Topic > Black Iris Painting

'Black Iris', oil on canvas, 36 x 29 7/8 inches, 1926, the painting 'Black Iris' which may be called Black Iris III, is a 1962 oil painting by artist Georgia O'Keeffe (American, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin 1887–1986 Santa Fe, New Mexico). The dimensions of this image are 36 x 29 7/8 inches (91.4 x 75.9 cm). The medium used to create the artwork is oil on canvas. This beautiful floral painting is one of O'Keeffe's masterpieces. It enlarges petals to go well beyond life-size proportions and to force the viewer to observe small details that might otherwise be overlooked. O'Keeffe uses a variety of colors to create "Black Iris", although she almost focuses on the darkest shades. Use black, purple, and brown to detail the center and lower petals of the iris, while use pink, gray, and white to detail the upper petals of the flower. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay O'Keeffe also uses white and other bright colors to bring light into an image, despite the lack of a light source. O'Keeffe was trying to focus on light and its importance in presenting the organic beauty of his subjects. His art demonstrates his belief in the inner vitalism of nature and his association of this force with light. The iris is a familiar image in Western art, frequently used in Christian iconography; its sword-shaped leaves were employed primarily as a symbol of Mary's suffering, a pictorial metaphor that may also have been familiar to O'Keeffe from his Catholic upbringing and parochial education. O'Keeffe's famous irises have been a major concern for many years; he preferred the black iris, which he could only find at a few New York florists for about two weeks each spring. The enlargements and abstractions derived from the flower were often explained in gynecological terms, almost clinical in their precision. O'Keeffe rejected the idea that her flowers are sexual metaphors: this is something she believes is created by the viewer applying their associations to the works, not hers. O'Keefe argues: “No one sees a flower, really, it's so small. We don't have time, and it takes time to see just as it takes time to have a friend. If I could paint the flower exactly as I see it, no one would see what I see because I would paint it as small as the flower is small. So I said to myself: I will paint what I see, what the flower is to me but I will paint it big and they will be surprised to take time to look at it - I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see I some flowers. I made you take time to look at what I saw and when you took time to really notice my flower you hung all your associations with flowers on my flower and you write about my flower as if I thought and saw what you think and you see the flower - and I don't.”PHOTOGRAPHYBill Henson The photo with the title 'Untitled 1976-' was taken in 1976 by Bill Henson, one of Australia's most important contemporary artists. The dimensions of this photo are 45.0 x 35.0 cm; Frame 72.5 x 63.0 x 4.0 cm. And the materials used to create the artwork are C-type photographs. With 'Untitled 1976-' Henson wants to explore the work of composer Gustav Mahler and the song cycle 'Kindertotenlieder' (songs about the death of children). The five songs on 'Kindertotenlieder' are based on the poetry of Frederick Ruckert and although each deals with the pain associated with the loss of a child, they also speak of light and hope. Henson's landscape image was taken at Maiernigg on the Wother.