Contemporary artist, designer or filmmaker - Austen Pinkerton - Essay Example

CONTEMPORARY ARTIST: AUSTEN PINKERTON INTRODUCTION: Contemporary art generally referred to today’s art. It included art made from the late 1960s to the present. Contemporary art was also referred to as ‘postmodern art’ because it followed after the end of modern art or the modernist period. ( It should be noted, however, that artists were in the present day, making modern art as well as art in practically all past styles or modes). The most important aspect of contemporary art was its indefinability. It could not be categorized easily into a particular medium or a specific school. With globalization, the distinctions within Art had loosened. Contemporary art practices, the vibrancy and dissonance in today’s art scene, are unique. (Kocur p1987). Another notable characteristic of contemporary art was that the theme was normally an issue that affected the present-day world: cloning, politics, economics, issues of gender, race, class, human rights, ethnicity, etc1. Contemporary art was also not limited by the materials used or the methodology. The art was vividly emotional, hence the accusation of ‘sensationalism’. By going for the jugular, these artists made main-stream British culture pay attention. Emphasis on the tangible, rather than a vague conceptualism, distinguished British art of the past fifteen years.(Guardian). Austen Pinkerton was the British contemporary artist I selected, for discussing three of his works. He had specialized in acrylic and water colours. Austen said that he took inspiration from the world around him. He used representational elements as the starting point for his compositions. With the help of his memory and imagination, he created a whole new environment, full of narrative and emotion: “Sometimes I just want to express my feelings, about something or the other in my life or in the world around me.”2 The main reason for my selecting Austen Pinkerton was that his works were full of aesthetic appeal. I have selected three of his works which can be identified with historical art, having the qualities of aesthetics like beauty, purity and transcendence3. The online gallery of his paintings, can be accessed for the complete range of his works from pre-1970s to his new work: post-20054. His earlier work had several examples of modernistic, simplistic and abstract art, and several portraits and still-life. The three art works selected from Austen Pinkerton’s works are shown below: (Absolutearts Online Art Gallery). Painting Acrylic, 2003 Title: ‘SUNSET CITY’ Width: 350 mm. Depth: 25 mm. Height: 450 mm. Frame: Wood. Theme: Architectural/ Cityscape. DESCRIPTION: In this beautiful and carefully executed painting, the splendour and colour of a magnificent city sunset is presented in all its glory. Austen’s art- approach and compelling style is suitable for land, water and city scapes. Strong contrasts provide drama and excitement in the sky’s colours. The cool evening environment at sunset- time is clearly portrayed. The blazing colours of the sunset are seen reflected from the windows and front façade of the building in the fore-ground. The fiery colours of the sunset off-set the cool atmosphere of the evening. The detailed work, showing the other high-rise buildings in the area, with their structural features clearly etched, is awe-inspiring. This dynamic and challenging work is breath-taking in its beauty. The painstaking piece of art has been executed with an eye to great detail and reproduction of the scene as naturally as possible. The view is from the street, from where it is seen that high above the city sky-line, the banded clouds glow with the blazing hues of sunset. The play of light and shadow has been done very realistically. Some of the buildings in the background are partially in the shade. Since the essence of the spectacular cityscape has been caught faithfully on the canvas, we feel the same awe at the splendour, as the artist who had witnessed it. Title: ‘THE RIVER’ ACRYLIC PAINTING 2005 Width: 1960 mm. Frame: Wood Depth: 30 mm. Height: 735 mm. Theme: Landscape/ River DESCRIPTION: A panoramic view of a river as it emerges in rapids between bluffs, over a waterfall with rainbow, and then flows onward towards the sea. Everywhere there are details of interest: people, buildings, ancient monuments, castles, shipping, etc, shown in minute form. In this beautiful painting, the hand of the imaginative artist manifests in the natural and glowing colours. The painting is evocative, as it makes the viewer imagine himself directly viewing this scenery at the real location. Dream paintings in which private fantasy is illustrated, display this kind of glorious gold-tinted and billowing clouds, and a rainbow reflected in the water. The fore-ground has been clearly etched, and the far horizon recedes into the dim distance. The sense of perspective, with the depiction of the vastness of the landscape and the great length of the river, captures the elements of the open vistas. In this magical scene, the waterfall continuing its journey forward from the lower part of the cliff, as a river has been skilfully executed. Different shades of green and earthy colour tones have been used to add to the natural look of the rocky plains. The waterfall and the river have been painted very realistically, showing turbulence as well as tranquility in the water. Marion Boddy-Evans (About.com Painting) says that painting less detail in the background, and giving the foreground preference, leads the viewer’s eye into the main focus of the landscape painting. Lake by Moonlight" - Painting Acrylic, 2005 Width: 180 mm. Frame: Wood Height: 250 mm. Theme:Landscape/ lake Depth: 25 mm. DESCRIPTION: A view across a lake to steep shores covered in pine forests. It is late evening and the sun is setting, whilst to the right the moon casts its reflection in the water. A boat with a single occupant rows across the lake. In this painting, Austen Pinkerton has caught the atmosphere of dusk-time. The rich dark colours he has used, depict the moments after the setting sun disappears over the horizon, and nightfall is near. The inky waters reflect the pearly light of the moon, and in that light, we can see a lone boatman rowing in the lake. The lonely figure intensifies the feeling of desolation and isolation that a viewer would experience if directly present in the scene. Marion Boddy-Evans (About.com Painting) writes about the intense emotion created in the viewer which is equal to the emotion felt by the artist who witnessed the scene. The glowing pine forests, reflecting the dying light of the sun, and the darkening sky have been realistically caught in the picture. Here the deepening night sky reflects its gloomy darkness in the water, which is calm and placid. Using a variety of blue and green tones, the late hour of the evening has been depicted, to show the deepening dusk-time. The banded clouds and the distant moon shining through, the pale glow in the western sky, as an aftermath of the setting sun, picturise a beautiful skyscape. The rays of the sunset-glow highlight the pine trees with a silvery light. The gradations of the treetops on the hill-slopes, and the colour gradations in the western sky attract the eye and are pleasing to behold. Colours provide their own sense of atmosphere and magic. The environment, the time and the place are caught in a dramatic fashion, in the imaginatively created painting. CONCLUSION: According to the theme, techniques and approaches used, artists and their work provide a catalyst for further research and discovery. Austen Pinkerton had covered a diverse range of subject matters in his nearly four decades of art work. Three of his recent paintings have been discussed here, where he had practised traditional art methodology, even as a contemporary artist. REFERENCES Absolutearts Online Art Gallery. Web site: http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolio/a/austenpinkerton/ Boddy-Evans, Marion. Painting, ‘About’ Web site: http://painting.about.com/mbiopage.htm Guardian, Online Arts Journal. Web site: http://arts.guardian.co.uk/turnerpeoplespoll/story/0,,1073321,00.html Kocur. Contemporary Art Since 1985 , Blackwell Publishing, 2004. Read More