Justin Morgan's Digital Photography: November 2014

Artist Review

René François Ghislain Magritte (November 1898 – August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images that fall under the umbrella of surrealism. His work is known for challenging observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality.

Max Ernst (April 1891 – April 1976) was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealism.

Title of Artwork: The Son of Man

Date of Work: 1964

Description: It is an apple in front of the man’s face. It shows what is visible but hidden.

Analysis: The piece is vertical. It is centered in the page. The simple colors of the piece bring out a lot of focus to the apple.

Interpretation: I think the meaning is that the man is clearly visible and you can see him, but he is hiding a small piece of him that is untold.

Judgment: I think the piece is very well thought out and very well done. I like how it is so simple yet portrays such a significant meaning.

Title of Artwork: The Elephant Celebes

Date of Work: 1921

Description: It seems to be a huge mechanical elephant. There is also a woman with no head.

Analysis: The piece is very well put together. The color scheme is great and the fact that there is so much going on in one picture makes every little detail stand out.

Interpretation: I have no idea what the interpretation of this is.

Judgment: I think the picture is very well done. There is a lot of meaning behind it even though I don’t know what it is.

Part #3 – Rene Magritte’s work is very plain, simple, and easily understood whereas Max Earnst’s work is very complex. Rene has one simple meaning to his photo and doesn’t have much going on, but Ernst’s photo is very confusing. They are both about the same age so they entered Surrealism around the same time.