Feldman's method applied to Naret's oil painting La Espera

Naret

Applying Feldman's Method of Art Criticism to Naret's Oil Painting "La Espera"

Describe

To describe the contemporary Mexican artist Naret's 1998 oil painting "La Espera" may seem deceptively simple at first. The foreground shows a brightly, almost garishly colored chair in the style of Post-Impressionists like Van Gough or Cezanne. The most distinctive 'touch' of Naret's unique style in the way that the chair is rendered is that its lines are slanting rather than swirling like Van Gough's usual technique, and the chair has a cleaner, clearer appearance -- it is not a blur. The chair is on a surface, painted almost like a gymnasium or nursery-room floor in the primary shades of red and yellow. The wooden surface on which the chair rests seems to be beside a water pond of lilies, in apparent reference to Monet's famous painting of the flowers, although the palate of the water is much brighter.

Interpret

Overall, the painting seems to be a postmodern merging of the two styles of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. The subject matter makes use of the familiar art subjects of past works of Van Gough and Monet. According to the author's biography on his website, Naret began his graphic career in advertising under his given name of Jose C. Teran in Mexico City. Naret still maintains his career and membership in organizations for advertising professionals. Much like Andy Warhol Naret must have gained and understanding of popular art like advertising in this manner. While not an example of Pop Art, the intense use of color and the pastiche of subject matter (although a pastiche of 'high art' rather than popular culture like Warhol) demonstrates the contemporary nature of the work.

Like the earliest Western artists discussed in Gardner's Art Through the Ages, Naret pays visual homage to the subject of the art 'masters' that have come before him and adopts their subject matter (flowers, simple furniture) to his own style. His biography states he is inspired by the landscapes of his own region of Mexico. This stress upon personal interest in the landscape is Impressionistic, and highlights the difference in purpose between early Western and past Western art. Before the 19th century, art was functional in decoration and worship, and it transmitted the messages of political or ecclesiastical authority. The purpose of art was not to communicate the art's own soul or personal impressions of his or her culture and natural environment like high art today.

Analyzing the interpretation

The ambiguous title of "La Espera," or hope, suggests that perhaps the artist aspires to make his own art and interpretation of his own landscape and life of comparable worth to the great masters, or in terms of the symbolism of the work, that the chair is a kind of life preserver in the midst of water. However, the fact that the chair recalls in its surreally bright depiction and subject the more unstable artist Van Gough's works, and the pacific colors of the nearby water and flowers, suggests some ambiguity of this refuge.

Judge

The non-situated location (unlike Monet's or Van Gough's work) is more similar to Gauguin's title of "Where Do We Come From? What are We? Where Are We Going?" And suggests the ambiguity of the intent that is intriguing ("Post Impressionism," Eye on Art, 2007). The painting is deceptively simple upon first gaze, but the bright colors draw the viewer in, and cause the viewer to look at simple objects in a new and startling light.