The Analyze Different Types of Artwork by Various Artists

Introduction to the Art
In this essay, I will analyze different types of artwork by various artists whose works reveals various beliefs and values in particular time periods. The arts include the Psycho Spaghetti Western by Ed Ruscha, Travelers by Streams and Mountains by Faun Kains, Rembrandt’s self-portrait at 63 and finally the “Hitman five belts” by Gouache. These artworks are used in comparison to depict various themes and elements in the artwork as discussed in this essay.
In “Psycho Spaghetti Western’, Ed Ruscha has used the canvas to represent the everyday things which are disorderly arranged, a blown tire, a carton on a textured base which could be the roadside or an empty area. The painting gives a sense of the vastness of the area which leaves the viewers in awe as the art displays things which the artist saw during his travels on the highway or in a desert. In a way, the composition also indicates the destructive nature of man, how things are thrown away without even thinking about its reusability. The base with dark green shading and texture gives it look golden sand mixed with mud as if waste was thrown by somebody while traveling to some destination. The artist has used subtle yet distinct lines in the artwork to define all the elements in his artwork.
The textured base and reproduction of tire and the box have come alive only because of the impressive use of lines. Moreover, the artist has captured the weather elements and different objects with his lines that make the composition elegant and expressive.

The lines in the artwork capture the subtle sky, blown tire, and the box skillfully. The bold and perfect brushstrokes have LEE 2 added to the completeness of the painting making it a masterpiece. It depicts the relevance in today’s life in a scenario where humans are not becoming conscious enough to realize the importance of waste management. This painting with is bold colors for the objects and subtle for the base and sky helps in giving a distinct character to the scene.
The tire in black with its print and threads blowing out in contrast to the bright mustard color is the highlight of the painting. The soft earthy tones for the base mixed with dark green makes a unique pattern as a textured base. The artist employs all the elements of color, light, and shadow in addition to perfect brush strokes and use of lines to create a comprehensive aerial perspective. His painting raises awareness in the viewer’s mind, and one becomes curious to understand the objects drawn. The two objects the tire and the carton are drawn in contrast colors, yet it seems to be in harmony and sync.
The painting “Psycho Spaghetti Western” is a piece worthy to be displayed in a museum as it covers all the formal elements of art so aptly. The picture will surely offer a unique experience to its viewers with its fabulous out of the box subject matter and exhibit. The art attracts viewers’ attention to the things which on people see on an everyday basis, yet LEE 3 ignored and thought as waste. Anything can inspire one, and everything is the message which this painting gives to everybody.
Gouache also made a painting of the hit man with five gold plates an indication of victory and championship. It takes some time to understand the subject matter of the painting and absorb the completeness of the work. The use of natural muted colors brings out the objects in the foreground notably. The composition is a collection of varied things and is a good example of pop art (“Jonas Wood | Anton Kern Gallery” N.p). The image indicates various themes in the culture of the setting with games being evidently displayed by the belts awarded. Also, the straps show a sign of reward out of hard work performed by individual and that the society recognizes and encourages hard work. It is his interpretation of looking at things in a brighter way.
The ‘Travelers by Streams and Mountains’ by Fuan Kan’s is one of the major Chinese artistic works that has earned the reputation of unconventional worldview (Hearn and Wen, 13). It presents a majestic and a masterpiece of a natural landscape. Through the painting, Fuan Kan has managed to offer a vivid expression of the cosmic vision of human’s harmonious relationship with a vast, yet an orderly universe. It seems as if the painter was making an attempt to offer an expression of the great mechanism of landscaping that was common in the pre-modern societies.
The painting is on a silk scroll of about 206 cm by 103 cm using ink and almost 7ft in height and offers a unique expression of the universal development in its natural form. It has been achieved in an economical manner. From the painting, one identifies clear images of boulders located in the foreground, which is also available at one’s eye level. It indicates a common expression of the NeoConfucianism art. Moreover, beyond the boulders, there is a detailed, clear and crisp brushwork, showing protrusion of rocks that are somehow covered by trees. Through the detailed brushwork, one can identify other features such as two men and herd of donkeys loaded with firewood.
An application of line thickening technique by Fan Kuan also enables his audience to identify that there is a temple, although trees partially cover the temple. Besides, Fan Kuan has applied line thickening and an alternation of bright, dull colors to create an excellent image of a central peak. The peak protrudes from a deep fissure and is situated between two other peaks. Fan Kuan uses color alteration by incorporating a brighter color to exhibit a waterfall that LEE 4 accentuates the Central peak; it appears that the Waterfall emerges from the summit of the peak and fades through a narrow valley.
Another attractive feature of Kan’s work is the manner in which he utilizes the concept of severe thinning-and-thickening strokes of contours, ink wash and texture dots to develop a triangular shape of the mountain and dark crevices. Through this approach, he offers his viewers natural geological characteristics of the natural Chinese ecosystem. There is also the use of fine brush and energetic brushstrokes, which are critical in the exhibition of the knotted trunks of individual large trees. In fact, his detailed brushwork enables one to have the view of the distinct foliage as well as the fir trees. It is essential to acknowledge that the representation of the sheer size of a particular landscape is usually a complicated process, and requires extensive artistic skills Danto, (Arthur and Lydia, 7).
Fan Kuan in his work has managed to represent the sheer size of the mountainous landscape by using the corpus of suggestion instead of description; there are gaps between critical distances so that they act as breaks for changing perception. It is evident in the boulders presented in the foreground, the rocks covered by the trees together with the soaring peaks. Consequently, the use of scale appears to be a major factor that has enhanced Fan Kuan’s work appearance. From Kuan’s work, one identifies the manner in which a skillful application of the concept of scale can create the sense of space and vastness; particular figures in the painting are smaller while others are made larger. For instance, the images of the two men and the donkeys are on a smaller scale compared to the peaks and the enormous trees. It, therefore, creates an exquisite expression of a sense of vastness and space in Kuan’s artistic work.
The “self-portrait” by Rembrandt is a startling painting made in the year 1656, and his face is made to cover the upper two-thirds of the canvas. It is made in a unique way and contrary from the traditional paintings by other artists who present themselves as happy and well dressed. The lighting of the picture is varied with many lights illuminating on the face and the other parts with dark shadows. The hair is painted in gray with eyes looking out thus giving a startling impression on the sight. The artist chose this somber appearance as a symbolic indication of the actual life experiences of the artist (“Rembrandt | NG221 | National Gallery, London” N.p). Therefore, this painting captures the uncensored and a more precise nature of the Rembrandt’s life experiences. One could, therefore, draw an absolute conclusion that the artist presented himself in this way to express the real and actual life instances. It could be a painting that implicates the reality in his life basing this to the dim lit, cold room and tired expression in his eyes.
Using the colors effectively is an essential element for any artist which can help him to control the mood of his viewers. The artist has managed to create the right perspective with the use of light and shadows. Without the proper shadows and lighted areas, the composition will look flat, and it would be impossible to heighten the significant effect of the work. While watching the painting one can get the illusion of wind blowing while looking at the blown tire with threads in the air. The absence of light and shadow will dull the image, and it will lose it perspective entirely. The painting is successful in creating a spatial impression.
Works Cited
Danto, Arthur Coleman, and Lydia Goehr. After the end of art: Contemporary art and the pale of history. Vol. 197. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997.
Hearn, Maxwell K., and Wen Fong. Along the Riverbank: Chinese Painting from the CC Wang Family Collection. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999.
“Jonas Wood | Anton Kern Gallery”. Pinterest. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.
“Rembrandt | Self Portrait At The Age Of 63 | NG221 | National Gallery, London”. Nationalgallery.org.uk. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.