Let me preface my subjective
critique by saying that in fact I do like this piece, and I believe it to be
well executed. I find it very difficult not to find the artistic beauty in most
things, but I can recognize when something isn’t done well. The reason I chose
it is that, more than disliking the piece, I am frustrated and a little
appalled by the way that contemporary society has misappropriated pop art and
Marilyn Monroe. People seem to have lost the meaning of these things and the
reality of this tortured woman.
Speaking from an aesthetic
perspective, I can say there are elements that, while used to great effect
within the piece, I am not a fan of at their base. For one thing, I don’t like the
colors. The contrast between them as well as the dull, muted tone used for each
has kind of a subdued effect. Also, the lack of variation or transitional value
is a problem for me. Each color is a flat, slightly desaturated tone, which
contributes nothing to the form of the subject. Black is the only thing that gives us any
sense of form or detail on the subject, and without it, the piece would only be
senseless, colored shapes. Another issue I have with this piece is the
composition. Typically, when doing a portrait piece, it’s advisable to show a
little of the neck and shoulders so as to avoid the appearance of a head
floating in space; you imply the rest of the body without actually showing it.
Also, with the way that the cropping of the piece is so close to the subject,
the amount of headspace is kind of uncomfortable because the frame is so close
to the edge of her hair without actually touching it. I also don’t like the
fact that her teeth are almost indistinguishable in the red color applied over
her mouth. Granted, if he had left them white, it would have completely ruined
the piece.
Altering this peace, I would begin
by altering the cropping to include more of the subject and to provide context
around the head while also making the composition more interesting. I would
also integrate the colors in a more natural way and create more variation in
value in order to better represent the form. Particularly with the purple used
for her skin, I believe it needs to be a softer, subtler tone. I also find that
because there is no variation in saturation or brightness within each color,
the image is very flat, and the viewer must rely on the harsh, black lines to
understand what they’re looking at. This is another thing that I would address
by creating differences within the background color versus the colors used for
the subject. I believe that these would make the piece more aesthetically
pleasing as well as to better define the subject. Never mind completely
altering the message of the piece.
