Boy_Wiyh_Toy_Plane

Boy with a toy plane Boy With a Toy Plane Shedell Satcher February 27, 2011 Art Appreciation Boy with a toy plane For this paper I went to the SCAD Museum of Art, and a painting that stood out to me with the painting by Aaron Douglas called Boy With a Toy Plane. This painting was created in 1938 and it is an oil on canvas painting. What stood out about the painting was that the boy in the painting was holding the toy with no joy in his face. He has almost a sad face and he is holding the toy like it’s something special to him. When I looked at this picture it invoked an emotion of sorrow for the boy in the painting. I kept saying to myself there must be much sadness in this child’s life because he is sad even with a toy. When I see this painting and look at the time period I think the artist is saying even with toys that our children hold dear to them there is still sadness from everyday life. The child in the painting clothes were dirty and too big but his toy was bight blue and almost had a shiny look to it. To me it portrays so much about struggle and triumph. If I was to describe this piece of work I would start with the floor in the painting. The floor is the only thing in the painting that has any pattern to it because of the two Boy with a toy plane different colors that alternate in the painting. The boy is sitting on an old chair that had what looked like wheels on the legs of the chair. The boys shirt is green and his pants are brown and look like they are dirty and appear like they may have a hold in the knee. Both items of clothing are huge compared to the size of the child. The boy is looking to the side with a look of sorrow and both hands are holding his airplane. There is not much color in the painting only his shirt and the squares on the floor, the rest of the painting is different shades of brown or tan. This artwork is considered representational art. “Representational art depicts the appearance of things. It represent-presents again-objects we recognize from the everyday world.” (Frank, 2008) Most of the lines in the artwork were ragged, or irregular the only lines that were actual was the chair legs, the outline of the airplane and the squares on the floor. The painting was an mixture of geometric shapes and organic shapes. The geometric shapes in the piece were located in the same places as the actual lines because these lines Boy with a toy plane formed the geometric shapes. When you look at the airplane the boy is holding you can see implied light which gives the airplane a look of it being shiny. Aaron Douglas was the artist that painted this piece, he was painter, illustrator and muralist that was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1899. “In 1925, Douglas moved to New York City, settling in Harlem. Just a few months after his arrival he began to produce illustrations from both The Crisis and Opportunity the two most important magazines associated with the Harlem Renaissance” (Astronomy, 2011). Douglas was influenced by African culture and his painting reflected that. During his time he was considered the Father of African American arts. Douglas love for his culture is reflected in this piece, the passion and knowledge of his culture is visible in this artwork. When looking at the painting you can feel what the artist wanted you to feel when looking at the painting. The passion of the artist for his culture is overwhelming in this piece. The sadness is so great coming from the painting and it really makes you think and reflect on what many have overcome. Boy with a toy plane Bibliography Frank, P,(2008). Artforms. Upper Saddle River, Prentice Hall. Astronomy(2011). Absolute Astronomy. Feb. 25, 2011. www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Aaron_Dougla s.