Discovering Fauvism

The greatest artists always took the greatest risks. Often those risks were with color. Instead of using predictable colors to paint realism artists chose to use colors that were more dramatic and showed a relationship between a color and an emotion. We see this largely played out in the artist Vincent van Gogh. As a post impressionist, he chose to use color to arrest the eye.

When you think of music you have the same dynamic of risk taking. In the seventies punk rock made its appearance on the scene with music that was a direct statement of generation that was discontent with society. The punk rock music was loud. It reflected lyrics that would repeat themselves as if you were stuck in a nightmare listening to a loop of sound over and over. Heavy metal music entered the music world and took vivid sound, lyrics, and cultural rebellion to a new level.

Within art of music, writing, poetry, theatre and all the visual arts you find that a creative break though occurs when artists take a medium or idea right up to the edge. That edge may reflect entering a realm of mystery or confusion. Most often artists will pull back from that edge just enough so that you can see the cliff. The view is safer and so is the art if it boarders the safe space with the dangerous space. There is a tension that exists that teaches the artist and the viewer something new. None of the new forms of creativity can exist if a risk is not attempted.

The art movement of Fauvism is a movement of risk, visual risk managing color. If the artists were musicians their music would be loud and direct with a purpose of changing your mind about sounds that work together. Their loud colors work within their own visual school of art. That school was called Fauvism.

Please view the full video below and answer the assessment questions below. Your second assignment is to create a self portrait of yourself using only vivid colors as the artists of Fauvism did. You have one week to complete the assessment and drawing assignment.