Paper on Contemorary Art 2/8/10

Here is what I had to say about the contemporary artwork I chose for my paper!

In 1966 contemporary artist Amelie Von Wulffen was born in Breitenbrunn, Germany. From 1987 until 1994 von Wulffen studied at Kunstakademie in Munich, and currently since 2006 she has been a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. The piece of artwork I have chosen is from one of von Wulffen’s solo exhibitions in 2004 at the Green Naftali Gallery in New York. The artwork is titled Untitled (Geranium, chair, couple); it is an unusual piece of artwork that is a mix of a photo and acrylic on paper. The theme of von Wulffen’s solo exhibition was called Paare, Mobel, Landschaften which is translated into English as pair, furniture and landscape. Each of von Wulffen’s artwork in this exhibition reflected the theme and she incorporated a “pair, furniture, and landscape” into each one of her photos.
Untitled (Geranium, chair, couple) is a very unusual but fascinating photo. It caught my eye because I was fascinated at how the picture was put together. It is clear that the photo follows the theme as it has the gardens representing the landscape, the bench representing the furniture and the two faces together as a pair. It is also very neat how von Wulffen used her own face but seen from different angles. I especially like how one of her faces is set in the trees so the red leaves look like her hair. Untitled (Geranium, chair, couple), is pleasing to the eye and it is a warm picture which evokes pleasant emotions, such as calm, and bliss. I enjoy being outdoors, especially in peaceful atmospheres, such as an ocean, a lake, or lavish gardens so this picture attracted me. Not only did I enjoy looking at the landscape in this picture but I thought that the entity of the picture was unique. The fact that von Wulffen combines a photo and acrylic paint to make this picture is interesting. Since I do not consider myself an artist, I am very perplexed at the motivation behind her creativity and the technical aspects that she used to make this picture.
A piece of artwork can sometimes reflect emotions that an author is feeling at the time he/she is creating a work of art. It would be interesting to know if Untitled (Geranium, chair, couple) was created to reflect a certain way von Wulffen was feeling or possibly a way to relay a message about her life at that time. I think that the picture must have some meaning behind it, because it seems unusual that the three faces are all at different angles, as if they are seeing “the world” or specifically in this picture the gardens, through different points of view. Also, I thought it was interesting how the faces seem to have different shades; the face at the top left corner of the picture is the brightest and the two faces at the bottom right of the picture are more faded and less bright than the face that stands alone. I was curious to wonder if this had any significance to the meaning of the artwork. Overall I think that this picture was interesting and unique to look at because it seems as though there are several things to look at in the picture and it allows people admiring the artwork to interpret the piece in several ways.


--Rachel