Innovative sculptures and paintings

Examination of two painting and sculptures from MoMA museum

Identifies how painting and sculpture differ in various aspect albeit having close designs and make. This differences are dependent on audience targeted and material at hand.

Painting 1: Untitled Policeman by Kerry James Marshall (2015)

Synthetic polymer paint on PVC panel with plexi frame.

The painting represents production. It is a symbol of the struggles of the innocent and harmless African Americans (children, men and women) at the hands of the police. In the image, the officer is an antagonist, painted in black and sitting to deal with difficulty in isolation.

Although most lines are not geometric, there are a few spots when geometry was applicable. An example is the cap he puts on, which is elliptical. Without concepts in geometry, it would be difficult to bring out this concept properly. Glazes are evident in the chair he sits on, in what looks like a spray painting with a brush ad has variations in brightness.

Different elements are used in the painting. The first lines, which bring an outline of his seat, and a few rugged ones on his dress to indicate normal lines of folding. On the floor, lines are a form of decoration of what looks like a black carpet marked in black. Specific shape definitions are on the cape he wears. It is almost elliptical as the trouser and shirt have different colors. Most police officers do wear different colored trousers and shirts like in this case (MoMA Museum 2017). The form indicates three-dimensional shape with values of brightness changing in the shirt and trouser. Only two distinct colors are in use but the different values differentiate the clothing, like belt and trouser. Finally, the texture used is rough on the shirt and smooth in other parts of the cloth. Space is in three dimensions and defines length, width and height. Used medium affects the appearance of art by dictating the choice of colors.

Painting 2: Tulips 4 by Alex Katz (2013)

Oil on linen

Alex presents an abstract work by using colors to represent a flower with less focus on reality (MoMA Museum 2017). The colors are yellow and green, using the most space available in the painting, just as in the real flowers people grow. Painting is geometric and repeats the same format throughout the space used. It is done on a flat platform and present different glazes in the work.

There are actual lines on the leaves and flowers with most taking a similar repetition of the shapes and colors of green and yellow. Painting form is on a two dimensional space, except for the flowers and leaves that have length, width and height. Difference between this ad the Policemen is the smooth texture on the drawing to imply a uniform appearance in leaves and flowers. The artist uses space at the foreground and background efficiently. Finally, the media, which is oil and linen, gives a smooth and shiny appearance to the image.

Sculpture 1: Equal by Richard Serra (2015)

Forged weatherproof steel, eight blocks.

These are perfect cubes represented in dark-black colors. The geometry is abstract and repeats to make a good impression on the work of the artist (MoMA Museum 2017). Construction and modelling is the major method of making the cubes look in the perfect shapes throughout. It looks like materials drawn and modelled into scales of length, width and eight. Volume of the objects takes full space on the front look, stretching from the base to almost the top. They are all in a real static motion, at each point, reflecting a zero second time in motion.

Different design principles are evident from the shapes. A uniform construction come in the same shape and makes an appearance look uniform. An example is the scale of each of the shapes, which come similarly for all the objects. The pattern is repeated throughout all the images.

Sculpture 2: African Boy Attendant by Kara Walker (2014)

In Cast pigmented polyester resin with polyurethane coating

The sculpture represents an image of a child carrying some basket on his back. He is drawn in black and standing within a building that casts a white background (MoMA Museum 2017). Below his feet is a reinforcement made of the same black material. The geometry is little in the sculpture but a perfect one on the building he is standing. The basket on the back also has an application of geometry to give it a cylindrical shape.

Space in the sculpture is moderately used, as there is more behind the object. The construction is only medium on the place the sculpture is places but not on the sculpture itself. The variation allows one to choose between the only spaces they have for themselves. Medium gives the sculpture a resemblance of the same place or origin, which is the African origin. Finally, the uniform sculpturing identifies is evident on the building with the constructions in mind.

In conclusion

The paintings and sculptures have different presentation and artistic techniques. From the medium, the color, texture and other forms of techniques used in art, they have a proper field of view making it difficult for understanding. All these depend on the information each artist had in mind and the materials available then for use.

Work Cited

MoMA Museum. "The Collection." Arts and Artists, MoMA Museum, 2017, www.moma.org/collection/. Accessed 20 Apr. 2017.