This isn't my picture. For some reason mine uploaded onto the Class Blog,but not here, so I found a picture on the web.
“Futurism at the Brooklyn Bridge”
I was not impressed with the Whitney Museum. Two of their floors were closed for installations of new exhibits. The fourth floor consisted of Styrofoam art. The first had, what I can only presume to call, tin foil art. The fifth floor consisted of more two-dimensional art, such as drawings. The genre I ultimately decided to choose from was that of “Industry and Art: Precisionism.” The artist’s name is Joseph Stella. His painting was called “The Brooklyn Bridge – Variation of an Old Theme.”
What drew me to this painting was my love of New York City. I have walked over the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn, and I have observed the city through the bridge itself. It is an impressive structure, daunting in size and capacity. I was not surprised to discover that Stella would use it as a symbol of the industrialized world. A massive undertaking, the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge would have been an incredible sight. The Brooklyn Bridge brought together a city and it a staple point of New York City itself. Stella was an immigrant who fell in love with the city, as many people do. He painted what he saw, through his eyes. The industrial era took on a new meaning in paintings. He brought the physical aspect of the bridge together with more virtual aspect of the city and the bridge. He saw the bridge from first step to last step. It was built in 1913, while this painting was created in 1939. Stella had an original painting, “The Brooklyn Bridge” which he did paint which the bridge was being built.
The painting uses vibrant colors. The bright blues and reds are the main colors that stood out at me. He shows the city through the sides Brooklyn Bridge, almost to ensure you can’t forget what you are looking at. On the bottom of the painting, Stella has skyline of Manhattan underneath the side view of the Brooklyn Bridge. Underneath this skyline, there is what I can only perceive to be headlights, almost emphasizing the use of the bridge, and that it is not for purely aesthetic purposes. The color red, as used here, can almost be seen to be the death that occurred in the making of the bridge. It demanded a lot of man power and the unfortunate side of the amount of effort is the obvious death that will occur. I do not know if Stella meant that to be the meaning of the color, but it seems to be the logical assumption.
Stella apparently came to this country to study medicine but decided painting suited him more. He loved the architecture of Lower Manhattan, where the Brooklyn Bridge originates from. He took incorporated ideas from Cubism and Futurism into his work. Cubism takes everything down to its primary elements, the shapes and contours. Futurism is considered more abstracted. You can clearly see both of these styles in “The Brooklyn Bridge – Variation of an Old Theme.” The boxy shapes and bold colors, almost brings the bridge to life more, then if it was done in more detail. You can see the image in your head as you walk away, knowing exactly what was in it. This is Stella’s genius. He realized the details, as important as they are, and he does have them within the painting, have to be second the overall painting. You need to admire the level of hard work Stella incorporated in his painting, and even then to revisit one of his paintings.
I had a hard time making heads and tails of this painting. I found the futurism quality deceiving in the meaning. Researching Stella made the painting take on a new meaning and make a little more sense. Between the vibrant colors and the subject being New York City, you can see Stella’s love for the city shining through. He chooses his subjects within the city to represent very carefully. There aren’t just any random sites, but those that make Manhattan what it is. The Empire State Building being the most obvious, though now the Brooklyn Bridge is as well known.
I was not impressed with the Whitney Museum. Two of their floors were closed for installations of new exhibits. The fourth floor consisted of Styrofoam art. The first had, what I can only presume to call, tin foil art. The fifth floor consisted of more two-dimensional art, such as drawings. The genre I ultimately decided to choose from was that of “Industry and Art: Precisionism.” The artist’s name is Joseph Stella. His painting was called “The Brooklyn Bridge – Variation of an Old Theme.”
What drew me to this painting was my love of New York City. I have walked over the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn, and I have observed the city through the bridge itself. It is an impressive structure, daunting in size and capacity. I was not surprised to discover that Stella would use it as a symbol of the industrialized world. A massive undertaking, the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge would have been an incredible sight. The Brooklyn Bridge brought together a city and it a staple point of New York City itself. Stella was an immigrant who fell in love with the city, as many people do. He painted what he saw, through his eyes. The industrial era took on a new meaning in paintings. He brought the physical aspect of the bridge together with more virtual aspect of the city and the bridge. He saw the bridge from first step to last step. It was built in 1913, while this painting was created in 1939. Stella had an original painting, “The Brooklyn Bridge” which he did paint which the bridge was being built.
The painting uses vibrant colors. The bright blues and reds are the main colors that stood out at me. He shows the city through the sides Brooklyn Bridge, almost to ensure you can’t forget what you are looking at. On the bottom of the painting, Stella has skyline of Manhattan underneath the side view of the Brooklyn Bridge. Underneath this skyline, there is what I can only perceive to be headlights, almost emphasizing the use of the bridge, and that it is not for purely aesthetic purposes. The color red, as used here, can almost be seen to be the death that occurred in the making of the bridge. It demanded a lot of man power and the unfortunate side of the amount of effort is the obvious death that will occur. I do not know if Stella meant that to be the meaning of the color, but it seems to be the logical assumption.
Stella apparently came to this country to study medicine but decided painting suited him more. He loved the architecture of Lower Manhattan, where the Brooklyn Bridge originates from. He took incorporated ideas from Cubism and Futurism into his work. Cubism takes everything down to its primary elements, the shapes and contours. Futurism is considered more abstracted. You can clearly see both of these styles in “The Brooklyn Bridge – Variation of an Old Theme.” The boxy shapes and bold colors, almost brings the bridge to life more, then if it was done in more detail. You can see the image in your head as you walk away, knowing exactly what was in it. This is Stella’s genius. He realized the details, as important as they are, and he does have them within the painting, have to be second the overall painting. You need to admire the level of hard work Stella incorporated in his painting, and even then to revisit one of his paintings.
I had a hard time making heads and tails of this painting. I found the futurism quality deceiving in the meaning. Researching Stella made the painting take on a new meaning and make a little more sense. Between the vibrant colors and the subject being New York City, you can see Stella’s love for the city shining through. He chooses his subjects within the city to represent very carefully. There aren’t just any random sites, but those that make Manhattan what it is. The Empire State Building being the most obvious, though now the Brooklyn Bridge is as well known.
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