Castle in the Sky
Jenna Genio
Article By Melanie Datu
This painting was by Jenna Genio, a 19-year-old artist who besides painting and drawing loves photography as well. Jenna did not name this painting but according to some people, who really look up to the talent of this young lady, the painting is about the castle in the sky. According to her blog, Jenna finds inspiration in her everyday life frustrations. She then channel her frustrations to a drawing spree that can turn into beautiful works of art.
Analyzing this painting, the unity and variety of the painting is somehow hard to grasp at first, because as you look at the painting, you will be distracted by different sorts of idea or representations like the skull, dragon and the girl sitting in what seems to be grass. However, as you study the painting closely you will notice that there is oneness in it. And for me that oneness would be the fantasy of the girl sitting in the painting is trying to arrive at. There is also variety in the painting because of the different colors that were used. The thickness and thinness of lines also prove that there is variation in this painting.
With regards to Balance, the painting feels heavy when you look at it because of the violet, orange, and red color mixture. The implied center of gravity or imaginary line is vague because the sky and the ground seem to be fighting each other for more space.
Moving on to emphasis and subordination, Jenna first and foremost wanted to emphasize the girl sitting on grass doing some form of meditation or thinking. She also emphasized the number of heads/faces in the sky and what seems to be an angel tied to a vine of fantasy. If Jenna wanted to emphasize certain parts of her painting, she also wanted to make certain parts of her painting less interesting. An example of this would be the unnoticeable two trees in the right side of the painting which she intentionally made lighter. The scale of the painting was vague because the size of the angel was too small for the standard size of the sitting girl. Other than that, the heads above and the vineyard carried by the angel are already proportional to some of the designs in the painting. The rhythm I recognized here is how Jenna mixed different colors and repeated a pattern to be able to produce a glum sky.
Using the hermeneutics approach, I think the painting means opening oneself into the world of the unknown or to the world of fantasy. This interpretation can be seen through the girl’s sitting position- seems like she is meditating- and the world that is projected in front of her. Concerning aesthetics, Jenna’s painting is beautiful in such a way that everytime you look at the picture, you will always see something new. Not only were the colors and artistic figures are beautiful but also the mystery or fantasy she placed into it. I have no idea what ideals Jenna live up to but when it comes to her paintings I noticed that the ideology of fantasy trying to mix in with reality is very consistent. Further, the illustration of the ground, sky, and fictional creatures in this painting are so powerful that it gives a hegemonic influence all over the painting.
This painting is so intriguing that it can be a subject of discourse. Many things can be discussed here including the implied belief of the artist, reality, and what the girl in the painting is trying to achieve or do. I don’t know but since the girl in the painting has red hair, and Jenna herself has red hair as well, maybe it’s safe to say that the girl she painted is a representation of herself and the world projected in the painting is the world she wants to arrive at.
If there is anything this painting is trying to defy, I think it is dialectics or the power of logic because apparently the world projected in this painting is not the world we are living in. However, if one defines dialectic to be the interplay of contradictory principles or opposing forces, then I think the dialectic of this painting is the presence of the sky and the ground battling each other for more space. With reference to other paintings of Jenna, her style always revolve around the creation of mysterious places and individuals. Rarely will you see in her paintings the actual reality being portrayed. I am not sure if one can write an extensive historiography of Jenna’s paintings because, as I mentioned earlier, Jenna does not dwell on reality but on fantasy. Historiography is still possible though if the writer will focus on the evolution of her Jenna’s fantasy world.
Humanities deal with culture and self expression. Apparently, this painting is not merely a work of art but also the extension of Jenna’s personality. Jenna outpours her innermost feelings through a painting and drawing spree. In this way, she not only releases her negative energies but she also feels prolific and productive.
Going back to this painting, one can consider it to be iconographic because of its metaphorical nature. For one, the castle in the sky can be a symbolism of a home and then the dragon for anger. This painting is clearly not what it seems, you have to look deeper to decipher its very essence. I think this painting intensified when Jenna incorporated a girl’s presence in the painting and how Jenna used red and black to divert the attention of her viewers from the projected fantasy to the girl’s reality. If Jenna didn’t play with these elements, this painting will be bland to the point of being almost boring.
It goes without saying that this painting contradicts almost every aspect of reality through Jenna’s use of dragon and fairy. Though this painting contradicts reality, I am not sure if it is trying to politicize something or if it can be in any way political at all. If this painting is not political then I think there is no way I can relate it to our economy because first of all, this painting is not about reality. Rather, it is about expressed fantasy.
This painting can be pedagogic in such a way that it will remind its audience to always make the practice or habit of taking a second look before doing any assumptions because clearly, this painting is not what it seems to be.
I chose this painting because it is open to so many subjective interpretations already that it doesn’t need to be accompanied by text anymore. Every time I look at this painting, I discover something new about the artist and myself as well.
Langit, Lupa, Impiyerno
Josef Luciano Dans
Article By Monica Eunice Santiago
In a church in Paete, Laguna are the two distinguished paintings of Josef Luciano Dans, one of the first painters in the Philippines. Entitled “Langit, Lupa, Impiyerno”, the painting can be found on the sacred walls of the church. It was said to be completed at around 1850, and since then, it has become a masterpiece of Dans.
Langit, Lupa, Impiyerno is a three-level painting illustrating Virgin Mary, the Holy Trinity, saints, the Seven Sacraments, and finally, a disturbing depiction of Hell. The thing about this painting is that it was not only done on a huge wall, but also in a church where there are priests who preach and people who want to hear something or feel something holy.
Despite the occurrence that the painting is not on the usual canvas, its sense of oneness is still very evident. The particular side of the wall on which it was placed just appears to be a big canvas provoking fear and motivation to do heavenly things. The two different scenarios were carefully differentiated. There was a certain element that distinguishes the Heaven painting and Hell painting. Obviously, Heaven was placed on the upper part and Hell was on the lower part, continuing to show the traditional belief that Heaven is beyond the skies.
In terms of weight, it is heavy, and its large and textured form makes it even heavier. The colors were antique-looking showing classicalness. There was a strong emphasis on the image in the middle, which can be assumed as Adam and Eve and basically, humanity. There was also an emphasis on the upper part: the serenity in heaven (stronger tones were used on this part). On the other hand, the lower part looks lighter and more blurred compared to the upper part. It was obviously made less catchy; however, it may still look very interesting since the images are alarming. The size is definitely not the standard; as mentioned, the work occupies the entire part of a wall inside the church. There is also an interesting proportion in the work of art. A horizontal division in the middle was made but the works on either side are of the same size. Finally, the pattern creates the imagery that there are many illustrated subjects in the painting. The artist also used the same style in painting the humans that some looked almost the same.
Proceeding to a more meaningful analysis of the painting, we go through the hermeneutical criticism of Langit, Lupa, Impiyerno. First of all, in the aesthetic level, the painting can absolutely catch attention with its classic color, peculiar form, and the images composing it. Its unique beauty and over-all look makes it a doubtless masterpiece.
In terms of Hegemony, there is no known state domination in the issue that was involved in the painting. However, there had been a Spaniard colonization and this was how the religion Catholicism emerged in the Philippines. Since then, the belief of Heaven and Hell has been an ideology of the Filipinos.
Evidently, the image portrays multiple scenarios in the believed heaven and hell. The sanctity of heaven was carefully exhibited on the upper part, while the horrors of hell were morbidly on the bottom. The opposition between these two conflicting forces was successfully shown on the work. The church-goers are the target audience, and it could be with this painting that heaven and hell may be clear to them.
Artist Josef Luciano Dans have most probably made the painting’s audience shiver subsequently with the impact and passion the painting exudes. Langit, Lupa, Impiyerno has a distinct style, including the excellent installation of his idea (inside the Catholic Church) and the “classic” tones used.
The symbols used were traditional: the huge monster, fires of hell, decapitating machines, crowded boats, man and woman, the cross, the praying people, clouds, and the Supreme beings. All of these are depictions of the exact hearsays and also practices on earth.
A single way to judge the painting is not decent, for it is comprised of various symbolisms and levels of appreciation and interpretation. Personally, among the sacred art that I’ve laid my eyes on, Langit, Lupa, Impiyerno created the biggest impact on me with its inexplicable way of intervening with people’s faith. Josef Luciano Dans made the church in Paete, Laguna complete with this outstanding mirror of our beliefs.
Guernica
Pablo Picasso
Article By Bernadette Faustine C. Balao
People might not be familiar with the term “Guernica”, but the painting certainly is one of the best known images of the 20th century.
There is an instant apprehension to the painting since it portrays images that are not considered aesthetically pleasing in any way, but the brutality, madness and sorrow depicted in this painting make it very interesting.
On April 27, 1937, a Spanish town called Guernica was awakened by explosions. Unbeknownst to the citizens of this small town, Guernica was chosen as the bombing practice site for Hitler’s forces.
Over a thousand civilians were wounded and killed.
When Pablo Picasso heard of the news, he had been struggling to find something to inspire him to paint the Spanish Pavilion Mural which he had been commissioned to do.
The brutality of the Guernica incident evoked both rage and passion in Picasso. The result: a strange-looking but highly symbolical painting.
The painting looks like a giant puzzle with mismatched pieces, a fact that can be attributed to Picasso’s cubist style.
The characters’ faces, all showing either shock or grief, are emphasized while the lower parts of their bodies are mostly subordinated.
The light shades are sharply contrasted by the darkness of the background.
Although the middle of the painting can be considered its “heaviest” part, the viewer’s eyes almost automatically turn to the left since all the figures are looking towards this direction. The weight seems to shift from the middle to the left and the left side also appears to be heavier than the right since there are more figures, and larger ones at that, on the painting’s left side. But this is countered by the dark tone employed on the right side.
The cubist features of the painting make it appear united and varied both at the same time.
The distorted forms provide unity and consistency to the painting, but the “mismatching” of the forms give the painting a sense of variety.
The “madness” gives the painting a semblance of oneness but at the same time, this madness also gives it an impression of diversity.
Many say that the Guernica is nothing but a “madman’s dream”, a madman’s view of the world.
Undecipherable. Illogical. Weird.
But in reality, it is simply a reflection of the madness, the horror and the cruelty of war. The madness shown in Guernica is real.
And it took one man’s “madness” to show us just that.
