A model for art criticism: Feldman's Method

I came upon Feldman's method of art criticism a year ago, and then took an online class with John Seed, author of Disrupted Realism to learn more. During the class, I applied the method to looking at a painting by Zoey Frank and a second one by Amy Sillman. You can find a lot of information about Feldman's method online. Here is a link to a file that I downloaded.

Back Garden by Zoey Frank

Back Garden by Zoey Frank 2024

Oil on Canvas 87”x 70”

Description:

The painting portrays a realistic scene of an elderly couple working in their backyard vegetable garden in the middle of the day. In the foreground are the vegetable plots which lead the viewer to the figures in the middle ground of a man bending toward the plants, and a smaller scale female further back standing with a garden tool. Both figures are looking down and absorbed in their tasks. In the background there is a lawn and to the right there are 2 male figures sitting at a table under a tree. To the left, there is a detached unit with a tiny female figure at the doorway. Further back there is a fence and a view of the upper part of the neighbor’s house. The painting appears to be composed on a rectangular grid with 4 full panels flanked by cropped upper, lower, and left side panels. The panel fractures the scene due to each being at a slightly different perspective with varying light exposure. There is a small grid painted on each panel consisting of the colors used for mixing. 

Analysis:

The varied perspective of each panel is arranged to enhance depth of space. At the same time, the shift in color ambience  between the panels has the effect of flattening the overall image. When each panel is viewed independently, the image can appear flat and abstract. Thus, there is an interesting duality of depth and flatness. 

The color ranges from tonal to saturated colors and has an overall naturalistic effect. The forms of the figure and the vegetation are build with similar distinctive color/value shapes. The edges of the shapes ranging from hard to soft to lost. Architectural structures tend to have sharper edges. Close attention is paid to the morphology of the figure, the natural elements and the built structures. The main figures are painted with volume, while the surround elements are painted flat. This creates a volume to flatness tension. 

The scale of the figure changes dramatically creating depth of space. 

Interpretation:

The painting is a synthesis of color spot technique (Charles Hawthorn), academic realism, and cubism. Likely, it is based on careful observation but also utilized photography and computer for its development. I think Zoey Frank is tackling both the form and the subject matter of contemporary art. The space is multidimensional and speaks to how we perceive the world in fragments and the ability to stitch together a wholeness out of bits and pieces. Parallel to this is the idea of family and the complicated web of relationships among the members. We are together yet each existing in their own spaces. The painting feels reassuring in its prosaic presence, the use of warm and cool colors to create a feeling of sunlight in the garden. Though there are so many elements, the painting appears unified. 

Evaluation:

To me Zoey Frank painting is complex, sophisticated and ambitious and I consider her to be one of the most impressive contemporary painter today. Her painting reflects her felt life projected with a classical sensibility and it reminds me of Piero Della Francesca’s Flagellation of Christ. She a realist who sees life as it is and accepts it with equanimity. There is a feeling of detachment but not in a cold way. She presents a mental and emotional landscape for us to experience. 

Little Elephant by Amy Sillman

Little Elephant 2023 by Amy Sillman

Acrylic 51”x49”

Description:

This is a nonobjective painting composed of 2 large red overlapping organic cutout shapes, scattered green geometric shapes  over a white ground. These red shapes fill the pictorial space and pushes against the picture plane. A green cross within the larger red shape occupied the center of the painting. There are straight and curved lines of varying density, value and color that seem to articulate independently from the shapes. The painted surface has the appearance of overlapping colors applied with large paint brushes. 

Analysis:

Together, the shape, the lines and the color define the form of the 

 painting, which can be interpreted as a monumental figure in an enclosed space shallow space. 

The larger red shape is suggestive of a reclining figure with a green cross for a bellybutton overlapping a slightly smaller red shape which can be interpreted as a head and neck of a figure or that of a city street seen from a high above. Scattered throughout are various small geometric shapes from green to grey to black supporting the appearance of depth and movement . 

The bold straight vertical and diagonal lines function as structural lines while the curving lines convey movement. Some line are soft and grey creating transparency appearance. Some lines curve around the shapes and become the shadow side of a form. 

The painted surface appears multilayered, reflecting an improvisational nature of the painting process. 

Interpretation:

I think this painting is in the category of figurative abstraction where the abstraction is taken to an extreme and where the act of painting arises from intuition and improvisation rather than a calculated plan. The influences of Matisse, Dekooning and Deibenkorn are recognizable. One feels the physicality of the painting in the boldness of the color and the large decisive application of paint in broad strokes. The articulation of shapes, color and lines is approach with freedom and play. 

Evaluation: 

As with many nonobjective works of art, it leaves the viewer with a lot of room for interpretation. The shapes tries to take on meaning but perhaps fall short. Some areas appears to be unresolved such as at the intersection between the upper white shape and the 2 red shapes. It beckons for a visceral connection but has the effect of eliciting intellectual analysis. 

I think the painting is remarkable in its purity and is an art form stripped of all nonessential elements. I can’t help thinking about its connection to abstract art of preceding generations, especially Matisse and deKooning and this connection has the effect of eliciting an aesthetic experience rooted in abstract expressionism.