Zorn Sounds Alien But No Longer Is

Written Response to “Reality Crisis” by Aria Dean

I find it interesting the Aria Dean, who is not an artist, has such a high interest in the function of art. Through her blog, I learned some of the perspectives on art. When Dean first took interest in this subject, she wondered “what is the difference between a painting and a photograph” (Dean 331)? Her question is very valid because often new artists and viewers perceive painting as mainly a tool of mimesis. If painting is only mimesis, why would we not just continue to use photographs? Before the invention of the camera, painting did hold the function of the camera as it recorded what people looked like. The camera did take part in painting’s function, so it is interesting to see how painting has morphed since this invention. While painting does often still involve mimesis, major purposes of art are to convey messages, challenge viewers, and create the unexpected. Painting, even when done through mimesis, also has more of an empathetic and human quality than photographs because of the time the artist takes touching the surface. Dean described how Dana Schutz’ painting “Open Casket” gave empathy to the situation even though it did not portray the scenario more accurately than a camera (331).

Dana Schutz, “Open Casket,” 2016.

I also find that photography makes the content of the image feel more distant and inaccessible than a painting does. A photograph captures a moment in time and then time moves on without the picture, leaving it in its frame where the subjects cannot be touched. In contrast, when with a piece of art in person, viewers are not seeing something that was, but something that still is, as they can feel the paint strokes and see the result of the artist’s movements that are still there. Seeing art is like being in the time of the artist because although the outside context changes and the piece may lose some quality with age, the piece itself that was with the artist for hours is right in front of the viewer!

Dean shared a quote that she might not have agreed with, but I found it to be insightful for describing the purpose of art. The quote says that “the argument that Renaissance painters were not all that interested in crafting a paradigm for realistic representation that would set the terms of the medium for centuries to follow, but instead hoped to create new worlds, not faithfully represent the one that they inhabited” (333). I love the idea of creating new worlds to explore through art instead of only trying to mimic the one that already exists. Artists see God’s art and get to tell a story about it through our own art. It is true that humans cannot recreate the beauty that God has made, but as we are made in the image of God, we can use our creative minds to reinterpret, explore, and play with what we already know in reality.

Side note: I had trouble finding other pieces of art in Dean’s blog to share. Otherwise, I would have shared all three required pieces.

The Zorn Palette!

In this unit, I learned how to make skin colours with a method that was “alien” to me! Below are the results of my experimentation with the Zorn Palette. With this method, I created skin colours, using only cadmium red, titanium white, bone black and yellow ochre. I found this method exciting to try as the colours blended together so harmoniously. I’m surprised I’ve never used it before! Overall, I found the use of the Zorn Palette very helpful in gaining rich, accurate skin tones. As I did not have bright lighting in the mirror, my completed paintings do look darker than my skin, so I will have to practise more to gain accuracy and portray a shadow rather than making the skin appear to be darker in itself. In general, I am very happy with the paintings the Zorn Palette enabled me to create!

Work in progress beside colour palette

Zorn Colour Palette

I’ll Give You a Hand

In Your Face

Take a Brow