Monday, May 16, 2011

Term 2: Week 2 - Bad Cop

I don't really like this artwork in many ways. The layout, colors and texts he has used seems mismatched. The gray and black fog background is nebulous. It gives the viewer a dark intimidation look. The Mary figure which is centered in the middle is very unclear and undefined because of the colors that has been used and lines that form the figure are not clear enough to see. The lines of red is obscure and doesn't match with the other colors within the work. It looks like it was the last layer of color in the artwork and it seems unfinished and half-done to me. The wings form of lines are thick and thin in places and are unclear to see when it overlaps the cliff. The patterns on the sides seems to fade and the text on top looks like a stencil. Plus the text he has used on the bottom is obscure because of the style of font he has used is too thin as it overlaps the cliff which has a lot of detail lines parallel with the font.
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4 comments:

  1. Samson RamboMay 16, 2011 at 11:33 PM

    (good cop)

    from what i can see here is the great amount of detail that's gone into this, and also this abstract painting style. I like how he only stuck to his 3 colors red , white and mostly black for the background. I like how detailed the cliff is and how all 3 colors combine to how tell a narrative , and correct me if i'm wrong, but i think i can point out a fore ground and mid ground and background in this painting. With the virgin Mary figure in the fore ground and the big white detailed cliff in the mid ground and the big red wings hanging in the background.

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  2. beka0jMay 17, 2011 at 7:38 PM

    I love this work! I think the details is amazing, and love how he's stuck to a resrtricted pallette of only red black and white - it's really effective. And the symettry is beautiful...It's bold, dark and BIG. I love the bigness of the canvas how overwheleming it is. The life size mountain and the crows almost hidden circling it... I also like the maori influence in his work - I don't however understand the reference to Mary though?

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  3. sarahMay 18, 2011 at 12:31 AM

    ....since im a bit lost and i think im supposed to be responding...to something... and this is it...cheers,thank goodness for you samson!!...bad cop: There are so many different contexts, easyrider, guitars,mary mountian/cliff...,maori designs... i think its one of those autobiographical works that the veiwer will only truly understand if it knows the artists intentions and history. It doesnt make for easy veiwing, its deep and has too many messages. One would have to have one huge wall.

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  4. teslaMay 22, 2011 at 11:09 PM

    Thanks Guys,

    I think you all did a good job. First of all, hats off to Faafeu for ripping into this Shane Cotton painting - something to note though, you really should have put the artist's name, title and date Faafeu! However you did systematically destroy the work which as a "bad cop" was what you were supposed to do. Extra points for using the word "nebulous."

    A couple of the good cops mentioned black, white and red, but not that this is the "archetypal" Maori palette - a very relevant point to Shane Cotton. The Mary, Rebecca, I think is relevant because a lot of Cotton work marries together Maori and Christian/Catholic symbolism. I guess this is his personal background? And trying to find a way to unite the two separate histories, often by using Maori transliterations of bible passages. But good on you Rebecca for mentioning the symmetry, no one else really got that.

    Sarah, you say the painting is "deep" like that's a bad thing - is it really?

    TX

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