What ART Thou Doing?

9/19/2019

Analyze the artwork above (The Mysterious Bird [1917], Charles Burchfield). What do you notice? How do the foreground and the background of the painting juxtapose (contrast) one another? What kind of mood does each create?

83 Comments

Kendra

9/19/2019 01:14:17 pm

The road looks straightforward and brighter but the trees and things off the path are dark. Off the path is kind of a gloomy and creepy. The path looks bright and somewhere you would want to be.

Eliza

9/19/2019 01:16:29 pm

Yeah your smart

Dakota James

9/19/2019 01:17:16 pm

I like your idea and agree that maybe the road represents moving forward in a positive way rather than being stuck in the dark times.

Nathan

9/19/2019 01:20:19 pm

I like what you noticed about the road

Trishelle

9/19/2019 01:18:04 pm

I think your right

Sienna

9/19/2019 01:18:17 pm

Agreed, it looks very happy.

Carson

9/19/2019 01:19:23 pm

I didn’t even think of the path.

Ady

9/19/2019 01:22:07 pm

Me too

Eliza

9/19/2019 01:14:34 pm

I notice in the picture it doesn’t have a lot of detail and is kind of open ended. I think that it is like kind of go into cold. It is kind of a mysterious mood I feel like.

Kendra

9/19/2019 01:15:19 pm

That’s a good point of view.

Sienna

9/19/2019 01:16:57 pm

Agreed, the picture is very open to interpretation.

Trishelle

9/19/2019 01:18:39 pm

Your smart

Ady

9/19/2019 01:20:24 pm

Definitely agree

Megan

9/19/2019 01:20:24 pm

Very true.

Erik

9/19/2019 01:14:59 pm

I noticed that the road starts out sunny and grassy, then it goes to a clouded dead area. The foreground is happy and the background is sad. The beginning of the trail is sunny and happy and the end is sad and dark.

Kendra

9/19/2019 01:15:52 pm

I noticed that too.

Tyler

9/19/2019 01:20:29 pm

Yah the town looks kind of depressing

Jonah

9/19/2019 01:29:00 pm

Same

Keely

9/19/2019 01:24:37 pm

I like your description of the painting.

Sienna

9/19/2019 01:15:52 pm

The road is very lively and has a lot of pretty colors and vegetation while on the other side of the fence it seems dark and cold. It is as if the seasons are changing from fall to winter. Though a dark bird flys above the road showing there is some crossing over from the different parts of this picture. Perhaps even in the negative (outside the road), you can find a little positivity. And visa versa

Olivia

9/19/2019 01:20:08 pm

I agree with your ideas.

Megan

9/19/2019 01:21:49 pm

I really like your outlook.

Tyler Hilton

9/19/2019 01:15:58 pm

I noticed that there was only one bird in the sky which if flying into what looks like a grey and gloomy town. The front of the painting is a road that has grass grown by it and the back is a gray town. This created either a happy vibe from the colorful road or a depressing vibe from the gloomy town.

Erik

9/19/2019 01:17:09 pm

The town is depressed.

Jonah

9/19/2019 01:18:22 pm

The road’s certainly the only positive thing whatsoever.

Micah

9/19/2019 01:19:10 pm

Very descriptive words. Andy interesting perspective

Dakota James

9/19/2019 01:20:41 pm

Yeah I think you are onto something. I wonder why there is only one bird and where he is flying?

Nathan

9/19/2019 01:20:59 pm

I agree with Erik

Dakota James

9/19/2019 01:16:14 pm

I notice that the picture is halfway happy and sad all I’m one. The background contrasts the foreground by being dark and gloomy. The foreground looks as if it is recovering from a dark time, and is now putting off a more positive vibe. The background still looks corrupt and depressing. I would rather live in the bright more happier part of the painting.

Eliza

9/19/2019 01:17:26 pm

I like the way you put that.

Tyler

9/19/2019 01:18:10 pm

Yah I would probably want to live there to

Jonah

9/19/2019 01:19:05 pm

Too*

Tyler

9/19/2019 01:21:41 pm

😐

Carson

9/19/2019 01:20:46 pm

I like how you mentioned that the one picture is recovering from a dark time.

Olivia

9/19/2019 01:21:41 pm

I would rather live on the brighter path, I like how you put this.

Jonah

9/19/2019 01:16:22 pm

Everything is black and white except for the path. The destination seems to fade away past the buildings. Beyond that is a formidable storm. If I were you, I’d prefer staying on the straight and narrow. Directly above the path, the clouds are gone. The perspective of this piece of art could be looking ahead at all the trials, or looking back at all that you’ve made it through.

Boaz

9/19/2019 01:21:05 pm

You are right the clouds are parted which I didn’t notice before. Good connections.

Beth

9/19/2019 01:21:22 pm

The straight and narrow is definitely the preferred way.

Lizzie

9/19/2019 01:22:01 pm

I liked your perspective on looking ahead and pushing through trials.

Olivia

9/19/2019 01:22:15 pm

I like your ideas.

Micah

9/19/2019 01:16:40 pm

The fist thing I noticed was the color. The background and foreground juxtapose each other because one is dead and gray and the other is alive and stands out. It creates an unfamiliar mood. I’m not sure what to make of it.

Lizzie

9/19/2019 01:22:35 pm

I liked how you described it as dead and alive.

Hailey

9/19/2019 01:22:48 pm

I agree that the mood felt unfamiliar.

Carson

9/19/2019 01:17:03 pm

It looks like two different worlds. One looks happy and sunny and the other looks sad. The create different moods because on side has dead trees and is dark and the other is grassy and bright.

Jonah

9/19/2019 01:19:56 pm

Spittin’ fax

Hailey

9/19/2019 01:23:24 pm

I agree with the feeling of two different worlds.

Micah

9/19/2019 01:23:38 pm

Dope. Good description

Trishelle

9/19/2019 01:17:21 pm

I notice that there are some dead trees. They contrast because it’s warm and then it gets like colder.it creates a weird mood it’s kinda creepy.

Jaylee

9/19/2019 01:19:45 pm

You are right

Megan

9/19/2019 01:18:33 pm

If you just look at the bottom half of the painting it looks more sunny and bright. The top half of the painting turns into a dark gloomy setting. That’s how they contrast.

Jaylee

9/19/2019 01:20:36 pm

It is gloomy

Olivia

9/19/2019 01:18:44 pm

I notice that the the road is bright and colorful, while the background is dark and foreboding. It looks like the foreground is summer and the background is winter. There’s an opening in the clouds. The mood I get is kind of mysterious. It’s like the path leads to something dark.

Micah

9/19/2019 01:24:29 pm

I thought the same thing about the seasons. And I like the word foreboding.

Janessa

9/19/2019 01:25:27 pm

It’s kind of strange that a happy path leads to a dark place.

Jaylee

9/19/2019 01:19:00 pm

They contrast because the foreground is representing a kinda warmer and calmer scene while the background is colder and darker. The mood creates a calmer time leading to a darker time.

Ele

9/19/2019 01:23:15 pm

I like what you noticed!

Nathan

9/19/2019 01:19:15 pm

I notice that the trees are dead and that it is cloudy creating a sad and dark but that there are little patches of hope and light peaking up out of the dark as grass.

Micah

9/19/2019 01:25:32 pm

I keep noticing the trees too. They are dark and scary

Boaz

9/19/2019 01:19:29 pm

The path, which is the center of the painting, is very colorful and jolly while the background is very dark and depressing. The path creates a feeling of beauty and nature while the background is very industrialized and dead.

Jonah

9/19/2019 01:21:54 pm

Good word choice

Keely

9/19/2019 01:27:58 pm

I didn’t think about the background looking industrialized. I like that perspective.

Ady

9/19/2019 01:19:40 pm

I like this painting a lot since it represents winter and the other side affects of other seasons. It contrasts to me by somewhat of a change in seasons.

Micah

9/19/2019 01:26:47 pm

I like that your response was simple. Very easy to understand

Beth

9/19/2019 01:19:50 pm

I noticed the difference in color in the landscapes. The front path is painted with warmer colors and makes a kind of confusing feeling. Where you feel happiness with dread coming.

Micah

9/19/2019 01:28:03 pm

Very true. I agree. Well written, and well thought out!

Madeline

9/19/2019 01:28:05 pm

I agree it does look like in the painting there is happiness now but darkness coming.

Myah

9/19/2019 01:29:48 pm

I agree with your last sentence.

Hailey

9/19/2019 01:20:14 pm

The foreground of the painting is colorful and seems hopeful. Grass is being to grow beneath the remnants of a cold winter, and the road is marked with the tracks of passing travelers. But, the background is dark and hopeless. The sad looking houses and the dead trees are intimidating. The mood created is eerie, and while I was analyzing it I felt sort of lost.

Boaz

9/19/2019 01:24:24 pm

Your wording really paints a picture!

Jonah

9/19/2019 01:26:47 pm

Agreed

Ele

9/19/2019 01:24:42 pm

I like how you said that it made you feel lost.

Janessa

9/19/2019 01:27:43 pm

I like how you implied there was a lot of activity on the road. Maybe people like to travel on the “happy” road instead of facing the dark outside.

Micah

9/19/2019 01:30:35 pm

When you said it makes you feel lost, I was like wow! That’s such a good way of expressing that feeling.

Lizzie

9/19/2019 01:20:19 pm

The picture has color when it first starts out and then it as if the picture begins to fade. The foreground is brighter, sunnier and than the background is cloudy, and dark. The darker mood is gloomy, sad while the lighter mood is happy, and positive.

Myah

9/19/2019 01:20:54 pm

This artwork is very unique. It’s contrast between light and dark colors represent summer into autumn. It also could mean happy moments will eventually lead to sad moments. This painting makes me feel kinda depressed, knowing that a happy moment can never last and that gloomy days are right ahead of me.

Janessa

9/19/2019 01:29:18 pm

Myah....... that makes me feel sad too.

Ele

9/19/2019 01:22:01 pm

In the picture it has a bright area and as along the way gets darker and darker. The ground is partially green while the trees are dead and the city is dark. In the sky there is a hole within the clouds. It is like the bird is trying to find the light. There is a contrast it is a a special mood.

Madeline

9/19/2019 01:26:41 pm

I agree it does look like the bird is trying to find the light.

Janessa

9/19/2019 01:22:40 pm

In this painting, there isn’t line work. It just lets the colors fill the space, instead of outlining everything in black. This gives the painting a softer feel. Up close, the trees are dead and black, and there is little snow, but farther down the road, the trees have leaves and the snow is melted. The colors in and around the path are the brightest in the picture. This can symbolize that even if your destination isn’t what you like, (the town), you can still choose to enjoy how you get there.

Keely

9/19/2019 01:23:33 pm

I notice a lonely bird flying above a very barren road. The foreground looks a little more cheery than the background. I think of it as a journey. While it may look bright in the beginning, it’s only going to get harder. Not that all journeys get harder, but that is what I interpret it as.
The moods I gathered mainly from the colors, create a clash of emotions. While the sky gets darker there is still a patch of light in the middle, promising little joys through out the distance to travel.

Boaz

9/19/2019 01:29:11 pm

That is a really interesting interpretation. That is the beauty of art. It can be interpreted in many different ways and none of them are wrong.

Myah

9/19/2019 01:31:15 pm

I like how you said it creates a clash of emotions.

Madeline

9/19/2019 01:24:15 pm

To me the painting looks mysterious and in a way gloomy. I think that the foreground and background juxtapose each other because the different colors of the darker back and brighter front. When you only look at the foreground then you see the green grass and the road and you might think that it is a semi happy painting, but then you look at the background, at the cloudy sky and the trees without leaves and you realize that the painting is actually kind of gloomy.

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