Activity #02: On-line Museum Visit Essay

The two art pieces I selected from the online museum visit are both from American artist. The style and purpose of the two pieces are totally independent of each other. The first artist, Jacob Lawrence created the tempera painting on hardboard entitled Daybreak in 1967. Lawrence used geometric shapes and diagonal lines to draw attention to the focal point of his piece, which is a human body that appears to be sleeping. “Diagonal lines, which implies action and are the most dramatic”, as noted by Getlein (85) was used by Lawrence to show the un-stillness of the night which is reflected in the slant of the foliage. In addition the slant of the body implies a restless sleep. For “the ground, which provides additional visual information for the figure of the piece (89), Lawrence places a two-dimensional geometric shape, a triangle that is actually larger than the positive figure. Although the human body is smaller than the geometric shape, the diagonal lines of the body draws interest to the body and makes it the positive shape or the focal point (89). In addition the slant of the foliage also forms an implied geometric shape of a triangle that surrounds the body, also directing interest to the focal point. Lawrence utilized primary and secondary colors in an analogous harmony. Red to create the lines of the geometric shape next to an intense yellow-orange color to represent the sand of the shore. The foliage also contains lines of yellow that is adjacent to the yellow-orange on the color wheel, thereby creating the analogous harmony (97).

The second art piece I selected was Jasper Johns’ Perilous Night which was created in 1982 and is an encaustic on canvas with objects. Horizontal and vertical lines was used in Perilous Night to almost separate the art piece into sections. Diagonal lines are absent from this piece, implying the calmness of the piece. To the left of the piece Johns for the most part have a monochromatic color scheme comprised of tertiary colors, a blue-violet mixture (94). Johns’ incorporate specs of white in vertical lines through out this side of the portrait for affect. Interesting, the vertical specs of white are in a downward thrust. The downward motion is achieved by the specs of white increasing in size as they go from top to bottom. The right half of the piece uses vertical and horizontal lines to separate the piece into sections. It difficult to identify the focal point of the piece, because the use of horizontal and vertical lines, that directs the attention to multiple places within the piece. While Lawrence uses lines to illustrate the focal point of his art, Johns utilizes lines to create endless possibilities with his art.

Getlein, Mark. Living With Art 8th. Ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2008.