shin's weekly photo 05 + hw #5

rothenburg, germany.

The artist I chose was Rene Magritte, a Belgian surrealist artist. His pieces are unique in that he adds objects which we normally do not expect to see with the surrounding. His use of ordinary objects in unfamiliar spaces came from his desire to create poetic imagery. He described the act of painting as "the art of putting colors side by side in such a way that their real aspect is effaced, so that familiar objects- the sky, people, trees, mountains, furniture, the stars, solid structures, graffiti- become unified in a single poetically disciplined image." Magritte pieces consist of a wide range and use of grays and browns; very dull-downed colors. However, when I visited the Magritte Museum in Belgium, the paintings were hung in dark rooms, making his dull-downed color pieces seem very bright and magical, more than the replicas or prints I had seen before. The piece I selected is titled "L'Homme au chapeau melon (The man in the bowler hat), 1964."

failed attempt: I did not realize until the composition was completed, that I failed to represent the dove in the pattern composition. I could have overlooked the white-shades in the dove as it seems to be in front of the man.


I feel this composition represents Magritte's piece better. In the initial attempts, I started with the darker shades. However, in this attempt, I started with the lighter colors that I saw and gradually transitioned into the blues and darker grays and browns.