Visual Analysis Of Cross Road By Irving Norman
A110 Fall 2014 -‐ Museum Paper Nichole Smith This paper is an analysis of an American artist named Irving Norman. His oil on canvas composition is called “Cross…road”. This paper will analyze the visual, stylistic, and historical elements to the painting. Norman made all of his pieces great sizes, particularly to increase the meaning and subject of his compositions. Cross…Road stands in vertical position. At the bottom of the composition there is a sign in bold red letters that reads “Tension
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? Ipirin!!”. There is a man above the question mark with an expression of lossless hope. At the top of the painting you can see an intersection of the two roads, they form a cross underneath the people are in the circular dome like restaurant.
The use of line in this composition cause you to see the towers that seem to resemble skyscrapers on the left and right as extremely steep. To me it seems as though Norman uses use of line to create the separation between social classes in the way he creates a towering steep distance between the people in the skyscrapers and the people in the buildings below. The use of triangles and arrow shapes, also elevators add to a cramped city urban lifestyle. Form is very evident as Norman uses the arrow homes to point upward towards the skyscrapers above.
The elevators are a long rectangular shape connecting to circular restaurants with a dome type oval shape placed …show more content…
in the middle. The rectangular box cars that make up the busy roads, look like a traffic jam going from the bay area to San Francisco.
The many colors that make up the rectangular car like boxes on the road captivate the visual eye. Greens, blues, dark grays, reds, and browns crowd the road.
A highlighted elevator colored in bright red is something you can’t
miss along with the bright red & black flames atop the arrow city buildings. The oil paint texture of the painting makes the painting look smooth and very detailed. There is no bumps or ruff on the surface of the painting. In the right corner the lighting is brighter as though it is saying there is hope in the distance.
Norman was born into poverty in the town of Vilnius, Poland in 1906. Norman fled to New York in 1923 because of the German invasion. He also lived in Los Angeles and Half Moon Bay of California. He went to school at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, he also studied at the Art Students League in New York. He has traveled to
many places in his lifetime I believe that these explorations and travels have contributed to his art because you can see it expressed in his thought of the human beings portrayed in the composition. Part of his life experience was contributed to fighting in the Spanish Civil War. This experience contributed to his work. In Norman’s art compositions he displays a strong messages of political emphasis and humanity. He focuses on human behavior, a lot is contributed from being surrounded by communism in his youth, his contributions to the Spanish War, and the urban cultures he experienced in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. He also displays deep messages in his work of spirituality. In the book, ‘Dark Metropolis’ it says, “Irving Norman’s response to events in Spain was at once similar and different from those of his contemporaries. Unlike most of the painters who treated the subject, he knew that brutal conflict firsthand; his painted reminiscences have a nightmarish horror that is equal to, or more forceful than any of his contemporaries. The recollections were vivid, and often horrifying.” (Norman and Duncan 45) In Norman’s painting “Cross…Road” you can see were he hints at humanity being treated poorly. when many people are suffering while the people high above are partying. Norman shows how
many people in the deep urban crowded city are under-‐going pain and distress while the very select few are dining and enjoying a pleasant life. The art piece employs socialism, perhaps because of Norman’s experiences in his life.
What I see in Norman’s art work, “Cross…Road” is an economy where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. I’ve heard stories of how in 3rd world countries where many people are living in slums, dying from diseases, and are in misery when the government officials are living very wealthy, have the best medical care and schooling. This piece of art makes me think internally about the world I live in today.
Bibliography
Norman, Irving and Duncan, Michael
Dark Metropolis: Irving Norman’s Social Surrealism; 2006 Irving Norman Trust pg. 45
? Ipirin!!”. There is a man above the question mark with an expression of lossless hope. At the top of the painting you can see an intersection of the two roads, they form a cross underneath the people are in the circular dome like restaurant.
The use of line in this composition cause you to see the towers that seem to resemble skyscrapers on the left and right as extremely steep. To me it seems as though Norman uses use of line to create the separation between social classes in the way he creates a towering steep distance between the people in the skyscrapers and the people in the buildings below. The use of triangles and arrow shapes, also elevators add to a cramped city urban lifestyle. Form is very evident as Norman uses the arrow homes to point upward towards the skyscrapers above.
The elevators are a long rectangular shape connecting to circular restaurants with a dome type oval shape placed …show more content…
in the middle. The rectangular box cars that make up the busy roads, look like a traffic jam going from the bay area to San Francisco.
The many colors that make up the rectangular car like boxes on the road captivate the visual eye. Greens, blues, dark grays, reds, and browns crowd the road.
A highlighted elevator colored in bright red is something you can’t
miss along with the bright red & black flames atop the arrow city buildings. The oil paint texture of the painting makes the painting look smooth and very detailed. There is no bumps or ruff on the surface of the painting. In the right corner the lighting is brighter as though it is saying there is hope in the distance.
Norman was born into poverty in the town of Vilnius, Poland in 1906. Norman fled to New York in 1923 because of the German invasion. He also lived in Los Angeles and Half Moon Bay of California. He went to school at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, he also studied at the Art Students League in New York. He has traveled to
many places in his lifetime I believe that these explorations and travels have contributed to his art because you can see it expressed in his thought of the human beings portrayed in the composition. Part of his life experience was contributed to fighting in the Spanish Civil War. This experience contributed to his work. In Norman’s art compositions he displays a strong messages of political emphasis and humanity. He focuses on human behavior, a lot is contributed from being surrounded by communism in his youth, his contributions to the Spanish War, and the urban cultures he experienced in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. He also displays deep messages in his work of spirituality. In the book, ‘Dark Metropolis’ it says, “Irving Norman’s response to events in Spain was at once similar and different from those of his contemporaries. Unlike most of the painters who treated the subject, he knew that brutal conflict firsthand; his painted reminiscences have a nightmarish horror that is equal to, or more forceful than any of his contemporaries. The recollections were vivid, and often horrifying.” (Norman and Duncan 45) In Norman’s painting “Cross…Road” you can see were he hints at humanity being treated poorly. when many people are suffering while the people high above are partying. Norman shows how
many people in the deep urban crowded city are under-‐going pain and distress while the very select few are dining and enjoying a pleasant life. The art piece employs socialism, perhaps because of Norman’s experiences in his life.
What I see in Norman’s art work, “Cross…Road” is an economy where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. I’ve heard stories of how in 3rd world countries where many people are living in slums, dying from diseases, and are in misery when the government officials are living very wealthy, have the best medical care and schooling. This piece of art makes me think internally about the world I live in today.
Bibliography
Norman, Irving and Duncan, Michael
Dark Metropolis: Irving Norman’s Social Surrealism; 2006 Irving Norman Trust pg. 45