Neidy Godinez, Assignment 2

For this assignment, I decided to use the work of Paul Morrison for inspiration. Morrison is notorious for his quasi-scientific fascination with nature, which is often combined with a cartoon-like or illustrative interpretation. 

The serial nature of his paintings is expressed in the uniform black and white use of paint and the recurrence of individual plant motifs that he presents under a variety of different aspects; this is, essentially, what characterizes Morrison’s work.

Repetition Composition

Even though my repetition composition is relatively chaotic, I feel it successfully channels the spirit of Morrison’s paintings. Morrison is best known for his large monochromatic botanical paintings that are both familiar and foreign: familiar because his subjects (trees, plants, weeds, etc.) are recognizable, and foreign because his subjects do not depict an object in any sort of tangible, realistic form. The flower depicted in my composition embodies a similar unfamiliarity by transforming a mere flower into something that is threatening due to its immense size, lack of color and dreamy approach.

 In addition, the composition contains several types of repeating patterns: first, in the flower petals, which take on the shape of an eyeball, and second, in the broken glass that provides the composition with a circular frame. This makes my work an elaborate repetition composition.

Movement Composition

By incorporating Morrison’s extremely simplified five-petal flower heads into one of my compositions, I was capable of creating movement – movement in which the spectator’s eye moves from one end of the composition to the opposite end of the composition. The abstract, inconsistent layering of the flowers adds profundity to the composition. 

Some may argue that the amalgamation of the honeycomb pattern muddles the composition; however, I would beg to differ. Reminiscent of the layered flower heads, the honeycomb allots the composition with more depth and complexity. Moreover, it presents the inventive use of another design principle: perception. In this spirit, the honeycomb is the rear wall, the flowers are the middle wall, and the baby in the forefront consumes the first wall. In this way, the spectator’s eye moves from one end of the composition to the other end of the composition and from one wall to another wall. In doing so, I feel that this piece illustrates a Movement Composition.

Emphasis and Economy Composition

Even though this composition is a decent example of emphasis and economy, I must admit, there is nothing special about it. In centering the daffodil, the promise of a complex end product ceases to exist. Additionally, the composition is fixed in a two-dimensional world, stimulating no interest or enthusiasm. Even though I was well aware of this, I thought that good craftsmanship would negate the possibility of this happening, but I was mistaken. Nonetheless, I feel it’s a good portrayal of Morrison’s inventive use of daffodils.

Balance Composition

Akin to my emphasis and economy composition, I feel that my balance composition isn’t particularly astonishing; it is two-dimensional and centered. However, the use of the spider web allows the composition to be more aesthetically pleasing, given that it takes on a somewhat abstract form and is not located smack down in the middle.

Had this composition been less symmetrical and altered in a way that suggests informal or asymmetrical balance, this composition would have been more casual, complex and dynamic.