Michael Brangoccio, Promise (1999). Acrylic on Canvas (45.5” x 69.5”)
Brangoccio’s
large acrylic painting portrays five birds all either flying at what seems to
be high rate of speed or standing around a birdhouse. It is unclear whether the birds live in the
birdhouse or if they are fleeing from it.
Rocks are positioned in the foreground of the painting. Two mountains with some sort of body of water
and several fruits (probably oranges by their spherical nature, their general
color, and the stem) floating in it create the background. On the left hand side of the painting, there
are some unreadable characters which, though there is guarantee of their
meaning, must be important to the meaning of the piece. Across the vertical space to which the birdhouse
is attached, the value of the hue changes from dark to light as the eye moves
from left to right. Is this the shadow
of some unseen object or creature? Is it a shadow cast from a raincloud? Or is it a figurative foreshadowing of events
yet to come?
The painting
consists of a nice balance between blue and the cross-complementary hues of
Red-Orange and Orange-Yellow. All of the
hues seem to have been fairly moderated in value which gives more of a sense of
unity within the painting. Although they
are different hues, the artist dulls the painting decreasing its
saturation. I can’t help but feel that
this approaches meaning through content in regards to temperature. The cross-complementary scheme suggests warm
and cool hues, but by decreasing the saturation, the once noticeably warm hues
of Red-Orange and Orange-Yellow seem now to suggest life lived in the past but
is now dying.
There is some
inconsistency as to where the action takes place. If the eyes scan the painting from top to
bottom, it looks like the birds and birdhouse are underwater. If they scan from bottom to top, it seems as
though there is a river in the background, starting in the mountains, which is
going to become a waterfall over the ledge upon which the birdhouse is attached. Each scenario brings about different results
regarding content. Perhaps the artist is
suggesting a stray from what is real in life (if we think about the birds as
being underwater). Another possibility
is the expectation of being delivered from the wasteland in which they are
living, in other words, death sets them free.
In either case and in conjunction with the painting’s name, I feel that
the content is expressing the hope and promise of new life.
The location of
the piece is on a long hallway wall. The
wall opposite the painting is a giant window, allowing natural light to flood
onto the canvas. This seems like a
fitting place to exhibit the painting because it suggests that the birds in the
piece are in their natural habitat, giving it a more realistic impression.
For me, the most
unresolved element of this painting is the location of the main action. I feel like the artist did a poor job of
demonstrating what exactly is happening and why the birds are so restless. I would have liked to see this better
represented for clarity purposes, but the painting itself is well-done.
No comments:
Post a Comment