Analysing and Comparing a Set of Images
Anna Heard
Tutor: Matt Moseley
In this essay I am going to analyse a set of images, considering what they represent, how they are made and to what they refer. I am also going to discuss what I think they mean and any elements/ ideas they may have in common.
The set of images I have decided to analyse are Boccioni “Unique Forms of Continuity in Space” 1913 and Giacometti “La Foret” 1950.
The purpose of Boccioni’s “Unique Forms of Continuity in space” is to reflect society and culture. 1913 was the beginning of constructivism meaning simple geometric shapes were used in art. Artists aimed to portray the dominance of machines. Your attention is drawn to the movement of the legs, striding forward, representing power. Movement is shown from draping around the legs and the fact that the sculpture is smooth makes it look windswept. You can see that the sculpture has no arms or face but at the same time it is realistic. The dimensions are 111.44cm which maybe resembles the bulky machinery being used. The sculpture was made in plaster and wasn’t put in bronze until 1931.
At the end of the 19th century arts movement, Europe was less about industrialisation and more about craftsmanship. Modernity changed how people lived, art became more romantic and was no longer about Christian teaching. Art opened up early 20th century. Artists like Picasso and Cezanne were interpreted as shocking. I think Boccioni’s sculpture refers to modernism and how formalism was focused on geometry and technique and how artists like Eadweard Muybridge, worked on tracing movements of the body. Boccioni ignored the traditional sculpture techniques.
The meaning of “Unique Forms of Continuity in Space” is that the use of machinery dominated society. It shows this by the bulky structure and the movement in the sculpture.
The purpose of Giacometti “La Foret” is to reflect society. This was just after the end of WW2 when 72 million people died. Also 6.2 million people died from the holocaust. Your immediate attention is drawn to the fact that the sculptures are thin and fragile. You can see that they are naked making them vulnerable and exposed. They remind me of trees. Maybe this is why it is called “La Foret”, meaning The Forest. The dimensions are 57x61x49.5cm and the statues were modelled from clay instead of sculpted. Maybe done deliberately showing marks to show they were damaged.
By 1950 traditional sculpture methods had been replaced by the abstract teachings of the Bauhaus with the use of geometric shapes and exaggerated sculptures. Using these methods seemed. I think Giacometti’s “La Foret” refers to post WW2 when there were images of the holocaust everywhere. I think he was responding to the reality of poverty and despair during this time, especially with the amount of deaths from the holocaust.
When Giacometti made “La Foret” many people were devastated by the destruction of WW2 and also the Holocaust meaning people were living in poverty and despair. He shows this through the tall gangly figures which are misshapen.
Both of pieces of art are human like figures, although one is showing power and the other is portraying weakness. Also, both are abstract.
In conclusion, Boccioni portrayed the use of machinery by showing power and movement. This refers to modernism and how formalism was more about geometric shapes. Sculpture was about tracing the movements of the body. Giacometti’s “La Foret” shows the devastation of WW2. Abstract methods were used because of the teachings of the Bauhaus which, in my opinion, adds to the effect of devastation and portrays vulnerability post WW2.
Word count: 595
