ISO: 1600 Aperture: f/5 Shutter: 1/15
This past week, I went to visit Calvin College’s Art
Gallery, in hopes of finding a piece of art that spoke to and inspired me. As I
made my round through the first room of the gallery, I saw a myriad of
beautiful pieces, but none that really spoke to me. Upon entry into the second
room, I was awestruck at the beauty of a collection of pieces by an artist
named Mathias Alten. The collection was comprised of 36 different paintings
that attempted to capture traditional rural landscape as it varied throughout
the different seasons. It was arranged to mimic the corresponding seasonal
changes of Michigan.
The piece
that specifically inspired me was a piece entitled “Birches in Winter”. The
painting is of three single birch trees in an open field, which is bordered by
a line of various other birch trees. There is snow on the ground and upon some
of the branches of the trees. The sky is a typical winter sky: light blue,
splattered with a few clouds. I was drawn to the piece because of its simple
beauty: an open field with a few trees and light dusting of snow. I could feel
the peace and quiet of the scene, the tranquility of the environment clear. It
calmed my recently anxious heart.
Though I
know techniques of painting varies from technical techniques of photography, I
think the basic foundation techniques remain the same: lighting and composition.
The light in the painting was a soft light of early evening, casting just a
few, slight shadows. The composition was simple, yet elegant, with a few
leading lines in the snowy grass drawing the viewers’ eyes to the three main
birch trees.
Clearly,
the main purpose of the work was to showcase the seasonal changes the Midwest climate
experiences. However, I think a deeper interpretation of the piece allows the
viewer to understand and appreciate the beauty and tranquility that simplicity
and quiet rural areas provide.
In all
honesty, I have to say that I actually really appreciated this piece of art. It
was simplistic in nature, but held a strong, almost therapeutic presence for
me. The rural scene, the light shadows, and the dusting of snow all worked
really well in my mind to present the viewer with a sense of peacefulness,
which I believe to be the artist’s main goal.
The photo I
took below seeks to radiate a sense of tranquility and peacefulness, just like
Alten’s piece did, only using a different medium of art. The composition of the
photo, a line of trees dusted slightly with snow, shadowed by another, vague
line of trees in the distance, seeks to show the simplicity of the Midwestern
environment. The leading lines on the road, heading to a small cottage in the
background seek to add warmth to a picture that depicts a cold temperature. The
light of early evening I hope calms the heart previously anxious from a full
day’s work. The light shadows the trees cast in an attempt to show the softness
of the picture. I hope the end result of my photo is similar to the end result
of Alten’s work: a sense of content and warmth that calms an anxious heart.
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