Black And White And Red All Over Painting By T. Smith
Art For Sale ❯ Paintings ❯ T. Smith ❯ Holidays ❯
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Artist:
T. Smith
Title:
Black And White And Red All Over
Price:
Year:
2007
Medium:
Size - (USA):
48 W x 48 H x 2 D (inches)
Size - (metric):
121.9 W x 121.9 H x 5.1 D (centimeters)
Theme:
Edition:
Original
Artwork ID:
274897
PDF Copy:
Artwork Description:
The title references the old newspaper joke as well as modern more shocking versions of that joke describing nuns, babies, blenders, and racism. The other side of the newspaper analogy and the paintings imagery suggest a disaster of tragic proportion and related media headlines. As a narrative reference, the scene evokes a potential Christmas airline tragedy over frozen waters, which would make front-page headlines in the newspaper jokes pun. Along these lines, studies have concluded that the more terror and tragedy are portrayed in the media, the more these events escalate. They are inextricably woven together in a mutually beneficial manner. Santa as a symbol embodies the essence of both childhood wonder and joy and Western commercialism. The dichotomy between Santas jolly demeanor and the decapitated salmon at his feet symbolize the pain and sadness that often lies beneath the Christmas holiday for many people despite the decorated and glossy exterior. In this context, Santa himself is an aberrant presence, completely futile and ridiculous, representing nothing but oblivious consumerism. The inclusion of text in the painting in the form of the word adult reinforces the shift of the idea of Christmas being concentrated on children to one of adult desires. The life vest on the right of Santa has only the first three letters ADU which phonetically is adieu, the French word for goodbye or farewell. Structurally, the painting is composed of open A shapes and repeating rhymes and echoes throughout, most dominate in the top line of the buoys and the bottom line of the fish forming a triangular tent shape that references the A of adult. The major thesis in my paintings is the notion of micro and macro patterns repeating one another in visual physical reality thus hinting at the underlying fractal geometric structure of our world; illustrated in numerous instances here by line, shape, shadow, and reflection. The shape of Santas left boot echoes in the shape and line of the fish directly below it, which also corresponds to the L-shaped fur trim on the right of his body. Openings in the fish bodies refer to the opening holes of the buoys as they both form a line receding into the distance. The ripples in the white fur trim of Santas suit match the rippling lines of snow and ice beneath his body. Santas face is dominated by three balls forming his cheek and nose, which then follow up to the ball of the pom-pom at the end of his hat further repeating in the round circles of the life vests on either side of his head. The negative space made by Santas crossed legs creates a large tent shape reinforcing the dominant A composition and referring back to the word Adult.
Keywords:
Original Painting, Holidays Painting
