Joan
Mitchell was an American artist born on the 12th
of February, 1925, Chicago, Illinois. She was an abstract painter and
printmaker. In 1944-1946 she accepted a scholarship to attend the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago as a second year student. She
also received a Masters degree of Fine Arts from the School of the
Art Institute of Chicago. Mitchell was also involved with downtown
avant-garde art scene and in 1950's she had her first solo exhibition
at the Saint Paul Gallery and School of Art. It is said that it was
around the 1950's when Mitchell began to focus on full abstraction.
Mitchell died on the 30th
of October, 1992, Paris.
(On
the left Joan
Mitchell “Chord II” 1986, oil paint on canvas (1) On the right
Joan Mitchell untitled work, 1958, oil paint on canvas (2)
It
is said that in her earlier years as an artist she was influenced by
other painters such as Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning and Wassily
Kandinsky.
(On
the left Willem de Kooning “Women Singing II” 1966, oil paint on
paper on canvas(3) In the middle Franz Kline “Meryon” 1960–1961,oil paint on canvas (4) On the right Wassily Kandinsky “Swinging”
1925, Oil paint on board (5)
There are
resemblances between Mitchell's style and her artist influences, as
it appears that Mitchell used a similar manor of free and expressive
mark making without a particular subject, similar to De Kooning and
Kline, which can give the viewer a more open minded view of the idea
behind the painting. There are also resemblances in the colours
Mitchell chose to paint with, which were vibrant in some areas yet
not intensified in others, overall
there seems to be a similarity in hue and tone in the examples shown
here, particularly with de
Kooning and Kandinsky.
In
terms of the media that Mitchell used, her prime medium was usually
oil paint on canvas. She would often work from imagined memories
incorporating objects such as trees, flowers, dogs, water and sky.
She also often painted landscapes which she would paint from her
visual memories. I also found out that Mitchell rarely painted from
life or observation, this may be due to the fact she focused on
abstract hence subject matters were not as concerning as they idea
itself . She usually painted larger scale paintings, however she did
paint some smaller scaled paintings too, however her large scale
paintings appear more effective as they enhance the vigorous marks
and colours and allow the artwork to stand out better from a
distance. During the 1960's Mitchell departed from her style of
bright coloured, fully covered paintings and began painting with
denser and more sombre hues of colour, she also would smear the paint
with her fingers.
One
of her paintings that I am going to analyse in particular is called
“Number 12” which I viewed at the London Tate Modern Art Museum
during my half term holiday in February 2015.
(Above Joan Mitchell “Number 12” 1951–1952 , Oil paint on canvas, London Tate Modern Art Museum)
Mitchell
was an artist passionate about light and colour. This abstract
painting looks like a composition of both, with carefully placed
colours and tones to create a multi toned painting. The main reason
this painting stood out for me was the scale, as it is a relatively
large painting (2019 x 1867 mm) it grabs ones attention as the scale
allows for enhanced details even from a distance. The impression I
got from this painting was that it is calming and relaxing due to the
muted and darker colours, as well I liked how it does not have a
defined subject matter which then allows each person to think about
individual perspective of the painting. For instance I do not see
this painting as a place or an object, but rather that Mitchell
expressed her current mood and thoughts onto a canvas, in this
instance it seems like she was expressing a more concerned or gloomy
emotion, as the colours are toned down and more on the grey scale,
unlike her other paintings that have vivid colours.
Overall
I found particular interest in this painting because I favour
abstract art as it allows more freedom and expression of mind through
motion and marks hence Mitchell's paintings caught my attention as I
wanted to try out the process of creating paintings that have so many
layers of marks. I also thought It matched my theme as I was looking
for artwork that is minimal in defined subject matter, and can be
used as influence for my work of creating neutral backgrounds to
collage or draw shells over.
The
very main focus of this painting is the harmonious colours and
intense light that is created. The effect that Mitchell achieved in
this painting was all due to the slow process of layering the paint
colours in specific amounts, places and marks, hence making sure all
the colours complement each other in the end result. As Mitchell once
said about her work “What
excites me when I'm painting is what one colour does to another and
what they do to each other in terms of space and interaction.”(6)
When
looking at the painting from further away it appears more on the grey
scale. However whenever observed closer it is clear that Mitchell
used a lot of dark navy blue colours which in some areas appear
somewhat black toned. She complimented the blue by using hints of
golden brown paint which adds warmth compared to all the other cooler
colours, it also creates a lighter effect in certain areas, thus
providing areas of contrast. In some parts of the painting it was
also visible that Mitchell used red toned paints as an under layer
which she then layered with darker colours. On the top layers there
are only a few strokes of red marks remaining, these are finer
details that just add a hit of colour and help the golden and brown
colours add warmth in desired areas.
It
is also to be noted that the colours are very important in this
painting in terms of composition and focal point. As the main focal
point in “Number 12” should be the middle of the painting, as it
is where most of the dark colours are concentrated, hence it is the
initial area that stands out from the lighter outer edges of the
painting where Mitchell has used lighter grey, gold and white tones.
Having darker tones in the middle also adds depth to the painting as
there is a contrast between dark and light colours.
Below
is another image of “Number 12” only this time the image is from
the internet to show the colours in real detail, as it may be that
due to the dimmer lighting in the museum the camera does not catch
the light the same as it would in natural lighting. (7)
The
texture of this painting is rather smooth, although it does appear
more of a matte finish. It is a 2D surface, however the painting does
consist of a large amount oil paint layers.
There
are no definable shapes or lines remaining in the painting, this is
due to constant layering, which blurs out the lines and combines them
together. However I have found out that Mitchell would take a great
amount of time for the process of mark making. She would often build
up her media slower and more carefully, thinking about the placement
of marks, as this influences both colours and composition and how
well the overall result would be, hence visual observation was key. I
also noticed the more centred the marks are the more fine and clear
they are, with more defined flat paintbrush marks, whereas on the
outer edges the marks are larger and more blurred out. Mitchell also
did not paint in a certain direction as it is visible how paintbrush
marks overlap each other from various angles and directions.
Overall
Mitchell's work has grabbed my attention because of the way she
thought through each mark in her paintings to compose her piece, yet
her work seems so expressive and free flowing highlighting different
emotions and states of mind. I think I can look into her style and
technique more as her mark making and colour compositions could be
useful in creating expressive backgrounds for my images of shells to
be highlighted in, as I want to portray them in an unusual
environment in which they have no function or purpose, unlike the one
they originate from.
References
1)
Joan
Mitchell “Chord II”
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/mitchell-chord-ii-t12921
2)
Joan
Mitchell untitled work
http://www.artnet.com/usernet/awc/awc_workdetail.asp?aid=424260964&gid=424260964&cid=75384&wid=424342846&page=4
3)
Willem
de Kooning “Women Singing II”
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/kooning-women-singing-ii-t01178
4)
Franz
Kline “Meryon”
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/kline-meryon-t00926
5)
Wassily
Kandinsky
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/kandinsky-swinging-t02344
7)
Joan Mitchell “Number 12”
http://joanmitchellfoundation.org/work/artwork/cat/paintings/early-career-ny-1948-1958/number-12
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