aristotal bertelagah pendapat Plato dan menyatakan pelukis meniru alam...... panjang kalau nak diceritakan... itulah faktanya....
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Whimsical Artist
Q: What makes someone a whimsical artist?
A: Many artists identify with being called "whimsical" because of their philosophy. They want to create images that are playful, cheerful, and carefree. Whimsical artists often want to make the viewer smile or laugh, or look at the world around them in a different way. What is a whimsical artist? You decide!
A: Many artists identify with being called "whimsical" because of their philosophy. They want to create images that are playful, cheerful, and carefree. Whimsical artists often want to make the viewer smile or laugh, or look at the world around them in a different way. What is a whimsical artist? You decide!
Yusof Gajah Gajah created a doc.
What is Naïve Art?
For many, the term “naïve art” conjures up the verdant valleys and happy hamlets of Anna Mary Robertson (”Grandma”) Moses, the luxuriant vegetation and exotic jungles of Henri Rousseau, and the palmy South Sea Isles and pristine Tahitian women of Paul Gauguin. Brazilians identify naïve art with the fascinatingly colorful figures of Ivonaldo, the folkloristic motifs of Rosina Becker do Valle and the insightful Biblical interpretations of Jose de Freitas. Eastern European naïve art is associated with the powerful village scenes of Ivan Generalic and the floral farmlands of Ivan Rabuzin. In Israel, we recall the rich Biblical scenes and Cabalistic imagery of the Safed zeigermacher (watchmaker), Shalom Moscovitz, lovingly known as “Shalom of Z’fat,” revel in the anachronistic phantasmagoria of Gabriel Cohen, and take delight in the brilliant compositions of Odessa by Yefim Ladizhinsky.
But whatever our association with the term “naïve art”, one is struck with the near-universal appeal of this exhilarating art form. Perhaps this appeal stems from the celestial, joy-inspiring palette of colors chosen by naïve artists to portray their subjects. Maybe it is the genre's simplicity, which recalls an earlier era, when life was less frenetic, when the telephone was a novelty and the typewriter a godsend. Or could it be the timeless nature of the subject matter, reminding us of opportunities missed, of wondrous roads less traveled? One conclusion is certain: this is art that warms the heart and soothes the soul!
Naïve art is characterized by a refreshing innocence and the charming use of bright colors, child-like perspective and idiosyncratic scale. It portrays simple, easily-understandable and often idealized scenes of everyday life. The naïve artist - often self-taught - treats us to a uniquely literal, yet extremely personal and coherent, vision of what the world was, is or should be. It offers us, often in painstaking detail, a timeless and optimistic depiction of an ancient story or Biblical tale, an ordinary occurrence or current event, a special ceremony or daily activity. The naïve painting bustles with color and excitement, brims with wry humor and candor, bubbles with unbridled empathy and love.
From cave paintings to the present day, naïve art has traversed the millennia. As noted in the “World Encyclopedia of Naïve Art” (Bihalji-Merin and Tomasevic), so-called “primitive people,” living in the Stone Age, looked to their immediate surroundings for inspiration, depicting animals whom they feared and those whom they herded; the female figure as a fertility symbol; and man in his manifold role of huntsman, herdsman and tiller of the soil.
In North America, naïve art emerged, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, from the work of coach builders, cabinet makers, and house and sign painters, whose art - mostly portraits of the upper class, landscapes and historical scenes - was often an adjunct to their professional employment. These naïve artworks (known as “limnings”) were often painted on old wood and boards, using natural colors such as lapis lazuli and other minerals, plant dyes, metallic dust and egg yolk. From these humble beginnings, naïve art evolved in the USA into Quaker paintings celebrating strait-laced dignity and peace among men (Edward Hicks); smoke-blackened factories and historical themes (John Kane); mysterious, sensuous and erotic works (Morris Hirshfield); religious themes (Horace Pippin); and scenes from rural and farming life (”Grandma” Moses).
In Western Europe, naïve art came to prominence in the late nineteenth century, when Henri Rousseau (1844-1910), “Le Douanier” (the customs official), began exhibiting his works - side-by-side to those of Van Gogh, Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Seurat, Bonnard and Matisse - at the Parisian exhibitions of the Salon des Independants. In 1891, when Rousseau was producing his first jungle painting, Paul Gauguin, who had departed the urban bustle of Paris for the simple life of the South Seas, was painting “Women of Tahiti.”
In Eastern Europe, the naïve movement began in the early 1930’s in and around the Croatian town of Hlebine. There, farmer-painters, such as Krsto Hegedusic, Ivan Generalic, Franjo Mraz and Mirko Virius formed the “Earth Movement” and, in their paintings, began depicting the harsh reality of the peasants’ lot. In addition, they began painting on glass, striving for maximum intensity on a two-plane surface.
As the “Earth Movement” reached the cities and then stretched eastward and northward into Serbia (especially the areas around Kovacica and Jagodina), Hungary and Romania, its message was softened by a less-politicized peasantry that, for historical and cultural reasons, had a more sanguine outlook of life. This development – which, in Serbia, for example, was reflected in the works of Martin Jonas and Dusan Jevtovic – resulted in lighter, softer colors, a reversion to painting on canvas, and an idealized portrayal of everyday life. These artists emphasized life’s celebrations – the fairs, weddings and festivals – and filled their canvases with abundant crops, colorfully-dressed maidens and dancers, and sun-soaked skies.
In certain countries of Central and South America, naïve art has been inspired by indigenous mythology, mysticism, culture and tradition. While Mayan culture influenced the naïve artists of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador (and southern Mexico), Incan culture influenced the naïve artists of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. In the mid-twentieth century, these artists’ works turned to ethnic and folkloristic themes: Mother Earth and Mother Nature; religious ceremonies and superstitions; traditional clothing and textiles; the rhythms and harmonies of everyday life. Until today, the Guatemalan naïve artists of Atitlan provide these themes in their bird’s-eye views of crop pickers and nocturnal markets, while those of Comalapa reflect such themes in their depictions of bustling markets, brimming buses and ceremonial rituals. The works of the Ecuadorian naïves concentrate upon life in the Tiguan Mountains, highlighting Cotapaxi, the venerable volcano; perilous peaks overflowing with blithe-spirited shepherds, field workers and festive revelers; and the omnipresent condors, hovering overhead in a protective (but sometimes threatening) manner. Similarly, the Peruvian naïves focus their works on the heady heights of the Andes Mountains, portraying the color and vigor of community life and culture in a land of captivating cliffs, enchantment and wonder.
In Brazil, the naïve movement appeared at the end of the 1940s with the first exhibitions of Silvia de Leon Chalreo (1905-1987) and Jose Antonio da Silva (1909-1996), and with the invitation to the naïve artist, Heitor dos Prazeres (1898-1966), to participate in the first Biennale of Sao Paulo. The probable explanation for the late emergence of Brazillian naïve art is grounded in history. While the Frenchmen, Rousseau, Andre Bauchant (1873-1958) and Camille Bombois (1883-1970), and the Americans, Edward Hicks and “Grandma” Moses (1860-1961), to name but a few (albeit the best known), were already “presence obligee” in important museums in the world, the works of the Brazilian naïve “pioneers” were being painted in outlying regions of the country and were discovered quite late. Therefore, the dawn of Brazilian naïve art came only during the second half of the 20th century.
Brazilian naïve art is epitomized by enormous contrasts, which arise, in the main, from the intermingling within the large country (larger in fact than the entire continental USA) of many different cultures –such as European, African and Indian—from all over the world. This mixture provides a fertile ground for budding artists of great originality. Brazilians are naturally happy, spontaneous and creative, and are uninhibited in expressing their emotions, and these traits, along with all of the youthful dynamism of the original movement, are still being reflected in the naïve artworks produced today.
The naïvism of Argentina defies simple categorization. The country’s native customs and traditions have never had the dramatic impact upon the local naïve artists as the Incan, Mayan, Aztec and African cultures have had on their fellow artists to the north. Instead, the waves of immigration to Argentina – in particular from Europe – during the past two centuries, and the resultant melding of European and other customs and traditions with those of the indigenous population, have had a major impact upon the life, character and morés of the people, as well as upon the country’s art, architecture, music and literature. These influences are seen, quite clearly, in the works of the Argentine naïves, which depict, in heartwarming colors and detail, the resonance of the city (particularly Buenos Aires, “the Paris of South America”), the beat of the tango, the pulse of the pampas, the swagger of the gauchos and the silent beauty of Patagonia.
The twentieth century was a period of great political and economic upheaval in Spain and Portugal. The resultant social unrest awakened, among the naïve artists in particular, a desire to preserve on canvas the culture and traditions of the nation as well as the timeless moments of a bygone age. Although the naïve art of both Spain and Portugal has all of the traditional elements of naïvism, a closer look discloses significant differences in subject and style. While Spanish naïve art reflects the fertile soil of an idealized imagination, Portuguese naïve art applies an idealized imagination to the fertile soil. While the Spanish naïves proudly portray Spain’s history, architecture and gardens as well as its traditional ceremonies and famous squares, the Portuguese naïves lovingly depict their native soil, toiling farmers, sparkling villages and cloudless horizons – a joyous marriage of man, earth and sky.
Throughout the generations, naïve art has remained ever-present, percolating quietly below the surface and, on occasion, restoring its popularity in the public’s eye through the emergence of a particularly gifted naïve artist or a particularly vocal art afficionado prepared to evidence to the world the beauties of this unique art form.
Oto Bihalji-Merin, the co-author of the “World Encyclopedia of Naïve Art”, notes that naïve art “has outlasted the ever - changing variety of aesthetic styles,...[remaining] an essential part of the ... [art] scene in any period.” The reason for this phenomenon is summed up beautifully by Jacques Ardies, the noted Brazilian naïve art author and gallery owner, who observes, in his book, “Naïve Art in Brazil”:
"Diversified in [stylistic approaches];...full of originality and creativity, and seeking at the same time to capture nature and the great cities, figures and landscapes, the faiths and popular traditions...,... naïve painters outlive the erudition of contemporary art through their candor and spontaneity. They are painters who do not want or seek to change the world by their authentic art, but merely, as part of it, to pretend that the magic of Art may help man to turn to the simpler things of life."
Dan Chill
GINA - Gallery of International Naïve Art
What is Naïve Art?
For many, the term “naïve art” conjures up the verdant valleys and happy hamlets of Anna Mary Robertson (”Grandma”) Moses, the luxuriant vegetation and exotic jungles of Henri Rousseau, and the palmy South Sea Isles and pristine Tahitian women of Paul Gauguin. Brazilians identify naïve art with the fascinatingly colorful figures of Ivonaldo, the folkloristic motifs of Rosina Becker do Valle and the insightful Biblical interpretations of Jose de Freitas. Eastern European naïve art is associated with the powerful village scenes of Ivan Generalic and the floral farmlands of Ivan Rabuzin. In Israel, we recall the rich Biblical scenes and Cabalistic imagery of the Safed zeigermacher (watchmaker), Shalom Moscovitz, lovingly known as “Shalom of Z’fat,” revel in the anachronistic phantasmagoria of Gabriel Cohen, and take delight in the brilliant compositions of Odessa by Yefim Ladizhinsky.
But whatever our association with the term “naïve art”, one is struck with the near-universal appeal of this exhilarating art form. Perhaps this appeal stems from the celestial, joy-inspiring palette of colors chosen by naïve artists to portray their subjects. Maybe it is the genre's simplicity, which recalls an earlier era, when life was less frenetic, when the telephone was a novelty and the typewriter a godsend. Or could it be the timeless nature of the subject matter, reminding us of opportunities missed, of wondrous roads less traveled? One conclusion is certain: this is art that warms the heart and soothes the soul!
Naïve art is characterized by a refreshing innocence and the charming use of bright colors, child-like perspective and idiosyncratic scale. It portrays simple, easily-understandable and often idealized scenes of everyday life. The naïve artist - often self-taught - treats us to a uniquely literal, yet extremely personal and coherent, vision of what the world was, is or should be. It offers us, often in painstaking detail, a timeless and optimistic depiction of an ancient story or Biblical tale, an ordinary occurrence or current event, a special ceremony or daily activity. The naïve painting bustles with color and excitement, brims with wry humor and candor, bubbles with unbridled empathy and love.
From cave paintings to the present day, naïve art has traversed the millennia. As noted in the “World Encyclopedia of Naïve Art” (Bihalji-Merin and Tomasevic), so-called “primitive people,” living in the Stone Age, looked to their immediate surroundings for inspiration, depicting animals whom they feared and those whom they herded; the female figure as a fertility symbol; and man in his manifold role of huntsman, herdsman and tiller of the soil.
In North America, naïve art emerged, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, from the work of coach builders, cabinet makers, and house and sign painters, whose art - mostly portraits of the upper class, landscapes and historical scenes - was often an adjunct to their professional employment. These naïve artworks (known as “limnings”) were often painted on old wood and boards, using natural colors such as lapis lazuli and other minerals, plant dyes, metallic dust and egg yolk. From these humble beginnings, naïve art evolved in the USA into Quaker paintings celebrating strait-laced dignity and peace among men (Edward Hicks); smoke-blackened factories and historical themes (John Kane); mysterious, sensuous and erotic works (Morris Hirshfield); religious themes (Horace Pippin); and scenes from rural and farming life (”Grandma” Moses).
In Western Europe, naïve art came to prominence in the late nineteenth century, when Henri Rousseau (1844-1910), “Le Douanier” (the customs official), began exhibiting his works - side-by-side to those of Van Gogh, Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Seurat, Bonnard and Matisse - at the Parisian exhibitions of the Salon des Independants. In 1891, when Rousseau was producing his first jungle painting, Paul Gauguin, who had departed the urban bustle of Paris for the simple life of the South Seas, was painting “Women of Tahiti.”
In Eastern Europe, the naïve movement began in the early 1930’s in and around the Croatian town of Hlebine. There, farmer-painters, such as Krsto Hegedusic, Ivan Generalic, Franjo Mraz and Mirko Virius formed the “Earth Movement” and, in their paintings, began depicting the harsh reality of the peasants’ lot. In addition, they began painting on glass, striving for maximum intensity on a two-plane surface.
As the “Earth Movement” reached the cities and then stretched eastward and northward into Serbia (especially the areas around Kovacica and Jagodina), Hungary and Romania, its message was softened by a less-politicized peasantry that, for historical and cultural reasons, had a more sanguine outlook of life. This development – which, in Serbia, for example, was reflected in the works of Martin Jonas and Dusan Jevtovic – resulted in lighter, softer colors, a reversion to painting on canvas, and an idealized portrayal of everyday life. These artists emphasized life’s celebrations – the fairs, weddings and festivals – and filled their canvases with abundant crops, colorfully-dressed maidens and dancers, and sun-soaked skies.
In certain countries of Central and South America, naïve art has been inspired by indigenous mythology, mysticism, culture and tradition. While Mayan culture influenced the naïve artists of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador (and southern Mexico), Incan culture influenced the naïve artists of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. In the mid-twentieth century, these artists’ works turned to ethnic and folkloristic themes: Mother Earth and Mother Nature; religious ceremonies and superstitions; traditional clothing and textiles; the rhythms and harmonies of everyday life. Until today, the Guatemalan naïve artists of Atitlan provide these themes in their bird’s-eye views of crop pickers and nocturnal markets, while those of Comalapa reflect such themes in their depictions of bustling markets, brimming buses and ceremonial rituals. The works of the Ecuadorian naïves concentrate upon life in the Tiguan Mountains, highlighting Cotapaxi, the venerable volcano; perilous peaks overflowing with blithe-spirited shepherds, field workers and festive revelers; and the omnipresent condors, hovering overhead in a protective (but sometimes threatening) manner. Similarly, the Peruvian naïves focus their works on the heady heights of the Andes Mountains, portraying the color and vigor of community life and culture in a land of captivating cliffs, enchantment and wonder.
In Brazil, the naïve movement appeared at the end of the 1940s with the first exhibitions of Silvia de Leon Chalreo (1905-1987) and Jose Antonio da Silva (1909-1996), and with the invitation to the naïve artist, Heitor dos Prazeres (1898-1966), to participate in the first Biennale of Sao Paulo. The probable explanation for the late emergence of Brazillian naïve art is grounded in history. While the Frenchmen, Rousseau, Andre Bauchant (1873-1958) and Camille Bombois (1883-1970), and the Americans, Edward Hicks and “Grandma” Moses (1860-1961), to name but a few (albeit the best known), were already “presence obligee” in important museums in the world, the works of the Brazilian naïve “pioneers” were being painted in outlying regions of the country and were discovered quite late. Therefore, the dawn of Brazilian naïve art came only during the second half of the 20th century.
Brazilian naïve art is epitomized by enormous contrasts, which arise, in the main, from the intermingling within the large country (larger in fact than the entire continental USA) of many different cultures –such as European, African and Indian—from all over the world. This mixture provides a fertile ground for budding artists of great originality. Brazilians are naturally happy, spontaneous and creative, and are uninhibited in expressing their emotions, and these traits, along with all of the youthful dynamism of the original movement, are still being reflected in the naïve artworks produced today.
The naïvism of Argentina defies simple categorization. The country’s native customs and traditions have never had the dramatic impact upon the local naïve artists as the Incan, Mayan, Aztec and African cultures have had on their fellow artists to the north. Instead, the waves of immigration to Argentina – in particular from Europe – during the past two centuries, and the resultant melding of European and other customs and traditions with those of the indigenous population, have had a major impact upon the life, character and morés of the people, as well as upon the country’s art, architecture, music and literature. These influences are seen, quite clearly, in the works of the Argentine naïves, which depict, in heartwarming colors and detail, the resonance of the city (particularly Buenos Aires, “the Paris of South America”), the beat of the tango, the pulse of the pampas, the swagger of the gauchos and the silent beauty of Patagonia.
The twentieth century was a period of great political and economic upheaval in Spain and Portugal. The resultant social unrest awakened, among the naïve artists in particular, a desire to preserve on canvas the culture and traditions of the nation as well as the timeless moments of a bygone age. Although the naïve art of both Spain and Portugal has all of the traditional elements of naïvism, a closer look discloses significant differences in subject and style. While Spanish naïve art reflects the fertile soil of an idealized imagination, Portuguese naïve art applies an idealized imagination to the fertile soil. While the Spanish naïves proudly portray Spain’s history, architecture and gardens as well as its traditional ceremonies and famous squares, the Portuguese naïves lovingly depict their native soil, toiling farmers, sparkling villages and cloudless horizons – a joyous marriage of man, earth and sky.
Throughout the generations, naïve art has remained ever-present, percolating quietly below the surface and, on occasion, restoring its popularity in the public’s eye through the emergence of a particularly gifted naïve artist or a particularly vocal art afficionado prepared to evidence to the world the beauties of this unique art form.
Oto Bihalji-Merin, the co-author of the “World Encyclopedia of Naïve Art”, notes that naïve art “has outlasted the ever - changing variety of aesthetic styles,...[remaining] an essential part of the ... [art] scene in any period.” The reason for this phenomenon is summed up beautifully by Jacques Ardies, the noted Brazilian naïve art author and gallery owner, who observes, in his book, “Naïve Art in Brazil”:
"Diversified in [stylistic approaches];...full of originality and creativity, and seeking at the same time to capture nature and the great cities, figures and landscapes, the faiths and popular traditions...,... naïve painters outlive the erudition of contemporary art through their candor and spontaneity. They are painters who do not want or seek to change the world by their authentic art, but merely, as part of it, to pretend that the magic of Art may help man to turn to the simpler things of life."
Dan Chill
GINA - Gallery of International Naïve Art
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Aktiviti bulan Ramadhan. The whole Surah YASIN in the making. 4 hari baru sampai ayat 15. InsyaAllah do'akan saya boleh siapkan sebelum Raya . Kali ini saya cuba hasilkan baris demi baris bermula dari atas. Tanpa spiral, tanpa kekalkan square. Besok kena sambung kertas bahagian bawah ... :-) Ahmad Hilmy
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