Introduction If you’re thinking, “Human Equations? Does that mean a bunch of people got together and formed equations with their body?”, you might want to pause and think about how you got yourself in this situation. If you’re thinking, “Human Equations! Weren’t they done by famous photographer Man Ray?”, you’re on the right track, but not quite there yet. Formally known as Shakespearean Equations, the Human Equations are a series of paintings where artistic practice meets mathematical puzzles, human bodies, and merciless romanticism of Shakespeare.
Man Ray’s Human Equations are not arranged chronologically; but instead, follow a structure similar to that of three acts in a play. It shows the full artistic range and scope of Man Ray’s work, from his juvenilia to his late production, and three overarching themes focus on the material synergy between the works. 14 paintings from
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The viewer sees King Lear’s famous “tears speech” depicted “by means of a diluted pigment dripping down the canvas” and even suspects that this “presumably fortuitous effect provided inspiration for the choice of title”(Duggin). You can see Man Ray’s affixing of the canvas to a large wooden hoop—“a geometric figure known to mathematicians as a Kummer surface”—as the artist’s attempt to turn the work into a three-dimensional object that, like so much of his work, defies easy categorization and belies a common perception that his canvases from this series were simply literal. In essence, Man Ray’s King Lear shows off his mathematical knowledge in the name of artistic independence, all, of course, while depending on a Shakespearean allusion—a paradox neatly holding together right before your eyes (Duggin). As much as you try to solve the puzzle, the puzzle remains bigger and more powerful than any single answer, making this exhibition both frustrating and
Museums add new context for artworks, since historical items were not made to be in modern museums. A Pair of Sensing Angels by Circle of Bernaert Orley are two ‘one by three foot’ oil painting on wood from 1535-1540 that depicts two angels. When looking at “A Pair of Censing Angels” we can infer the subject, the value the painting held, and how the meaning alters in its present setting. This visual analysis will describe the artwork, analyze the formal elements used, and how the formal elements of the work and display affects the viewer.
The visual elements in a work of art can be made up of various different types of elements. “Composition, harmony, proportion, light, color, line, texture, mass, and motion are all part of the vocabulary of sight. We tap this vocabulary, and the patterns that go with it, when we compose or frame images”. The visual elements that are portrayed in the engraving of “Ullysses at the Table of Circe” by Flaxman consists of lines, shape, space, texture, and color. “Viewers bring to the act of seeing individual sets of conscious and unconscious reactions that affect their response to the visual stimulus put before them. This is the beauty of images, even in their most minimal form— such as a single line”. The lines that are used in this work of art are
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is a short satirical novel written by Edwin Abbott about an imaginary two-dimensional world that is occupied by geometric figures. Flatland is narrated by a square (who is a member of the gentleman social class) who guides the reader through life as it is known in Flatland and the visions and dreams that he has about Lineland and Spaceland. In this paper I will be talking about how Edwin Abbott uses mathematical symbolism to satirize the society of England in the Victorian era.
During the time of the Renaissance, the nature of man, in Europe, went through a rebirth. The idea that the nature of man is unique upon the person was established. The core basis of all men is not the same. Different men are comprised of various types of talents, and not every person has the exact same talents. In addition, human beings strive to live their lives a certain way, which is usually different from their neighbor.
The gazes of the fresco’s subjects run along this depth axis towards a point that lies beyond the coronal plane of the fresco. This intersection of gazes to a point beyond the plane of the visual text is reminiscent of those in Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas, on which critical theorist Michel Foucault comments, referring to the gazes of the model, the spectator, and the painter, “These three ‘observing’ functions come together in a point exterior to the picture: that is, an ideal point in relation to what is represented, but a perfectly real one too, since it is also the starting-point that makes the representation possible” (15). Gaulli’s Triumph of the Name of Jesus, once again, is a visual text that is viewed di sotto in sù, the viewer’s gaze turned skyward to partake of the text. This viewing takes place across a vertical space—a distance between the viewer on ground level and the vaulted ceiling—that is pronounced by a set of trompe-l'œils that the viewer is responsible for reconciling. The aforementioned disruptions of visual boundaries and patterns in the text, the disruptions of media boundaries from paint to sculpture to architecture, and the artificial shadows projected by the painted figures all contribute to the viewer’s ability to perceive this depth axis and focus on the burst of light that resides at a point beyond the coronal plane of the
The concepts of nature, humanity, power and love lay as a foundation for Shakespeare’s, King Lear. These notions are examined through the actions and realizations of King Lear, himself. Throughout the discourse of this play we view the portrayal of humans as animals and witness King Lear’s mistreatment after he gives away his power. When doing so he makes clear his view on love and its value, solely based on the flattery of words.Through nature, King Lear becomes grounded and recognizes the animalistic behaviors of the rich and the struggles of the poor. This recognition brings him to an utmost discovery that presents the reality of vicious humanity and changes the way he views the world.
M.C. Escher occupies a unique spot among the most popular artists of the past century. While his contemporaries focused on breaking from traditional art and its emphasis on realism and beauty, Escher found his muse in symmetry and infinity. His attachment to geometric forms made him one of modernism’s most recognizable artists and his work remains as relevant as ever.
Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear can be interpreted in many ways and many responses. The imprecision’s and complication of the play has led
The use of geometric shapes in this painting allows the subject to be viewed in both a recognizable and unrecognizable state at the same time. Overall, geometric shapes and patterns play an essential role in what the viewer sees, which is further supported by a powerful color palate.
At some point in time we have all wondered what it means to human, and what we are supposed to do with our lives. Throughout the centuries, there have been gradual changes in what it means to be human. Through Pico della Mirandola we will how man became the measure and took the place of God, through Charles Darwin we will see how nature and science began to take the place of man, and through the art of Friedrich we can visually see all of these changes.
The Human Condition, or La condition humaine was two paintings created by Rene Magritte, one in 1933 and the other in 1935. Both contain many formal similarities, yet the main point of the painting is that there is a painting of a landscape, yet that painting perfectly fits with, or completes, the landscape, as if it was perfectly drawn. In this analysis, I will be analyzing Magritte’s first painting, made in 1933. Magritte’s works often include objects hiding behind others, such as with Magritte’s The Son of Man, where a man in a bowler hat is hiding his face behind a floating apple. Magritte does this also in the Human Condition, yet to express a different meaning. Magritte is one of the major spearheads of the surrealist movement, a type of modernism, in which the fabric of realism and definitions are questions. One of Magritte’s more famous works, The Treachery of Images, Magritte shows a picture of what obviously is a pipe, yet, written in French beneath the image, states “This is not a pipe.” This was the dawn of a philosophy which would take the western art world by storm, called structuralism/post-structuralism. This is the philosophy where ideas/words and their meanings can be flexible depending on the viewer or the circumstance. This philosophy believes in the subconscious identification with images/colors that people have with art. In Magritte’s Treachery of the Images, his statement that “this is not a pipe” can be interpreted in different ways. One could say,
In King Lear, the recurring images of sight and blindness associated with the characters of Lear and Gloucester illustrate the theme of self-knowledge and consciousness that exist in the play.
In King Lear. Shakespeare uses imagery of great imaginative depth and resonance to convey his major themes and to heighten the readers experience of the play. There are some predominant image patterns.
In Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale”, we see a jealous king convinced he is search of the truth. He will expose his wife and her alleged philandering, but his determination to prove this actually changes this search from one for truth to one for myths—creations, false truths. In essence. Leontes runs into the conflict of defining art versus nature, where art is the view of the world he constructs to prove his paranoia true. Nature itself can exist without art, but the art here is the mangled perception through which Leontes will seek to define Nature. In summation, “The Winter’s Tale” investigates the conflict between art and nature—creation versus enhancement—and seeks to find out if
King Lear is understandably one of William Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, it encompasses the journey through suffering and explores, in detail, the idea of justice. Each character in the play experience s one or the other throughout the progression of the plot, it is evident that through compositional features such as these, the play write is trying to convey this meaning. Through methods such as intense imagery, motifs, repetition of words and rhyming the play write has given intensity to certain passages, speeches and conversations. Shakespeare, through the use of character development, unravels the way in which humanity responds to injustice, the character relationships, specifically character foils, give rise to a number of notions