Pablo Picasso, The Old Guitarist, 1903
Pablo Picasso, The Tragedy, 1903
The Spanish painter, Pablo Picasso, is someone I assume you all know. Both of these pieces are from Picasso's Blue Period, which was pre-Cubism, and they are so named because of the abundant use of that hue. The blue color palette alone begins to create associations to sad, calm or somber emotions. Color should certainly be an important consideration in all of your projects. The composition also adds to the emotional effect. Notice the poses of the figures, how the bodies are folding in on themselves and no one is looking out at the viewer. This also works to create that somber, withdrawn mood.
Next we have August Rodin's Sorrow from the 1880's. He was a French sculptor from the 19th century. You may know him for one of his more famous works - The Thinker. Sorrow is roughly life size and all about the experssion and pose of the head. We don't even need the rest of the body to understand what's going on here, so think about what is essential to your idea and focus there.
Finally, this is Elizabeth Catlett's The Torture of Mothers from 1970. She was an African American printmaker and sculptor whose work dealt predominately with African American themes and individuals. The placement of the child is within the mind of the mother and I think that composition is interesting because it raises a lot of questions in me. Is the child dead or badly hurt? Is this a memory for the mother or something that she fears could happen in future? All of those key parts, along with the title create a very unified emotional impact.
OK, now I realize that all of these pieces are rather heavy, but you needn't restrict yourselves to this. If you find yourself struggling a bit, here's a list of emotions to help get you going...
Love
Joy
Hope
Peaceful
Calm
Exuberance
Sadness/Sorrow
Fear
Depression
Anger
Hate
Jelousy
and......whatever else you may come up with. :)
Ms. D.
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