Artist Lecture

12/4/2018

    For the artist lecture I went and heard Robert Freeman speak about his painting and the work he's done over the years. I went into the lecture thinking I might be bored out of my mind.  Historically, I’ve never been too interesting in paintings in comparison to photography. My biggest struggle was understanding what the artist was trying to portray and the message he was trying to send, but that was not the case with his work.  Freeman focused not on how he made the painting or the techniques he used, but where he got the inspiration and the message he was trying to get across. What I found most interesting about him is that his work was getting so popular for a while, that it was selling before it was even finished.  This led him to leave the Boston area and get away for awhile with his family. Freeman took his family to a tiny island in Italy where he then got inspiration for many more paintings; these were my favorites that he showed. The paintings from the island were all images of larger table gatherings where most of the people were either talking and drinking.  They really felt like they were pulling you into the picture and you were sitting at the table with the rest of the men. Another interesting thing for me was Freeman explained how, on the island, women were still seen as less than men. If his wife asked a question, the person who answered her would direct the answer at Freeman, and not his wife. Freeman painted people to look more equal and not have the genders split up in regards to who is in charge or more powerful.  One of my only criticisms for his work, however, was that he would sometimes cut off a person at the edge of the picture in an unfortunate way, like the top few inches of a head or on someone's joint. As a photographer I always try to steer away from cutting off a body part like that. I'd rather get the whole image and crop down if needed.