Art

I’ve been stuck on the paintings of Bill Brauer for a while now… which is kind of strange, because I don’t dance.  I’d like to–someday–but aside from a few already-forgotten lessons before my wedding, I don’t know how.

I’ve got six of his prints hanging in my apartment–it tends to freak people out.  I get a lot of weird looks from first-time visitors, but that doesn’t bother me.  Art should be allowed make you a little uncomfortable, shouldn’t it? I mean, one of the great things about appreciated visual art (I think, anyway) is that it’s both abstract and intensely personal.  What I get out of these paintings may not be what you get out of them, but that doesn’t make either of our appreciations any less meaningful.

From a technical standpoint, what Brauer does with both color and tone are fascinating.  The thumbnails here don’t really show the tone, but you should get a sample of the color.  The focus of each painting is on the form of the dance–as defined by the positions of the dancers–and I’m sure I’d appreciate it more if I knew enough to identify the dances.  When I say tone I mean the emotion in the painting, not the shades of color.

For instance, if you ever see one of these up close, pay attention to the posture of the dancers, to the (if they’re present) expressions on their faces and (if you can discern it, or believe that it can be discerned) the way their hands hold whatever it is they are holding.  In general it seems that the dancers are ill-matched, or at least there is conflict present in their postures.  If the men’s grips or expressions indicate a manner of possessiveness or desire, the women are usually lax or formal.  If the women appear attached, the men are often formal.  It’s an interesting experience, trying to put a story to a scene captured in oil.

November 16, 2008 | Categories: Random Nonsense | Tags: art | Leave A Comment »