Research for My Artwork

In an earlier blog, I stated that my present artwork has been influenced by the dilapidated rural farmhouses and barns of Georgia. When researching for my graduate thesis to learn how such structures have been used by previous artists, I discovered that ruins from antiquity were incorporated into paintings as early as the 15^th century. Here you can observe how Far Filippo Lippi used such ruins, in this case, of a stable, for the birthplace of Christ, in Nativity,

1465-70.

In the artworks of this time period, ruins played supporting roles for Christian themes. Later, ruins from antiquity became the main subjects, such as in Harbor Scene with Classical Ruins, by Antonio Zucchi.

Even later, around the 17^th century, artists residing outside the areas of Greece and Rome began looking for dilapidated structures for subjects to use in their works. The buildings they most often used were abandoned castles and cathedrals. Jacob van Rosedale’s, The Jewish Cemetery, 1655-60, is such an example.

But even these artworks didn’t express what I wished to convey in my work. I wanted to produce images of objects that would be considered less important which have been abandoned and left to deteriorate. The following photos that I have taken are examples of the type of structures I look for to use as subjects:

Artists who have used such subjects include Andrew Fisher Bunner and Paul Strand. Bunner did a drawing of a collapsing shed, and Strand photographed ghost town buildings in New Mexico.

During the development of this theme of artwork for a series, I set an arbitrary goal of about fifty paintings to exhaust the subject matter. When asked why I wanted to do so many works, my reply has been that artists often create many images in a series, and that there seem to be an endless number of dilapidated buildings that I would like to use as subjects.

I also want to be sure this theme will be developed to its fullest, because in the past I have prematurely ended a theme to my regret. What direction I will take with my work is uncertain, but it seem certain that I will always be looking for new directions. In the future, my direction may change to incorporate dilapidated structures other than those found in rural areas, but the direction should not be forced, but left to evolve.