Claire Fahys’s ‘Over There’ Essay

Fahys’s work ‘over there’ is part of her depiction for the new metropolis, a series of work portraying the overcrowded, polluted urban life. The work is representational of urbanization and the dehumanized materialism of the modern society. The composition is a striking combination of bold color strokes against a black and white backdrop. Bright red, orange and streaks of highlighter green are combined with black, white and shades of grey to achieve a distinguished tonality of color for the frame. A three dimensional perception is created with the contour lines of the buildings vanishing in perspective. The artist has used mixed media to create a unique effect on cardboard. The artwork conveys a very gloomy image and represents chaos and destruction in the very composition or depiction. The buildings are distorted at unruly angles and the general composition is deliberately disorderly conveying the intended message to the viewer. The main content is the confusion and the chaos surrounding the urban landscape. The work portrays a concrete jungle in contortion posing an analogy to the mechanical unearthly life pattern of the urban society. The subject matter is urbanism; gigantic cities, towering skyscrapers and expansion of human population. Cities and vertical expansions were once considered to create a communal environment however â€Å"these giant cities that aim at developing human relationships do have a dehumanized aspect. In the transition from the old real world to the new virtual world, human beings will make the scaring experience of their smallness relative to the mass† (‘Claire Fahys and the new Metropolis’, n . d) . Art here is used as a convincing medium of communication to convey a message, on the fearful aspect of dehumanization, to the community. Iman Maleki’s ‘Memory of that house’ Image from http://imanmaleki. com/en/Galery/wish. htm Iman Maleki is a contemporary realist artist. The image chosen here does not fit into the conventional sense of art, as it looks more like a photograph than a work of traditional art. The image is a three dimensional work of art with depth, perspective and an interesting play of light and shade. The medium used is oil on canvas. The various objects and forms are combined creatively rendering a well balanced organized outlook to the composition. The texture is soft and natural. The reflection of light on the wall is captured well. The openness of the house and its relationship to the various elements of nature represented in the work is conveyed clearly through an objective rendering of the sky, the greenery and the building itself. The woman portrayed is seemingly well absorbed in world of her own. The frame rekindles memories of a house with the many remembrances associated with it. The work has the effect of transporting the viewer to another plane of imagination, to another space altogether; a space that comes refreshingly alive in memory. The rendering of the brick, cement mortar, the weather marks on the brick and cement mortar, the woman in her traditional clothing, the exposed part of her skin and every other element is captured to the finest detail. The image is objective and is representational of the house that is depicted in the framework. The main subject matter is the house itself detailed brick by brick and fond memories of that house conveyed visually. The colors used are soft, subtle and natural. References Claire Fahys and the new Metropolis, n . d. www. thefrenchartstudio. com. 26 July 2009