Art Essay on Principles of Designs-Agape

Okang Ziyad
okangz@yahoo.com

*Identification of work:

Agape
Sarah Boyce
Date-N/D
Medium (Oil based canvas)

*Response
The artist used oil paint with paint brushes and painted on a canvas.   The painting also appears to be on a wooden palete. The subject matter here is a naked dead woman. I think the woman was brutally beatened and murderdered.   The incident could of just happened because there is still soap foam in the tub and on her body. She could have been murdered somewhere else and was placed in the tub to give meaning to the style Agape.   She appears to be dead because both of her eyes are closed and there is blood all over her left eye. In addition to the style of art being Agape, I believe the artist was demonstrating Agape as in it’s definition of “amazement with the mouth open.”   I was shocked and amazed when I first saw the painting.   It was not just the nudity, but it was the big spot of blood covering her whole entire left eye and ear but nowhere else in the picture is there any blood showing.   Also, I noticed the highs and lows of lighting. Sarah shows us the variety of visual elements, which includes several consistent lines, shapes, mass, space, color, texture, and motion. The form of this painting is mostly lighting, lines, curves, and shapes.

*Lines
There are many lines used in this picture demonstrating direction because of how the woman’s hair is aiming downward but still moving in many other directions, for the hair seems to be moving from wind or a breeze of some sort. The woman's hair drapes down towards the bottom of the bathtub from the side arm of the tub showing vertical straight and directional lines.   There are also structured lines of the bathtub.
The structure of the bathtub shows us long horizontal lines and linear curves.   The position of the woman's body laying on her back shows horizontal lines while the back of her neck being overlapped over the side arm of the bathtub.   The position of the woman laying down... [continues]

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