Tuesday, March 19, 2013

AR6: Guy Denning



            In this response I will focus my attention on the artist Guy Denning. Denning’s work comments on today’s societal conditions, and his views sheds light on the influence of politics on current events. Denning makes it very clear that the commentary expressed in his work is his opinion, and that one doesn’t have to agree with his opinion to understand his work (Brian Sherwin, “Art Space Talk: Guy Denning”, Interview). Guy Denning is a highly skilled painter; his work evokes a strong emotional presence through his use of dramatic layering.
            In “Vanity Fair” (A piece in the set of “Five Eleven”, 2007) Denning focused on the human aspect of the tragic events that happened in September 11th, 2001. The formal elements are very dramatic; the strong diagonal lines of the towers shift the perspective, as if it were in a first-person point of view. The muted sky blends with the intensity of the bellowing smoke, further emphasizing the subject matter of the towers. The specks of debris are accompanied by a red smear across the affected target, humanizing the subject, spilling the blood from the towers. The intensity of the impact is shown through the subtle scratch marks on the canvas, which not only direct the debris but also add to the intensity through its dynamic properties.
            Some of these qualities are also present in Dennings’ “Cashing the Put Options” (A Piece in the set of “Five Eleven”, 2007), but the perspective is evenly aligned with the counteracting force of the airplane just before the moment of impact. It’s important to also consider the titles in these two pieces, as they seem to comment on capitalist greed. The subject in this perspective is not the towers but the height of the text that reads in French “histoire du guerre” meaning “History of War”.
The subject of war is also shown in Guy Dennings’ “Ch’io ‘l vidi omo di sangue e di crucci” (“I saw a man of blood and wrath” a piece in the set of “Dante’s Inferno”, 2011). In this seven-paneled painting, which is laid out in the form of a cross Denning references the story of Dante’s Inferno with modern warfare. The main subject dominating the top five panels are a military helicopter (Possibly a Comanche), and the secondary subject in the lower two panels is a deceased bird (Possibly a Sparrow). The two subjects are linked with paint drippings that seem to represent the effects of war, the loss of life and the disregard for innocence that man itself may deem insignificant. Denning’s use of texture through paint and scratch marks invites the viewer into the visual setting of a warzone; a very chaotic, and unpredictable reality.






-Images from: guydenning.org
-Guy Denning - Dante Project
-Brian Sherwin, “Art Space Talk: Guy Denning”, Interview

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