Comparison
The essay compress and contrasts "Hot Still-Scape for Six Colors- Seventh Avenue Style" (1940) by Stuart Davis and "The Liver Is the Cock's Comb" (1944) by Arshile Gork. Both artworks represent the art movement known as Abstract Expressionism, which grew strong during the 1940s and 1950s in New York. Expressionists strived for individual freedom in their art. The same can be said about the two painters Arshile Gorky and Stuart Davis, who mastered their skills to express what they felt and observed. The paper will compare the two artworks by various elements of art. 1 1
Looking at both the paintings, one can see that both are abstract expressions. The painters Stuart Davis and Arshile Gorky were masters of highly personalized abstraction. Davis’s painting shows the splendid use of shapes, texture and color depicting the dissonance of 7th Avenue in New York including different sounds and sights experienced. The painting is a remake of his painting called “The Egg Beater” which he made in 1920 2. He used the basic composition of this painting and added bold primary colors to give it a different look. According to him, colors such as red, orange, yellow, black and white had the power to create a dynamic mood. On the contrary Gorky’s painting depicts organic forms based on nature, stressing more on lyrical color. His art contains hidden meanings and references related to Gorky’s life and the past. He also used bold colors to highlight his own journey and love for his native country.
The painting "The Liver Is the Cock's Comb" portrays meanings which work on many levels, ‘liver’ in past was considered to be the organ associated with passion instead of the heart so the
____________________1 “Arshile Gorky”. 2016. theartstory. (May 21, 2016). http://www.theartstory.org/artist-gorky-arshile.htm2 "Stuart Davis. 2016. sothebys. (May 21, 2016). http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2014/american-art-n09148/lot.22.html
the title itself conveys that the artist has put a lot of passion in the making of it. Cock’s Comb also gives a dual message in the painting representing the headdress 3 (mind) and the rest of the body, suggesting that both were incorporated during the process of painting. Obviously, the theme for both the paintings is not sacred; it’s more secular in nature. Gorky’s painting and work directly reflect the cultural and historical background of New York during 1940s after the world war when existentialism prevailed 4 .Color and form played an important role in his paintings to show his painful childhood memories of the Armenian Genocide and his love for his homeland. If we see the work of Stuart Davis, it exhibited urban street life and popular New York culture. Iconographical symbols used by Davis are related to daily life representing a busy city, peaceful seaside, industries, automobiles, sports, appliances, tobacco and much more. He described the subject matter of his painting "Hot Still-Scape for Six Colors- Seventh Avenue Style,” within the boundaries of normal city residents. His paintings celebrated the most basic things important in life to live a simple life. Gorky’s Iconography represented his own life, knowledge about his own is required as his imagery is rooted in his own reality. 5 . Both the paintings with its differences and similarities represented the time when quite new and different styles were practiced. Most of the painters indulged in expression which represented their struggle between self-expression and commotion in the subconscious mind. Things that are trapped inside and came out in the form of paintings conveying deep meanings to the society. There is no doubt that expressing what the subconscious can see is not easy, maybe that is why
______________________3 “Arshile Gorky”. 2016. theartstory. (May 21, 2016). http://www.theartstory.org/artist-gorky-arshile.htm4 "The Liver Is the Cock's Comb“. 2016. wahooart. (May 21, 2016). http://en.wahooart.com/@@/8XXP3X-Arshile-Gorky-The-Liver-is-the-Cock's-Comb5 "Stuart Davis. 2016. sothebys. (May 21, 2016). http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2014/american-art-n09148/lot.22.html
the abstract expression is the best way to put it forward. Both the paintings convey totally different scenes and meanings still they both belong to the same art movement. It is amazing how two paintings painted by different artists represent the same art movement and still remain unique in identity and meaning. There is no doubt that Davis and Gorky as artists were way ahead of their time and exhibited exceptional ideas on the canvas.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Arshile Gorky. 2016. theartstory. (May 21, 2016). http://www.theartstory.org/artist-gorky-arshile.htm
"Stuart Davis. 2016. sothebys. (May 21, 2016). http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2014/american-art-n09148/lot.22.html
"The Liver Is the Cock's Comb“. 2016. wahooart. (May 21, 2016). http://en.wahooart.com/@@/8XXP3X-Arshile-Gorky-The-Liver-is-the-Cock's-Comb
