Surrealism

Rene Francois Ghislain Magritte was born on November 21, 1898 in Lessines, Belgium.  Rene is well known for his number of thought-provoking images that is known as surrealism.  Rene began lessons in drawing in 1910. From 1916 to 1924 he studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. In 1926, Rene produced his first surreal painting. The painting was named Le jockey perdu or The Lost Jockey and was held in his first exhibition in Brussels. The critics were cruel on his exhibition and that led to failure. After moving to Paris he became a leading member to a surrealist group.  In 1930 he returned to Brussels working advertising.  In 1936 his worked was exhibited in New York. One was at the Museum of Modern Art in 1965, and the other was at a Metropolitan Museum of Art in1992. Rene died of cancer on August 15, 1967 at the age of 68.

Erik Johansson was born in 1985 in a small town called Gotene in the middle of Sweden. At the age of 15 he received his first digital camera and having an interest in computers made him want to play around with photos so he could create something that he couldn’t capture with a camera.  He studied Computer engineering at Chalmers University of Technology. Erik published one of his photos and received request to work for local advertisement agencies. Erik is currently working personal and off commissioned projects and in 2011 started street photography. Erik has worked with well-known brands such as Google, Adobe, and Microsoft.

Artist’s Name ___ Rene Francois Ghislain Magritte ___

Title of Artwork _The _Victory_ ___________________

Date of Work _1939_____________________________
Description: The Facts identify everything in the art work: (Objects, Lines, Shapes, Textures, Values)

An open door is on the beach while a cloud is floating the air coming out from the door.

Analysis: The Design Determine how the artwork is organized or composed. (Balance, Lights/Darks, Focal Point, Rhythm, use of Layers, Color enhancements, special effects)

                This image has a balance of light where the center is lighter than the whole image where it breaks up the sky from the ocean. The focal point is the cloud because it stands out with the color being used. The cloud is the whitest and it draws your attention.

Interpretation: The Meaning Explain what you think the artwork means or what the artist is trying to communicate:

                My interpretation of the artwork is that Rene wanted to show you another side to a door. When the door is shut you only see what is happening in the inside, but if the door is open you allow yourself to see something that wasn’t once there. The cloud represents allowing yourself to let something into your life while the beach is a reminder of how you should be free and relax.

Judgment : Make a personal decision about the artworks degree of success and an example of why you feel the way you do.

                This image in my opinion is very successful. It is well done with the technique of oils and the shading in the sky. The sand is well done as well and really captures a beach.  The water looks like it is flowing with the streaks of white.

Artist’s Name  __Erik_Johansson_____________

Title of Artwork _The_Cover_Up_____________

Date of Work __2014______________________

Description: The Facts identify everything in the art work: (Objects, Lines, Shapes, Textures, Values)

It is a man on a step stool putting up “wallpaper” to cover up the grey sky.

Analysis: The Design Determine how the artwork is organized or composed. (Balance, Lights/Darks, Focal Point, Rhythm, use of Layers, Color enhancements, special effects)

                The balance of light and dark is shown in the sky. In the center you see a bright sky while on the right side you see a dark grey sky and how deserted it is. The creator used layers to show the rolls of wallpaper and how he is hanging them up. He merged two photos together to get the light and dark images in one.

Interpretation: The Meaning Explain what you think the artwork means or what the artist is trying to communicate:

                I think the creator’s meaning behind this image was that with all the bad in your life you need to block it out and give yourself a better day. The rolls of wallpaper are shown so that he could cover up all the bad and let the light shine through.

Judgment: Make a personal decision about the artworks degree of success and an example of why you feel the way you do.

                I think Erik’s creation is maleficent. He did a well job of capturing his images and merging them all together and I like the added detail. I like how he added the curves in the wallpaper that is being hung up but still kept the grey beneath it.  I like how the wallpaper on the ground is turned in all directions where you see the bottom.

Comparison

Although both of these images are surrealism they have different style. In both images they are well thought out. Erik uses Photoshop to merge images and create one amazing picture while Rene used oil to create an image with objects you don’t picture all together. Erik’s Photoshop skills allows him to merge pictures to get a final picture while Rene had to plan out and paint them to make it look as if the door is really on the beach.  I think both creator created amazing photos that is nice to look at.