Really looking at art

Since February I've been attending the course My first art Collection. The course is aimed to help the student create an real art collection.

One part of the Course was last Saturday. We went to the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (Municipal museum The Hague)
There we were welcomed by the curator contemporary art
Doede Hardeman and Professor Kitty Zijlmans. (lecturing contemporary art)

This day we would enter the depot of the museum. (This seldom happens to non-museum co-workers. ) There we would watch some 19 paintings and photo's, from which had to select five objects in couples.

I couldn't say the depot was awesome, but impressive it was. On the racks were the Mondriaans (largest collection in the world) and many many other works of art. About a football field filled with racks which had art attached to it.

The aim was to be more aware of our norms we had for liking art. We had a homework assignment to describe a work of art and to argument why we liked the work.

Below here I translated my home work to English and made some additions which I was made aware during the course.

"Boom van een kerel” "Men Tree" (2006) by Sanneke Duijf

The work is mostly a painting which has a 3-D addition made of wire. The painting depicts the upper half of man which transfigures at the neck to a leafless tree. In the background there are some other trees. The wire forms the branches of the tree which come forward out of the painting towards the viewer.

In the all paintings four colors are being used, black white, light grey and dark grey. The most part of the painting the forms are sturdy. However details are visible the man's white shirt has got detailed button and collar. The highest and smallest branches form the tree are detailed pictured too.

What really stands out is the sturdy composition. This combined withe the title (which is in Dutch an expression) makes quite clear what the painting want to express. The man tree figure stands big in the middle of painting. The size about 80 x 90 centimeters makes that the figure is as large as in life.

The black and white part, the jacket and the shirt are treated with varnish, that's why these parts shine and make the man part stand out of the tree part. One could also say that the varnished part is just the clothing of the man tree.

The wire comes about 40 centimetres forward and is part of the tree. It will create shadows on the branches making extra branches when spotlight is directed to the painting.

I like the painting because of the good execution of the simple concept man tree (boom van een kerel) The concept has been worked out clearly with simple means (colors and large areas) The distinction between man and tree is made extra by varnishing the shirt and jacket. Next to this the extra wire literally gives another dimension.

The concept man tree stands central. Some details were added. The trees in the back, the detailed shirt. These make the painting more real and vivid. The tree seems part of a forest and you can unbutton the shirt.

back to the workshop

The question which was posed during the workshop was why is a piece of art beautiful. If you have strong emotion for a piece of art you have that feeling for a purpose. Feelings are short-cuts to make us act fast, because something important happens. Every emotion has a reason. I you find out, what created the emotion you are better able to select art of your liking and you are aware why you like the particular works of art.

Some findings of my own. At must be unusual, must make me think or amaze. I also like craftsmanship and a good concept. Both should be present in art.

At the end of the workshop we were asks which work we would buy from the 19. Strangely I chose a work not in the selection of 5 we chose as a couple and which one was not my favorite.

Why? More about this in my post: my second art collection. (coming this Tuesday)