Cubism

Hockney's photographic montages have their root in Cubism. Prior to creating my own montages, I took at look at this movement and the influence it has had on modern art.

Cubism, one of the twentieth century's most influential visual art styles, was a term coined by French art critic Louis Vauxcelles. The style was largely pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, who in turn were influenced by artists such as Paul Cézanne.

I find a general Google image search a good place to start with such topics. Such a search tends to pull up a mixture of images by well-known artists and those by unknown individuals who have ben inspired by the topic. The first thing I noticed in this instance were the wonderful bright colours present in many of the images - something that appeals to me very much. Upon further investigation, I learned that the brighter colours were more a feature of the second Cubist movement - termed 'Synthetic Cubism'. Earlier images, falling into the 'Analytical Cubism' period, tended to have a more muted and limited colour range.

As Cubist images are not constrained by accepted proportions, scales, colours, distances, etc., artists are free to express themselves without such boundaries. This sometimes leads to paintings in which the subject is instantly recognisable, and others where the image is at first glance purely abstract.

Paintings

I will pick out just a couple of Cubist paintings to discuss here, as this is supposed to be a blog entry rather than an essay! These are images that have particularly caught my eye.

Picasso - Girl with a Mandolin (1910)
The first in a series of portraits painted by Picasso. This painting appears to me to focus almost exclusively on form and depth, rather than colour. Almost all lines are straight, and there are many 'harsh' right angles. The eyes, hair, mandolin and breast are exceptions as they include more fluid, sculptural lines.

When looking closely at the painting, the angular shapes draw my attention. However, when stepping back and looking at the image as a whole, the angles seem to me to become softer. Instead, the light and shadows come in to play, and the form of the woman and mandolin are more evident.

I am aware that many regard this painting as beautiful, and in terms of the subtle tones and limited colour palette, I agree. However, although I can appreciate the skill and pioneering nature of this work, I do not find it truly aesthetically pleasing. Interesting, yes - but to me, the harsh lines are somewhat jarring and unforgiving. This is just a personal opinion though, and I am aware that there are thousands upon thousands of people who would disagree.


Malevich - The Knife Grinder (1912)
This painting is actually categorised as part of the Cubo-Futurist movement - a Russian-based fusion of French Cubism and Italian Futurism.

I find the painting fascinating. At first glance, it appears to be a purely abstract collection of shapes and colours, but a longer look reveals the figure of the knife-grinder. Once the figure is apparent, it is not possible to look at the painting without seeing that the seemingly random shapes are actually eyes, fingers, face and a grinding wheel. It is as if Malevich has dissacted the figure and put it back together again.

Once I could see the form, I noticed that some shapes - e.g. the hands - are repeated. This increases the abstract nature of the image, and adds interest. Like Picasson's 'Girl with a Mandolin', this painting also includes straight lines and sharp angles - however (and I realise I'm contradicting myself here!) I find 'The Knife Grinder' more aesthetically pleasing. I cannot pinpoint the reason for this. Could it just be my liking for vibrant colours comping through? I think it's more than that, though - Malevich's painting seems to me to be less constrained - less analytical, and more fluid. Perhaps this is the reason I find it more appealing.

Photographic Montages

Inspired by the Cubists, David Hockney created several photomontages, some of which can be seen here. My personal favourite is Place Furstenberg, Paris (1985).

At first glance, you could be forgiven for thinking it is a painting, but upon closer inspection, it becomes evident that it is composed of many photographs. I like the freedom of artistic expression that I feel the image demonstrates. Hockney has not concerned himself with ensuring that each image is perfectly horizontal, or that values such as white balance, exposure and focal length are identical. Instead, he has concentrated on covering all parts of the main scene and putting them together as a kind of rough 'jigsaw'. When viewed as a whole, this gives a pleasing image. As a single, 'straight' exposure, this urban scene may not have held particular interest. However, Hockney's treatment of it has made it eye-catching and fascinating to the viewer.


Hockney's work has inspired countless artists. Flickr is home to many montages emulating his style. One of my favourites is Cheers! by Steven Monteau. There is so much to look at in the image. I like the lighting the details, the movement and vitality.


Whoops, this has almost turned into an essay-length essay after all! I'd better stop rabbiting on now. Suffice it to say, the photo montage project, and the work of the Cubists, has really inspired me. I love the way that they take a simple, even mundane, image and turn it into something fascinating that reveals new information each time you view it.

I feel like I have a new reason to go out and take photographs now. I want to revisit several of my favourite loations and photograph them in this way.