Surrealist Subversion

 Surrealist Subversion

Describing the artwork:

'The Human Conditions' is a painting by René Magritte in 1933, oil on canvas. The artwork depicts a painting of the scenery behind the easel. Included in the painting is a blue sky with many white fluffy clouds, a singular tree, thin bushes and patches of dark green grass on either side of a dirt path. This is all visible through a window in the house. Inside the house, there is a pair of dull brown curtains, the window frame, and common structure such as the wall, floor and ceiling.

Subversion:

I took the following statement from an article from the Khan Academy website- 

In contrast to Dalí’s often obscene and intentionally shocking imagery, René Magritte used realistic painting techniques to present philosophical conundrums about the nature of representation and its relation to reality and language. In The Human Condition, Magritte depicts the way a painting’s representation “replaces” reality, leading us to consider the many assumptions we make about realistic images and their relationship to what they represent.

Giorgio de Chirico, The Mystery and Melancholy of a Street, 1914, oil on canvas.

Space Subversion:

De Chirico's artwork doesn't follow logical perspective rules that are used in almost every other artwork. The thing that makes De Chirico's art stand out from other artworks is the different vanishing points used. For example, the building on the left of the painting has a gradual vanishing point on the far horizon. This shows us that the other end of the building is further away and we can tell this because the building gets smaller the further away it goes from us. However, the structure on the right seems to be pretty lengthy as well, but its vanishing point isn't as gradual. It's almost hard to presume that the building's floor is flat because it almost seems to sink into the ground. It gives us the impression that the entire street surrounding it is on a slope. Once again, this conflicts with the building on the left's vanishing point Another thing is the cart-like thing next to the building on the right. While the building appears to be sinking into the ground because of its vanishing point, the cart's vanishing point is at an upward angle. As you can see, the painting is quite subversive because of its unusual perspectives.

Tracey Tawhiao vs De Chirico:

Both De Chirico and Tawhiao are said to be rather subversive artists. They both use symbols that make us think deeper about why it's there and its meaning/significance.