Art essay

Relationships through Space and Line

(student’s name)

ART 100: Art Appreciation

Online

(date)

Final Essay

It could be said that at the core of every great work of art is the expression

of a relationship. This could be anything ranging from the relationship of two

subjects to the connection between shapes and lines. Two pieces at the Wichita

Art Museum illustrate the complexity of relationships best through balance, scale,

line and space. “Frank and Sheyla Lima” by Alex Katz and “Chess Game” by Will

Barnet utilize these principles of design and elements of form to narrate the

relationship between two subjects. While they have many things in common such

as their use of color to bring balance, it’s their use of space and how subjects

interact with each other and the audience that differentiate the pieces.

Alex Katz, an American artist born in the 1920s, created “Frank and

Sheyla Lima” in 1964 using oil on linen as his chosen medium. The piece depicts

a man and woman, facing one another but not directly looking at each other, in

front of a scene that seems to be a city-scape at night. When the painting was

donated to the Wichita Art Museum, it was incorrectly titled “Man and Woman in

City at Night”. Katz wrote to the museum, insisting on the painting’s true title. He

informed the museum that the man in his painting was a friend, Frank Lima, a

New York poet who shared a love for pop culture with Katz (Katz). This interest

greatly influenced Katz’s art style, as seen in his choices of flat, yet bold color in

large shapes which were inspired by advertisements and cartoons (Katz).

Using oil on canvas, Will Barnet painted “Chess Game” in 1973. The piece

depicts a woman, chin resting on her hand, playing a game of chess. A hand

reaches into frame opposite the woman, making their move in the game. Above

rests a cat, eyes focused forward on the viewer. Barnet described his inspiration

for art being rooted in his relationships with family and friends. These personal

connections became his subject matter and served to express his interest

expressing existence itself (Barnet). Both of these pieces rely on large areas of

flat color with bold lines connecting elements throughout the piece. What differs

is the space between subjects and their interaction with one another and the

audience.

First and foremost, Katz choice of proportion clearly shows what is most

important in the painting. This piece is zoomed in on the pair, cropping off

anything below their chests. The man in the piece takes up nearly two-thirds of

the canvas, leaving the woman to fill up the other third. To balance this, Katz

chose lighter colors for the woman, adorning her in a yellow top and beige blazer

while her counterpart is in a black sweater with a blue collared shirt peaking

through at his neck. The background was left in navy tones to emphasize the

woman.

In addition to color, balance and emphasis being important principles

incorporated in this work, line plays a huge role as well to establish their

relationship. However, these lines are not actually delineated in the painting. Katz

depicts the two looking towards each other, but only one appears to actually be

looking at the other. The man is gazing slightly downwards towards the woman,

yet she is depicted staring forward as if she’s looking past him.

For “Chess Game”, Barnet utilizes colors even flatter than Katz’s painting,

though the proportions of his subjects are not as large as those in “Frank and

Sheyla Lima”. His color choices also help bring balance to this piece. A bright

orange color was chosen for the sky outside, while olive greens, maroon and

black ground the piece and help the painting find balance. He does use a bright

green and white for the chess pieces, a lighter skin tone for the woman and two

small sections of yellow for the cat’s eyes. These elements and principals

emphasize important areas of the painting for viewers. The hand moving in from

outside the frame seems to be floating, as Barnet chose to nearly match the color

of the sleeve to the tree trunk it is crossing in front of.

One of the key differences between these pieces is their interaction with

the audience, or lack thereof. Katz’s two subjects are gazing at one another, or at

least in each other’s direction. Whereas Barnet allows one of his subjects to

break through the frame and directly gaze at the viewer. The cat in “Chess

Game”, with bold yellow eyes, gazes directly forward at anyone standing before

the painting. This distinct choice gives the painting an unsettling feeling with its

moody colors. In “Frank and Sheyla Lima”, the two subjects only interact with one

another, leaving any emotions it may evoke from the viewer to be its only

connection with the outside world.

Perhaps if Barnet’s cat had different eye colors, or wasn’t set so high

within the painting, it wouldn’t elicit such an eerie response. Or if Katz had let one

of his subjects gaze forward, into the viewer’s eyes, the painting wouldn’t feel as

if the viewer is eavesdropping on a private moment. But their deliberate choices

of color point towards their intentions. Katz creates a well-balanced piece that

lets the audience view what is probably a private conversation at a party. The

champagne glass in the man’s hand suggests that they are at an event. “Frank

and Sheyla Lima” appears to be more of a snapshot of someone’s life. It doesn’t

seem to hint at a deeper meaning, unless taking into account that the woman

doesn’t quite make eye contact with her counterpart. This could suggest a

disinterest in the man, a struggling relationship, or be the product of an

uninteresting conversation. Aside from the commentary on their relationship, it

feels as if Katz is only interested in depicting a quick glance of their lives, similar

to what a fellow party-goer would notice if they briefly glanced at the two.

Barnet’s aims seem to be similar to Katz, but the cat’s forward gaze brings

the viewer into the painting in a totally different way. It feels as if Barnet wants

the audience to become an active participant in his work, making them feel as if

they now exist in the world he’s depicted instead of our own. The other-worldly,

ethereal gaze of the cat makes the painting feel ominous and eerie. It’s as if

Barnet wants the audience to know that this black cat, a symbol of bad luck, is

aware of something they are not privy to.

Both artists accomplish their goals of displaying a relationship to the

audience, one being trapped within the painting, the other being with the artist

himself and the audience as well. Though Barnet’s offers a more complex

experience, as he directly breaks the fourth wall to bring the viewer into the

painting, Katz offers a unique snapshot of his subjects. Overall, Katz and Barnet

successfully used color to balance their works and proportion, space and

emphasis to develop a narrative about relationships within their paintings.

Bibliography

Barnet, Will. Chess Game. 1973. Oil on canvas. Wichita Art Museum.

Katz, Alex. Frank and Sheyla Lima. 1964. Oil on linen. Wichita Art Museum.

Image 1: Katz, Alex. Frank and Sheyla Lima. 1964. Oil on linen. Wichita Art Museum.

Image 2: Barnet, Will. Chess Game. 1973. Oil on canvas. Wichita Art Museum.

Image 3: Proof of attendance.

Bibliography