Comparat i ve St udy Int roduct i on M y compar at i ve st udy f ocuses on Fr ank Auer bach, a cont empor ar y ar t i st who was a member of t he f amous School of London. Auer bach f ocused on t he human f or m and capt ur i ng l andscapes i n a pecul i ar , uni que way whi l e ut i l i zi ng l ar ge amount s of oil paints. I n cont r ast , I l ooked at Yayoi Kusama, a sel f descr i bed “ obsessi onal ar t i st ” who f ocused on mot i f s and pat t er ns i n her wor k. Bot h Auer bach and Kusama gr ew up dur i ng W or l d W ar I I , and t he way t hat t he war shaped t hei r ar t and l i ves i s an interesting thread of similarity that unifies their work. Then, at t he end of my compar at i ve st udy, I anal yze how r esear chi ng t hese t wo gr eat ar t i st s has i nf l uenced my own wor k whet her i t be t hemat i cal l y or t hr ough my pr ocess. Annot at ing Frank Auerbach’s Bacchus and Ariadne, 1971 Bacchus and Ari adne, Frank Auerbach, 1971, Oil on Canvas, 122.3 x 153 cm, Tat e Nat i onal Gall ery. Auerbach’s pi ece i s model ed af t er Ti t an’s pi ece of t he same name, but i n a non-obj ect i ve f orm wi t h j oyous col ors t hrough oi l on canvas. Auerbach’s use of heavy oi l pai nt creat es a very rough t ext ure t o t he surf ace of hi s pai nt i ngs, whi ch This space of light blue paint usual l y al l udes t o chaos. Agai n, t hi s chaos i s cont rast s wi t h t he rest of t he present as t he t ext ure cont ri but es t o t he i mage as i t s val ue i s much emot i onal i nt ensi t y and chaos of t he l ove bet ween l i ght er. It creat es a break wi t hi n Ari adne and Bacchus. t he i mage and draws t he vi ewer’s eyes t o t he t wo red, Most of Auerbach’s brushst rokes i n cent ral f i gures. In a sense of a t hi s pi ece are st i f f and geomet ri c. He l andscape, t hi s bl ue can cont rast s hi s own st yl e by i ncl udi ng a represent t he sky seen over an circle in t he sky. This rounded shape urban set t i ng whi l e al so creat es movement i n t he pi ece, as i f symbol i zi ng t he sky t hat st ars are ci rcl i ng above t he t wo l overs Bacchus of f ers t o Ari adne i n di rect l y bel ow. Tit an’s pi ece. Al so, t he oval represent s a crown t hat Bacchus t hrows i nt o t he sky af t er Ari adne di es as a way t o i mmort al i ze her i n t he st ars. Auerbach’s use of l i ne i n t hi s pi ece i s remi ni scent of a The f ocus of t he i mage are t he t wo l andscape wi t h scaf f ol di ng i n f igures meet ing and f alling in love in a ci t y l i ke London t hat i s red. Auerbach emphasizes t hem by const ant ly doing using dark blues and black t o const ruct i on. However, t hi s represent Bacchus’s part y. The f i gure of red l i nes, al so cont rast of col ors make t he bl ue f ade represent s Ari adne i n Tit an’s Thi s sect i on of red creat es a uni t y bet ween t he t wo red f i gures t hat represent Ari adne and more i nt o t he background t o Bacchus. Si nce red i s connot at ed wi t h romance, t he red t hat t i es t he t wo f i gures t oget her demonst rat e t he emot i onal i nt ensi t y pi ece. symbol i zes t hei r l ove and passi on f or one anot her and cont rast s wi t h t he rest of t he bl ue, bet ween Ari adne and Bacchus. serene f eel i ng of t he i mage. Bacchus and Ari adne, Frank Auerbach, 1971, Oil on Canvas, 122.3 x 153 cm, Tat e Nat i onal Gall ery. Cultural Significance of Bacchus andBacchus Ariadne, and Ari adne, Tit i an, 1971 1523, Oil on canvas, 176.5 x 191 cm, The Nat i onal Gall ery. Frank Auerbach was a member of t he f amous “ School of London” i n The same year t hat he pai nt ed Bacchus and Ari adne, Auerbach post WWII Bri t ai n (Gett y). The School of London was a col l ect i ve of wrot e i n a l et t er t o t he Times t hat “ Your correspondent s t end t o art i st s who f ocused on t he human f i gure and every day l andscape wri t e of pai nt i ngs as obj ect s of f i nanci al val ue or passi ve beaut y” t hrough abst ract i on as a rej ect i on of cont emporary art . Auerbach’s In 1971, Auerbach rej ect ed what he cal l ed “ passi ve beaut y” by Bacchus and Ari adne embodi es t hese val ues of t he School of London creat i ng pai nt i ngs such as Bacchus and Ari adne t o embody pure t hrough i t s depi ct i on of an abst ract l andscape. energy. At f i rst gl ance, Bacchus and Ari adne can be percei ved as a si mpl e, abst ract l andscape, but once t he vi ewer reads t he t i t l e, t he many symbol i c el ement s of t he pi ece become si gni f i cant . The t i t l e al l udes t o t he Roman myt h of t wo l overs as wel l as a pai nt i ng wi t h t he same name done by Renai ssance pai nt er Tit i an. Auerbach has creat ed many pi eces t hat are “ done af t er t he mast ers” where he wi l l creat e art t hat embodi es t he mood of t he pai nt i ng, but uses hi s abst ract i on of col ors t o creat e t he mood (Tat e). Wit h t he cont ext of t he t i t l e, vi ewers can t hen i dent i f y symbol s such as t he crown of st ars i n t he sky t hat represent t he const el l at i on t hat Bacchus made f or Ari adne By creat i ng pi eces af t er t he work of t he mast ers f rom t he Renai ssance, Auerbach i s abl e t o connect t he ol d worl d af t er her deat h. of t he Renai ssance wi t h hi s modern worl d. The cont rast bet ween Auerbach’s rendi t i on of Tit i an’s ori gi nal pai nt i ng i s si gni f i cant t hrough i t s dynami c brush st rokes t hat creat e dynami c energy and conf usi on t hat embody t he t i me period in which it was paint ed. The bol d col or choi ces and cont rast Annot at i ng Yayoi Kusama’s Pumpkin Sculpt ure, 1998 bet ween t he bl ack and yel l ow can be at t ri but ed t o Kusama’s pop art st yl e as Kusama’s repeat ed use of bl ack wel l as her l ove f or energy, si nce yel l ow pol kadot s creat es a rhyt hm i n t he i s t he col or of t he sun and l i ght . The pumpkin, creat ing it s spirit and cont rast bet ween t he shapes due t o t he energy t hat i s present i n Japanese col ors creat e a movement i n t he vi si on culture, particularly Shinto beliefs i n vi si on of t he vi ewers so t hat when that all things had spirits.