Contemporary Painting Research Articles

Contemporary painting, the ‘loop’ and the Chinese context

This article explores my own painting practice in relation to my pedagogical experience in both China and the United Kingdom, in order to see how traditional painting and the pedagogy of painting can be repurposed in forms of contemporary painting. Discussion in this article will be based on three examples of my expanded painting practice that engage with the notion of ‘the apparatus’ (Foucault) of painting in relation to the studio, as well as through different materials and mediums: painting, installation, performance, video and so on. The apparatus is, of course, not just about media but about the whole process of painting and its encounter. In these examples of practice, aspects of the apparatus of painting are revisited and re-visioned. Also, these examples demonstrate my thinking around the apparatus of painting’s relation to the loop. Importantly, as a painter, this article offers my practice’s response to the question: how does a contemporary (Chinese) painter go forward in the teaching and making of art? This question is vital, especially when there are (Chinese) traditions and histories that should be acknowledged and drawn on, in order to avoid simply repeating or adopting western modes of art practice.

The Colors of the Ineffable—Jerzy Nowosielski’s Monumental Works as a Contemporary Search for Sacred Space

The subject of this work is the monumental art of Jerzy Nowosielski (1923–2011), one of the most outstanding contemporary Polish painters, who combined modernity with the orthodox icon aesthetics. This work discusses the monumental realizations of Nowosielski, especially the architectural polychromes made by the artist in Catholic and Orthodox churches in Poland in the years 1950–1999. The aim of the inquiry is to present his work theoretically and place it in a broader artistic context. The research shows that Nowosielski’s monumental works results from a strongly defined artistic concept aimed at ‘mystagogy of space’. Nowosielski’s work is an original synthesis of the modernist avant-garde and traditional canons of religious art. The analysis of the problem was carried out in two areas: (1) analysis of the artist’s theoretical statements; (2) analysis of the artistic form with particular emphasis on the color aspect, based on the example of selected churches in Wesoła, Tychy, and Biały Bór. The work uses comparative references to the ideas of Wassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian, and Le Corbusier.

Temporal spirit, expressiveness and nationality of contemporary Chinese painting

The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that China, like Japan, took oil painting relatively recently. Japan became closely acquainted with Western technology in the 19th century, but at that time they still imposed a taboo on oil painting, the authorities in every way prevented its spread, protecting the traditions of national art. Only the 20th century allowed new trends to finally settle down. The work shows that the understanding of the European painting technology was widely represented in the imperial Celestial Empire. The article shows that the artists did not make a big problem to learn painting skills from the Europeans (originally the Portuguese). They learned the lessons, techniques and technology of European art, despite the fact that they had never had a similar school before. Separately, it is stipulated that cooperation after the formation of the USSR played a great influence on contemporary paintings. This explains the fact that many paintings by Chinese painters are very similar to Russian school of fine art. The authors determine that the Russian style, fully perceived by the PRC, was formed collectively from the Renaissance approach, with the inclusion of impressionism motifs.

Varieties of ‘Classicism’ in the 1920s: The Peculiar Case of Armando Spadini

ABSTRACT In 1922, Armando Spadini (1883–1925) appeared at the Fiorentina Primaverile alongside the Valori Plastici group, the most significant advocates for a ‘new classicism’ in Italy in the early 1920s. Only a few years earlier, Spadini had been criticised for his lustful Impressionism by those same people who would later accept him within the Valori Plastici group. In 1924, Spadini, widely appreciated as one of Italy’s best contemporary painters, held his first solo show at the Fourteenth International Venice Biennale. Through a close reading of the critical reception of Spadini’s works in the early 1920s, this article reveals a painter more seriously engaged with the artistic debates of the time than is often credited. It further challenges some assumptions about the Valori Plastici group and the early-twentieth century notion of ‘classicism’ by unveiling how the term ‘classical’ was not a stable signifier but, rather, a repository of disparate artistic conceptions.

Contemporary Artistic Formulation of Omani Traditional Costumes Embroidered Motifs

Folk motifs are inscriptions expressing fine art, this art carries many elements of culture, originality, and creativity that characterize societies, expressing artistic, aesthetic values, environmental and social connotations, highlighting the extent of the society's culture and sophistication. The Sultanate of Oman is rich in traditional costumes rich in folk motifs executed with the technique of hand embroidery, which is one of the main features of traditional Omani costumes. The current study aims to highlight the usage of hand embroidery in decorating men's and women's costumes in the Sultanate of Oman, to deducted the general features of these decorations, and then reformulate the embroidery motifs in a contemporary form, that contemporary vision is realized through the implementation of a collection of contemporary fashion designs and Artistic paintings, where the reformulation is done in an innovative style without prejudicing to the aesthetics and originality of the embroidery motifs belong to Omani folk art. The contemporary method in a formulation that has been experimented by the current study applications is the merging of embroidery art with contemporary painting on the fabric, the results represented in creating a collection of contemporary artworks and fashion, where the embroidery and painting interfered together. The study follows the descriptive approach with the application of the applied method

Contributors

Contributors

The Productive Inadequacy of Image for Contemporary Painting Image Based Operations in the Work of Beth Harland, Jacqueline Humphries and R.H. Quaytman

This article considers the productive inadequacy of image for contemporary painting. The mutability of image is tested against the material, spatial and durational conditions of painting, and the attentional attachments it might mobilize through an examination of the working methods of Beth Harland, Jacqueline Humphries and R.H.Quaytman. Painting is not positioned as image, but as a processor of image information, able to prompt an image response, A resistance to image is framed by the art historical and philosophical legacy of image expectations and preclusions that each artist feels compelled to work against, and the expanding opticality of our contemporary social, cultural and economic interactions.

The impact of the Arab Islamic environment on contemporary painting" The artist Abdul Rahman Al-Suleiman as a model".

يعني هذا البحث بدراسة (أثر البيئة العربية الإسلامية في الرسم المعاصر الفنان عبد الرحمن السليمان أنموذجا) ويقع البحث في محورين: الأول: المحور النظري، والثاني: المحور التطبيقي. تطرق المحور الأول (النظري) إلى مقدمة احتوت: (مشكلة البحث، وأهميته، وهدفه، وحدوده، وتحديد المصطلحات). تكمن أهمية البحث في المنفعة أو الفائدة العلمية للمهتمين بالتراث العربي الإسلامي وبيئته وعلاقته بالفنون التشكيلية. يهدف هذا البحث في الكشف عن (أثر البيئة العربية الإسلامية في الرسم المعاصر وكان الفنان السليمان أنموذجا). وحدود البحث مكانيا: السعودية، وزمانيا في: ٢٠١٠ - ٢٠١٤ م. وموضوعيا: أثر البيئة العربية الإسلامية في الرسم المعاصر الفنان عبد الرحمن السليمان أنموذجا. تضمن هذا المحور مبحثين: الأول: خصائص البيئة السعودية وأثرها في الفن. الثاني: أسلوب الفنان عبد الرحمن السليمان. أما المحور الثاني(التطبيقي) تمثل بإجراءات البحث وهي ( مجتمع البحث، ونماذج عينة البحث، ثم منهجية البحث ، وأداته، وتحليل نماذج العينة). ثم ختمت هذه الدراسة بالنتائج وأهم المصادر التي اعتمدت عليها هذه الدراسة.

Style between alienation and westernization in contemporary painting

تجلت إشكالية البحث الحالي الموسوم(الأسلوب بين الاغتراب والتغريب في الرسم المعاصر) بكون الأشكال الأسلوبية في الفن مفعمة بدفق الانطباعات الذاتية والعاطفية، فضلا عن التقنيات الأدائية والاستعارية وكذلك معناها السياقي سواء أكان الثقافي والاجتماعي والسياسي ما يمنحها بعدا إغترابيا حينا وتغريبيا حينا آخر. اما هدف البحث فهو: تعرف الأسلوب بين الاغتراب والتغريب في الرسم المعاصر. وقد تضمن البحث ستة محاور تناول المحور الأول: مقدمة في مفهوم الاغتراب، والمحور الثاني تناول الأسلوب في الرومانتيكية. اما الثالث فتناول: الأسلوب في الانطباعية. اما الرابع فتناول: الأسلوب في التعبيرية. اما المحور الخامس فتناول: الأسلوب في السريالية. أما السادس: فتناول الأسلوب بين الاغتراب والتغريب في الرسم المعاصر. وعلى وفق هذه المحاور وتحقيقا لهدف البحث تم التوصل الى عدد من النتائج نذكر منها: 1- المقاربات غير الموضوعية وغير المتوقعة في اساليب تقنيات الإظهار أحدث نوعا من التغريب في الأسلوب ازاء السياقات غير المتوقعة بواسطة عنصر المفاجأة عبر استعمال مختلف الخامات فضلا عن الإداء. 2- تجلى اسلوب الإغتراب في المشاهد التي تثير الوعي بالقيم الجمالية والفنية، وعلى الرغم من طابعها الرومانتيكي- الذي يحمل في تضاعيفه شحنات انفعالية- إلا انه ظل أسير المبالغة في التعبير عن الجمال

Methods of Formulation of Graffiti Art as an Introduction to Enriching the Teaching of Contemporary Painting

Methods of Formulation of Graffiti Art as an Introduction to Enriching the Teaching of Contemporary Painting

How to take advantage of the relationship between the actual movement and the imaginary movement to create interactive art works to enrich the field of contemporary painting art.

Plastic art is not only a means for the artist to express what is inside him of ideas, but rather is a means that stimulates the viewer's senses, whether visual, auditory, or even by touching materials with their different touches, thus provoking other responses in the viewer such as imagination, understanding and emotion, which is called perceptual perception, There are limits imposed by the viewer's eye and determined by the process of feeling the effectiveness of the image, the lighting, and the movement in the work of art. Hence, the actual movement is one of the important elements that achieve the interaction of the viewer with the work, as with moving parts of the work, many forms appear, which gives new and innovative aesthetic dimensions. The research idea came based on the use of both illusory motion in lines and colors that depend on the structural properties of the shapes and their visual perception. In addition to using the actual movement, the viewer must move parts of the work to produce renewed and innovative shapes according to the viewer's vision, and from here the research problem can be identified in the following question: How can we benefit from the relationship between the actual movement and the imaginative movement to create interactive artworks to enrich the art of painting art? The researcher follows the descriptive and analytical approach regarding the theoretical framework of the actual movement, inspiration, and interactivity in artistic work in the field of painting art, and the experimental approach when applying the experiment, followed by the findings and recommendations.

Analytical Approach for the Study of Teotihuacan Mural Paintings from the Techinantitla Complex

Techinantitla building complex, in the Amanalco neighborhood of the ancient city of Teotihuacan, is famous for the iconography and quality of the mural paintings found in this site. A significant part of this heritage has been lost due to looting. In recent years, an interdisciplinary research project was developed to study the limited patrimony that was left. As part of this study, we first employed geophysical techniques to reconstruct the architectural pattern of the compound’s remaining walls, where other paintings may still be found. Then, we applied a non-invasive methodology to characterize a large set of fragments recovered in the 1980s and to gain information on their pigments and manufacturing techniques. This methodology included False Color Infrared Imaging, X-ray Fluorescence and Fiber-Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy, and led to the identification of hematite, calcite, malachite, azurite and an unidentified blue pigment. The results were compared with a previous study performed on a set of Techinantitla mural paintings looted in the 1960s. A broader comparison with contemporary mural paintings from other Teotihuacan complexes shows good agreement in the materials used. These results may suggest a standardization in the making of Teotihuacan mural painting during the Xolapan period (350 to 550 AD).

Exploring Community Art and Its Role in Promoting Health, Social Cohesion, and Community Resilience in the Aftermath of the 2015 Nepal Earthquake.

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal in 2015, followed by hundreds of aftershocks that led to physical destruction, loss, and negative mental health outcomes. Yet, in the days, months, and years following the disaster, numerous forms of community art rose from the rubble, such as urban murals, spoken word poetry, public dance performances, and sacred art. This study explored the relationship between community art and health, social cohesion, and community resilience in postearthquake Nepal. We utilized photography and audio recorders to capture 19 unique artworks/projects created in the aftermath of the earthquake and conducted in-depth interviews with 19 artists and/or experts about the relationship between art and health in postdisaster contexts. The 19 postearthquake artworks/projects ranged from contemporary paintings to Buddhist ritual dance and reflected the unique combination of the traditional and contemporary necessary for salvaging and restoring Nepali heritage. Findings revealed three key themes regarding linkages between art and mental health in the context of postearthquake Nepal. First, community art offers relief and is a mechanism for coping, through the creation or observation of art. Second, community art can be used as a means of communication, both as a tool for promoting connections and conversations in the community and by communicating messages of hope. Third, community art can promote community cohesion and ultimately serve as a tool to create physical and emotional safe spaces. Overall, there is promise for initiatives that engage artists and communities in arts-based initiatives following traumatic events, such as natural disasters, which can positively affect health. Funding support and development of partnerships with grassroots artists and creators should be promoted in health and development programming, especially for risk reduction and recovery after disasters.

Review: Racial Immanence: Chicanx Bodies beyond Representation, by Marissa K. López

Review: <i>Racial Immanence: Chicanx Bodies beyond Representation</i>, by Marissa K. López

An integrated analytical study of crayons from the original art materials collection of the MUNCH museum in Oslo

Among the artists’ materials of the nineteenth century, pastel crayons merit scientific interest since their early commercial formulations are mostly unknown and, until now, have been considerably less studied with respect to other contemporary painting materials. In this framework, research herein reports the results of a comprehensive multi-analytical study of 44 pastel crayons of two recognized brands (LeFranc and Dr. F. Schoenfeld) from the Munch museum collection of original materials belonging to Edvard Munch. The integrated use of complementary spectroscopic and hyphenated mass-spectrometry techniques allowed the compositional profiles of the crayons to be traced providing the identification of the inorganic and organic pigments, the fillers/extenders and the binders. All crayons resulted to be oil- based and the binder was identified to be a mixture of a drying oil (safflower or linseed oil), palm oil or Japan wax and beeswax. Among others, pigments such as ultramarine, chrome yellows, Prussian blue, manganese violet, viridian and madder lake have been identified. A significant alignment in formulations of the brands was observed with the only exception of the greens which showed distinctive pigment and filler compositions. The analytical information provided for these commercial artists’ materials will be of great interest for academia, museum and other institutions hosting art collections dating from the same period and it will be used by the Munch museum to draw proper conservation strategies of its own artwork collections.

Intersecting identities: interrogating women in cultural dress forms in contemporary Nigerian paintings

ABSTRACT This paper interrogates the identities in the representations of women adorned in African cultural dress forms in contemporary Nigerian paintings. While many studies have explored the subject of African dress forms from other viewpoints, not many are known to investigate the topic from the perspective of contemporary Nigerian paintings. It is for this reason I purposively selected five paintings from different artists in which they represented women adorned in African dress forms to communicate the expressions of personal, social, religious, and cultural identities within different contexts. Although the contemporary paintings give clues to the expressions of identities in dress, the ideas and meanings conveyed were also interrogated in each work. In engaging the paintings in close case study interrogations, the paper combines formal analysis and cultural history methodologies. Formal analysis is adopted for the analysis of the formal elements in each painting, whereas cultural history is used to contextualise each painting within the culture and history that is recalled to give the representation its proper identity. Besides, the close case study analysis reveals that the artists drew inspiration from the personal aesthetics of women adorned in African dress forms in different Nigerian cultures. Through the representations, three notable African cultural identities are manifested, which include Yoruba, Gwari, or Gbagyi and Hausa cultures, aside from other identities interrogated in each painting.

The impact of ambiguity in the image and title on the liking and understanding of contemporary paintings

Contemporary artists often deliberately challenge viewers employing a wide range of means that include different variants of ambiguity. In this study we focus on how inconsistencies relating to a painting's content (presence of semantic violations) and title (its semantic incoherence with what is depicted in the painting) influence aesthetic judgement, namely the liking and understanding of contemporary artworks. We also tested if personality traits relate to appreciation of ambiguous works of art and subjective understanding of paintings with semantic violations. Participants (naïve viewers) viewed reproductions of paintings both with and without semantic violations in one of three conditions: with a coherent title, with an incoherent title, or without a title. We showed that need for cognitive closure was negatively correlated with aesthetic liking – but only in the case of paintings with semantic violations, and it was not correlated with understanding. Openness was positively correlated with liking and subjective understanding. In line with our hypotheses, paintings without semantic violations were subjectively understood less when equipped with incoherent, rather than coherent, titles. By contrast, the incoherence of the title did not influence the evaluation of paintings with semantic violations. Moreover, paintings with semantic violations were both liked less and understood less than paintings without violations. In sum, our results suggest the positive effect of fluency and openness to experience on the liking and understanding of contemporary paintings by naïve observers.

On Image-based Painting Creation

"Image" has a relatively broad definition. In this paper image refers to the image media vision, picture vision, etc., emerged with the development of imaging technology, that is, "photographic image" and "ready-made image", such as photos, image materials, advertising magazines, facsimile printed copies, etc.. The emergence of images seems to erase the meaning of traditional representation painting creation, and bring many challenges to the current art creation. Some people even call for the "death" of painting creation. Indeed, images are convenient, fast and even incomparable to reproduce the details of reality, compared to other artistic means. Image can also quickly capture the objective moment that our naked eye cannot detect efficiently and accurately. However, does this mean that contemporary painting creation will face the crisis of "aphasia"? According to this point of view, this paper discusses the different authenticity of images and paintings, the "translation" of images and the artistic creation of "micro images", hoping to provide reference for the current art creation colleagues when they rely on the image as the "intermediary" to build the relationship between social life and painting creation.

Бесстрашие витальности: претворение Возвышенного в живописи 2000-х годов

The article is devoted to vitality in the art of the twentieth century, interpreted as the Sublime. Vitality manifests itself in art in a very diverse way. The dramatic attitude of the world, suffering, and pain are often synonymous with “vitality” today. But the art of oblivion is also permeated with vitality, “intoxicating”, helping to overcome the horror of existence; as well as art, attaching to the metaphysical source of being. It can be defined as sacred optimism and the ancient art and the art of the avant-garde are especially vividly evidence of it. In this case vitality is in direct contact with the Sublime. Seeking out the “other world”, overcoming the limitations of the mortal and suffering world is carried out through the transformation of the Sublime. Today the subject of the Sublime in art is at the peak of research interest. This is evidenced by the project The Art of the Sublime, launched in 2008 by the Tate Modern gallery (London, UK), dedicated to the study of this phenomenon from the Baroque era to the present day. It touches upon all types of visual art from painting to installation. Research shows how evolution goes from the natural Sublime, realized in the depiction of rare and impressive natural phenomena, to the technological Sublime, which declared itself in the second half of the twentieth century, to the distinction between the Sublime and the beautiful. In modern Moscow painting, we meet the implementation of the principle of the Sublime in the work of the artist Vladimir Matveev. Relying on the sacred art of Russian icons, and the avant-garde, the color discoveries of post-impressionism and the energetic abstraction of neo-expressionism, he creates his version of the Sublime in contemporary painting. In his large-format canvases, the artist expresses the essence of the vital as the Sublime, metaphysical and mental principles with the help of rich color and sharp juxtaposi- tion of abstract and natural forms.

Imagery of Contemporary Chinese and Russian Watercolor Painting

Imagery of Contemporary Chinese and Russian Watercolor Painting