xin you chens
Post on 22-Dec-2015
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Xin You Chen Bry Art Gallery 2/4/2015
Four Eyes Nathaniel Allen Oil, on canvas
The Four Eyes painting portrays a front view on a still life ceramic bust on a almost clear,
white background. The bust depicts a tan-skinned man who looks to be in his thirties. The lower
part of the bust shows the top of a white button-up shirt with green suspenders at its shoulders.
The button-up was also loosely bow-tied at the collar with a thin, black strip. The long neck
sprouts from the collars of the shirt, ending with oval-shaped double chins. The rest of the face is
shaped in a loose oval as well, with the exception of two wide obtruding ears. Instead of
dangling normally in the air, the lobes of the ears are attached to the sides of the face. The figure
of the bust has a brown mustache over a small mouth, and one single lower tooth can be seen
jutting out upwards from the lip. The figure also has a round nose and round cheeks. The most
noticeable part of the painting is the bust figure’s eyes. Instead of two, four eyes dotted the upper
half of the figure’s oblong head. All four eyes are also crossed towards the center of the face. At
the top of the four eyes, four thin eyebrows line the forehead while neat brown hair that parts in
the middle lay combed over and fall just above the eyebrows. The four crossed eyes along with
the single tooth results in an overall comical expression.
The artist uses mostly curving lines to illustrate the figure’s face and body parts in the
painting. Biomorphic shapes characterize the humane features of the figure such as the eyes,
nose ears and cheeks. The bust stands dominant against the background as a positive shape. In
the painting the bust figure seems to employ an open form of mass. The open collar, its wide ears
and comical expression interacts with the surrounding space, as if it is announcing and
acclaiming its existence. The painting uses techniques that imply depth to show the contours of
the face. He creates the ridges in the cheeks by vertical placement to produce the grin that is
shown by the figure. The figure’s brown hair colour as well as its skin condition (little wrinkles)
show the man to be middle-aged. Being a still life ceramic effigy, the painting does not give off
the impression of motion and the figure’s face seemed frozen in expression. The figure in the
painting is illuminated by a whitish light from the top right corner as the artist applied some
shading at the lower left and back side of the sculpture. The top of the piece also has a brighter
value than the rest. The figure’s tan skin as well as brown hair contrasts but not heavily against
the white background and shirt that it is wearing. Textures that exist in the painting include the
facial hair of the figure, the fabric of the shirt it is wearing as well as its smooth and scarless
skin.
The artist uses a number of principles of design in the painting. Variety can be seen with the
black bowtie string as well as single white tooth which adds to the disorder. Little if any pattern
exists in the painting as there is no repetition of design elements. The artist paints the figure in
near-perfect symmetry, except for attributes like the parting of the hair and the single white tooth.
The artist also retains the realistic expression of human anatomy with slight differences in body
parts, for example the ears and their difference in alignment height. The bust’s face is
emphasized in the painting, with the eyes being the focal point. Subordination is used in the bare
and plain white background which draws attention away and towards the face. Directional forces
employed in the painting also helped bring the viewer’s attention to the focal point. The four
crossed eyes point at each other, directing the gaze to the other side of eyes. The bend of the
mustache as well as the bridge of the nose to form an imaginary arrow also guides the line of
sight up and towards the center of the face. The contrast of color in the whites of the man’s eyes
as well as that one single white tooth was also used by the painter to draw the attention of the
viewer to the face. There exists little repetition in the painting, yet rhythm exists slightly in the
eyebrows and contours of the chin and cheeks that all together form the lines of the overall facial
expression. The head of the piece was proportioned larger than its body to further emphasize the
main attraction of the painting, which is the four eyes.
I believe the painting is drawing attention to itself and its creation. The figure in the painting
may represent two entities: one being the artist himself and the other being each individual as the
viewer. As the figure in the painting looks at itself, the artist may have produced the piece after
deliberate reflection at his own life and painted an illustration of that action. To add to that the
artist added an extra pair of eyes as if to further emphasize the amount of self-reflection being
done. The figure in the painting may also show how the artist looks at himself, which is a quirky
and comical person. The bow-tie, suspenders as well as the hair style suggests a type of
personality trait which the artist may feel he possesses. The painting also puts forward the
consideration that the figure in the painting may be all the individual viewers looking at the
painting. As the eyes of the bust in the painting looks at itself as a creation, so are the viewers
looking at a piece of art. With the addition of the extra set of eyes, the artist may be imploring
viewers to look at art productions with extra scrutiny and consideration as the painting is doing
to itself, inviting deeper analysis and criticism as though it is done with four pairs of eyes instead
of two.
The first impression of the painting may not seem very impressive or deep, but through further
review the real value of this painting transcends its initial depiction. Hidden behind the comical
and ridiculous expression of the figure, the painting disturbs the viewer in separate levels, first
through its appearance, next through its implication. I believe the painting is very influential and
impactful on all art lovers, as it functions as a reminder to look, and keep looking at every piece
of art as you might just discover something new that was hidden from your first impression the
first time. I would definitely hang the painting in my home, and just to confuse my guests it will
be right beside the other best works.
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