Research Point

I studied the various works of Philip Pearstein. As my next project is working an interior scene in tones, I found his charcoal study of shoes and a scarf draped over a stool suited the brief with its strong contrasts (see fig.1). (Anon., 2014) He has created a sense of rhythm in the placement of his two stool, one behind the other, which are then further emphasized by a dark column behind the last stool. The focal point of this artwork seems to be the white scarf which drapes next to what appears to be a woolen cap, nestled on a medium dark coat. The diagonal of the one section of the light scarf is repeated in the placement of a light colored book on the stool behind.

The viewpoint adds to the directness of this piece as we are viewing it from an oblique angle above the stool. Hence, we can see the spread of the clothing items on the stool, as well as the insides of the dark shiny shoes at the base, but we still see the paneling of the 'cupboard' as being vertically orientated. The orientation of the lines on the floor tiling, the angle of the right hand stretch of the scarf, the right shoe and the book all guide your eye to the less noticeable form of the trashcan in the top left hand corner. As this is a rather dead and uninteresting area, this creates a visual tension, causing the viewer to return to viewing the clothing items draped on the stool.


Fig. 1. Philip Pearlstein

While perusing the internet, I stumbled upon the intriguing installation work of Henrique Oliveira. Oliveira studies the interior of a specific site and then reinterprets the space. In the case of Xilonoma Chamusquius, 2010, he envisioned a wooden tumor bursting forth from the white surface of the studio walls. “Oliveira's twisted and coiled intestinal loops erupt from the wall like a malignant tumor.” (Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, 2011) This work was not in line with my interior studies, but I felt it to be quite compelling how he reinterprets interior spaces.

Looking through my artbook, Expressive Drawing by Steven Aimone, I found a colored pencil drawing called Kairos, 2005, by Pat Williams (fig.2). The discussion in Expressive Drawing points out that the picture plane is divided into three spaces which lock together in the corner. Within each of the three spaces, there is “one modified oval – the window on the upper left, the doorway to the right, and the cropped tabletop at the bottom.” (Aimone, 2009) Aimone goes on to point out that in each of the three spaces, a visual link is created in the placement of daisies and daisy petals which “take you on a delightful rhythmic movement that threads its way through the space.” (Aimone, 2009) I must admit that I found this artwork to be intriguing, but had not seen the underlying structure to its composition. I researched it further to find out that it was the study for a tapestry, which won the American Tapestry Alliance Award of Excellence in 2014. The idea behind the tapestry is that Kairos, which in Greek means “God’s time”, is qualitative and is a “moment of an undetermined period of time in which “something” special happens”. (Williams, 2014) This is presumably why the doors and windows appear to be going through a time warp, while the cat merely sits by without any indication of anxiety.



Fig 2. Kairos (2005). Pat Williams.

Another artist I encountered in Expressive Drawing was Mary Teichman. The artwork Aimone analyzes is Sewing Machine, 1979. He points out how strategically she placed her focal point in the upper-right quadrant, the area emphasized by the “weight of the dark value” of the three spherical shapes. The entire quadrant is then in turn “framed and supported by the large area of darkness underneath.” (Aimone, 2009) The eye is then directed by the horizontal placement of the body of the sewing machine towards the left, where the curtains drag your eye to follow the repetitive vertical lines which eventually meet a slight diagonal which slides our eye down towards the bottom of the artwork. Your eye gradually gluides over the pile of belongings towards the dark upright of the single column of the table’s base. This is really a well-executed drawing with an incredible amount of visual interest and clever application of tonal values to enhance the rhythmic movement of the eye across the picture plane. Unfortunately, I was not able to find this image on the internet.

Works Cited

Aimone, S., 2009. In: D. Morgenthal, ed. Expressive Drawing. New York: Lark Crafts , p. 207.

Aimone, S., 2009. Look at this Mary Treichman. In: D. Morgenthal, ed. Expressive Drawing. New York: Lark Crafts, pp. 184, 185.

Anon., 2014. Phillip Pearstein. [Online]
Available at: http://philippearlstein.com/
[Accessed 8 November 2015].

Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, 2011. Henrique Oliveira. [Online]
Available at: http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/dialogue2/oliveira.html
[Accessed 8 November 2015].

Williams, P., 2014. Both Kairos and Sniffing win the American Tapestry Alliance Award of Excellence in 2014.. [Online]
Available at: http://www.patwilli.com/
[Accessed 8 November 2015].