Taking place during the 18th century centered in France, the Enlightenment was the creations of ideas about man, society and nature, which challenged existing conceptions rooted in a traditional world view, dominated by Christianity.
Define the concept of the Sublime.
The Sublime refers to something of greatness in very way which nothing can compare to and is beyond all possibilities
How did the concept of the Sublime come out of the Enlightenment thought?
Being not encouraged to add landscapes in paintings and drawings to the point they would discard it and leave it out in general, people saw the landscape as 'unimportant', until a statesman and political theorist Edmund Burke (1729-1797) and his beliefs of life of feeling and spirit depend on a harmony within the larger order of the universe, which made the sublime, the ultimate experience of divinity. He also saw this and the landscape 'connected'. This too was also encouraged by a writer called Wilhelm Wackenroder saying that "... there exists only two languages through which God allows the human to comprehend the Divine: one of these is reserve for God alone, but the other is given to a few "anointed favorites" who in turn interpret them." He also explained " the second language had components: "They are: nature and art." Through words like these, they encouraged artists such as David Friedrich and his work of the 'Cross in the Mountains'.
Discuss the subject matter, and aesthetic (look) of Misrach's work to identify the Sublime in his work.
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Photos by Misrach such as the Pyramid Lake (Red & Yellow), Nevada (1991), which shows 3 small land masses and mountains from a distance on water which looks like it goes on forever, gives off a warm, tingly feeling you kind of get when you look at a great sunset but also a dark mysterious look as shadows and areas where light from the sun cant get them turn darker than before, a feeling which no human hasn't touched or tainted whereas the Playground and Shell Refinery, Norco, Louisiana (1998) photo has a deserted feel with the basketball court abandoned and left untouched with a power plant is in the background which shows the relationship between man and the environment.
Identify some other artists or designers that work with ideas around the Sublime, from the Enlightenment era as well as contemporary artists.
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Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) and his painting of the "Fire at Sea" shows the early works during the rise of the Enlightenment of the idea around the Sublime. This painting shows a more power sense of feeling of what nature has and what we don't as humans as we see the ship get torn into pieces by the immense raw power of the waves.
Leon Chew and his photo of "The Architectural Landscape" which was a photo of Las Vegas taken from his hotel room which gives a feeling that there is a pot of dirt and greed dressed up in a nice lights and buildings to cover up the bad side of what happens there, which also relates to the saying "What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas". While sticking to the buildings, it also gives off another feeling and buzz of electric of unlimited things to do in the nightlife.
How does Misrach's photography make you feel? Does it appeal to your imagination?
Depending on what photos I was looking at, they gave me a feeling of 'Nostalgia' and makes you imagine to a point back in time that the certain area used to be inhabited by children or a place in your childhood that you used to like going and spending time there.
Reference:
Edmund Burke, A philospical Enquiry Into the Origings of our ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful,London, 1757, in Collected Works, T.W. Copeland, ed. London: 1865-1867
Wilhelm Wackenroder and Ludwig Tieck, Outpourings of ant-loving friar (Dresden, 1797). English ed. trans. by Edward Mornin. (New York: Grederick Ungar, 1975), p59. Wackenroder is the author of the essay "Of two Wonderful Languages and their mysterious power."
http://www.artnet.com/awc/richard-misrach.html
www.edelmangallery.com/misrach.htm
http://www.leonchew.co.uk/index.php?s=Architectural
http://www.en.utexas.edu/Classes/Moore/sublime/subPaint4.htm
Hey Darren
ReplyDeleteI quite like your featured other sublime artist, Joseph Mallord William Turner's "Fire at Sea", it's a very well painted piece. There is an intense amount of energy eminating from the artwork, which truly encapsulates the sheer ferocity and force of the ocean. You could also say that as industrialisation eventually gave birth to the commercial air craft, it's representing the shift in the worlds mode of transportation, that we no longer need to bare the might of the ocean in an attempt to reach a distant shore, that a much safer alternative has unveiled itself in mankinds eyes.