Joan Eardley - Social Realist, Neo-Romantic or Abstract Expressionist? :: Visual Arts Paintings Art

Joan Eardley - Social Realist, Neo-Romantic or Abstract Expressionist? In asking others[1] on their opinions of Joan Eardley the initial answer was usually the same; that generally Joan Eardley’s works are concocted in a realist style. Though, each of my sources, after some thought and discussion, changed their minds during the course of the debate. However, I will attempt to define Eardley’s work through personal opinion and analysis in the following essay and will hopefully finish with a fuller understanding and a more sound opinion of her work. There are very few published works on Eardley and therefore, limited ideas in print. This has proved a great advantage in the answering of this question since my primary inspiration (evidently this should always be the case) has been solely the works themselves. In addressing the definitions of the terms in question, I came to the conclusion that Eardley did in fact employ a little of each genre in her paintings. Social Realism aims for the, â€Å"...truthful, historically concrete portrayal of reality in its revolutionary development...† It also shows â€Å"idealised representations of heroic workers and soldiers, in a naturalistic style.†[2] In considering the latter part of this definition, it seems fitting to refer to Eardley’s ‘The Mixer Men’ of 1944 [Plate 1]. This painting was inspired as a result of her job as a carpenter’s assistant. The piece is full of gritty realism and is truthful in the sense that Eardley painted them through direct human contact. She slaps on the canvas a vision of how she sees these men which is in this case from behind the predominant figure. This viewpoint in reminiscent of Degas’ ‘keyhole’ effect and possibly reflects her interest in the style and composition of this impressionistic artist. This notion of personal and human contact was very important for Eardley throughout her career. She made clear that she thought the story behind her sitter was just as important as the final outcome. The fact that she was painting real pictures of real people is a key factor when looking at her paintings. She did not abide by what was thought to be socially acceptable at the time. A prime example of this was her painting of friend, Angus Neil, entitled, ‘Sleeping Nude’ of 1954-5. [Plate 2] This piece was shown at the annual exhibition of the Glasgow institute in 1955 and caused huge uproar. The very idea of a woman painting a male nude, and depicting him so blatantly and gaunt, was deemed unacceptable. The painting itself tells no lies and reflects no flattery on the sitter. The brushstrokes are reminiscent of Van Gogh and in the same way, express Eardley’s mentality at the

Essay: “to the Young Women of Malolos”

Essay: â€Å"To the Young Women of Malolos† by Dr. Jose Rizal The issues tackled in the writing of Rizal entitled â€Å"The Young Women of Malolos† are the inequality between men and women, slavery done by the Spaniards because of ignorance, fraud religious beliefs brought by the friars, the role of mothers in the family, tyranny of some because of the cowardice and negligence on the part of others, unreligious acts of the friars towards the Filipinos, education not given to other Filipinos by the Spaniards, and lastly, the abuse of the Spaniards because of the hospitality of the Filipinos.Rizal’s letter to the Malolos young women is his way of recognition for them as brave Filipinas who are no longer blinded by the fraud religious beliefs brought by the friars. Under his letter he mentioned about our own freedom as individual human beings that we must have our own judgment of what is right and wrong. As a young lady, soon to be a mother of her sons and daughters would set as an example to her children. As the saying goes, a fruit would grow the same as of its tree. Women are fragile and can be easily influenced because of ignorance and lacked of knowledge of her rights.The friars took advantage of the kindness and meekness of this youth and brag about it with its fellow Spaniards. If only the Filipinas were like the women of Spartan who have power over their men, maybe no one would dare to touched or harassed a woman. Rizal wanted to make his people open their eyes and to avoid ignorance of freedom. Ignorance is the cause of slavery during their time and this is what we must not let to happen again. He did not want its people to live without a religious belief but he just wants them apprehend not to be deceived by the exploitations done by the friars under their robes.The teachings made must be put into action not just in words. â€Å"To the Women of Malolos† centers around five salient points (Zaide &Zaide, 1999): First, Filipino m others should teach their children love of God, country and fellowmen. Second, Filipino mothers should be glad and honored, like Spartan mothers, to offer their sons in defense of their country. Third, Filipino women should know how to protect their dignity and honor. Lastly, Filipino women should educate themselves aside from retaining their good racial values.Faith is not merely reciting prayers and wearing religious pictures. It is living the real Christian way with good morals and manners. In recent times, it seems that these qualities are gradually lost in the way Filipino women conduct themselves. There are oftentimes where mothers forget their roles in rearing their children because of the overriding idea of having to earn for the family to supplement their husband’s income. Although there is nothing negative about working hard for the welfare of the family, there must always be balance in the way people go through life.Failure in the home cannot be compensated for by any amount of wealth or fame. Rizal stipulates a number of important points in this portion of his letter to the young women of Malolos. The central idea here, however, is that whatever a mother shows to her children is what the children will become also. If the mother is always kissing the hand of the friars in submission, then her children will grow up to be sycophants and mindless fools who do nothing but do as they are told, even if the very nature of the task would violate their rights as individuals.In this writing of Rizal, it is obvious that his ultimate desire is to have women the same opportunity men received in terms of education. During those days young girls was not sent to school because of the universal notion that they would soon be only taken as wives and stay only at home with the children. But Rizal emphasizes on freedom of thought and right for education that both girls and boys should have. He had also shown to this letter all about that Spaniards friars.He cite d, â€Å"God gave each individual reason and a will of his or her own to distinguish the just from the unjust; all were born without shackles and free, and nobody has a right to subjugate the will and the spirit of another. † We are all born equal, naked and without bonds. God did not create man to be a slave of others. A man who does not think for himself and allowed him to be guided by the thought of another is like the beast led by a halter. God give us intelligence that we may use against this lavery of others. We must be dignified, have faith on him and work together as one. Citations: http://www. oppapers. com/essays/Young-Women-Of-Malolos/389462 http://bookstove. com/book-talk/to-the-young-women-of-malolos-concise-summary-and-critical-analysis/ http://www. mb. com. ph/articles/235667/rizal-to-my-young-countrywomen-malolos http://www. studymode. com/essays/Young-Women-Of-Malolos-389462. html? topic http://www. studymode. com/essays/To-The-Young-Women-Of-Malolos-1099089. html? topic

American History David Walker and his Appeal to The...

David Walker and His Appeal â€Å"The lord shall raise-up coloured historians in succeeding generations, to present the crimes of this nation to the then gazing world.† David Walker was born in the confines of white America, but his vision expanded far beyond those limits. His view reached deep into the future of black people. From 1829 until his death in 1830, David Walker was the most controversial, and most admired black person in America. Walker believed in all manner of social relations in that self-reliance was most preferable rather than dependence on others. He felt that it is essential to self-determination. Walker argued that freedom was the highest human right ordained by God, in that African people should raise their voice in†¦show more content†¦David Walker’s Appeal impacted everyone lives some kind of way in this time. His Appeal addressed ten major topics (Turner) and it consisted of four articles (Sidbury). One of the topics addressed is the extreme degradation of Afric an (black) people, especially those living in the United States. Another topic he addressed was the judgment God would bring on the white American people unless they repent and gave up their unjust ways. He also goes on to talk about how black people should face their own problem in their oppression, and that they should end the problem with resistance. Walker expressed that black needed to unify between the free and captive populations throughout the world. He was the first to clearly publicize a call for Pan-African solidarity. He stressed that they needed to resist American Colonization Society in order to end the country of its free black population. Walker believed gaining as much education as possible could be used as a weapon in the struggle. He also believed that a new society of peace could be formed it white America gave up its hostile ways, particularly dealing with racism and greed. He felt there was a need for a Protestant Christian religion to support the struggle for justice among black people. David Walker also said that possibility of him being put in prison or killed was very likely due to the Appeal. He mentioned his sense of unity with his brothers and sisters numerous times in the Appeal