While social issues have changed throughout time, using art to portray or to question the issue at hand has been used by many artists to voice a political message or opinion. Many famous artworks have been based on a prominent social issue of the time, such as war, poverty or eating disorders. Such artworks include A Corridor in the Asylum, by Vincent Van Gogh, and We Are Not What We Seem, by Barbara Kruger. These artworks differ greatly, not only through the issue they’re based on, but also the perspective and the materials used. A Corridor in the Asylum is about mental illness and is from the artist’s perspective, who spent a number of years in a mental institution. We Are Not What We Seem, by Barbara Kruger, spreads a message about feminism and men’s attitude towards women.
Van Gogh and Kruger present varying subject matter and moods due to the different social issues and the perspective in which it is depicted. In Van Gogh’s A Corridor in the Asylum, a haunting, almost endless and nearly empty corridor is depicted, with a tiny figure making a quick exit halfway down the passage. The distance of the figure arouses the feelings of loneliness and isolation, whilst the enclosing walls generate the feeling of confinement. We Are Not What We Seem differs in subject matter and therefore emotions. A 1950’s glamour model is shown inserting a large contact lens into her eye, symbolising the need or desire to be someone different, and to live up to the materialistic views. The close proximity of the image stimulates a feeling of intrusion on a private moment. The image is divided into three parts, with the words ‘we are not what we seem’ written on the vertical interior borders. The left-hand section of the image shockingly contrasts with the middle section of the picture, depicting sadness, shame, and an overwhelming sense of insecurity and claustrophobia.
Both artists have exploited different materials and techniques to portray the subject matter. Van Gogh’s painting, A Corridor in the Asylum, was completed in black chalk and gouache on Ingres paper, and is neatly composed of short, straight lines using simular hues of yellows and browns. Unlike A Corridor in the Asylum, Kruger’s work is a digitally manipulated photographic silkscreen on vinyl, the photograph lacking in colour but sharply contrasted by the bold red tone of the border. Different elements and principles have been employed by the artists to convey the moods or emotions, and to create the central focus. A Corridor in the Asylum utilises space, balance and line to produce the mood of solitude. The painting is very symmetrical which gives the image a feeling of monotony; the space is enclosed and isolated, enhanced by the use of line which lengthens the image. Repetition of shape and colour also elongates the corridor and gives the painting a monotonous feel, reflective of Van Gogh’s feelings of his time spent there. The end of the corridor is the main focus, created by vectors along the corridor, drawing the eye to the end of the hall. Kruger’s We Are Not What We Seem utilises central placement and vectors dividing the space into three areas, the centre section containing the focal point, the contact lens. It creates a feeling of suffocation and intrusion, created by the use of line and space, and the lack of colour. Vectors are used through the interior borders, which consequently encloses the space further to generate the feeling of restriction. The use of black and white is a significant trait used in many of Kruger’s works, contrasting against the bold font and border, and tonal realism also assists in the feeling of claustrophobia, by somewhat dulling and flattening the image.
Van Gogh and Kruger present varying subject matter and moods due to the different social issues and the perspectives from which they are explored. A Corridor in the Asylum was created in France, 1889, in the style of Post-Impressionism. (Sandra L Bertman, 2006) Like most artists, Van Gogh adapted post-impressionism to make his own unique, recognisable style, and to create an emotionally charged response to the landscape. (Marc Doyle, 2007) Kruger’s is a Post-Modernism artwork, made in 1988 in the United States, and follows the style of Conceptual Art. (Phaidon Press Ltd., p256, 1996) Unlike Post-Impressionism, the most important aspect of Conceptual Art is the idea or concept, and the final product is usually emotionally dry and intellectually interesting. (Sol Lewitt, 1967) Post-Impressionism, however, is based on the objective recording of nature in terms of the fugitive effects of colour and light to create a highly emotional and personal perspective. (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007) The artists have been able to convey their emotions and opinions using symbols and their experiences to express a message.
Van Gogh is able to render his feelings of isolation, separation and suffering during the last few years of his life spent at the asylum in St Rémy, France, the subject of the painting. (Sandra L Bertman, 2006) The duplication of shape and colour generates a feeling of repetition and the elongated, deserted corridor creates the feeling of isolation and being trapped. Kruger’s work, instead of giving a personal perspective on a subject, questions feminism and challenges cultural assumptions. A 1950’s glamour model is used to portray women and what is expected of them, the contact lens juxtaposing this, reinforced by the text, stating: “we are not what we seem.” Kruger’s work is inspired from twelve years as a designer and photo editor for Conde Nast Publications, and the images she uses are from mainstream magazines that sell the very ideas she is disputing. (Artprice, 2003)
Van Gogh and Kruger’s artworks both have similarities and differences in their subject matter, emotions and materials. Both artworks show the social issue from the victim’s point of view; whether from the artists’ perspective or from exposure to the social issue through other means. Van Gogh’s artwork is reflective of its time and place, when victims of mental illness were not well understood, and excluded from society. Kruger’s displays the need to live up to others expectations, and the private desire to break free of the stereotypes in a conformist culture. Although the emotions have similarities of enclosed space and confinement, they also have dissimilarities, as the subject matter of the two artworks differs. A Corridor in the Asylum is of great value to us today as it documents the final years of a great artist’s life through his eyes. It gives the audience an understanding of his traumas and tragedies through the sensitive, moody portrayal of his mental illness. Kruger’s work is valuable for different reasons; her art often making bold statements on feminism and stereotypes, We Are Not What We Seem takes a contrasting approach to the use of mainstream magazines to portray the social issues they often cause, spurring viewers to question the root of the issue. Kruger and Van Gogh have, using art, portrayed their knowledge and experiences of social issues and have exposed the deeper influences and emotions they create, making a lasting message more valuable than words alone.
