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Mary Flandro

Mrs. Janet Fotu, Instructor

Art 1020, Section 3

11 October, 2017

Contemporary Painters Research Assignment

Alberto Giacometti was born on October 10, 1901 in Stampa, Switzerland. He was most

well-known for his metal sculptures. His father, Giovanni Giacometti, was also an artist along

with several other family members. Alberto Giacometti began drawing at an early age and

started painting at age 12. In his teenage years, he enrolled at École des Arts Industriels (School

of Industrial Arts) and trained under the painter David

Estoppey and sculptor Maurice Sarkissoff. When he was

19, his father took him to Italy to tour art museums,

including the Venice Biennale and even Archaeological

museums. Shortly after, Giacometti moved to Paris where

he enrolled in various art classes. In 1926 he produced his

first bronze sculpture work, titled “Spoon Women” (left)

which is now

displayed at the

Guggenheim museum in New York. Another famous

sculpture at the Guggenheim museum is “City

Square” which was made in 1948 (right). Giacometti

was most known for his bronze sculptures, which are

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considered by most to be his best works. Alberto Giacometti died on January 11, 1966 at the age

of 65 due to health problems.

One question I would ask him if I had the chance is: “Who was your greatest

inspiration?” to which I would imagine him responding; “My father and my instructors”, because

they were the closest people to him who were also artists. Another question would be: “What

motivated you?” where he might answer; “I wanted my art to be in museums to inspire others”,

because a large part of his adolescent years were spent touring through parts of Europe to be

inspired by other people’s works of art.

Janet Fish is an American painter who was born on the island Bermuda in 1938. During

her youth, she was mentored by a canadian sculptor named Byllee Lang. This shaped her early

interests in sculpting and printmaking. After attending the Skowhegan Summer School in Maine

while studying at Yale, She decided to become a painter and move to New York. Later in life she

became a teacher at the School of

Visual Arts in New York, and now

she lives in her SoHo loft in

Manhattan, where she still paints.

Janet Fish is widely-known for her

skills in realism, especially in still

lifes. Some of her best works are “Goldfish and Autumn Leaves” (above) and “June, 1999”

(right).

Two questions I would her ask are:

“How often do you practice?” and “How long

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does a painting normally take to paint?”. For the first question, I imagine she would answer; “I

spend a few hours every day at least”, and for the second question she might say; “ Some take up

to a week or more”, because of the incredible details.

In 1949, Mark Tansey was born in San jose, California. In 1969, at the age of 20, Mark

enrolled at Art Center College of Design in the city Los Angeles. Later in the year 1974, he went

to school for the graduate program at Hunter College in New York City. Tansey is well known

for realistic paintings, which are usually monochromatic. Tansey himself doesn’t think of

himself as a realist painter, but rather as a metaphorical painter. This is explained by Tansey by

the following quote: “In my work, I’m

searching for pictorial functions that

are based on the idea that the painted

picture knows itself to be

metaphorical, rhetorical,

transformational, fictional. I’m not

doing pictures of things that actually

exist in the world.” An example of one

of his monochromatic paintings is titled “Action Painting II” (above) where a group of painters

gather to paint an American space shuttle. Another example of his work would be “Triumph

Over Misery, 1986” (left)

with a warm red and orange

color scheme. Recently he is

believed to be working in a
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studio in downtown New York City.

A question I would ask him if I had the opportunity is: “Where do you get your

inspiration from?” in which he may answer; “Books and magazines, they’ve always interested

me”, because he is said to have a large amount of magazine clippings. Another question would

be: “Where is your favorite place to paint?” He might answer; “I have a two-story studio with a

great view, and great company”, because many famous artists live in the same neighborhood as

Tansey does in downtown New York.

Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle was born in Madrid, Spain, in the year 1961. He then moved to

the Americas and was raised in Chicago, Illinois, as well as Bogotá, Colombia. Manglano-Ovalle

earned a BA in art and art history from Williams College in 1983. In the year 1989, he enrolled

at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and earned an MFA (Master of Fine Arts).

Manglano-Ovalle is well-known for never staying on one style or topic of art for too

long. While interviewing Guillermo Gómez Peña, Manglano-Ovalle recorded one thing that

reminds him not to stick to one particular style of art. He said; “...sometimes the most astute

political and aesthetic strategy is to always be changing your strategy. The moment that

somebody says, “You’re the artist that deals with genetics,” you should stop making works that

deal with genetics and do something else”.

The art that Manglano-Ovalle creates is very metaphorical. Normally his artwork

represents a current social issue, such as immigration or gun violence. His art has won several

awards and are on display at several large and famous art museums, including the Museum of

Contemporary Art and the Rochester Art Center. He currently is living and working in Chicago,
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Illinois. One of his most famous pieces of art is named “Iceberg” (below and right), which

focuses on the issue of climate change.

A question I would ask is: “What inspired you to become an

artist?” The answer he might say is: “I became an artist to raise

awareness of social issues.” Another question would be: “Why do

you focus on nature in your work?” He might answer: “To

emphasize the intricate nature of an ecosystem.”

Janine Antoni was born in 1989 in Freeport, Bahamas. She

attended Sarah Lawrence College to earn her BA, and in the year 1989, she earned her MFA

(Master of Fine Arts) at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Antoni is famous for using her own body to make art. One of her most well known piece

of art is “Lick and Lather” (below and left). Here is two self-portrait busts that she only used

herself to make. One is made entirely out

of chocolate, where she carved out the

sculpture by licking it. The other is made

of a soap-like material, which she slowly

molded in a bathtub for hours. The way in

which she views her own work is very

literal. During an interview, she said; “The

brown and white—really, with all my

work—it comes from the material. So, I’m not so much thinking of myself in a dark color and

myself in a white color. I’m thinking of myself in chocolate and myself in soap.”
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Antoni’s artwork is featured in many museums around the world, including the Irish

Museum of modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York). Currently

Antoni lives in New York.

In 1970 Julie Mehretu was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During the years 1990-1991,

she studied at the University cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar. Later she earned her BA from Kalamazoo

College, and eventually earned her MFA (Master of Fine Arts) from the Rhode Island School of

Design. Currently she is living and still working in the city of Berlin.

Mehretu’s artwork is based after a more structured way of thinking, opposed to the more

commonly stereotyped creative artwork. Her art resembles architecture and complex social

networks.

One of

her best

known

pieces is a

mural in the Goldman Sachs building in New York, named “Mural”. Each shape, string, and line

were individually placed by hand.

The first question I would ask is; “What type of an artist would you consider yourself?”

To which she would answer: “I think of myself as an abstract artist. My art is full of meaning but

can’t be pinpointed to one specific narrative.“. Another question I would ask is: “How do you

use shapes in your art? Specifically in the mural at Goldman Sachs named ‘Mural’?” The answer

she might say is; “All the shapes that I use compliment one another. If one shape is out of place,

I have to readjust it to make it fit again.”

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Anderson Model

Painting #1 “The Innocent Eye Test” by Mark Tansey

Description:

This painting is very somber. In the painting, the first thing one notices is the cow. The

cow seems out of place because it is inside a building which is possibly a museum. The cow is

being shown a painting of other cows that are in an outdoor setting. Surrounding the cow are

several older looking men wearing professional clothing. It can be assumed that a cloth was just

removed off the painting of the cows because a man is seen holding one of the sides of the cloth.

The painting altogether is a monochromatic painting with the main color of brown.

Interpretation:

There is a strong emotion felt when looking at this picture, but the feeling is complex. An

instant feeling of empathy goes towards the cow standing in the room. The cow is looking at the
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other cows in the painting with an almost sad posture. The men surrounding the cow and

painting seem to be doing an experiment with the cow, too see whether or not it can tell apart a

real cow from a painting of one. The professionally dressed men are most likely scientists. The

scientists have a nefarious aura around them and they can be concluded to be uncaring and

corrupt men. The overall meaning behind this work is that mankind will do what’s necessary to

conduct an experiment for the purpose of knowledge, and won’t show any empathy towards the

test subject.

Judgement:

This piece of work is definitely successful, in the sense that it gets a message across. The

theme revolves around humans and their nature which will spark a strong emotion when looked

at. It’s almost like being called-out as human beings. After analyzing the painting, not only has

my analysis of its meaning changed, but my appreciation for the artist and his views has grown a

lot stronger.

Painting #2 “Loving Care” by Janine Antoni

Description: This painting is fascinating. In this piece, artist Janine Antoni soaked her

hair in a bucket of hair dye and

continued to swab the floor with her

head (right). Her hair left a unique

texture on the floor that can’t be seen

using a normal type of paintbrush.

The strokes are messy and splash the

dye onto the walls, but also show a

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sense of strength and passion within the artist. In the photo below, you can now see that this took

place in a small enclosed room. A group of people are standing around admiring it however it’s

impossible to tell if they are

outside the window or if they are

inside with a reflection on the

glass windows.

Interpretation:

The meaning behind this painting

is more of a personal journey for

the artist, and less for the

audience. On the subject of this

piece, Antoni said: “ The reason

I’m so interested in taking my

body to those extreme places is

that that’s a place where I learn,

where I feel most in my body. I’m

really interested in the repetition,

the discipline, and what happens to me psychologically when I put my body to that extreme

place.”. So while the painting is meaningful to look at, the true meaning is exploring different

paths and learning who you are.

Judgement: The painting was a success, but can only show true success if you were the

one who painted it. The theme we as humans can connect with, which is finding yourself through
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hard experiences. If I had only seen the painting without the story behind it, it wouldn’t have had

as much of an effect on me than when you know what really happened. This painting is less

about the finished work and more about the steps it took to make it.

Works Cited/Sources:

Wolf, Justin. “Alberto Giacometti Artist Overview and Analysis.” The Art Story, The Art Story

Contributors, 2017, www.theartstory.org/artist-giacometti-alberto.htm.

“Janet Fish.” Janet Fish Biography – Janet Fish on Artnet, Artnet,

www.artnet.com/artists/janet-fish/biography.

JWD. “Profile: Mark Tansey .” Mark Tansey at C4 Contemporary- Artist Profile & Biography,

C4 Contemporary Art, c4gallery.com/artist/database/mark-tansey/mark-tansey.html.

Danto, Arthur C. Mark Tansey: Visions and Revisions. Abrams, 1993.

“Exhibition of Recent Paintings by Mark Tansey at Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills.” Edited

by Jose Villarreal, Artdaily.org - The First Art Newspaper on the Net, Jose Villarreal,

artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec.

“Climate.” Art21, art21.org/read/inigo-manglano-ovalle-climate/.

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“Janine Antoni.” Art21, art21.org/artist/janine-antoni/.

“‘Mural’ Julie Mehretu.” Art21, art21.org/watch/extended-play/julie-mehretu-mural-short/.

“Janine Antoni: Loving Care & Lick and Lather | Performance Art | Anxious Objects,

Appropriation, Janine Antoni |.” Contemporary Art,

www.marthagarzon.com/contemporary_art/2011/01/janine-antoni-loving-care-lick-and-lather/.