My tutor provided valuable support during the final editing process of my essay. Robert offered helpful suggestions and tips, while also addressing the issue of missing references. I had overlooked aspects such as the layout and cover page, as my primary focus had been on the content itself. Just as in a painting, every element must be taken into consideration for a comprehensive and polished result.
Evaluating the Language of Patterns in Painting.
Martine Elliott.
Word count 1217
INTRODUCTION
Within art, the language of patterns serves as a profound and transformative tool, redefining territories and weaving narratives that transcend cultural boundaries. Initially, Gustav Klimt's value, position and influence are briefly acknowledged, but the focus of this review shifts to further developing the insights gained from exploring other artists. In this exploration, we delve into the works of Ilana Savdie and Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula, two artists who masterfully employ patterned elements to reimagine the landscapes of their respective cultural backgrounds. Savdie and Tjupurrula unveil the intricate interplay between patterns, territories, and the human experience through their distinctive artistic practices. These artists engage directly with the representation of land and territory. The connections that intertwine their personal, cultural, and environmental spaces are unique. While Tjupurrula focuses on mapping Indigenous territories and conventional narratives, Savdie delves into the edges or zones of regions and geographies and themes of perversion, identity, and the confines and expanses of the human body.
Figure 1 - Gustav Klimt, The Kiss (1907), gustav-klimt.com
Ilana Savdie
Ilana Savdie is an artist born in 1986 and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, and Miami, Florida. She currently bases herself in Brooklyn, New York. She delves into performance, transgression, identity, and power through her artwork. Her paintings, which are often large-scale, bring together different fragments to create intricate and dynamic compositions. These compositions burst with vibrant colours, creating a lively and vivid visual experience. She explores territory, geography, and the human body within her artistic practice. Through her use of patterns, she establishes connections between these elements. She combines design, texture, and bold hues to create "irresistibly eye-catching and alluring" (Eckardt, 2022) paintings.
"Her work manifests and honours dysmorphic human bodies and elongated forms to the brink of near abstraction; it is a formula that beautifies distortion and embellishes the uncommon. By juxtaposing the intimate and the alien, Savdie's work proposes several questions: What makes such organisms simultaneously seductive and dangerous? How do humanoid forms surrender in obedience, and how do they exert authority? When does the familiar end, and where does the foreign begin?" (Horizonart, Kohn Gallery,2023).
Indeed her artwork, "Cow," (2023) masterfully incorporates elements that quickly give way to surprising revelations, like the image of a human nose or part of a cow. These unexpected juxtapositions draw viewers in, leaving them mesmerised within the picture plane.
Figure 2- Ilana Savdie, Cow (2023) Oil, acrylic and beeswax on canvas, artsy.net.
From a different perspective, one might observe the concept of 'hard-edged marks' (Whitney Museum of American Art, 2023) in Savdie's work, where she explores the boundaries and confines of the body. The interplay between patterns and territories in her paintings reflects the complex relationship between identity, perversion, and the expansive nature of the human form.
"I've been thinking a lot about boundaries and what it means to spill out of them," she says. "I'm always going to be bigger than the space allotted for me, and embracing that is liberating. It feels honest—and the work has to be honest." (Eckardt, 2022).
By examining her practice through the lens of 'hard edged marks' (Whitney Museum of American Art, 2023) we gain a deeper understanding of the interaction between pattern and the zones of the body in her work, for example, by "dividing and aggregating body parts among thrilling palettes to map new geographies altogether. When transferred to canvas, these scenes electrify" (Brito, 2021). Within Savdie's 'zones,' patterns play a vital role in reimagining territory and creating visual narratives of her unfixed identity. Materially, metaphorically and emotionally, she celebrates "things that spill out" (White Cube, 2023). By mobilising various perspectives and incorporating patterns, the 'zones' function as markers of distinction and belonging, inviting viewers to reflect on the complex relationships between personal and collective spaces.
Furthermore, in Savdie's artistic practice, she goes beyond traditional representations by exploring territories and geographies in a comprehensive and thought-provoking manner. She focuses on the in-between spaces and boundaries that define the land, seeking places where different regions intersect or "leak out" where human activities disrupt the natural order. These edges, filled with tension and transformation, reflect the intricacies of human engagement with the environment. By delving into these transitional spaces, Savdie challenges the conventional idea of land as something fixed and unchanging, instead highlighting the fluidity of territories and their interconnectedness.
Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula
A prominent Indigenous Australian artist, Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula, born in 1925, emerged as a significant figure within the Western Desert Art movement.
In contrast, Tjupurrula focuses on directly representing Indigenous territories and cultural narratives. His intricate dot patterns serve as visual channels for conveying stories and myths rooted in his ancestral heritage. While aesthetically pleasing, these patterns possess a deeper cultural and spiritual significance, reflecting Aboriginal people's profound connection with their land. His artworks often feature circular motifs, symbolising the desert landscape's waterholes and other natural elements from an aerial perspective. His mappings or aerial views of specific territories trace the lines and contours of the land. These patterns and zones may represent sacred sites, Dreaming tracks, water sources, or other significant cultural and spiritual landmarks." He uses the iconography of concentric circles which represent places, dots which are part of men's body designs, mixed dappled colours to suggest the central Australian topography" (Ryan, 2020).
The elaborate dot patterns showcased in his renowned piece 'Water Dreaming at Kalipinya' (see Figure 3) indicate and exemplify the essential role of rain in sustaining life within the desert. The dot patterns can be seen as visual representations of the relationships between different regions, highlighting the interconnections and boundaries within the landscape. Symbols and iconography within these patterns further communicate the cultural and spiritual meanings associated with specific territories and zones.
Figure 3 - Tjupurrula, J.W. Water Dreaming at Kalipinypa (1971), sothebys.com.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, evaluating patterns reveals their significance in conveying meaning and evoking complex interpretations. Artists like Ilana Savdie and Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula exemplify the transformative power of patterns in redefining territories and communicating cultural narratives. At the outset, we acknowledge Klimt's incorporation of pattern as a visual language which offers a testament to his enduring influence. But how is he connected?
Savdie's exploration of themes like perversion and identity aligns with Klimt's patterns because they were traditionally seen as decoration. They can also be seen to reveal hidden social truths and taboos. Savdie uses them to embrace social differences and explore unconventional areas. She fearlessly embraces social differences and probes queer territories through her confrontational use of patterns. Klimt's patterns can also be seen as unconventional tools for communicating aspects of gender and societal norms, notably exemplified in "The Kiss" through figurative divisions of rectangles and circles. Tjupurrula goes beyond surface-level aesthetics, using his practice to connect with and convey the profound significance of the body and ancestral or cultural ties to land or territory. As a result, his distinct approach deepens our understanding of the cultural, spiritual, and emotional dimensions embedded within the landscapes they represent. All three artists and their direct engagement with patterns and the relationship to land, territory and the body is a powerful testament to the enduring bond between humanity and the natural world. They invite viewers to reflect upon our relationship with our environments.
Bibliography.
Brito, D. (2021) In Thrilling Palettes, Ilana Savdie Maps Electrifying Geographies, hyperallergic.com. Available at: https://hyperallergic.com/631780/ilana-savdie-maps-electrifying-geographies-deli-gallery/ (Accessed: 4 July 2023).
Eckardt, S. (2022) In the Studio With Ilana Savdie, the Artist Testing the Body's Limits, W Magazine. Available at: https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/ilana-savdie-white-cube-studio-interview (Accessed: 3 July 2023).
Michel Kohn Gallery. https://www.kohngallery.com/savdie
Myers, F. (2009) The Power of Papunya Painting, Ricco/Maresca. Available at: https://www.riccomaresca.com/blog/67-the-power-of-papunya-painting-by-fred-myers/ (Accessed: 4 July 2023).
Ryan, J. (2020) A MASTER OF INDIGENOUS ART: JOHNNY WARANGKULA TJUPURRULA’S KAMPURARRPA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLMyO5EI294 Savdie, I (2022) Horizon. Available at: https://horizonart.org/artists/ilana-savdie/ (Accessed: 21 September 2023).
Images.
Figure 1 – Klimt, G. (1907) The Kiss [Oil and gold leaf on canvas 180cm x 180cm]. Available at: https://www.gustav-klimt.com/The-Kiss.jsp (Accessed: 14 August 2023).
Figure 2 Savdie, I. (2023) Cow [Oil, acrylic and beeswax on stretched canvas panel 65 × 80 in | 165.1 × 203.2 cm]. Available at: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/ilana-savdie-cow (Accessed: 4 July 2023).
Figure 3 - Tjupurrula, J.W. (1972) WATER DREAMING AT KALIPINYA [Synthetic polymer powder paint on composition board 25 1/4 in by 14 3/8 in (64 cm by 36.5 cm)]. Available at: https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/aboriginal-art/water-dreaming-at-kalipinya-1972 (Accessed: 4 July 2023).
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