Activity #7 - Exhibition Introduction

Art and Naure

The focus of this exhibition is Art and Nature. Art and Nature is the natural and manufactured world and our relationship to it as addressed through art. It also provides a platform for artist to capture the natural beauty of our environment and its’ landscape in a way that creates imagery for the viewers eye and imagination. This exhibit is based on a portfolio of 6 paintings: Bridal Veil Falls (1871-73), Nevada Falls (1872) , Fiercely the Red Sun Descending/Burned His Way Along the Heavens (1875), The Wave (1880), Rainy Season (1981), Still Donet (2002), all composed between 1871 – 2002, and all concentrating on one theme – Art and Nature. It also includes paintings by national and international renowned artist such as Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, and Sergeev Vladimir, just to name a few; and demonstrates the use of similar and contrasting visual elements that have lasted over the centuries.

My purpose here is compare and contrast the artworks and visual elements, as they apply to create some of the most notable compositions from the 1800’s to 2002, in correlation to the theme of Art and Nature. For instance, the 18th century American artists, Albert Beirstadt’s, Bridal Veil Falls and Nevada Fall and Thomas Moran’s, Fiercely the Red Sun Descending/Burned His Way Along the Heavens, were both created during the same time period. Both artist employ light and dark contrasting values to emphasis implied lighting. This is demonstrated with Beirstadt’s lighting of the powerful force of nature’s rushing water as it diagonal descends, this implies action, against it’s dark surrounding of towering trees, mountains, and nature; and Moran’s use of yellow and orange complementary colors, against grey and blue to emphasis the suns explosive power as the sky meets the ocean. Centuries later, the Ukrainian artist, Belobrovsky Alexander, used the same visual elements to create Rainy Season. However, he used a light background against a dark foreground of diagonal rain drops and clouds to create movement across the open field. All three artist creatively used implied lighting and color to emphasis the furious and powerful beauty of art in nature, in similar and contrasting ways.

Now let’s examine art and nature in the works of Albert Bierstadt’s The Wave and the Ukrainian artist, Sergeev Vladimir Still Donet. Again, we have two artists that lived centuries apart, and from two different countries. However, they both used values of the cool color blue to create two very similar, yet contrasting compositions to explore the depth of art and nature. The Wave, a monochromatic composition, shows the strength and vigor of nature through a horizontal line of rolling waves. However, the tints and shades of blue, diminishes the feeling of force and creates a feeling of peacefulness as it reached the seashore. In contrast to Still Donets where the values of blue complimented by green reflect the tranquil, and stillness of nature, through out the composition, with the only movement being that of the birds ascending into space.

The paintings in this exhibit span through centuries of time that explore the theme of Art and Nature through its application of principles of design and visual elements.