Art and Architecture Essay: Jack Whitten

Jack Whitten was an America sculptor as well as a painter who has earned his popularity through his pleasant pieces of art. His ability to approach art in such a unique manner was awarded with the national medal of arts which was given to him in 2016. The artistic life of Jack kicked off in 1960 as he enrolled for the art studies until his graduation in the field. His artistic nature was greatly influenced by the activities in the society as well as the successful artistic that preceded him. The life of art also drove him across many parts of the globe with each of the instances in his life helping to shape his nature in the art world and for the better of his career. Despite graduating and starting a life in the art world, Jack Whitten was also involved in other studies which helped in giving him more knowledge in the fields. Willem de Kooning is among the people who influenced the lifestyle as well as the art display of Jack Whitten. In 1974 at the Whitney Museum of American Art during the annual exhibition of the American paintings, there was the feature of the art created by Whitten. Two years down the line, the same museum mounted the works that have had creatively made which contributed to his success in the art industry. Apart from the above involvement of art by Jack, there were the solo exhibitions that were made by the artist at the universities and galleries that propelled his works to a new level. The following discussion therefore makes the analysis of the art works by Jack Whitten, the nature and influence of his art life.

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The general description of the art work made by Jack Whitten is one that has seen progressive change over the years. This is because the artist focuses more on the changing times which means that how work has been great influenced by time. It might be different from the rest of the artists who work to ensure that there is the mastery of a singular unit of art rather that than the exploration of several units of art which is the exact manner in which the artist conducted his activities. The level of creativity identified from his work is a major contributor to his popularity over the years. In addition, the ability to incorporate color, texture as well as concept in the sculpture making as well as the creation of paintings lead to the appreciation of his work at a global instance (Greenberger).The people who closely knew Jack explained him as an honest man which was his social life. In addition, his corporate explained that the artist was always promising in terms of his delivery as he was full of creativity at all times and at the same time, he maintained his originality. His works have been preserved in galleries as well as university in the celebration of his success in the art world. During the late twentieth century, the style used by the artist was maturing and therefore, his popularity came in the later years during the following century which is the similar scenario with the other artists following the same period of maturity. However, during the period of his popularity, he was widely accepted through the works that he constantly produced and thus changing the art history (Greenberger). He is definitely recognized in the art history with many of his works being presented in the museums as well as the universities.

There are several works that have been created by the artist and which have been widely recognized and thus leading to the great popularization of his works. A good example is the April's Shark an acrylic on Canvas. This was the painting that was drawn on 1974 ad has been preserved to the present time as a result of the creativity that has been engaged in the creation of the painting. A s mentioned in the discussion above, a good art person is supposed to understand the need of synchronizing the different elements of art in the effort of passing the intended message through the piece created ("Jack Whitten - Artists - Alexander Gray Associates"). This particular painting represented objects which seemed to be in motion through the incorporation of skill and the art knowledge. By the time of the creation, Whitten had adopted to the use of acrylic as a substitute to oil because of the drying aspect where the acrylic dried faster than oil. Apart from the creation of paintings, Jack spent more time in the creation of sculptures which was created out of the building up ideas that had to express through art. In the museums, there are the portraits that have been preserved to the present date and which have a high estimated value. This means that the ideas that could not been expressed through the mixing of the colors would be presented through the curving of the sculptures. For a black painter like him, it was unusual to reach the heights bearing in mind that he hadn't received the much fame at the time. In addition, this served as a chance to bring out the projects that he had worked on over the previous years and by luck, they were appreciated by the audience as seen during the display. It is important to understand that he was more of an explorer whose best tactic was the change with the changing times which saw the incorporation of technology in the creation of his works. A good example is the creation of the Apps for Obama that resembled the ipad owned by Barrack Obama. There is the plan to open the project that had been worked upon by the artists in 2018 where there will be the displays of the sculptures made by the artist in Baltimore. There was the venture that was made by the artist in the incorporation of the different colors with the painting of the sculptures. The career of Jack that followed fifty years has been displayed at the walker art centre ("Artist Jack Whitten Talks About His Hauser & Wirth Exhibition"). His involvement in the civil rights movement, meditation on Dr Luther King as well as the involvement in the Vietnam War equips the artist with much knowledge thus explaining the quality of work made by the artist. Even at the time of the free fall in reference to the political and social status of the society, Jack had been enjoying his professional revival especially with his debut solo show that is to be viewed in New York. The state of the nation is an explanation to the manner in which his art exhibitions have been presented in the effort of accessing parallel dimensions.

Works Cited

"Artist Jack Whitten Talks About His Hauser & Wirth Exhibition". Cultured Magazine, 2018, https://www.culturedmag.com/jack-whitten/. Accessed 3 Nov 2018.

"Jack Whitten - Artists - Alexander Gray Associates". Alexandergray.Com, 2018, http://www.alexandergray.com/artists/jack-whitten. Accessed 3 Nov 2018.

Greenberger, Alex. "Jack Whitten, Beloved Painter Of Abstract Cosmologies, Dies At 78 -". Artnews, 2018, http://www.artnews.com/2018/01/21/jack-whitten-beloved-painter-abstract-cosmologies-dies-78/. Accessed 3 Nov 2018.