Research: Primitivism
In this post I will be doing research into the primitivism art movement, a movement that focuses on going back to the basics or looking back at the past to inspire art.
The primitivism movement started in the late 19th century, art from this era consists of organic shapes and thick line art often seen in abstract art (The Art Story, 2018). Some artists inspired by primitivism are Picasso, Gauguin and Rousseau.
Gauguin traveled outside of Europe to find his way in primitivism, painting the landscapes with its people in it. The paintings he made included the typical simple shapes found in primitive art with muted and natural colours. The people in his paintings look expressionless, adding to the lack of detail. Gauguin seemed to have a passionate hate for Europe and believed that working on the islands in the South Pacific would make him a better artist. He seemed to put the islands on a pedestal, feeling disappointed when it was not the artistic paradise he had imagined. Instead, he imagined his 'paradise' and made art from them, creating the collections of work that played a significant part in the establishment of the primitivism movement. Gauguin’s work would inspire Picasso's primitive work much later (National Galleries Scotland, n.d.).
The era of primitivism has inspired other art styles such as cubism and expressionism, allowing artists to express themselves freely without the restraints of realism (National Galleries Scotland, n.d.). Primitivism can be interpreted in many different ways; it can be referring to simple and organic shapes or patterns only, or it can relate to cultures that are or were considered 'primitive' or behind on economic or industrial development in comparison to Europe. "Few had a sophisticated grasp of the civilizations from which they were borrowing." (Tate, n.d.).
In a Tropical Forest. Struggle Between Tiger and Bull by Henri Rousseau (1908)
From what I have learned in my research is that I feel as if I can only appreciate the patterns and shapes that come from primitivism, since the way the cultures in some paintings are portrayed does not speak to me at all. Taking the human body out of proportion in such a way that it looks like circles have been put together is not something that I enjoy looking at, I personally appreciate the complexity of the shapes human body more. I will be interpreting primitivism as going back to mother nature and leaving humans out of it entirely, since I do appreciate the simplistic landscapes in primitivism. An example of this is this painting by Henri Rousseau, who uses several different patterns to create the feeling of an overgrown forest. In my own designs I will be using the patterns found in tree bark and mushroom spores.
References:
The Art Story. “Primitivism Movement Overview.” The Art Story, 2018, www.theartstory.org/movement/primitivism/. [Accessed 27 Apr. 2024].
The Outpost (2014). Paul Gauguin: Nature and Primitivism as Mythical Notions. [online] WilderUtopia. Available at: https://wilderutopia.com/landscape/urban-art/paul-gauguin-mythical-notion-of-primitive-nature/ [Accessed 28 Apr. 2024].
National Galleries Scotland (n.d.). Primitivism. [online] www.nationalgalleries.org. Available at: https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/glossary-terms/primitivism [Accessed 28 Apr. 2024].
Tate (n.d.). Primitivism Key Issues | Map Matisse Picasso | Tate. [online] www.tate.org.uk. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/imap/primitivism-keyissues.shtml [Accessed 28 Apr. 2024].
A lot of this post is not your own words but long quotation. Please consider the works themselves and start writing more of your own commentary on the work itself and again look at how this would really inform your design.
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