Medium Specificity
8:34 PM
Artist's Statement:
I chose to explore the medium of painting. I picked
something very unique to painting as a medium: its origin. Art Historians have
discovered that painting began in about 20,000 B.C.E. Very few other mediums, like film or
photography, have this ancient of an origin. It began with paintings on cave
walls in parts of Europe. All of the images were done with black, brown, red,
and orange pigments. The depictions were of animals, like buffalos and cows.
These were very common, yet highly important to this hunting and gathering
society. The cave paintings were simple, yet they showed what was valued at the
time.
I wanted to explore the medium of painting because of this
unique origin. In other words, cave painting is painting reduced to its
simplest, most basic form. These paintings were done on stone. I explored the
medium by creating my own “cave painting.” I painted a version of Van Gogh’s
Starry Night on the stone. I wanted to paint a more current painting that is
well known, but on an actual rock and in the colors the prehistoric artists
would have had. I did this as a commentary on the medium. Would this painting
be as esteemed if it was simplified and painted on stone thousands and thousands of years ago by an unknown artist? It
is an interesting idea to ponder.
My “cave painting” also serves as a celebration of the
medium. Even though cave painting is a prehistoric art form, it is still
possible to recreate it today. I did just that. We have been able to see so
many different styles of art and painting develop through history, but the
creation of a new style or new work of art doesn’t invalidate older works. We
can still study, enjoy, and create every form of painting, ancient and
modern.
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