William Wall vs Franz Kline

House and Farm on the Allegheny River (1863), William C. Wall

Note: this image of the painting does not accurately reflect the painting's true colors. (I couldn't find an online image that did.)

This painting drew my eye because it seemed very relaxing to look at. This is because all of the movement represented is slow--you can almost feel the boats drifting down the river. They do so in such a calm way that there is no wake from any of their boats or paddles. The cattle stand in the water, watching things go by. The colors are pleasant, soft, with lots of blues and greens. The river, which leads to the vanishing point behind the trees, directs your gaze to the house and farm by wrapping around it. The boats on the river are all parallel to the bank. There is no conflict. The fallen tree and rocks on the bank opposite the farmhouse point at the farm, and the agricultural fields make lines that frame the house. The colors are rich, and the detail is tremendously fine. Standing in front of the painting, I noticed that every blade of grass and flower was painstakingly painted. The muscles in the cattle are contoured, and minute details make up the farmhouse porch. Colors are reflected across the canvas, using the river to reflect the sky and the two banks to reflect each other--creating a sense of balance.

Everything in this painting is set up to trick the human visual system into sensing depth. This is achieved through the vanishing point and the way objects farther off seem smaller than those meant to be closer (the cattle are almost as large as the house and the tree in the foreground is larger than the hills in the background, though we know that none of this is possible).

Siegried (1958), Franz Kline

This painting contrasts with Wall's in it's inherent violence. To me, it seems like a storm because of its rough edges, diagonal lines (which meet 1/3 from the top of the painting), and the clashing occurring between top and bottom. Where this clashing occurs, some grey exists. Grey also exists near the bottom where it cuts through the black mass that feels as if it's moving upwards. He uses only black and white and grey. It looks as if the canvas was painted white, then black was painted over, and then white areas were painted over that while the black paint was still wet so it could be mixed and create the grey areas. Balance is created through the use of solid areas and chaotically mixed areas.

This painting, and others like it, may reflect the possibility of an "inner display," because while we are only viewing shapes and forms, our minds seem to fill in blanks (that may or may not have been intended to be there). It is this 'filling in' that creates the feeling of a storm for me. Perhaps due to my own "politics of location," I see an ocean and winds and rain clashing with each other (I'm from a coastal town).

Both paintings make use of the rule of thirds, and diagonal lines converging at a point. They each also show clear balance between forms. The stark black/white/grey of Siegfried, however, contrasts with the mellow, happy color palate of House and Farm on the Allegheny River. So, too, does the feeling of motion--in the first painting, the motion is calm, slow; in the second, it is fast, violent, and chaotic.

I did not find that looking first at Wall's painting influenced the way I saw Kline's. However, when going from Kline to Wall, I felt that I couldn't believe the calm scene in front of me--that rural life that's placed so close to wilderness is never that peaceful, and that hard work and pain are its hallmarks. Viewing the pieces in this direction made Wall's piece feel phony in that regard.

Critical Response to House and Farm on the Allegheny River (1863), William C. Wall:

Description: A bend in the Allegheny River wraps around a bank. On the river are four boats and three cattle. On the bank is a cream, two-story house, a field with hay stacked in neat rows, and the forest. On the other bank is a tree, several rocky areas, and seven hills. The colors are bright. There is a lot of blue and green, which are both soothing.

Analysis: I think the artwork expresses a calm day on a farm. It is likely not always calm on a farm that is surrounded by wilderness, so I think this painting is meant to relate peace and tranquility and hope (because one would presumably hope the former two qualities would last). This view is supported by the lack of harsh lines, the slow sense of movement, the pleasant textures, and the enjoyable colors. It is very balanced (in terms of shapes and colors), which suggests harmony. There is a slow sort of rhythm around the boats, which leave no wakes. It is hard to situate these themes within the artists' intentions because there is very little information about him (even across the otherwise seemingly infinite landscape of the Internet), other than that he was born in England and moved to a small Southwestern PA area when he was about 11.

Interpretation: This work says to me that it is a pleasant life in rural Pennsylvania, a little isolated, but quiet. It also shows the dichotomy of wilderness and agriculture.

Judgement: The piece is successful. It is well composed and after standing watching it for a long time, you feel like you really understand what it felt like to stand in that spot, overlooking the farm and the river.

Critical Response to Siegried (1958), Franz Kline

Description: There is a white background. Over this are many wide, rough brush strokes, which meet at the upper third of the painting in a slightly sloping line. Most of the background is covered by these black strokes. There are a few areas where there is grey painted over the black and white. This happens primarily in the upper left, where there is a large grey cross. There are also three faint grey lines running parallel to the line created by the meeting of the black strokes, in the bottom right corner.

Analysis: I think the mood that is meant to be created by the piece is danger and tumult. This is created by the sense of movement derived from diagonal lines and triangular shapes. This mood is also supported by the rough edges and the precarious-feeling balance. The lack of color makes the painting feel bleak. This is one of Kline's first paintings that uses grey. After this painting, he also began to experiment with colors. He was influenced by Pollock and de Kooning, and his childhood growing up in PA coal country. The title refers to Siegfried of Norse mythology, who destroyed the Norse gods (and later became a symbol for Nazis). It is likely that the tumultuous nature of the painting reflects these ideas.

Interpretation: I find this work attractive because it roils like an angry sea in a storm. This sort of action is of great interest to me within abstract expressionism because I find it evokes emotional experiences that realism does not. I can hang my own thoughts on a sea of forms, but not on Jesus Christ. The grey cross could be the gods being drowned and wiped out by the black. The cross is, however, much less dynamic than the other forms in the painting, and for this reason I feel it is not as successful as some other paintings. My eye wants to stop there and gets a little confused about where to go next, whereas in all the other forms, I feel I'm being directed across the canvas; to reflect across the chaos. The work has artistic merit, however, due to the strong reaction it creates in it's audience.