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Transcript of On the Edge of Two Professions
ON THE EDGE OF TWO PROFESSIONS History & Theory Studies Term 1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12th December 2014 Iris Florence Francesca Gramegna Tutor: Susan Chai
ABSTRACT A production in three parts ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The aim of this investigation is to explore the elements, which may underpin or suggest a statement arguing that Luis Barragan, a Mexican architect from the 1940s is a better painter than architect. Meanwhile, Edward Hopper, an American painter of the 1960s can be classified as a better architect than painter. Where the roles of both artists are inverted, this statement generates a bold questioning of both professions. What defines architecture and what defines painting? To argue this statement, this essay is structured in three parts.
1. Analyzing one of Luis Barragan’s spaces in his house as a painting
2. Narrating a text recounting the events happening in Edward Hopper’s “Sunlight in a cafeteria” as if it were a reality.
3. An analysis of these narratives as a means to draw parallels between architecture and painting to understand which specific qualities define an artwork as being a piece of architecture or a painting.
PART ONE Luis Barragan’s house as a painting ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An in-‐depth understanding of color, light and composition as a visual play on the senses in Luis Barragan’s artworks Where realism of a painted space becomes a decorative form of art
December 12th 2014
Form and Spatial Construction
Presented in respect to the rule of thirds, this piece suggests a sublime quality of the composed. Not only a respect of the rule of thirds horizontally but even vertically. (fig.1)
Although a representation of a volume, the piece entails an experience in two dimensions when discussing its forms. The geometries and shapes suggest a rather flat observation as they act as guides to reading the painting starting from the well-‐lit chair, up the stairs and back down. In fact your eyes are not guided into the painting at this stage but rather around objects and shapes; giving this element of planeness and singularity. In turn, one can quickly recognize that color and light are what define the itinerary of your glare as a means to understand shape. This goes hand in hand with Aristotle who claimed that the eye does not see form, but what the eye sees is color. As a result claiming that form is generated by color, form and materiality.
This painting adopts simple geometries to explore and exhibit a calculated, scripted environment in parallel to portraying its spiritual nature. All basic forms can be identified: the square, rectangle, rhombus, circle and the triangle. (fig.2)
The rectangle positioned behind the chair is the largest full plane in the composition. This same surface generates the core around which other shapes extrude out from. For example, one of the triangle’s edges meets the long edge of the rectangle and from there extrudes forward out to the 1/3rd mark of the painting. This same obtuse, scalene triangle offers us the chance to argue that its long hypotenuse and obtuse angle dictates the shape of the staircase but also in being so narrow creates the impression of the image being flattened. Of course this triangle negotiates the presence of depth, but overall paints a composition that is two-‐dimensional. Moreover when looking at the overall image few angular lines are present since the painting is dictated by the repetitive use of right-‐angled planes.
Nonetheless it cannot be neglected that perspective is present by this fine triangle and equally by the rhombus shape created by the ray of light. These two shapes provide us a means for beginning to read the painting in three dimensions, giving the painted space a sense of realism rather than a composition of abstracted planes. In addition, the chair, the table and the objects lying on the table act as refined objects, procuring the painting with detail of hyperrealism luring the viewer away from the abstract nature of the planes and into a constructed realistic volume. Color and materiality
It is upon introducing the third-‐dimension that color and later light need be presented due to their crucial role in procuring this. As John Ruskin said: “Color is the most sacred element of all visible things”1, a quote which the artist would have undoubtedly concurred to.
As a realist painter, the artist uses the techniques of chiaroscuro to favor the interaction of light and color. The brushstrokes appear invisible as the painter attempts to equalize the strokes across the surface of the canvas to create a fluid and accentuated representation of reality – almost as though a photograph. Like most realist painters, it is a matter of using a particular technique to avoid any sort of stylization in the making. However the artist seems to show how light and color can procure the sense of materiality and direction. The golden canvas, at the top of the stairs, centralizes our attention to the impact of the diaphanous character of color and light through its reflective nature. This luminous moment in fact manages to create the impression of light emanating from the staircase. On the other hand the carpet, which is painted as a burlap material depicts its ability to emanate 1 Ruskin, John. Modern Painters. Orpington: Allen, 1897.
warmth and a golden tone through somber colors in that region of the painting due to its characteristic of absorbing light rather than reflecting it.
In this art piece, the first element, which stands out, is the use of color. Among the first to emerge are the distinctive pink and yellows, which act as the artist’s signature. Modulated from near neutrality as simply painted surfaces, these hues never abandon their significance: declaration of their dialogue with light and their creation of an emblematically spiritual environment. The colors in his works are endoskeletal and used with the intention of alienating a certain feeling. In his painting the artist translates his interest in large colored painted planes, all juxtaposed with their perceived form through their exposure to light. He translates his passion for a space of feeling where lattice warm summer colors dominate the canvas and sunset pink alcoves negotiate to create an atmospheric emotion. The colors are vivid and sensuous, energized by sunlight. This energy is in fact what radiates the planes of color to subsequently create the third dimension. A dimension not seen in its geometrical composition but rather by the way in which colors provide a sense of scale and depth. His use of color and emotion demonstrates his refusal to sacrifice beauty for functionalism as the painting isn’t a representation of a space to be used but rather a space dictated to make one feel. Overall the space is read through a comprehension of its luminosity, color, materiality and energy; energy in which color and light activate the space for comfort, but also for intimacy through the pursuit of simplicity Light
A parallel between light and dark can be concurred in the composition. There is a palpable dialogue, which manifests itself between the top left, quarter corner of the painting and the bottom left, diagonal, spotlight. The illuminated spaces in the painting share a common hue and tonality of the golden, warm and even spiritual. It is a color representative of the impregnated pigments of Mexico. On the one hand this warmth is procured by the natural and temporary ray of sun coming through the invisible yet suggested window (through the shape of the ray
created) and on the other, this similar tone is crafted on the top left by the artificial and permanent reflection through the golden canvas nested at the intersection of the two white walls of the intermediate landing. In turn, these luminous instances cause the remainder of the space to adhere to a saturated and darker tonality. In fact, these contrasting moments begin to activate different planes of color and begin to create a discourse between light and dark as can be noticed in the painting qualities of the chair. Objects, People and Nature
Consequently in looking at furniture and the absence of people, the space offers room for an understanding of the dynamics within the volume. In observing the chair one can understand that it acts as a suggestion; one that prompts the viewer to imagine sitting in this choreographed environment and also one that passively advocates life. It is the absence of people, which simulates a volume accommodating no function, which in turn strives one to imagine the experience and the feeling. Although presented as a warm and nested space, it also bestows itself as an isolated and emptied configuration. The sole chair facing a painted pink wall is curious. In addition, in being a transition space the negotiation in the corner seems to lie between the comfort and solidarity that is shaped. Essentially the choices of objects and their placement in the composition are key to portraying the core artistic ideas of the painting. It does this not by filling the space with furniture but rather by being selective. One example for this is the window. This piece of “furniture” is present in its ghost-‐like form. Just as the people are suggested, the window is insinuated without actually physically painting it. Instead, the light shining through the window shaft is its presence and plays a much stronger role in depicting the atmosphere of the space and in composing the moment. This same window acts as a threshold between interior/exterior and artificial/nature through letting sunlight in. In fact, the space is possible in terms of color, light and tone because of the window. It also brings out the notion of passing time through space; creating a poetic reading as light can be imagined to change over the course of the day. The relationship of space with sunlight is the ingredient, which joins inside/out through the threshold of the window.
Conclusion In conclusion this piece is an exemplar painted composition. It considers intricate and well thought out elements of light, colour and shape and manages to use them to define an experience and feeling. There is no hesitation that in looking
at the piece below, the sculpted space appears tangible yet expresses at the same time a quality of the spiritual. This artist demonstrates full and thorough control of the environment he chose to depict.
Figure 1 Figure 2
Figure 3
PART TWO Edward Hopper’s painting as a real moment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunlight in a cafeteria – A passing, still, moment 12th December 2014 – Iris Gramegna
_________________________________________________
It was 8a.m on a warm, Sunday, spring day. The sun had just risen and the rays of sun were slowly piercing through the gaps, streets and windows of the city. I was unsure. The vibe of the city appeared peaceful and quiet yet at the same time an uneasiness and inexplicable coolness was rolling in. The rays suggested warmth yet the light felt cold. Upon that reflection I made my way inside; I walked into the cafeteria through the revolving doors and took a seat three rows down from the entrance and one row away from the window. I selfishly opened my morning newspaper, laying it flat out on the polished, clean table, ignorant of what was lying ahead of me. After several minutes, entranced by the words on the paper, a swift smell of coffee hinted at the tip of my nose. At that moment, I remembered where I was and realized I wished to order a coffee of my own. I looked around the room and sought out for a waiter to take my order. I turned my head 180 degrees and slowly scanned the interior space. No one was there. I swiftly glanced out the window, hoping to notice someone or something – but nothing. It was only seconds before redirecting my head back into my reading that the two Other customers sat ahead of me, caught my eye. Two people I had not even previously noticed; one woman by the window, and one man, two tables ahead. For several minutes I pondered and observed like a hawk the peculiarity of this instance and what it represented in my eyes. It was a moment in space, choreographed to paint a pure reflection of a space, of myself, of our society and of our time.
It was a moment of subtle allusion. Essentially we were the sole three customers in the cafeteria. I noticed the man and the woman who were seated at separate tables with the sun shinning through the window. It was actually only at that moment that I had realized the overwhelming presence of the large window, which almost appeared to have no glass, giving the impression that it was connecting the exterior and interior fluidly. However, the window also acted as a means of disconnecting as its’ shape and size created the dramatic light contrasts which disconnected the man and woman as one was seated in the sun and the other in the shade. It was a moment of suspense, it felt as though any second the two characters would engage into a conversation. A mental and emotional forcefileld was sensed between both apparent strangers – a feeling of lust. I felt distant, as though watching a play unfold in front of my eyes. However, it wasn’t solely the actions that spoke for this moment but more the setting, lighting and spatial qualities. Also the absence of the waiter softened the scene, making the absence of movement a means of empowering the minute actions of the two characters ahead of me.
The young lady was wearing a celestial blue, loose spring dress. In fact matching the color of the canteen chairs. It is a blue of isolation and cold, one
that dominated the scene. She is seated, bathed in the warm yet cool shaft of sunlight plunging through the nearby window. It is a morning light, one that is not golden and heartwarming. The colors, shades and angled light all made me recall a famous Vermeer painting. I then tried to understand her glare. She seemed - hesitant. Her eyes were gazing at her half empty glass of coffee growing cold. However, her eyes were giving the impression that she was conscious of the presence of a man to her left. Although she wasn’t looking at him, her empty stare appeared channeled by the fear but also curiosity of confronting him. Her shadow, defined by the aggressive nature of the lighting, was visible at the edge of the yellow-lit plane. Somehow, it seemed as though she was detached from her own shadow and suddenly it appeared to me as though a third person inhibited the space ahead of me. To her left and two tables in front of me sat the man who was wearing an uptight grey suit. His body position was curious. It was facing the young lady, suggesting interest but he concealed this by directing his head away from her and staring out the window towards the emptied city. He too, stared into a constructed space of nothingness. Moreover in contrast to the blue lady, he sat in semi-shadow. His face was not lit by sunlight and his body was dipped in a monotone grey. The harsh shadow-line and curtain of light separated the man and the woman. The light served to emphasis the division that lied between the actors of the scene. It felt, as though the boundary wouldn’t be overcome unless one of the two would take initiative. Their sights crossed at a right angle, outlining the corner shape of the cafeteria. It felt as though this moment was revealing an existential disquiet in an ordinary existence.
The fine fissure, which created tension between the man and woman, was enticing. The scene I had witnessed was concerned with representing how people passively use a space for sitting and waiting, while natural elements impede the space and highlight certain actions or corners of a space. In turn one realizes that architecture is a stage set for our actions to unfold and often its shape and changing variables (light, color) affect our way of using it. I had just spectated an event, and in fact I myself had been a part of it. There was a presence of the hidden and what existed but this was never revealed as the two never came to speak. Perhaps my looking at the two characters is what immobilized the situation and froze the connection. But that is something I will never know. In this moment it felt we were living an interior life and scene disconnected from the city. The architecture was reflecting America at its most detached and alien time – which was well reflected in the way we used the space, how the space was configured and how that same space adapted to varying conditions of light, and color.
The two previous pieces of writing help define the fine line that distinguishes architecture and painting. In Luis Barragan’s work one finds that his architecture is characterized by his signature synthesis of light, color, space and time. He refutes the functionalism movement of his epoch and strives for allying himself with the modernist movement to achieve an emotional architecture2. Luis Barragan’s works are “experimental endeavors geared to unlocking poetic beauty in bid to create an atmosphere of aesthetic emotion, sparking the sensation of well-being”3. It is this sensuality and expression of emotion, which ties him closely with painting. Furthermore, the elements he considers when making his spaces are identical to the core rudiments of painting: color, light, shape, tone and composition. Something he does not approach is function and event. “Architecture, whether it is a work of art or not, must be utilitarian”4 otherwise seeps into the category of decoration and artistic expression such as the art of painting. In accord with this is Bernard Tchumi’s statement that: “You rapidly deduce that there is no such thing as neutral space. Architecture does not exist without something that happens in it. Our perception of architecture depends on the activities that take place inside it. The space is transformed by events.”5 When visiting Barragan’s architecture, one can quickly understand that he isn’t aiming to create volumes of function but rather views for feeling. He does not consider architecture as a unified body of spaces. Instead he creates individual volumes, where each one generates a specific view that then shapes his desired moment and feeling for that volume. In turn, these bodies are jarred together to create the overall house. Although his architecture is suggestive of function by placing chairs and tables, these are often only elements to enhance the emotion of his choice. In fact all the functional spaces such as the kitchen, bedroom are hidden away upon visits. On the other hand, the foyer, staircase, corridors, pool-dinning room or inner courtyards are densely choreographed and it is felt he does not envision people using the space, he imagines spaces that are rarely occupied, solely looked at for an experience. More directly, Barragan is the artist of his own space as he paints walls to emphasize it. If we look back to the renaissance time, architecture tended to create spatial volumes wherefore art could then be introduced in the form of canvases or mural paintings. An example being the St. Francis Assisi church which was envisaged for areas of the space to be painted and in turn, Giotto, the painter had to apply his frescos, accepting the limitations provided by the architectural framework.6 Barragan does both jobs. However it is without doubt, the painting and choreographing of a perfect composition, which is his strength. The architecture being purely propositional for function loses its architectural power. Finally, in being able to analyze Luis Barragan’s space as a painting, it demonstrates the qualities he has more as a painter than that of an architect in the way he orchestrates views in space purely for esthetic and emotional purposes instead of functional ones. If architecture is made up of space, time and event, he is missing one of the core ingredients – the event.
On the other hand, when considering the work of Edward Hopper, one of the first elements which is depicted is an event. His works illustrate the result of the great depression in the 1930s. His art reflects America at its most detached and alien time.7 In his works he recounts a story through placing people using a space. While there is an akin representation of loneliness to that of Barragans’, his paintings still manage to represent isolation through actions and events between people. Even if these actions are passive, they are substantial enough to understand how the event is informed by the space surrounding them and by the qualities such as light and color. Furthermore, the emptiness he procures is not for aesthetic purposes but rather for a meaning: “It is an emptiness which embodies the success but also the emptiness of a continent
2 Pauly, Danièle, Luis Barragan, and Jérôme Habersetzer. “Rental Apartment Blocks.” Barragan: Space and Shadow, Walls and Colour. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2002. p.133 3 Pauly, Danièle, Luis Barragan, and Jérôme Habersetzer. “Forword.” Foreword. Barragan: Space and Shadow, Walls and Colour. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2002. p.7 4 Wood, Paul, ed. “institutions and Objections”. Art in Theory. Ed. Charles Harrison. Oxford: Blackweel, 1993. p.836 5 Tschumi, Bernard. Architecture Concepts: Red Is Not a Color. New York: Rizzoli, 2012. p.30 6 Sewter, A. C. A Lecture on the Relationship between Painting and Architecture in Renaissance and Modern Times, Delivered to the Manchester Society of Architects, 13th February, 1951. London: A. Tiranti, 1952. p.4 7 "Edward Hopper - Bio." Edward Hopper - Bio. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.phillipscollection.org/research/american_art/bios/hopper-bio.htm>.
that once seemed endless.”8 The architecture allures and is designed to encapsulate this statement. This leads us to the way in which Edward Hopper paints. He is in some form a realist painter who aims to portray how space can be a representation of an era or of a feeling. This is a similar idea to Luis Barragan. However, although important, Edward Hopper’s main intention and interest is not solely this but also about the way in which a space, affected by dramatic uses of light, color and geometry, provides the spatial stage for events to unfold. Moreover he manages to create a parallel between the event and the space to generate a dialogue with time. Edward Hopper composes, as would an architect in the way he addresses time, space and event. While a painter is not confined to a canvas Edward Hopper only painted yet his works were un-built pieces of architecture in themselves. He sculpted spaces in two-dimension, which was as close as he got to being the architect of his work. Essentially, “painting comes into vital relationship with architecture only when it asserts the field of naturalistic representation and investigates the abstract problems of light of simple geometrical forms in conjunction and of the visual possibilities of new materials”. 9
To conclude, the statement of Luis Barragan being a painter and Edward Hopper being an architect can be seen as a useful instigator for understanding the close ties between painting and architecture but also the key elements which define a painting or a piece of architecture. Analyzing Luis Barragan and Edward Hopper is also interesting because both share very similar ideas of portraying isolation through dramatic uses of light, color and shape. They also both have interesting relationships towards representing and using interiority and exteriority to emphasize certain qualities. They equally share a similar approach to the interaction of their choreographed spaces with nature and the urbanscape. In analyzing two similar artists of different fields of art, the analysis appears very intricate in determining the fine line, which separates architecture from painting. Although Barragan can be much appreciated for his scripted works, his architecture is a three-dimensional painted canvas. His conscious decision of detaching himself from function and events in space, places him as more of a painter than an architect. As for Edward Hopper, he encompasses in his painting all the attributes and constituents of designing architecture where only the physical making and extrusion of the space from the canvas is absent.
8 Edward Hopper at Grand Palais, Paris | ArtLife Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <http://artlifemagazine.com/art-exhibitions/edward-hopper-retrospective-grand-palais-paris.htm#.VIoeSV4zf8E>.
9 Sewter, A. C. A Lecture on the Relationship between Painting and Architecture in Renaissance and Modern Times, Delivered to the Manchester Society of Architects, 13th February, 1951. London: A. Tiranti, 1952. p.15
BIBLIOGRAPHY SOURCES Durão, Maria João. "Colour as Pathway of Light: Searching the Shadow in Luis Barragán." Colour: Design & Creativity. N.p., 10 Sept. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
Edward Hopper at Grand Palais, Paris | ArtLife Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <http://artlifemagazine.com/art-exhibitions/edward-hopper-retrospective-grand-palais-paris.htm#.VIoeSV4zf8E>.
"Edward Hopper - Bio." Edward Hopper - Bio. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.phillipscollection.org/research/american_art/bios/hopper-bio.htm>. Pauly, Danièle, Luis Barragan, and Jérôme Habersetzer. Barragan: Space and Shadow, Walls and Colour. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2002. Ruskin, John. Modern Painters. Orpington: Allen, 1897. Sewter, A. C. A Lecture on the Relationship between Painting and Architecture in Renaissance and Modern Times, Delivered to the Manchester Society of Architects, 13th February, 1951. London: A. Tiranti, 1952. Tschumi, Bernard. Architecture Concepts: Red Is Not a Color. New York: Rizzoli, 2012.
Wood, Paul, ed. Art in Theory. Ed. Charles Harrison. Oxford: Blackweel, 1993.
IMAGES Fig.1: Goralnick, Barry. Foyer, Luis Barragán House and Studio, Mexico City. Digital image. Barry Goralnick. N.p., 23 Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <http://barrygoralnick.com/blog/2013/01/south-of-the-border-down-mexico-way/>. Fig 2. Own collage Fig 3. Own collage Fig 4. Own collage APPENDIX IMAGES Barragan photographs: Own Photographs Edward Hopper Paintings: Constantino, Maria, and Edward Hopper. Edward Hopper. London: Grange, 1997.