Research Task 2.2

Christoph Niemann and Saul Steinberg 


The portfolio of work by Christophe Niemann and Saul Steinberg is extensive. I have decided to study 'The New Yorker' covers, by the illustrators and compare their practices and ideas. 

Saul Steinberg


Christoph Niemann


Steinberg's covers are colourful and bright using an extensive palette, as does Niemann.

Steinberg's colours are delicate, softer. Niemann's much bolder with heavier blocks and clear cut lines between colour. 

Niemann features blocks of black, striking. There are no stark, black blocks in Steinberg's work, rather a thin use of black line. 

Both illustrators have a harmonious relationship with the colour palette. The colours are bright, but they work well with one another on the page. Both illustrators have covers that are saturated in colour and in contrast, those that are muted. 

I like the way that both illustrators can also produce a satisfying, simple colour palette, such as Steinberg's taupe page, displaying a black line drawing of a function room full of people. Niemann also displays this simplicity in his sketch of father and daughter beneath the kitchen sink - black, grey, white and red. 

Steinberg's high rise in the centre of New York City is in colour, with the city around it in simple back line. The high rise depicts the city in colour, with a rising sun. So stunning and clever. Almost a drawing, within a drawing. The high rise taking centre stage. 

Niemann's displaying a modern, dynamic, edited version, a reflection of the times. Steinberg's are more natural, coloured pencil tones. Softer and more delicate. Paler colours that compliment each other. 

Both illustrators display humour in their work. Niemann drawing a significant message, father and daughter working alongside each other whilst plumbing the kitchen sink. This girl can. However there is humour here too, the teddy bear lying on the floor close by. The kitchen floor littered with tools and pipes, maybe dad isn't completely sure of what he is doing after all...

Steinberg has a cat on a bicycle, cycling across a bridge and heading towards the colour of April. A pale March can be seen behind the cat and the white of February in the background, in the shape of a mountain. The use of a signpost leads the way to 'Summer'. Different and funny, quirky and innovative. We are all on this journey, with the cat. 

Neimann's work is full of objects, a phone lighting the pages of a book in hand, the bits and bobs of the kitchen sink, a sewing machine used to produce the flag of the United States of America. They are all crucial in understanding the scene, one object leads to another. 

I enjoy how Steinberg uses an object as a centre piece, like the city high rise, the bicycle and especially apparent in 'Girl in Bathtub'. A line drawing of a person drawn onto the bathtub, the bath is the primary object, the figure secondary. An interesting twist to a physical person actually being in the bath. Again, innovative. 


Reference
christophniemann.com 
saulsteinbergfoundation.org 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
 1.1 Research Task  Artist's Sketchbooks Danny Gregory 1960- Capturing a moment of the every day. "Making everyday matter".  Gregory sketches in pen and ink  in journals, often over a double page.  The colours are so clean and vibrant against the black lines. The sketches make the situation, like breakfast look more exciting than the real deal.  The shadows in blue are a creative and striking way of achieving tonal changes on the white porcelain.  The lines are far from perfect or precise, they just flow with a natural fluidity.  Edward Hopper 1882-1967 A visual response to the scene. Beautiful, peaceful drawings using a combination of pencil, charcoal and watercolour.  The sketches are so atmospheric, a sense of belonging to the scenes bellow. Hopper includes light and shadow, dark tones that not only depict the scene but the mood also.  Detailed sketches that are so accomplished.  The figures in the drawings are crucial in the int...
Read more
Image
 3.3 Illustrative drawings  I return to the references I have of my route.  The photos work fantastically well at taking my mind back to each moment, although as stand alone images there isn't an obvious narrative to each image.  I return to the sketches I made of my route.  I specifically select the sketches that intrigue me and conjure my imagination.  Emotions and memorable words. Shadows, continuous, alone, isolated, endless, opportunity, quiet, peaceful, contemplation, history.  My sketch here is for reference only. It is rather stale of emotion, but perhaps I wasn't looking at the bench emotively at the time.  I decide to take the word lonely and sketch the bench again, channeling a more emotive response.  I use only one colour, 'Payne's Grey' from a watercolour palette. I chose this colour because it varies an awful lot in terms of shade, and the grey would work well with the emotion of loneliness.  I use an ink nib to sketch the...
Read more
Image
 2.6 Pareidolia A collection of inanimate household objects, photographed:   Part of a shower, basket handles.  A glass of drink, a razor, a brass bin, a vintage money box, a toilet roll, desk drawers, a tall lamp, textures of wall tiles:  Justin Sutcliffe 'Objects are people too' A collection of photographs exploring facial pareidolia. He states that he did not set up the shots, all photographs were of faces "unexpectedly observed in life".  Bold and brilliant. No editing or embellishment. The faces are so obvious in each photograph. Yet in reality, one could easily miss the face as one would probably not be looking for it. He  managed to capture a phenomena, most of us would miss.  Keith Larsen  Colourful illustrations of characters, created out of everyday objects.  Very cleverly, Larsen not only copies the object, but brings it to life as a real, living thing.  The colours are enhanced. Bold and confident. Fun and playful. ...
Read more