Art Analysis: The Fisherman

The Roe Deer at a Stream shows a scene with a great measure of greenery such as the trees, grass, and bushes. Along the middle there is a stream with running water that goes into the left side of the painting. There are two deer in the stream and a third one is beside the stream on the grass. There are many trees that reveal a cloudy sky towards the top of the artwork. On the right side of the piece there is a cliff that is a reddish-brown which is different from the green tones that are on most of the artwork. The painting is very detailed in texture and value as seen on the hill in the background and the shading of the rock which gives it a realistic feel. Overall, the tones of the painting are earthy colors due to it being a nature scene.

Man is a product of two worlds— the one he inhabits and the one he strives to create. The fisherman in Lawrence Sargent Hall’s “The Ledge” is caught somewhere between the two. A calloused, hardworking man who lives in a cold corner of the world, he is a father, a husband, and a man. Hall uses the perception of others, the actions of the protagonist, and direct narration to ultimately expose the real, imperfect humanity of the fisherman.

I have chosen Romanticism/ Post Impressionism, Olive Trees with yellow sky and sun, by Vincent Van Gogh; The Oxbow, by Thomas Cole, comparing it to the “Spirit Rising, by Christophe Vacher”.

Sometimes our everyday experiences can strike us in ways that will influence our thinking in ways that might forever alter the way that we view our lives. In the short story “Fish Story,” Rick Bass primarily uses conflict, symbols, and the changes in a character to present a central theme reflecting the inevitability of our maturing thoughts and growing responsibilities that come incrementally with age. Gullason (1982) shares, “A short story represents a prose narrative usually concerned with a single aspect of personality changing or revealed as the result of conflict” (p. 222). We might interestingly find both of these dynamics within our weekly discussion’s short story assignment. Pigg (2017) explains, “The theme of a work of fiction is as much a creation of readers as it is for the writer because the user’s knowledge and beliefs play a part in determining the theme(s) they will recognize” (Attend Topic 4 Unit 2 [Video]). The writer of this week’s short story was likely to have known the theme that he intended to communicate while also recognizing the diversity of human thinking that gives us a myriad of perspectives. The “’Fish Story’s’ narrator is a 10-year-old boy in the early 1960’s living in rural Texas with parents who run a service station while their customer brings a 86 pound catfish creating a task to keep the fish alive until time to cook it” (Bass, 2009, pp. 1-2). As we recall our childhoods, most can likely remember how our imagination and fantasies began to collide with the realities of life, and this overreaching concept might allude to the theme of this piece of work. The narrator tells us how “He grew dizzy in the heat and from the strange combination of the unblinking monotony and utter fascination of his task until the trickling from the water hose seemed to be saturating and inflating the clouds as one would water a garden” (Bass, 2009, p. 2). As the narrator embraces the mundane task, his daydreams seem to symbolize the innocence of his youth. Later the story’s narrator “speaks less of childhood than of the general nature of the world in which we live, while contemplating that those days were different – we had more time for such thoughts, that time had not yet been corrupted”

The abstract painting Sardines by Mike Goldberg was done with paint and oil, and was done on a fabric canvas. This painting can be approached in many different ways. At first glance, I see a mess of colors. I see red, yellow, blue, green, orange, white, brown, grey, and many other shades of colors. These colors create sharp, smudged, straight, and blotchy shapes. Most of the color is centered in the middle, bottom and right of the painting. The overpowering color, however, is red. This red causes the painting to feel dangerous in a way. When looking more closely, I see the words EXIT (top right) and SARDINES (center bottom), and begin to think, why, in an abstract paint like this one are there complete words that are easily visible? Towards

The work is privately owned, and displayed occasionally in Melbourne. It captures and stands towards the audience because of its contrastive colour. It is almost pure black, with spots of yellow. The materials he used were also significant, and the way he distorted the face of the fish, gives a sense of almost cubism. The seemingly random twigs which stick out from the fish, give an impression of danger. The overall atmosphere the fish gives, is very dark and evil. He acts like an omen and a forewarning of environmental disaster.

This week while reading the Contemporary Coast Salish Art I was found myself drawn to Susan A. Point more than others so far in my reading of the book. I appreciate how Susan is inspired by her Musqueam tribe and her Salish up bring and how she can integrate the two (Blanchard, Rebecca, and Nancy Davenport, pg.25). Susan’s uses the traditional art forms such Salish form line, baskets, textiles, carvings and weaving as a starting point of her inspiration to create a renewed art piece retelling a story to reach her new audience (Blanchard, Rebecca, and Nancy Davenport, pg. 25). While reading about Susan and looking at her artwork two piece of artwork stood out to me “Seattle House Post I, state I/IV and Seattle House Post II, state I/IV” these

The next difference I found between these two were the content the artist tells. While reading this quote “Narcissus stayed beside the stream gazing at his reflected paramour in vain, neglecting even to eat or drink.” I found that the picture has to do with Narcissus falling in love with his reflection in the puddle of water. While in the story behind ““Luncheon of the Boating Party” it states that “This canvas shows the artist creatively using clothing and scenery to portray a typical sunny afternoon gathering of friends.” The difference between the two artists is one is focused on himself, while in the other the artist is focused on

Society’s external pressure causes most people to act a certain way, but how does the way humans act differ when they are free from society’s view? Morley Callaghan’s The Snob and Two Fishermen introduces a variety of characters; some kind and some not. What influences the characters in the way they act and see things is their ties to social expectations. People who free themselves from society’s judgement will be happier and kinder.

“Puget Sound on the Pacific Coast” by Albert Bierstadt is a beautiful representational artwork. The realism brought out by the beaming light through the dark clouds is very appealing. Along with the waves collapsing on the rocky, sandy terrain of the beach of the north west Pacific coast line. The painting looks so realistic, it almost looks like a taken photo. How the wooden canoes are placed perfectly on the sand and water is amazing. Towards the left upright are tall trees on top of rocks that give a brighter feel to the painting. The wind is blowing them. It looks like there are two sides to this painting. It is very dark on the right side and lighter on the left. On the left side you can notice how the water glistens from the sunlight. Then on the right side, the water gets darker as the further it goes. As soon as the shore meets the land, there are mountains standing tall. The landscape of this painting looks very real.

The two works of art that I have chosen to analyze are 1) Jordan Casteel. Miles and JoJo. 2014. Oil on canvas, 54” x 72” and 2) Aaron Fowler. He Was. 2015. Mixed media, 134” x 165” x 108”. The themes that these works of art represent in regards to the exhibit are love, family, and pain. However, they also fall into other thematic categories. The main theme that seems to apply to both “Miles and JoJo” and “He Was” is Human Experience. Additionally, these arts differ in some ways.

In Elizabeth Bishop’s poem entitled “The Fish,” she tells the story of a fisherman who catches an old, beaten up fish. It struck her by surprise when she realized the scars and hooks left behind from other fishermen. The unexpected finding led the fisherman to a discovery that motivated her to throw the fish back into the water. The fish was a reminder to the fisherman that nature can survive despite the hardships mankind creates for it.

At first glance, Rockwell’s painting illustrates a successful day of fishing for three young friends, all of whom have their catch for the day strung in one hand and their fishing gear in the other. Out of the three boys in the

1.In the background of the painting, there is a woman standing by a cabinet that appears to be filled with textiles. This exhibits how women were able to assist in supporting their families by becoming spinners beginning a social change in the Late Middle Ages. The fact that she is in the background of the painting, behind the men, shows that women did not participate equally in labor and were very rarely at the forefront of society.

In The United Kingdom there is a work of an art named “UnderWater Sculpture” made by Jason deCaires Taylor. This kind of arts shows the modern people the seriousness of Global Warming. It strongly shows that human might have to live under the water soon. To avoid this problem we, human should notice global warming is a serious issue and stop the actions that might sink the lands.