sa ou pa konnen pi gran pase ou: April 2011

Stanton Macdonald-Wright, “Synchromy is to color what symphony is to sound.”

Jackie Fedor April 7, 2011
Art 140 Wadsworth Antheneum Assignment

Artist: Stanton Macdonald-Wright, American, 1890-1973
Painting: American Synchromy No. 1, c. 1919, Oil on Canvas

Stanton Macdonald-Wright was an American artist who lived in California which influenced his freedom of expression through his artwork. In 1907 he moved to Paris where he met Morgan Russell, and together they established a new movement in the modern art world. This movement was developed in 1912 and was called Synchromy; which focuses on using color to express form (Levin, Gail). They created their technique by combing cubism and Paul Cezanne’s style and focusing on how color forms the structure of paintings. They were also influenced by their teacher, Ernest Percyval Tudor-Hart (1873-1954), who taught them color theory through his own “musical system of color harmony”(Levin, Gail). Synchromy stresses the rhythms of color which compose of abstract shapes and human figures. Macdonald-Wright and Russell’s Synchromy movement is noted as one of the earliest forms of modernism in the early 20th century (Ehrlich, Susan). They compared this modern art form to a musical symphony. It has influenced many artists like Thomas Hart Benton who later taught Jack Pollock (Goodale, Gloria). Synchromism relates an artist’s use of color to a musician’s combination of musical chords, both creating a harmony of rhythm and expression.
After several years of pursuing the art of Synchromy together in Paris, it soon came to an end when Macdonald-Wright and Russell went their separate ways due to the First World War (Moss, Toby C). Macdonald-Wright returned to the United States with fresh ideas based off his movement that become highly known in New York in some of his finest paintings (Agee, William C). Unfortunately when he moved back home to California, Synchromy slowly faded from the modern world since color became the essence of the art experience. “Macdonald-Wright and Russell were two among a number of artists in the early 20th century who participated in the liberation of color and its emergence as a full and independent medium of expression”(Agee, William C). Every artist has a unique style and Stanton Macdonald-Wright used color to determine the core and character of his paintings. Throughout most of his life he drifted away from Synchromism; however, after the death of Morgan Russell in 1953, he went back to focus his paintings on the movement that they started together (Levin, Gail).
American Synchromy No. 1 was one of Stanton Macdonald-Wright’s earliest paintings of Synchromies. It was painted in 1919 with a musical rhythm in mind; the background colors seem to create the image. He uses warm colors: yellow, orange, and red, to highlight the outer borders of the male figure’s body. He uses cool colors: blue, green, and purple, to show the distinction of his muscular form. The human figure seems feminine the way it is posed, but after looking at it for a while you notice that it’s definitely a male because of his huge muscular arms and flat pectoral area. Below the left arm there is a diagonal line of white that leads to above the right leg which portrays the color in this painting to be split in half. The upper body has strong features expressed by dark shades of red and blue in his face and arms. His face looks tired and sleepy as though he just woke up, having an early morning stretch. The orange, green, and purple colors distinguish the sculpt of his arm muscles. The lower body has less color in the legs but seems to have a blend of purple, yellow, red, green, and blue on his right thigh that looks like a cloth or a sheet that is about to slip off the front of his knee. Macdonald-Wright uses the entire color wheel in this painting which gives it an exciting and alluring quality.
When I noticed the year of this painting I thought it was way before it’s time. It appeared to me that it would be from the late 1960s; and it just so happens that many years after synchromy had been forgotten, it reappeared in 1965 from obscurity and people were recognizing it for its visual enhancement. (Agee, William C). This particular painting combines contemporary techniques using bright colors and sharp cubist edges with a figure that looks like a sculpture of something Michelangelo would do. Sure enough, according to (Levin, Gail), “the compositions of his earlier Synchromies were based on the human figure and often used the contrapposto pose of Michelangelo’s sculpture as a major design element”. This painting is a great example of what Synchromy is all about and how he really uses color to express form. American Synphomy No. 1 was just the beginning of many abstract paintings that emerged from two men that enjoyed focusing on color as the core of the artwork.
At the Wadsworth on the plaque next to the painting there was a quote by Macdonald-Wright, “Synchromy is to color what symphony is to sound.” In American Synphomy No. 1 he composes a series of brilliant colors that collaborate with the background through the entire sculpture of the man. There is an illusion of depth in the outline of his body. The form is defined more with shading than line; he is almost transparent but the combination of color creates a dimensional sense that he is almost popping out at you. The colors in the background: red, green, purple and blue are not only hiding behind him and forming the curves of his body they are also making him stand out. However, I can’t make up my mind whether he is falling into the pool of color behind him or emerging from it. This painting makes you think and if you stare at it for a long time it becomes delusional, but then you realize it’s connected by all the different colors.
This is a very abstract piece with a high renaissance figure in it and a modern feel to it. According to (Agee, William C), it was Morgan Russell’s idea that paintings could be created based on sculptural form interpreted two-dimensionally through a knowledge of color properties. There is definitely an underlying rhythm between the colors and geometric structure to the composition; the colors make up the abstract shapes.
References

Agee, William C. "Color, Myth, and Music Chronicle of Higher Education". 47. 29 (2002), 23, http://0-web.ebscohost.com.www.consuls.org/ehost/detail?sid=e5af3b18-f191-4684-abc3-68db4177f2d6%40sessionmgr13&vid=1&hid=11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=4256118. (accessed April 6, 2011).

Ehrlich, Susan. "Independent Visions Arts & Antiques". 29. 8 (2006), 68-75, http://0-web.ebscohost.com.www.consuls.org/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=11&sid=0a6215ce-e56c-49c9-844a5d34122b04b5%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=22267639. (accessed April 6, 2011).

Goodale, Gloria. "Artist who explored the power of color. Christian Science Monitor". 93. 180 (2001), 19, http://0web.ebscohost.com.www.consuls.org/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=25&sid=1f35336b -e403-4df2bc2a860d21e60384%40sessionmgr14&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=4982287. (accessed April 6, 2011).

Levin, Gail. "Synchromism- Oxford Art Online." http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.www.consuls.org/subscriber/article/grove/art/T082779 (accessed April 6, 2011).

Moss, Toby C.. "Stanton Macdonald-Wright (1890-1973)." 2001.http://www.tobeycmossgallery.com/macdonald_wright_bio.html (accessed April 6, 2011).

sa ou pa konnen pi gran pase ou

Monday, April 11, 2011

song of the day

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

an artist who makes color look like a symphony

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