A look at Anonymous, No Brain
I chose to analyze the work of my friend, who will remain anonymous in name. My friend has pursued art casually and privately for a long time. Fortunately, they allowed me to share their work publicly and has consented to its use in fulfillment of this assignment. From their expansive sketchbook of works, Anonymous presents No Brain.
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| Anonymous, No Brain | | |
The work of Anonymous is a striking portrait. It captures a disgruntled, spiteful expression within the faces' crinkles. To juxtapose the expression, the sectioned-off portion of the brain is a maze. The brain's patterns are mesmerizing. Further, the three-dimensional cut of the brain creates a sense of depth that also compliments the portrait's intricate expression. The unamused look and the gateway-like brain, an unlikely pair, compete for my gaze.
Lines
The lines used in the portrait are used to define the subject's form and show shading. The light is on the subject's upper right-hand side, casting a shadow on the subject's left-hand side. Anonymous uses hatching to create this effect. Hatching is where the artist uses closely spaced lines to create a more three-dimensional effect ("Looking at Art"). Closely seen here, hatching is done in the jawline to create shadows on the jaw and neck. It is also done to emphasize the pursed lips and protruded chin.
Space, Patterns, and Light
To create the attention-grabbing details of the brain, Anonymous uses a vanishing point. By using a vanishing point, a linear perspective is made to create a sense of depth ("Looking at Art"). The depth of the portion of the brain is emphasized in the space made with the linear perspective. The red marks show the lines leading to a yellow point, the vanishing point.
Another technique that Anonymous uses are patterns. The use of the organic patterns of the brain draws our attention towards the cross-section. This is the only portion of the portrait to show repetition. The patterns are a stark contrast to the intricate facial expression displayed in lines.
Within the section, Anonymous also uses light, or rather the lack of light, to ultimately emphasize the title of the portrait. There is no hatching done to create a shadow or a sense of depth. The shape of the brain is created by the vanishing point. The brain is abstracted through patterns, shadows, and linear perspective to remove the observer from the very raw, concrete expression of the portrait.
My Observations
I found this portrait incredibly engaging. One component of the portrait I find lacking are the eyes. The eyes do not appear to be as detailed as the expressions wrought-on by the nose, lips, and chin. They do not seem to evoke the same emotions that the other facial features express. However, the complete portrait presents angst in a unique way that has the observer guessing. Is the disgruntled expression a reaction to losing a portion of the brain? Is the loss of the brain a symbol of reckless abandonment? Why was this expression chosen for this portrait? I find myself tracing the lines to find the answers to my questions.
Works Cited
“Looking at Art | Start Here | Arts and Humanities.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/approaches-to-art-history/looking-at-art2.
Thank you for sharing this unique work of art. It truly is a no-brainer that the artist you are displaying to us is talented in both technique and creativity. I agree with you on the points you made regarding the artistic elements of the 'hatching' which provides depth and the vanishing point of the sectioned of brain part of the visual piece. It engages the audience to both look into the void of the head and brain, but at the same time wonder what could have been there. As I look at this artists depiction of a head and the blank space, my attention evidently turns towards the blank section of the brain but then onwards to the eyes.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of Chris Vans Allsburg, a wonderful story-book artist and writer (author of Zathura and Jumanji to name a few) and specifically his work "The Stranger" (check out the image here: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91ET4Sif7WL.jpg). The cover image has a man sitting and is being ladled soup, but the distinct similarity I saw were in the eyes and the expression of being disgruntled. The disgruntled sense comes from the form, an element that describes the creative and functionality of the piece. In this case, the anonymous artist engages both the 3-dimensional spaces with the line drawing and the 2-dimensionality of the expressions to create a uniquely evocative piece.
Thank you for sharing this intriguing piece!
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that the eyes are quite a bit less detailed than the rest of the portrait, and they look a little flat in comparison to the rest. Perhaps some hatching along the upper portion of the eyeball to denote the shadow from the eyelid and eyebrow ridge would help with realism there. However, it is possible that the artist did that purposefully to detract attention from the eyes and keep it focused on the brain.
Something else that I also think is interesting is the shape that is cut out from the head. I have seen art that is similar to this, but in almost every piece I have seen the portion of skin that is cut off is round, not rectangular. What I really like about the rectangular piece is how clear the depth inside of the head is. The brain is seen as very 3 dimensional because we are viewing it's entire width. This goes a long way for the realism and dimension of the piece.
Overall, the piece is very interesting. Thank you for sharing!
I wonder if the reason behind the eyes being less detailed than the rest of the sketch is because of the subject having a piece of their brain seemingly removed. If the eyes are a window to the soul, is the artist suggesting a connection between the soul and our minds? It's an interesting question that moves into the definition of consciousness and whether there is something that we will remain of us after our passing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Your analysis was definitely on point. It is a piece that heavily relies on lines to tell the story, and to give depth to the artwork itself. You do point out that there is less detail in the eyes, and I also find that interesting. Usually eyes are a focal point on the face, or at least attention grabbing. That lack of detail in those kind of forces the viewer to observe the other details in the picture.
ReplyDelete