The Sick Child & Art Essay Example for Free

The Sick Child Art Essay I would choose to work in expressionism, a style in which the inclination is to forego the objective representation of reality, by rejecting any pretense of verisimilitude. Instead, the artist distorts reality for an emotional effect. Granted, all art is expressionist to some extent: The whole point of the artistic endeavor is to manipulate perceptions to achieve an emotional effect. However, expressionism leans towards emphasizing the plasticity of the visual form, by distorting it on levels far removed from conventional ideals of realism, to the extent that beholding it can be rather unsettling to those who are used to the dreamy look of impressionism or the idealization of form exemplified by romantic arts. Expressionism should not be confused with Abstract art, which foregoes representation in favor of the use color and form in non-representational ways. Abstract and expressionist art are similar in so far as they opt out of objective reality. However the crucial difference is that abstract art rejects objectivity completely. In effect, abstract art favors form over content, while expressionism favors artistic license in the representation of content. One good example of expressionism is The Scream. It depicts a lone figure in a rather disturbing pose that seems to be in the grip of anxiety to the point of having his psyche shattered. The Scream was painted by Norwegian painter and printmaker Edvard Munch, who is reputed to have been inspired by the qualities of African tribal art. Munch tended to focus on extreme degrees of emotions. In Puberty, Munch articulates some of the intense fear and discomfort experienced by young girls as they transition into womanhood. The melancholy of a mother’s imminent loss is expressed in The Sick Child, while The Dance of Life presents in one space, the anxiety of constant change in a woman’s life as she moves from innocence to sexuality to old age. In all these pieces, Munch makes use of figures distorted by sickly linework, emphasizing his commitment to tense emotional discontent.