Art 223 Painting III: Modes of Narrative Painting
Prof. Michael Coblyn
Tu / Th. 9:30 - 12:30 pm
SAB 101
mec@art.umass.edu
Telephone: Art Department (423) 545-1902 - a place to leave messages for me
e-mail: mec@art.umass.edu (the best way to contact me), please include
Art 223 in the subject area.
Work on the accent, it will enliven the whole. (Pierre Bonnard)
Narrative Painting = The representation in art, by form and content, of an event or story. Whether a literal story, event, or subject matter—or a more abstract relationship between colors, forms and materials—narrative in visual art applies as much to the work as it does to the viewer's "story" of what they see and experience.
Tableaux = A static depiction or graphic description of a staged event.
Metaphor = A relationship between disparate visual or verbal sources where one kind of object, idea, or image is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them. Artists use metaphor to bridge differences between seemingly dissimilar images and ideas.
Appropriation = The act of borrowing imagery or forms to create something new.
Philosophy of the Course
Philosophy of the Course
The need to tell a story is central to cultural longevity and expression. What exactly, in the context of images, is a "story?" In this course we will consider poetic and personal narratives, allegories, and coded narratives, as well as the relation between narrative and representation.
Some of the artists we will be looking at within the domain of narrative art are, Mark Tansey, Edward Hopper, Balthus, Carrie Mae Weems, Eric Fischl and Hughie Lee-Smith to name but a few. Narrative Art, has played an important role in defining what constitutes Post Modernist and contemporary trends in painting. Artists such as Balthus, Mark Tansey, Eric Fischl and Robert Longo have successfully used the compositional device of multiple picture planes to create narrative tableaux. What these artists have in common is that they do extensive research when searching for sources for imagery. In terms of source imagery, they look for the ordinary, the bizarre and the unusual.
Technical explorations will include alIa prima, glazing and tonal ground painting. Drawing will play an integral role in all of the work done in this class and a thorough understanding of design is also a prerequisite (students in this course should have completed the entire 20 credit Foundations Program).
There are 4 primary paintings required in this course, each dealing with a seperate approach to narrative painting:
Transcription
Tableau
Inanimate Objects: The Archtypal as Profound
Transformation
Course Objectives
To gain an understanding of the context of narrative painting as it relates to contemporary art practice. While this is a studio course in which we will learn new techniques, the primary focus will be on the content of the art works created.
Blessed Mother, oil on board © 2003 |
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Fall 2008
Department of Art and Art History
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Office Hours: MW 9:00 - 10:00 am.
Clark 200B or e-mail to make an appointment.mec@art.umass.edu
to make an appointment
http://www.coblyn.com/ : to view my personal web site
All art is at once surface and symbol. (Oscar Wilde)
Blessed Mother: Study , charcoal, watercolor on MYlar © 2003 |
Material List: Please have your complete list of materials by September 10, 2007
Disposable palette
Palette knife
Liquin (as a medium)
Assorted natural bristle brushes
Arches, or Rives papers
# 10 cotton duck canvas/ stretcher bars
wood or masonite panels
Easel
oderless turpentine
Color Wheel
Paints:
Mars or Ivory Black
Titanium White
Burnt Sienna
Yellow Ochre
Permanent Green
Ultramarine Blue
Cadmium Red Medium
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Cadmium Orange
Alizarin Crimson
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