Art Essay Example: Primeval Resurgence by Lee Krasner

What attracted you to this work?

The Primeval Resurgence 1961 by Lee Krasner is an expressive piece of work with a hidden message that makes it so unique. I chose to write about this work because Krasner provides the desired feminine palette in the painting. She uses an artistic design in such a way that one cannot tell the author of this piece is a woman. The Primeval Resurgence demonstrates how Krasner has skills in the use of brush and oil. Krasner uses a limited color palette. She occasionally utilizes color red on the painting and combines other colors such as cream. The picture seems to represent an event that was happening in Krasners life. Moreover, the messy design and the use of dark marks in the artwork attracted me to write about the Primeval Resurgence. The uncontrolled movement of the brush makes the work, a bold, loose property. The author seems to know what she was going for while painting this artwork. The drugging and pushing the pigment of a thick loaded brush creates an energetic, pulsating image. One wonders what was going in Krasner mind while she was painting the Primeval Resurgence. Did the environment, especially the society trigger her to work on this piece of art, or was she protesting or grieving about an event that had happened in her life. These questions attracted me to write critically about the Primeval Resurgence. For this case, the artwork is a representation of abstract expressionism, meaning it is not just a picture but also an event. The event happening in the life of Krasner is probably the reason that made her produce this artwork that has attracted different reviews from critics.

Give a contextual analysis by answering the following questions: What period is it from? Why was the artwork originally made? Is there an obvious message (i.e. political, social, religious, personal)?

The Primeval Resurgence arises from the period after World War II where artwork shifted from Europe to New York, and a new form of painting, abstract expressionism, was born (Barton, 2015). This period was characterized by traditional social constructs and gender stereotypes, especially on women. Krasners artwork was significantly affected by the stereotyping of women by men. Her progress as an artist was overshadowed by the presence of her husband, Jackson Pollock. Critics assigned femininity to specific colors such as pink and Krasner utilized similar color palette in her works. Critics used gender language in their reviews of Krasners works that employed such colors.

Krasner suffered from insomnia and experienced sleepless nights after the death of her husband. She would wake up and start painting in the dark (Barton, 2015). She eventually painted the Primeval Resurgence. The message from the painting is both personal and social. At the time when Krasner was painting, women were stereotyped and domesticated. Krasners paintings were criticized for the use of colors that did not display her femininity. Critics viewed Krasners application of dull colors as disjointed from her identity as a woman (Barton, 2015). Her husband, on the other hand, received praise from the critics, yet Pollock and Krasner utilized the same approach of abstract expressionism. It is possible that Krasner painted the Primeval Resurgence to display her artistic work rather than her gender identity. The painting does not utilize the bright colors such as pink that were linked with femininity. Krasner instead uses dark colors that signify her brevity. In a 1972 Vogue article, Krasner exclaims that she is an artist and not a woman artist. Such a phrase illustrates Krasners objective for painting the Primeval Resurgence seem like a personal agenda. Although she was displaying her artistry, it is also possible the primeval resurgence fights the social construct of stereotyping women that they can only paint using bright colors such as pink. She uses serious colors and professionalism in her brushstroke. The messy design of the painting hides the identity of the author making it difficult to determine whether the artist was a male or a female.

Analyze it compositionally: How is the composition structured and arranged? What terms can be used to describe the style or appearance of the artwork (i.e. abstract, naturalistic, idealized, etc.)?

The composition and structure of the artwork look messy but controlled. Colors are overlapping against each other in an unrecognizable pattern that is hard to determine where it begins and ends. The arrangement of the colors seems like a representation of adverse events happening in the life of the author. The appearance of the artwork can be described as abstract expressionism. The painting does not depict a picture but instead seems like a representation of events. The subject matter is hidden and only known by the author. Moreover, the painting is bold and expresses the authors aggressiveness in using dark colors, which Krasner utilizes in displaying her skill as a writer and the reasons behind her art. The artwork is painted on canvas, and the author uses oil and the technique of the brushstroke to efficiently adjust and design the painting in an expressive manner that requires an audience with a keen eye to decipher the message in it.

References

Barton, A.E. (2015). Fuchsia Lipstick: The domestication of Lee Krasner in post-war criticism. Richard A. Harrison Symposium. Paper 3.