Still Life with Bouquet and Skull Artist: Adriaen van Utrecht Date: 1643 Medium: oil on canvas Size: 67x86cm Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Adriaen_van_Utrecht_Vanitas_-_Still_Life_with_Bouquet_and_Skull.JPG Orange Disaster #5 Self-Portrait with Skull Artist: Andy Warhol Date: 1963 Medium: Acrylic and silkscreen enamel on canvas Size: 269.2x207 cm Source: https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/4176 Artist: Andy Warhol Date: 1978 Medium: Acrylic paint and silkscreen on canvas Size: 408x332x20 mm Source: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/warhol-selfportrait-with-skull-ar00610 Introduction: This comparative looks at 2 artists from different eras and social cultural backgrounds, Adriaen van Utrecht and Andy Warhol. This study will explore the ways in which the shared themes of mortality and impermanence in the chosen works of both these artists are conveyed effectively. Adrian van Utrecht was a Flemish painter from the 1600 s of genre scenes, religious and mythological subjects, and most importantly Vanitas still lifes. I came across the Dutch Vanitas in a research for my Extended Essay on the philosophy of art and became fascinated in the way complex abstract concepts are presented symbolically through conveying attractive objects and motifs. The Vanitas were made to remind its viewer of the certainty of death and the transience of life. I have always contemplated these ideas of mortality from my Buddhist background and wanted to further explore how such ideas may be shared through art. Andy Warhol was an iconic leading American artist in the pop art movement of the 20th century. Though most of his works dealt with the themes of celebrity culture and advertising, Warhol became more obsessed with the theme of death since having gotten shot in 1968. His Death and Disaster works emphasized the importance of the Vanitas theme of the certainty of death. Warhol s whimsical style was unlike any other abstract expressionists in which he embraced popular culture and mass production. I became inspired by Warhol s use of vibrant colors and use of gestural abstraction which I adapted to own own work. By taking inspirations from these 2 artists, I adapted the use of motif and symbols from the Vanitas along with the vibrant and colorful atmosphere from Warhol into my own work to convey the ideas of mortality and impermanence.
STILL LIFE WITH BOUQUET AND SKULL, Adriaen van Utrecht, 1643 This is a 17 th century Dutch Vanitas still life by Adriaen van Utrecht. In this piece, the artist provokes the viewer to contemplate the certainty of death and transience of life through featuring a multitude of religious and allegorical symbolism. For example, the skull is a universal symbol of death and emphasizes the idea of impermanence amongst other material objects, such as flowers (symbolize the cycle of life), unused drinking glass and smoking pipe (symbolizes empty pleasures), a book (represents temporary human knowledge). Van Utrecht implicitly depicts ideas of mortality through hidden symbols and metaphors. ORANGE DISASTER #5, Andy Warhol, 1963 This is a 20 th century silkscreen print by pop artist Andy Warhol, inspired by news reports of violent deaths. Warhol s interest in exploring the theme of death increased since being critically shot in 1968. This piece explored the theme of death through relentlessly reiterating an image of an electric chair. The adoption of Warhol s pop-art style links the idea of death with the ideas of mass-production and American culture. The repeated image represents the reiteration of tragedy and destruction in the media. The burnt orange used across the image exaggerates the sense of horror in regards to our mortality. SELF-PORTRAIT WITH SKULL, Andy Warhol, 1978 This is another work created by Andy Warhol. In this work, Warhol, as usual utilizes vibrant colors with screen-printing. The artist returns to selfportraiture to explore the Dutch Vanitas concept of the certainty of death. This is shown in the common still-life symbol of a skull which represents mortality. This piece seems to be more intimate and personal to the artist as he contemplates his own mortality towards the end of his life.
Adriaen van Utrecht AUDIENCE WORLD AUDIENCE ARTWORK ARTIST ARTIST WORLD Religion played an important role in the Eighty Years War of independence against Spain (1568 1648). Catholicism dominated Dutch religion until the Protestant Reformation in the early 17 th century. Dutch Golden Age is formed during the early 17 th century to meet the new Protestant Reformation aesthetics in Northern Europe as well as a response to Roman Catholicism. The Dutch Reformed Protestant church forbade images of religious subjects. Detailed realism and hidden symbolism became increasingly popular. Dutch Golden Age paintings featured Caravaggesque and naturalism as dominated around parts of Europe. There was a largely Calvinistic population in the Netherlands. (Calvinism: from 16 th century Roman Catholic Church, Reformed Protestantism in which follows the system of John Calvin and other theologians) The middle-classes start to become the principal patrons of art, replacing the Church and State in the Netherlands. Wealthy Dutch patricians and merchants were also common patrons of art, taking the role as the driving audience of art in the Netherlands. Vanitas and other fine art became expensive commodities purchased, possessed, and appreciated by the wealthy. STILL LIFE WITH BOUQUET AND SKULL Artist: Adriaen van Utrecht Date: 1643 Medium: oil on canvas Size: 67x86cm Van Utrecht's early work was influenced by the style of Baroque artist Frans Snyders. This is evident in the use of a parallel composition between the table and the picture plane, as well as the feature of Game paintings. The influence of Antwerp flower painter, Daniel Seghers, is evident in Van Utrecht's depiction of flower bouquets in his still-life paintings. Adriaen van Utrecht was born in Antwerp, 1599. In 1614 he started apprenticeship with Flemish painter and art dealer Herman de Neyt. He later travelled to France, Italy, and Germany to work for local courts, before returning to Antwerp in 1625. Van Utrecht became a successful artist, receiving international commissions from emperors and princes. However, in the 1640s, the artist s wealth declined. In 1952, he passed away in Antwerp due to ill health.
Context and cultural significance of Adriaen Van Utrecht s work Cultural Significance The Protestant Reformation in the 16 th century rejected the existing Christian tradition and consequently destroyed religious art. The artistic tradition of the Golden Age developed in which followed the ideas of Calvinism, creating a fragmentation between Northern and Southern Europe. The Protestant Church generally did not commission religious art. For this reason, Dutch Realism in the 17 th century lead to an increase of more down-to-earth art work. Dutch artists focused on mastering the theory of perspective and honored the classical mimesis. Artist background: Adriaen van Utrecht was born in Antwerp, 1599. He was a Flemish painter and master of still lifes. He was best known for his banquet still lifes, fruit still lifes, kitchen scenes, and farmyard paintings. Van Utrecht spent a few years as an apprentice with Flemish painter Herman de Neyt. He later travelled to France, Italy, and Germany to work for local courts. His use of Baroque devices in his work may be attributed to the influence from his travels. The 17 th Century new patronage in the Dutch Republic meant that middle-classmen were now able to purchase art, of which were being produced at large quantities. New art owners began to place their paintings in private properties as opposed to churches.this furthered the popularity of still-life paintings as their smaller sizes were more desired to be put in smaller spaces (private homes). Painting was no longer primarily the preserve of church or [ ] wealthy. -National Gallery of Art Washington, Painting in the Dutch Golden Age, 33. After a long war against Spain, the Netherlands was finally recognized as an independent country. 17 th Century Dutch Republic was a time for prosperity and intellectual progress. Even when suffering the effects from war with Spain, Dutch grew to be leaders in international trade. This allowed significant growth of their material welfare, scientific development, education, and individual thought. Because of this, the Dutch developed a practical dependence on reason as a way of knowing. This furthered artists start to portray earthly subjects as opposed to explicit heavenly realms, the still-life paintings celebrated the objects of the world.
Formal analysis of Still Life with Bouquet and Skull Value: The high tonal contrast and strong shadows creates a significant contrast to the vibrant colors of the flowers, emphasizing their liveliness and details. Flower grow from buds, blossom, decay, and fade into nothingness (the darkness). Hence, the shadows also emphasizes the idea of death and mortality Line: The diagonal line created with contrast of dark and bright tones points in an upward direction. This implicitly suggests presence of a higher spiritual being, thus further emphasizes our human transience. Lighting: The use of shadows and high contrast between light and dark creates a clear line to direct the viewer s attention to the skull. This adds emphasis on the skull and highlights the theme of death and mortality. The bright lighting on the skull creates high tonal contrast with the rest of the dark image. Color: The colorful, warm tones in the flowers accentuates the beauty and sense of liveliness to contrast the earthy and dark tones on the skull which emphasizes its sense of decay. Van Utrecht enjoys working with earthy tones rather than bright colors like from his prominent artistic influence, Frans Snyders. The earthy tones may highlight the natural imagery as well as the organic portrayal of death. Balance: The skull is placed slightly off the center of the composition of the image. The sense of asymmetrically is highlighted with the uneven diagonal cast of shadow as well as the disordered and messy placement of objects. The lack of symmetry may reflect the lack of order and harmony in all things, in the face of death. Movement: The hanging jewelry off the edge of the table creates a sense of movement to the image. The flowers different stages from blooming to decaying also furthers a sense of movement to the scene and highlights the sense of realism. Emphasis: The focal point of the artwork is the dominating motif of the skull. The placement of strong highlights on the skull creates emphasis and draws attention to the theme of death. Style: The use of realism is evidently applied in this painting. This is significant as it strengthens the painting s message and observation of life. This allows the viewer to effectively perceive the message of mortality from the work and apply it to their world around them. Harmony: The objects of the still life are scattered and disarrayed. This is significant to signify the inherent futility behind all achievements as represented by each earthly symbol.
Function and purpose of Still life with bouquet and skull 1. Symbol of skull: a reminder of the certainty of death and the fragility of life. The symbol of skull amongst all the symbols of knowledge, beauty, wealth, luxury, etc. creates the idea that everything will too have its end. Therefore highlighting the temporary nature of all earthly things. Thus reflecting ideas of mortality. 2. Symbol of watch: reflects denotation of the passing of time and further emphasizes the ideas of transience and limitation of time. This thus connects to the idea of mortality. 3. Symbol of books: portrays limitations of human knowledge and the temporary nature of human curiosity and wisdom. 4. Symbol of decaying flowers: reflects transience of life and the transient nature of life. 6. Symbol of blooming flowers: reflects the temporariness of beauty and mortality of all earthly things. 7. Symbol of jewelry and coins: denotes idea of material wealth. This contrasts with the natural imagery from the flowers and emphasizes the idea that material things are temporary, like the decaying flowers, as a way of life. This also serves to reflects the transient and futile nature of luxury and material things. 6. Symbol of empty pipe: reflects the idea that life will eventually be died out as symbolized by the unlit pipe. Being placed right near the universal symbol of death (the skull), the pipe also furthers the futile and temporary nature of empty pleasures 7. Symbol of empty glasses: represents the futile nature of empty pleasures as emphasized by the hollow glass. Symbolic function is highly prominent in Van Utrecht s work. The use of symbolic objects help to convey the transience of earthly, temporal things. The impermanence of earthly pleasures and pursuits are highly emphasized in order to convey the permanence of Christian values. As stated in the Art Encyclopedia at www.visual-arts-cork.com, the Vanitas are characterized as a still life painting of symbolic objects that conveys a biblical or Christian message about the transience of earthly life when compared to the permanence of Christian values". A religious function is therefore evident as this work though portrayed implicitly as a hidden message. Moreover, amidst the Protestant Church not commissioning religious works, the Vanitas also served to fulfill the spiritual need that was ignored due to the Reformed Protestant church s ban of religious art. Therefore, covert religious message of the Vanitas served a social function as well. Dutch Vanitas were the only religious art approved in Holland and became extremely popularly purchased by middle-classmen and displayed in private homes and other small-scale places. Still life with bouquet and skull therefore serves as a decorative commodity as an extended social function.
Andy Warhol AUDIENCE WORLD AUDIENCE ARTWORK ARTIST ARTIST WORLD In the 1960s, mass media played an increasingly important role in society. The 1960 presidential election became televised, the Civil Rights movement become broadcasted, and the Vietnam War was the first televised war that sent coverage back to the United States. From perceiving the tragedies and horrors in television, this influenced the American perception of war on a large scale. In the 1970s, the role of the media grew more active than ever. The media aided in uncovering military abuse from the Vietnam War and exposed a corrupt presidential administration. Warhol s work were extremely popular and consisted of a broad range of subject, media, and price. The audience for Warhol s work is virtually anyone of all ages and all cultures. The world is fascinated with Andy Warhol and his work and pop art style. ORANGE DISASTER #5 SELF-PORTRAIT WITH SKULL The evolution of the Warhol s abstract expressionist pop style is highly distinctive of himself as an artist. Warhol has always been drawn to explore themes on popular culture, mass production, consumerism, and media. However, since being shot and critically injured in 1968, Warhol s interest in exploring the more serious theme of death increased. In the 1960s, Warhol developed The Death and Disaster series, in which the artist explored the Dutch Vanitas concept of the certainty and inevitability of death. Andy Warhol was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1938. The artist s parents emigrated to the United States from northeastern Slovakia before he was born. In 1949, Warhol moved to New York City and began his early career in advertising and commercial art. Warhol was an early silkscreen printer. He was taught this printmaking technique by Max Arthur Cohn in Manhattan. In the1960s, Warhol began to create his iconic prints of American mass-produced objects as well as figures of pop culture: celebrities such as Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe.
Context and cultural significance of Andy Warhol s work Cultural Significance Artist background: In his early life, Warhol has already been familiarized with the concept of death at the death of his father when he was 13 and his mother s cancer operation a few years after. Andy Warhol has always been fascinated with the theme of death. This is evident in his feature of highprofile death of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe; the political assassination of JFK, legal executions, car crashes, suicides, and skulls in his art works. As an artist, it is evident that Warhol holds a mirror up to modern life instead creating an interpretation of it. Likewise, with the theme of death, Warhol mirrors the mass media s obsessive coverage of gruesome disasters and accidents. Born into an impoverished Eastern-European immigrant family in Pittsburgh, the overall surrounding American culture played a prevalent influence on Andy Warhol s artistic style and thematic focus. Warhol drew inspiration from the world around him as he collected photos of celebrities and listened to the radio as a child, shaping his interest in pop culture and celebrities. Capitalism and consumerism rose after the Second World War around1945. America promoted the lifestyle of excess consumption, leisure, material goods. Warhol s work playfully mirrored consumerist culture and mass media, prominently borrowing imagery from advertising, films, etc. Warhol ambivalently embraced the mundane and banal, welcoming these untraditional artistic subjects to be appreciated. Not only was culture important and highlighted in the arts, the growing consumerist culture came to define the American Dream....so it was like life, our lives, flashing in front of us- it would just go by once and we'd never see it again. Warhol and Hacket 1980, POPism Consumer goods and mass media series Warhol reflects mundane consumer goods through adopting commercial art methods such as silkscreening, or production of multiple works repetitiously. Death and disaster series Warhol s Death and Disaster paintings drew inspiration by the front page headline of a tragic plane crash on a newspaper in which headlined 129 die in jet. The role of pop culture and mass media is prevalent in Warhol s work in his series exploring the theme of death as the artist continues to mirror the world (mass media) around him, however, addressing a more serious theme (death).
Formal analysis of Orange Disaster #5 Style: Pop art, abstract expressionist. Serial application of the same image of an empty electric chair repeated 15 times. This use of repetition emphasizes the tragedy and pathos behind the concept of death. This tragedy is juxtaposed with the vibrant orange overall. Color: A bright burnt orange and dark tones of black and grey. The traditional connotations of orange is associated with warmth, joy, happiness. However, the jarring tone of the orange and sense of irony in the juxtaposed ideas of death and liveliness accentuates the horror of the electric chair. Therefore, this tone of the orange reflects a shocking and tense atmosphere. The use of the bold orange across the entire work creates an aggressive effect to the viewer s eyes. Overall, the orange emits a negative vibration and furthers a sense of eeriness from the subject: an isolated and empty electric chair. Value: The use of shadows and dark tones of the wall in the back ground creates a frame for the individual photograph which contrasts next to the other images in the work when printed in a grid-like format. Focal point: The repetitious composition of the image does not draw emphasis or direct the viewer to a specific focal point. This may be to reflect the idea that death ultimately meets all areas and forms of life. Movement: A sense of movement is created with the Warhol s relentless reiteration and repetition of the same image. The lack of a focal point for the viewer draws the eyes all around the work, this evokes an overwhelming feeling and furthers the idea of a lack of order. Media: Acrylic and silkscreen on canvas. This creates a machine-line look which appealed to Warhol. The artist was fascinated with massproduction and consumerism which lent to his artistic process. Warhol seems to portray an observation of how documentation of tragedy and destruction is consistently shown on mass media. With the image of the electric chair repeated over and over, the object loses a sense of its individuality and allows it to be seen with a sense of banal. The also shows the inherently futile nature and vanity in mass media and pop culture. Shape and line: Grid-like structure of the image created by strong tonal contrast forms the appearance of lines separating each individual grid. The illusion of a border to the entire work is created with the uneven space between the print and the end of the paper. The gap on the right side is comparably and prominently wider than the side on the left. This slight absence of symmetry in the framing and general shape furthers this sense of oddity to emphasize the absurdity and futility of life in the face of death.
Formal analysis of of Self-Portrait with Skull Style: Pop art, abstract expressionist. Warhol s style adopts the theme of death in which adds a more complex dimension and layer to his work as an artist. Color: The painting has a hot red base color, with black for the outlines and shading of Warhol and the skull, and tones of navy and earthy colors towards the right side. The hot red could represent both love and hate. The energy from the brightness of its tone creates a sense of aggression and seems almost confrontational. The use of a navy to the side represents darkness, death, and the unknown. The subtle earthly tones between the navy and red creates the idea that the transition from life to death is an organic, natural process. Shape and line: Warhol is depicted with only the general lines and contours painted. There is limited detail and dimension to his face. This may be to portray a simplistic The dark sweeping leaf-like figure on the right of the image creates a weight to the image that furthers an asymmetrical composition. Value: There is limited use of shadows and contrast on Warhol s figure. The darkest value is used on Warhol s solid black jacket. This allows Warhol s face to stand out. The dark shadows with the leaf-like figure on the right covers a good fraction of the skull, which draws the emphasis away from the skull, and to Warhol s expression. Emphasis: The emphasis is put on Warhol s face as his shocked expression and tense gaze draws the attention of the viewer. There is a sense of suspense from Warhol s gaping mouth. The slightly low-angled shot with Warhol s face turning from the side creates a heightened sense of provocation. Perhaps Warhol is alarmed by the knowledge that death is impending on him. The skull on Warhol s shoulder is part covered by dark tones allows emphasis on Warhol s face. The artist s choice to partially cover the skull may be to also represent the sweeping darkness and emptiness behind the doors of death that takes us all. Balance: The image, although asymmetrical, has a balance between the weight of the dark tones on the right and the figure of Warhol on the left. Movement: The gradient effect from navy to earthly tones with the sweeping shape of the dark mass on the right hand side of the image creates a strong sense of movement to the work. The wispy brush-strokes coming inwards of the image makes it look like the movement from the wind or a claw grabbing on. Texture: The thick, streaky texture of the acrylic paint along with its varying degrees of transparency contrasts the smooth, even texture in Orange Disaster #5. The lack of a refined, smooth, and polished texture connotes a lack of peace and calm. This furthers the the heightened tension to the image and sense of chaos. In this piece, the mood is more aggravated and aggressive, as reflected in the frantic brush movements showed in the paint s texture
Function and purpose of Warhol s works ORANGE DISASTER #5 Warhol explores the theme of death and employs the concept from the Dutch Vanitas on the certainty of death. This reflects a new dimension to the artist s collection of works. According to Keith Hartley in Warhol: A Celebration of Life and Death, the use of repetition creates a shocking function since the image of the electric chair serves to empty out the meaning of the image, delay the realization of the dark subject matter, hence creating a sense of shock in the viewer. The electric chair may signify the death penalty. This may also mirror the horrific and brutal portrayals of legal executions on mass media. A social function is emphasized as the repeated image of an electric chair addresses the controversial issue of capital punishment in the USA. The use of a commercial art-making process, silk-screen printing, represents American culture. The social function is therefore furthered. Warhol explores the inherent purposeless and absurd nature of mass media and pop culture as represented through the mass-produced silk-screen medium. Warhol chose to depict an empty room with an empty electric chair with only a sign at the back that reads SILENCE. This represents that death is a bringer of permanent silence. Therefore, reminding the viewer of our mortality and that life is temporary, hence representing an expressive function. SELF-PORTRAIT WITH SKULL Warhol depicts that life and death are inextricably connected. The placement of the skull on Warhol s shoulder represents the close presence of death all around us, reflecting the inevitability of death. An expressive function is therefore prominent. The shocking expression and gaping mouth of Warhol alludes to the sense of fear, tension, and unexpectedness. This creates an atmosphere of shock and unease. Here, Warhol mirrors the emotion of our general response towards the idea of dying. The artist s personal exploration and connection to the theme reveals a personal function. The claw-like navy-colored form on the right hand side of the image portrays an impending darkness and alludes to the idea of the inevitability of death. In this piece, Warhol utilizes one bright color as the base of the print, like in Orange Disaster #5. The use of a hot red is energetic, bright, aggressive, and alarming. This heightens the already prevalent sense of tension from the shocked expression of Warhol s portrait. These emotions stirred from Warhol s choice of color emphasizes the genuine feelings of anxiousness and fear in contemplating the theme of death.
Comparison: Cultural contexts Still life with bouquet and skull by Adriaen van Utrecht, 1643 17 th Century Netherlands The Protestant Reformation brought about new artistic traditions starting from the 16th century. The theological divide and protestant rejection of traditional Catholicism destroyed and decreased the presence of religious art in the Netherlands. In both cultural contexts, there is evidence of a significant economic boom. After the arduous war with Spain, Netherlands gained independence and economic growth. Dutch art, trade, science, and military in during the 17 th century was highly and internationally acclaimed. Similarly, the American economy was significantly prosperous at the rise of consumerist culture after the end of WW2. 20 th Century United States of America American consumerist culture was a significant influence and inspiration for Warhol s works. Americans gave great emphasis on excess consumption, leisure, and material products. This also gave rise to advertising and new media such as radios. Consumerist culture played such a major role in the 20 th century that it soon grew to define the Great American Dream. Orange Disaster #5 by Andy Warhol, 1963 Self-portrait with Skull by Andy Warhol, 1978
Comparison: Formal qualities Still life with bouquet and skull by Adriaen van Utrecht, 1643 Balance: to Warhol s other work and Van Utrecht s work, Orange Disaster #5 is much more structured and has a symmetrical composition. Pattern: Repetition of a single image creates a grid-like geometric composition and emphasizes the motif of an electric chair, further portraying the omnipresence of death. The reiteration of the motif emphasizes the presence of death surrounding capitalist lifestyles as represented in the machine-like, massproduced pattern of images. Orange Disaster #5 by Andy Warhol, 1963 Color: warm earthy color palette with a wide range is used as opposed to Warhol s striking and bright color with a limited range. Style: This piece adopts much more realism and mimesis. The still life mirrors what is physically seen as opposed to Warhol s pop-art pieces which mirrors the concept and attitude (what is not physically seeable) presented by mass media and pop culture. Organic shapes and forms: This piece features much more organic imagery and natural forms from the emphasis on flowers. Symbolism: Though the still life features this to larger degree, all three works utilize mundane earthly objects to represent the theme of death. Balance: Both paintings are structured asymmetrically through the contrast of values and tones. The lack of balance and symmetry reflects the disorder and state of This piece is a selfportrait which contrasts the subject focus of the other two works. The emphasis is placed on Warhol s face which evokes a level of tension and sense of shock. Movement: Warhol creates a strong sense of movement through the wispy brush-strokes to the side of the image. This abstract use of texture contributes to the asymmetrical balance of the image and brings emphasis on the expression of Warhol s face. Self-portrait with skull by Andy Warhol, 1978
Comparison: Function and purpose Still life with bouquet and skull by Adriaen van Utrecht, 1643 This piece seem to have a stronger sense of a social commentary and an awareness of its cultural surrounding. There is a more evident representation of mass media and consumerist culture in this piece as seen in the massproduced artistic process (technique of silk-screening); the motif of an electric chair, which reflects the brutal portrayals of legal executions on mass media; as well as the overall repetitious style of the image which points to how mass media desensitizes death and disaster through the normalized feature of it. Orange Disaster #5 by Andy Warhol, 1963 The Dutch Vanitas features a wide range of different symbols that implicitly reflects hidden meaning about the transience of life in many different facets. Van Utrecht explores more specific ideas such as the pursuit of human curiosity, material wealth, drugs and alcohol, etc. In contrast, Warhol s more simplistic, minimalistic, and abstract approach does not explore such a variety of different specific topics. Van Utrecht s piece seem to comment on the inherent futility and purposelessness of earthly pleasures and pursuits in the face of death. According to the Art Encyclopedia at visual-artscork.com, the depiction of impermanent objects is used to convey the permanent nature of religious faith and Christian values. A religious function is therefore significant in this piece, which is not evident in Warhol s pieces. All three pieces portrays the certainty and inevitability of death through use of various symbols, motifs. Symbolic function is employed in all pieces. Both paintings features a skull, the universal symbol of death and traditional motif in the Dutch stilllife. This explicit imagery furthers the fundamental theme of death and strengthens the shared symbolic function. This piece features a portrait of the artist himself which allows a more intimate and personalized approach to the theme of death. This piece seem to explore the artist s personal understanding and relationship with the concept of death as the sense of fear and uncertainty are emphasized in his shocked expression. This piece therefore contrasts the other pieces since it serves a personal function. Self-portrait with Skull by Andy Warhol, 1978
Comparison: Material, conceptual and cultural significance Orange Disaster #5 conceptually deals with a controversial social issue in America, the death penalty. Specifically, the thematic focus on the death penalty is a significant contrast between Van Utrecht s Still Life with Bouquet and Skull and Warhol s Self-portrait with Skull. Orange Disaster #5 by Andy Warhol, 1963 Still life with bouquet and skull by Adriaen van Utrecht, 1643 According to www.visual-arts-cork.com/, oil paint is slow to dry, artists can continue working the paint for much longer than other types of paint. This provides greater opportunity for blending and layering. This is highly contrasting to the material used by Warhol, silk-screen printing. Warhol s artistic process could be extremely quick and therefore could be produced on a large, commercial scale. All three pieces fundamentally conveys the concept of the certainty of death and mortality Both pieces fundamentally looks at the inextricable connection between life and death. This piece has a much larger emotional undertone as accentuated by Warhol s injection of himself into the image. This is not evident in the other pieces of which are more broad, conceptual, and reflective of society. Though this piece still has a social and cultural element to itself, fundamentally, the personal and emotional expression is highly significant here. Self-portrait with Skull by Andy Warhol, 1978
Connection to own art-making practice: Formal qualities Emphasis: The wanted to make the focal point of the artwork the symbol of death, similar to the dominating focus of the skull in Van Utrecht s still life. I placed the incense in the center of the image s composition, so that the viewer s eyes will easily go to it first. The imitated the use of strong highlights and tonal contrasts to draw emphasis on this symbol. I also applied layers of gesso to bring out only this symbol, furthering the emphasis. Style: The use of realism is applied in my painting. This is also reflective of the realism applied in Van Utrecht s still life of which allows the viewer to effectively perceive the message of mortality from the work and apply it to their world around them. After researching the Dutch Vanitas, I also became inspired by its implicit ability to reflect profound observations of the ephemerality of earthly objects. I therefore decided to explore the style of still lifes to strengthen my project s theme of impermanence, as well as to connect this theme to my social/cultural surroundings. Harmony: Inspired by the placement of Van Utrecht s still life, I embraced the depiction of an inharmonic composition. I placed the objects in my still life in a manner of disarray. This is significant to represent the fundamental futile nature within material goods, as symbolized by the jewelry and other symbols of material wealth. Movement: The string of pearls, glass, and wallet goes out of frame slightly which mirrors how objects such as jewelry and roses hang off the edge of the table. I created a sense of movement to sense of continuity in the idea that there are many other transient objects outside of the frame. Color: A single toned, bright light, bubblegum pink. After seeing how Warhol utilizes bright arbitrary background colors to create a mood, I decided to explore how I may use this to accentuate my theme, going out of my usual comfort zone of a plain black background. I chose this muted tone of pink to connote consumerism. This color was inspired by food, technology, and fashion advertisements in Hong Kong magazines. This bright, light color connotes ideas of sweetness and draws to ideas of food. I want to link the idea of death and mortality to the idea of consumerist and materialist goods to emphasize their transient nature. The overall bright, positive, and comforting mood from this tone of pink also helps create my intended alternative approach and perspective to the theme of death. This inspired use of color by Warhol thus helps further my artistic intention. My goal is not to mock or to criticize Hong Kong consumerist culture, but to bring forth the awareness that such material pleasures are temporary to my viewers. Therefore this bright, calming tone of pink helps create an overall positive depiction of the concept.
Connection to own art-making practice: Function and purpose, cultural context Symbol of death: incense. After seeing how Van Utrecht connected a symbol of death to other symbols of material wealth to signify the transient nature of material goods, I became inspired to utilize a symbol of death relevant to my social and cultural context. Incense in China is traditionally used in ancestor veneration. The connotations of death from this symbol therefore contrasts and emphasizes the temporary nature of the material objects displayed around the symbol. Thus reflecting ideas of mortality. Symbol of empty glass: This symbol represents the futile nature of empty pleasures, which is drawn from the Vanitas symbolism. In connection to Hong Kong culture, I depicted an empty martini glass to represent our drinking culture and to also represent the broader gastronomic pleasures. The emphasis on the glass s emptiness is created through significant contrast between the shadows and highlights of the glass. This highlights the idea of the inherent hollowness and fruitlessness of such pleasures in the face of its impermanent nature. Symbol of jewelry: Drawn from the Vanitas use of symbols of jewelry to denote and represent material wealth. I depicted different rings, bracelets, and a string of pearls which were inspired by Hong Kong magazine adverts. The jewelry are scattered around the incense (central focus) to connect the ideas of death to the ideas of material wealth, therefore reflecting on the impermanence of material things. Traditional Chinese ceramic: I depicted this traditional blue and white Chinese ceramic image to strengthen the connection of Chinese culture to the theme of impermanence. Symbol of sycee: A sycee was a type of imperial Chinese gold ingot currency. I portrayed this to further the representation of material wealth whilst also strengthening the connection of Chinese culture to the theme of impermanence. The Dutch Vanitas features a variety of implicit symbols to comment on society, this inspired me to depict symbols of material wealth that is relevant to me and my culture. Symbol of Louis Vuitton wallet: LV bags and other products are very prominently used and bought in Hong Kong and in China. When thinking of Hong Kong consumerist culture, big designer brands such as LV definitely comes to mind. I therefore decided to depict a LV wallet to represent wealth, consumerism, and materialism from the connotations of money, designer goods, and shopping. I chose a wallet since it is more appropriately proportioned for this still life. I did not depict the label of the brand but decided to implicitly connect and connote Hong Kong culture simply through the notorious checkered pattern. Functions: Social: This piece serves to bring awareness of the impermanence of materialism. In an increasingly consumerist society, especially in Hong Kong culture, I wanted to remind the viewer that wealth and things are temporary so as to stimulate reevaluation of how much importance we put on such things. Therapeutic: The bright color palette and light tones creates a calming atmosphere to alleviate the stressful undertones connected to ideas of death and impermanence. Symbolic: The variety of symbols inspired from the Vanitas implicitly conveys the transient nature of things represented (wealth, material pleasures) Expressive: This piece conveys the underlying concept of impermanence from Buddhism which is brought to connect to Hong Kong consumerist culture.
Final comparisons to own art-making: Still Life with Incense Van Utrecht s piece adopts a more dark, earthy palette with high tonal contrast. This creates a grim and brooding mood which contrasts with the more positive and low tonal contrasted still-life by me. The fundamental intentions in commenting on the ephemerality of earthly things are different between Van Utrecht and I. Van Utrecht comments on the impermanence of all earthly things of multiple different aspects in order to contrast the holiness and permanence of God. For my piece, I intended to portray the impermanence of material things as a simple observation for my viewers to become aware of or reminded of, since Hong Kong is an increasingly consumerist society. Both pieces adopts a sense of realism featured in a still-life format. Both pieces features different symbols of material wealth and earthly pleasures to reflect the fundamental transient nature of temporal things. This still-life painting features a variety of symbols that reflects Chinese and Hong Kong culture. This painting is therefore more focused and explicit on cultural representations as opposed to Van Utrecht and Warhol s more implicit representations of society and culture. This piece is heavily influenced from the Dutch Vanitas, especially with its symbolism, but takes on a sense of an abstract style from the arbitrary colored background to create a calming atmosphere and overall positive depiction of Hong Kong consumerism. This piece focuses primarily on the idea of consumerism and materialism which is more specific than the broader focuses by Van Utrecht. Both pieces connects the theme of mortality with social and cultural motifs to represent the inherent futile nature within them. Both pieces utilizes a bold, significant background color to create a mood as well as display the artist s individual perspective of death Warhol s pieces are fundamentally more abstract and portrays the theme of death through creation of a mood and atmosphere. This contrasts the various symbolism and motifs used in my still-life as well as in Van Utrecht s piece. The medium of silk-screen printing drastically contrasts the acrylic used in my piece. There is also a significant difference in the application of dimensions, tones, and sense of realism. With Warhol s works, the artist tends to simply hold a mirror up to modern life and depicting what is seen without necessarily creating a conceptual observation. In my piece, I do the opposite and tried to bring forth an awareness of the impermanence in order to emphasize the appreciation and maximization of the present.
Connection to own art-making practice: Materials, conceptual and cultural significance The concept of transience is portrayed by the contrast between blooming flowers and decaying flowers. The organic imagery from the motif of flowers, as inspired by. Van Utrecht s Still Life with Bouquet and Skull, is integrated in my piece, Hourglass. Van Utrecht s still life has a cultural purpose to address the permanence of religious faith in a society trying to suppress explicit religious imagery. Inspired by this, I have developed my painting to have a cultural purpose to address the taboo and tension surrounding the theme of death and mortality in Hong Kong culture. The portrait style of Warhol s Self-portrait with Skull has influenced the style and composition of my work. The closecropped and large-scaled subjects are utilized to create a sense of intimacy and connection between the artwork and the viewer. Moreover, there is a sense of confrontation by the large, blatant placement of the pictorial subject, this may represent a sense of urgency in addressing the fundamental concept. t The universal symbol of death is conveyed in both Van Utrecht s Still Life with Bouquet and Skull and Warhol s Self-portrait with Skull. This explicit imagery is used to represent and strengthen the themes of death and mortality. I integrated this into my piece, but instead of using earthy tones like Van Utrecht, and Warhol s abstract style, I combined a sense of realism with the use of subtle arbitrary colors: cool toned blues, browns, and greens- which is used o created a distinct tonal contrast between the warm toned flowers.
Final comparisons to own art-making: Hourglass Comparisons Contrasts Comparisons The shared portrayal of motifs and symbolsthe symbol of flowers, and the symbol of the skull is evident between these two pieces. Hence, the portrayal of the transient nature of earthly life along with the connection of natural life to death is also shared across these two pieces. Both pieces therefore have a comparable symbolic function. Both pieces utilized a painting medium, although one is oil and the other acrylic, both pieces shared the artistic process of blending and layering to create dimension and emphasis to the image. This effect highly contrasts the material used by Warhol. In this piece, the social function is a significant contrast between the researched artworks. This piece acts to blatantly elicit a shifted, less negative perspective towards the idea of death and decay. Socially, this piece is also intended to oppose the taboo put against the idea of death in Chinese culture. Fundamentally, my work employs a much lighter tone and happier atmosphere than the rest of the other works, which have a more grim, dark, and shocking mood created. Warhol s Orange Disaster #5 and Self portrait with Skull along with my Hourglass are all portrayed in a portrait style with a close-cropped format. My work also shares a sense of an abstract style with Warhol s pieces. This definitely contrasts with the Dutch Vanitas adoption of hyper-realism. The portrayal of a vibrant and bright color palette as well as the use of low tonal contrast is shared in between these three pieces. The shared symbol of the skull across Selfportrait with skull is a significant influence on my work to symbolize the inextricable and inevitable link between life and death.