Sunday, January 10, 2010

Waiting for Death - Art



Waiting for Death is an abstract, freeform painting with a striking complementary color scheme. The foreboding title fills the viewer with a sense of dread that is reinforced by the strong contrast of the colors and the cryptic figure that is featured in the painting. This dark, abstract shape seems to be moving slowly across the painting’s surface, slowly encroaching into the orange field that makes up the painting’s background. This impression of slow, steady movement is a representation of human anxiety at the impending reality of death. Each of us is aware of human mortality, and the frightening nature of this knowledge is captured in the figure’s slow progression across the painting.

The color scheme of the painting is also significant, for the figure slowly encroaches into a field of vibrant orange. This orange is a warm color, representing heat and energy – perhaps even life itself. This vibrant, lively color is slowly replaced with the dark shades of the figure. In this way, Waiting for Death shows the slow inevitability of death and its eventual triumph over energy and life.
©1998-2009 Claretta Taylor Webb. All Rights Reserved

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