"Pink Hills" Art Review
Pinky and the Brain
Blog Exclusive!
Note: This paper was originally written on Tuesday, November 16, 2009.
When I first read "Pink Hills'" description in the Herbert F. Johnson Museum catalog my curiosity didn't pique all that much. After all, the word pink tends to strike fear in the heart of man. But in all seriousness I was disappointed to find out that the painting I intended to write about was put in storage unbeknownst to me. So why did I then wind up looking at "Pink Hills"? Well I'll shamelessly admit that the magnitude of the artist behind the work had a lot to do with it.
Georgia O' Keeffe painted "Pink Hills" in 1937. The painting came to fruition during one of the most productive periods of her legendary career (that being the 1920s through 1940s). "Pink Hills" depicts a far flung, oft-forgotten area of the American Southwest, yet O’Keeffe paints the hilly terrain like it is the most important parcel of land in the country. The hills around the Northern New Mexico area where O'Keeffe resided appear to be surreal, abstract forms that dart up from the alien, barren, lifeless ground below. Originally I thought the landscape was purely derived from the artist's imagination, but I was wrong. It's quite possible that no one else who looks at the piece for the very first time will come to the same conclusion (especially if they are familiar with the geography of the American Southwest). In reality these hills are made out of reddish clay that contribute to the seemingly unnatural pink hue that permeates the painting.
Impressive as they are, the hills, from a compositional standpoint are simply arranged. When viewed up close the smooth, even application of paint is readily apparent. The canvas basically soaks up all the oil paint so there is no excess left over to create texture or depth. Black paint allows the hills to portray a three dimensionality of sorts by forging creases in them. This gives the hills a realistic look and feel. Furthermore, smooth lines separate the hills and sky. Even with the immediate jump in color the pinks and blues work together in the painting. The light graduation of pink, mixed pink & white to an almost burnt red color gives the hills height. The up/down, side-to-side brushstrokes complement this phenomenon. The contrast between the shadows and highlights coupled with the converging hills give "Pink Hills" a stunningly naturalistic depth of field. This technique draws the eye inward until you reach the middle of the canvas.
You can look at things like the two-toned blue sky and the majestic soft light bouncing off the hills and conclude that the time of day appears to be late afternoon, but believing that the iconography was meant to tell people a specific thing about the American Southwest. And since you can't really describe emotions it's better to depict them on canvas. Therefore, it makes sense that O'Keeffe painted this landscape because put her at peace and elicited an emotional response deep within her that she felt couldn't be conveyed any other way.
Upon seeing "Pink Hills" for the first time I was a bit surprised to see that O'Keeffe did landscape painting. I wasn't privy to the fact that outside of making large scale renderings of flowers O'Keeffe worked in other disciplines (obviously landscapes and architecture). Nevertheless, "Pink Hills" fits into her entire body of work seamlessly by presenting a real life place in a big and bold manner.
It would be nice if more attention was given to this piece since it isn't one of O’Keeffe’s most popular works. Heck, it's basically a forgotten painting. Thankfully my ill comfort level with the color pink didn't stop me from seeing what I now refer to as an excellent work by O'Keeffe. If you are interested in discovering more about Georgia O'Keeffe's personality and the intimacy she had for the American Southwest than "Pink Hills" is highly recommended.
For more information on the artist, please visit: https://www.artsy.net/artist/georgia-okeeffe
As always thanks for reading!
©2012 Matthew R. Reis, All rights reserved.
Blog Exclusive!
Note: This paper was originally written on Tuesday, November 16, 2009.
When I first read "Pink Hills'" description in the Herbert F. Johnson Museum catalog my curiosity didn't pique all that much. After all, the word pink tends to strike fear in the heart of man. But in all seriousness I was disappointed to find out that the painting I intended to write about was put in storage unbeknownst to me. So why did I then wind up looking at "Pink Hills"? Well I'll shamelessly admit that the magnitude of the artist behind the work had a lot to do with it.
Georgia O' Keeffe painted "Pink Hills" in 1937. The painting came to fruition during one of the most productive periods of her legendary career (that being the 1920s through 1940s). "Pink Hills" depicts a far flung, oft-forgotten area of the American Southwest, yet O’Keeffe paints the hilly terrain like it is the most important parcel of land in the country. The hills around the Northern New Mexico area where O'Keeffe resided appear to be surreal, abstract forms that dart up from the alien, barren, lifeless ground below. Originally I thought the landscape was purely derived from the artist's imagination, but I was wrong. It's quite possible that no one else who looks at the piece for the very first time will come to the same conclusion (especially if they are familiar with the geography of the American Southwest). In reality these hills are made out of reddish clay that contribute to the seemingly unnatural pink hue that permeates the painting.
Impressive as they are, the hills, from a compositional standpoint are simply arranged. When viewed up close the smooth, even application of paint is readily apparent. The canvas basically soaks up all the oil paint so there is no excess left over to create texture or depth. Black paint allows the hills to portray a three dimensionality of sorts by forging creases in them. This gives the hills a realistic look and feel. Furthermore, smooth lines separate the hills and sky. Even with the immediate jump in color the pinks and blues work together in the painting. The light graduation of pink, mixed pink & white to an almost burnt red color gives the hills height. The up/down, side-to-side brushstrokes complement this phenomenon. The contrast between the shadows and highlights coupled with the converging hills give "Pink Hills" a stunningly naturalistic depth of field. This technique draws the eye inward until you reach the middle of the canvas.
You can look at things like the two-toned blue sky and the majestic soft light bouncing off the hills and conclude that the time of day appears to be late afternoon, but believing that the iconography was meant to tell people a specific thing about the American Southwest. And since you can't really describe emotions it's better to depict them on canvas. Therefore, it makes sense that O'Keeffe painted this landscape because put her at peace and elicited an emotional response deep within her that she felt couldn't be conveyed any other way.
Upon seeing "Pink Hills" for the first time I was a bit surprised to see that O'Keeffe did landscape painting. I wasn't privy to the fact that outside of making large scale renderings of flowers O'Keeffe worked in other disciplines (obviously landscapes and architecture). Nevertheless, "Pink Hills" fits into her entire body of work seamlessly by presenting a real life place in a big and bold manner.
It would be nice if more attention was given to this piece since it isn't one of O’Keeffe’s most popular works. Heck, it's basically a forgotten painting. Thankfully my ill comfort level with the color pink didn't stop me from seeing what I now refer to as an excellent work by O'Keeffe. If you are interested in discovering more about Georgia O'Keeffe's personality and the intimacy she had for the American Southwest than "Pink Hills" is highly recommended.
As always thanks for reading!
©2012 Matthew R. Reis, All rights reserved.
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