Pen and Shutter

Wheatfield with Crows by Vincent Van Gogh

I'm gonna step back from photography again for a bit, but for the sake of photography of course. Visual arts beyond the genre of photography share a ton of similarities with it. I picked the painting above by Van Gogh particularly because of its qualites that can be found in good photography. The movement is evident with the flowing directions of Van Gogh's brush strokes. In fact the entire painting is filled with swaying brush strokes. Van Gogh's choice of colors contrast well with each other, going from warm tones of yellows to the dark cold tones of the sky. Even beyond the basics of aesthetic composition, artists of all mediums share similar goals of portrayal and expression.

Massacre in Korea, Pablo Picasso

Palestine, David Parsons

The painting Massacre in Korea is one of my favorite works by Picasso, particularly because of how clear his message is expressed. The contrast between good and evil is out there without any need for interpretation. The aggressors on the right with their weapons pointed at the innocent women and children on the left. This composed contrasting balance between good and evil was also used by Francisco Goya in his painting the Third of May 1808, and even in David Parsons' photograph from "The Wall" in Palestine which I mentioned in an earlier post. Its almost strange to see the similarities of these two different mediums so evident when placed side to side.