Surrealistic Artists

Yves Tanguy was born in Paris on January 5, 1900. Originally a Cadet in the French Merchant Navy, Tanguy was first inspired by a painting of Giorgio de Chirico. Without any formal training, Tanguy attempted to paint. In 1924 his friend pervert introduced to him to a small circle of surreal artists. In 1927 he held his first exhibition where his piece “Mama, Papa is Wounded!” was showcased. He had married, Kay Sage, who was also a surrealist painter. This caused him to move to America. He suffered from a stroke and passed away in 1955, “Imaginary Numbers” was his last painting. Although he was never as famous as Salvador Dali during his time, he was a big inspiration for the future generations.

Oleg Shuplyak, born 1967in the Ukraine. He studied architecture, but later became a surrealist oil painter. His images are famous for their illusion affect. Although there was minimal information about his personal life, there was a lot of praise about his strategically planned paintings. His paintings were all sceneries in nature but the objects made up faces of people like Shakespeare and Van Gogh. His hidden image of Darwin is a personal favorite.

Artist’s Name: Yves Tanguy

Title: Indefinite Divisibility

Date: 1942

Description: Objects making a tower, and casting a shadow. The background is a simple fade of white into blue. In the front right there is what looks like a catapult and water.

Analysis: This piece is asymmetrical. There is more going on vertically on the right hand side and more going on horizontally of the left. There is a good usage of tools and shadowing, making it look very realistic. The colors are rather bland and could be a little bolder.

Interpretation: At first this painting looks like a bunch of random objects on a canvas. But when you take a deeper look you can see much more. It looks as if someone is looking for a way out and is thinking of jumping into the water for freedom.

Judgment: All in all, I am not a great fan of Yves Tanguy. I do not understand why he is famous because although his paintings are surreal it is very difficult to find a deeper meaning. I may have to see more paintings of his to make a clear of judgement but I really did not like the work I saw so far.

 

Artist’s Name: Oleg Shuplyak

Title: Darwin

Date: 2008

Description: a face made from trees and a nature landscape, also have a lady talking to a cloaked man.

Analysis: The landscape is very beautiful but the face it creates is so much better. The woman on the side looks very peculiar and the cloak man makes the image a little eerie.

Interpretation: The illusion of Darwin’s face gives depth to who he was. He wasn’t someone you can read off the bat, he was someone you had to really look into.

Judgment: I really like this piece. I think it was very insightful and creative of Shuplyak to create such an illusion. I do wish I knew more about Darwin, because I feel that the woman and cloaked man have a lot of hidden significance.

Both of these artists have different styles. Tanguy uses objects to create a surreal image that doesn’t quite make sense until you analyze the image in depth. Shuplyak’s work tells more of a story, his scenery and hidden images make the mind wander. Both artists are painters and use surrealism in their own ways. While Tanguy was an inspiration for new generations, Shuplyak is a lot more modern. Tanguy’s color palette is very uniform through his work as is Shulpyak. They both use warmer tones and done really use anything bold. Their images blend well and make a statement to their audience.