Environmental - Deconstructing Images

In todays seminar  my group and I were told to look at Paul Cezanne's image - 'Great Pine near Aix' 1890-1895 and Carleton Watkins image 'Best General View Yosemite Valley 1867
'‘I want to make of impressionism something solid and lasting like the art in the museums’. - Cezanne

• - This image relates to Cezanne's feelings in his youth when he wrote a letter Emilie Zola (best friend) 
  
  
  *‘’Do you remember the pine on the bank of the arc (river) with it’s hairy head projecting above the abyss at its foot? This pine which protected our bodies with its foliage from the heat of the sun oh! May the gods preserve it from the woodman's baleful axe!

1. What is represented and communicated in the images?

In each image there is a long tree. In Paul Cezanne’s painting, the tree dominates the image; it’s branches splayed out reaching the edges of the painting. This perhaps suggests the trees power and how it has a great affect over things – maybe nature particularly. Through this quality connotations can be created towards the tree of knowledge and the tree of life.

Carleton Watkins’ photograph is very different visually. The similarities the images hold of this single tree is portrayed in a very contrasting way in this photograph compared to the painting. The tree stands tall and alone as if it’s embracing it’s solidarity. The tree could be a symbol for pride and independence as it looks just that. It also seems superior in it’s height and general appearance in the scene.

In Cezanne’s painting the trunk and branches are framed by leaves and foliage. This draws attention to the trunk and branches raising it’s status of importance. The leaves would not exist if it was not for these elements of nature. This gives the tree Cezanne has painted meaning, purpose and importance.

In comparison to the painting, Watkins’ photograph is much more open. The tree stands out, not framed by anything particularly. It is more distinguishable as it is backed by pail sky and it’s height contributes to this. Whereas Cezanne’s painting of the tree is much more blended and almost hidden.

So Cezanne’s painting and Watkins’ photograph have one main thing in common but many differences overall.

2. Are the images related to a particular Ideology?

•Paul Cezanne’s work was influential to cubism, an art form from the period of post impressionism. His ideas were to be expressive and create feelings of emotion within his audience.

•Carleton Watkins’ work was based on his desire to capture beauty and preserve nature, this work was used in US congress for the preservation of Yosemite Valley as a national park.

3. What is the photographer/ painters visual choices?

•The photograph is taken horizontally facing straight into the valley.

•It is a overall sharp image, and the photographer has used a small aperture. The main focus in Watkins photograph is on the cliffs in the middle.

•The light is coming from the front left. You get the impression that he has used the same technique as Ansel Adams, the zone system, and used spot metering to measure the light. The cliffs in the middle are correctly lighted and are the main focus points together with the pine in the foreground. The foreground is pretty dark and the background almost blends in with the sky, so the tree really stands out.

•It’s hard to measure the distance in the picture because one don’t know how tall the pine in the foreground is. The tree could be about thirty meters away and the mountains in the back many kilometers away. 

•The main focus in Cezanne's painting is pine. because it takes up almost the whole canvas. You can also see a bit of the background because it is lighter.

•The painting is pretty dark in the foreground and you get the feeling of that you're sitting in the dark forest peeking out on the fields.

•The lightning and the colors are pretty realistic.  

4. Can you asses the images through reference of process and technique?

•Paul Sezanne – post-impressionist painter who used the early 20th century’s new line of artistic enquiry, Cubism. His work demonstrates a mastery of design, color, tone, composition and draughtsmanship. His  often repetitive, sensitive and exploratory brushstrokes are highly characteristic and clearly recognizable. 

•Carleton Watkins was a technical virtuoso and an artist able simplify an enhance landscape to the point at which it begins to read an symbol. He experimented with several new photographic techniques: “Mammoth camera” which used 18x22 inch glass plate negatives and stereographic camera. The grandiose scale and intimate detail of his resulting prints made his reputation.

5. How was the photographer chosen to portray his story

  

•        The tree stands alone and with the quote from Paul Cezanne of ‘isolation is what I am worthy of’ I think he could be referencing this, this seems to be done by drawing the focus into the tree, the use of heavy brush strokes on the outer edge of the painting and smooth strokes on the tree its self draws the eye in. 

• The use of tones in this photo tells a story of the landscape being vast and untamed, how in the foreground near the tree is fairly high contrast of black and white but gradually down the valley becomes grey until almost the same as the sky. This draws the eye from the prominence of the tree and takes the viewers eye all over the huge untouched west. 

* Comparisons – Both seem to reference same notion of being alone. The use the tree as a symbol of standing alone, Cezanne in the way of isolation and Watkins as a contrast to the huge wild landscape of the valley.

*Visual elements - •Watkins – the use of tree places us as the viewers at the forefront of the image, which then dwarfs us as the landscape then becomes more intense. The viewer the scale of becomes more exaggerated as the tree doesn't fit in the shot .

•Cezanne – The use of heavy brush stroke bring the focal point into the tree trunk, coming from the edge down the branches to the center of the tree.