Week 6-Landscape and the Sublime

'Wanderer in the mists' (1818) Caspar David Friedrich

'Untitled #2" (2002) Richard Misrach

 'Untitled # 394-03' (2003) Richard Misrach

Richard Misrach's photography reflects the concept of the Sublime, from the Enlightenment.

Research Misrach's work by reading about his intentions, and also by looking at the work. Then answer the following questions;

1. What and when was the Enlightenment?

 

The Enlightenment was a movement in the seventeenth and eighteenth Century that encourages the use of reason, and logic over superstition when finding the truth. Logic had been used in Ancient Greece prior to the enlightenment, however, this is when it started to be accepted worldwide as a reliable means of looking at human society and self. Due to this new view being taken, it was argued that "human life and character could be improved through the use of education and reason." Because of this, The Enlightenment cause conflict between people who were interested in it and the political and religious thinkers.

Enlightenment thinking happened roughly throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, however, it didn't have a specific start or end point, but took place within a "broad paradigm in which certain tenets were accepted"

2. Define the concept of the Sublime.

 

 The Sublime is a concept that Deals with "forms of expression that entrance us." Meaning that it is an idea that concerns things of such beauty that they are awe-inspiring. When the term sublime is used to critique a piece of work, it is similar to saying that the piece of work is divine.

In the Renaissance period, artists started to create more works with more "grandeur, idealism and soft rendering of details," which led to an interest in the sublime.

3. How did the concept of the Sublime come out of the Enlightenment thought?

 

 The Sublime Came out of the enlightenment thought because it also went against the "normal" way of thinking for the time. Because people were starting to have a more secular way of thinking, they started to value the world's beauty with their own opinion, as opposed to going with how the bible defined beauty.

4. Discuss the subject matter, and aesthetic (look) of Misrach's work to identify the Sublime in his work. Add some more images of his work.

White Man Contemplating Pyramids, Egypt, 1989-1991

 

Swimmers, Pyramid Lake Indiana Reservation, Nevada, 1987-93

Misrach's work involves the use of vast spaces often containing single, or small groups of people taking up a very small proportion of the image. The sublime is a very noticeable theme in his work, as it focuses on the beauty of the environment as opposed to the people who may be featured in the image. For example, in  White Man Contemplating Pyramids, the vast expanse of desert almost seems surreal in its presentation, even though it is a photograph.

5. Identify some other artists or designers that work with ideas around the Sublime, from the Enlightenment era as well as contemporary artists.

 

Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg, "An Avalanche in the Alps," 1803

Vladimir Konečni, Matterhorn 2007

 

6. How does Misrach's photography make you feel? Does it appeal to your imagination?

 

I feel that Misrach's work gives a sense of isolation, due to his use of vast, open spaces, and few people, if any, who are insignificant in comparison to the rest of the image. His work makes me think about the massive scale of the world and how each individual person makes up only a tiny proportion of it.

7. Add a Sublime image of your choice to your blog, which can be Art or just a Sublime photograph.

 

I shot this photo of the sun shining through the clouds one afternoon while walking past Cox's Bay. 

8. Reference your sources (books and websites). 

 

http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=397117&section=6

http://www.selectedworks.co.uk/sublime.html

http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/thenineteenthcentury/a/enlightenment.htm

http://www.arthistory-famousartists-paintings.com/RenaissanceArt.html

http://www.londoninternational.ac.uk/current_students/programme_resources/lse/lse_pdf/further_units/163_soc_theo_analysis/163_chpt3.pdf