In “The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons” Turner has responded to the scene he has witnessed by using his own technique to evoke the emotions in the viewer. His impressionistic style causes the viewer to really experience Turner’s response to this great tragedy.
“Parking Lot near Bologna” was painted by the Australian artist Jeffrey Smart in 1992. In this painting Smart has employed the structural frame to express what he sees using elements such as line, shape, texture and combining them to form a balanced composition of two trucks in a lonely isolated environment.
Smarts painting are based around his personal experiences. In his painting “Parking Lot near Bologna” Smart shows the beauty of the modern constructed environment using symbols and shapes, lines and patterns. He uses symbols of urban life to balance the geometric shapes he uses.
The structural frame can be employed when analysing this artwork, as the use of organized elements like tone, line, colour, composition and texture are evident in this painting.
This artwork by Jeffrey Smart is an abundance of shape and tone. The colours used are dark and dull; the tone that Smart has included brings the painting to life and makes the objects appear 3D. In this painting the objects are sharp, which adds to the tone. "Parking Lot near Bologna” is well proportioned; the trucks are bigger than the signs in the background, which adds a good sense of perspective. This painting has a good sense of harmony, making it work well together, it also holds good contrast. Jeffrey Smart has painted this with dominance, as the viewers eyes are directed from the men who are talking, to the red truck, to the pole in the background, to the shadows and finally across to the yellow truck. This artwork is quite serious and has a sense of loneliness and depression.
Overall “Parking Lot near Bologna” is an well-organized painting and Jeffrey Smart has used and included many techniques while creating this artwork. Smart uses his materials well to create an illusion of dark skies and shadows, which imply a haunting affect. From looking at this artwork it is obvious to the viewer that the Smart is very concerned with the composition of his paintings, as seen in the balance of shapes and areas of colour.
Smart has responded to the urban environment in his painting and uses his technique and subject matter to share his feelings of isolation and loneliness in the modern society.
“Landscape with Ascanius Shooting the Stag of Sylvia” was painted by the French artist Claude Lorrain in 1682. In this painting Lorrain has used aspects of the cultural frame, to express a certain cultural identity of Greek/Roman society, as well as the influence of Classicism on his style of painting.
Claude Lorrain was inspired by the art movement ‘Classicism’, which refers to Greek and Roman art, with a sense of order and harmony, to display this traditional landscape in Greece in the 17th Century.
Claude Lorrain in “Landscape with Ascanius Shooting the Stag of Sylvia” uses symbols of the ancient Greek society, to emphasize the strong influence of the classical movement of Ancient Greece and Rome on his art making.
The cultural frame can be used to analyze this painting. The very ordered landscape, the use of cultural references and symbols, and the mythological figures make the landscape seem unreal and emphasize the ancient quality of the subject matter.
“Landscape with Ascanius Shooting the Stag of Sylvia” is a very well organised artwork, and there is a great sense of dominance and emphasis. The viewers’ eyes are drawn to the foreground, then to the mid-ground and finally to the background, these three overlapping sections create an infinite space. The inclusion of ancient architectural remnants seems to dwarf the figures, and give Lorrains painting a sense of mythological Greek/Roman culture. Lorrain also includes a melancholy glow of light, which exerts a feeling of peace and sadness. The blues, browns and green colours the artist has used also gives a certain feeling of harmony and unity.
This painting is a really good example of how artists share their personal experiences and beliefs through their artworks. Claude Lorrain lived most of his life in Rome and was inspired by the ancient architectural ruins and statues. He has included these ruins in Landscape with Ascanius shooting the stag of Sylvia as well as including figures from mythology.
“Patterns of Connection” was painted by the Aboriginal/Australian artist Leah King-Smith in 1991. King-Smith was inspired by the art movement, Postmodernism and has included a use of images from a past 19th Century archival artist, to give it a new more important meaning.
Leah King-Smith in “Patterns of Connection” has used a non-traditional media and method, which challenges the viewers perceptions of Aboriginal people within her art making. The postmodern frame can be used to analyze this painting, as the work is asking the viewer to look again at history and consider white/Aboriginal relations. The mood is brooding, almost dreamlike, King-Smith has combined portraits of Aboriginal people and of bush landscape, by superimposing the people over the landscape, in an attempt to place her ancestors back where they belong. "Patterns of Connection" is a non-traditional artwork because the traditional Aboriginal paintings are usually abstract and based around the dreamtime. Whereas this is a realistic artwork, as King-Smith has super imposed contrasting images, in creating the contrast of cultures.
As Leah King-Smith searches for her personal identity between these two cultures, her work is a way of expressing her tension, and by linking these two images she has created a much more important and powerful meaning. The fact that the Aboriginal people in this artwork are ghost-like and the 'solidness' of their bodies’ have been omitted is strange.
Leah King-Smith has used her art making, to share her personal values and to comment on society. King-Smith is challenging social values, as she is searching for her identity amongst whites and blacks. She is challenging secular beliefs and is challenging power over authority.
She also has challenged some traditional conventions, such as perspective and tonal modeling, all these techniques reinforce Leah King-Smith’s main aim, which is to challenge societies values and the way society treats Aboriginal people today.
Turner, Smart, Lorrain and King-Smith have all used their artworks to record their own personal messages. Turner has expressed his feelings about an event through his impressionistic technique and shared these with the viewer, through a compilation of colours, highlights and shadows. In comparison Smart has used his structured technique to express his feelings of isolation and loneliness in the urban environment. Lorrain has expressed cultural influences in his architectural ordered landscapes. King-Smith has used her artwork to comment on the plight of her ancestors in modern society.
So it can be seen by looking at the artworks of Turner, Smart, Lorrain and King-Smith that these artists have used their work to express their feelings and ideas on issues that are important to them. They have responded in certain ways to share their personal experiences, social values and as a means of recording their cultural beliefs.
