Likes and Dislikes: Quaytman and McIver

The painting I like…

This painting is titled "Finding Peace" by Beverly McIver (oil on canvas, 2009). I like this painting because it uses broad expressive brush strokes that create a bold and emotional feeling in this self-portrait. The non-flesh colored paints on her face allow for a creative imaginative space; the color detracts from the realism yet enhances the emotional qualities of the painting by drawing so much attention to her face against a bland and untextured background. I think McIver utilized contrasting textures and bright colors to illuminate her face, to illuminate her 'finding peace.'

The painting I dislike…

This painting is titled "The Sun: Chapter 1" by R.H. Quaytman (oil and gesso on wood, 2001). I don't particularly enjoy this painting because there seems to be a complete lack of continuity. The title, "The Sun: Chapter 1," implies newness, beginning, light, emergence, etc. There seems to be no correlation between the title and the painting itself. I believe that the ultimate interpretation of artwork, like literature, is not entirely dependent upon the intended meaning of the artist. Once an image or a text becomes published, it is no longer solely owned by its creator. Viewers, historical events, social revolutions, etc. all have a part in its meaning. Though there seems to be so little here that one would have to ask the artist what it meant, and I don't believe that to be fair to the viewers of this artwork. However, the artist could possibly making a statement on that idea itself. Or perhaps this is blank, structured, controlled absence is the first stage in the emergence of light and energy.