Theresa and Amanda's

20th Century Design Page

The Yellow Cow (140.5 x 189.2cm, oil on canvas, 1911) Franz Marc

Franz Marc was an expressionist painter in Germany, at the beginning of the 20th century. We chose his work because Marc was a pioneer in the birth of absrtact art during his time. He made a lasting impact on German Expressionism. The colours used in The Yellow Cow attracted us to it. Marc believed that colour had a symbolic and spiritual force all its own. Marc had the ability to change and influence the way people expressed themselves through painting. We felt that since his paintings were so influential and unique, it deserved to be representative of the era. Marc is well-known for his use of animals in non-naturalistic hues. His most famous being that of a group of blue heroic horses. Marc turned to abstraction in 1913, in response to cubism and futurism.

Andy Warhol was one of the leaders of the Pop Art Movement of the 50s and 60s. His work, among others, was achieved by using items from mass culture in the US and Europe. Warhol was one of the first to place popular culture in the eye of the observer. It gave people time to reflect on everything being thrown at them. We chose Warhol's Green Coca-Cola Bottles because Coca-Cola is still seen as a corporate icon. The company is huge and there probably is not one person who doesn't know what Coke is. 'Corporate Culture' has become an intricate part of our lives. During the 50s and 60s, people enjoyed Pop Art and its stand on connecting humanity with culture. Warhol's work, among others, left an impact which losely resembles the nature of art and man.

Green Coca-Cola Bottles (1962, 82.5 x 57 in, oil on canvas) Andy Warhol

Guardians of the Wall (16 x 18 in, pencil, 1995) Ragen

Ragan was a teenager when she first created the Guardians of the Wall. She was able to capture the intense emotion of the Veteran while reminding the viewer of the strength and support lovingly given by a power greater than your own.This drawing won second place at the national 1995 Congressional Art Competition. We chose Ragen's drawing because we felt that it had a very strong spiritual meaning. When we discovered that it had been drawn by a teenager it made us realize that art done by the younger generation, doesn't seem to be as widely noticed as it deserves to be. The hope and uplifting assurance of the Guardian Angel that supports the crippled soldier is seen in the beautiful portrait of her face. " It literally felt like angels were surrounding the place when I first saw the drawing...I couldn't believe it."- John Ensign Rep. Awards ceremony.

While we were searching for articles, we came across this painting entitled The False Mirror, by Rene Magritte. During the 30s, his work was often misunderstood, because the simplicity was misleading. He chose from ordinary things to construct his works, such as trees, chairs, landscapes and people. We chose this painting because we thought it would be the best medium to express a political work. We believed that the use of the human eye gives it meaning and allows people to easily relate to it. To achieve a different meaning in another era, we blended two photographs to gether. One was of a clearcutted forest in BC, and the other, was Magritte's painting. Since the main social issues of the 90s surround our environment, we gave this piece that meaning. Our final piece shows the reality, which is destruction of our environment.

The Original:

The False Mirror 19 x 27 cm, oil, 1935 Rene Magritte