Comparative
Analysis of Susan Lichtman and Eric Fischl
Susan Lichtman and Eric Fischl are both figurative
artists who use very different styles and themes in their work, and yet they share
many similar ideas. Both artists are primarily painters and, through their
work, both artists allow the viewers to have glimpses of what appears to be
particular moments in time. They each use their work to capture moments of
life, whether real or imagined. It is mainly with the ways in which each artist
paints, as well as with the moods brought about by their paintings, that their
work then becomes very different. They both have a very similar way of setting
up the scenes, and yet their paintings create very different feelings. Both
artists also currently have a strong influence on my own artwork.
Eric Fischl’s work focuses on the hidden sides of
suburban life. He bases his work on his own experience of growing up in the
suburbs near New York City. Some common themes in his work are sexuality,
adolescence, and relationships between people. Through his work he often “uncovers”
the hidden truths about the uglier side of suburbia and brings parts of the
private life to the public for all to see. He gives the viewer a hint of what
may be going on in the paintings, without going too far and leaving nothing to
the imagination. He tends to paint in realistic style, using bold colors and dramatic
lighting. Also he tends to paint groups of people interacting, as opposed to
doing close-up portraits of a single individual. Finally, when viewing his work
one must be aware of that sometimes what is going on in the background is just
as important as the frontal image.
Susan Lichtman’s work, like Fischl’s, focuses mainly
on groups of people interacting. She too creates what appears to be part of a
narrative scene. Each of her paintings is done from memory, not from life, and
hints at a story without giving too much away by making it too literal. Unlike
Fischl, however, Lichtman’s artwork is less realistic and more abstract. She
uses a limited color palette, flat colors and simplified forms to create her
scenes. Also unlike Fischl’s, the themes that are shown in her work are much
less sexual and awkward, and much more about capturing regular moments in a
domestic setting. Even though her paintings include people, details such as
facial features are not shown to be any more important than the surrounding
interior. Very often she will have the people in the background and have
something else, such as a flower, much more frontal and yet no more detailed.
The artwork of both artists has an overall feeling
of movement. One of the ways that both have been able to accomplish this is by their
use of light. Both artists scatter light and dark all across the picture plane
in order to keep the viewers eyes constantly moving and therefore create a
sense of movement. This technique is less obvious with Fischl’s work since he
paints in a realistic style. His use of light appears much more natural than
Lichtman’s. Most of Lichtman’s paintings are interior scenes in which the light
is appears to be raking in through a window or door. Once the light enters the
interior space it breaks up and scatters all over the picture plane. You can see
little bits of light thrown in every direction and there are plenty of scattered
dark spaces to contrast and balance this light.
Another way that both artists are able to create a
sense of movement and life in their work is by their similar use of multiple
figures and cropping. Both artists show multiple figures in most of their
paintings. Very often these figures are seen in frozen motion. They are clearly
not posed and generally appear to be just about to move, which is a very simple
way of making the artwork appear to be full of movement. Besides the stances of
the figures in their paintings, they also very often will crop parts of the
people out of the pictures in ways that may appear by some to be awkward. It is
common in their paintings to see just part of a figure and then have the rest
be completely cut off. By doing this they have found a way to prevent the
figures from feeling like they are stuck in the middle of the frame.
Currently I am attempting to incorporate parts of
each of these styles into my own work. What I am most interested in is their
use of light, as well as their use of space. Both artists ensure that the space
around the figure in their paintings gets just as much attention, if not more, than
the figures of the people themselves. There is never an empty background in
their work. Even the large, empty spaces of wall and floor in Lichtman’s
paintings are made much more interesting through her use of scattered light. I
also find the themes that Lichtman is showing in her work to be very similar to
the themes that I am attempting to show in my work. I too am interested in capturing
moments of my daily life in a way that makes the viewer feel, at least for a
moment, that they are experiencing the scene for themselves. I am also interested
in Lichtman’s use of a limited palette, which is something I can currently
experimenting with. As for Fischl’s work, I am interested in the realistic
nature of his paintings as well as the idea of showing hidden truths. Much of
his work has to do with relationships between people, including family members,
which is also my current focus, although the mood that I wish to capture with
my scenes is very different than the moods of his paintings.
Sources:
· John A. Parks, Oil Painting: Susan Lichtman: The Powerful Use of Light in Oil Interiors, Artist Daily, 2008, http://www.artistdaily.com/blogs/oilblog/archive/2008/08/11/susan-lichtman-the-powerful-use-of-light-in-oil-interiors.aspx
·
Susan Lichtman, Painting Perceptions - commentary on perceptual painting, 2010, http://paintingperceptions.com/interiors/susan-lichtman
·
Ken
Johnson, Art in Review; Eric Fischl, The New York Times, 2005, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00EFD8173EF93BA35757C0A9639C8B63
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