Coincidentally after having written this paper I feel like the paintings theme is very applicable to me. I don't have a game plan for my life, I don't really know what my next step is but somehow I'll figure it out, these things do always seem to work out :)
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| {via: google books} No place to Go- Maynard Dixon |
Maynard Dixon developed as an artist when many different art philosophies were flourishing and because of this Dixon’s artwork became a conglomerate of different philosophies. Modernist and regionalist are two ways that Dixon is described which is very unique because those two philosophies are contradictory. Regionalist paintings came about in response to modernist paintings that were being produced. Regionalists were realists and focused on “true” American values of going back to nature; they were traditional in response to the modernists who were looking to the future. Modernist philosophy rejected tradition and looked to new methods in technology and used a lot of symbolism to express hidden messages in their artwork. Dixon can also be described as a social realist because of his chosen themes of his artwork. All three of these philosophies influenced Dixon and can be seen in his painting, No Place to Go.
Dixon’s background sheds light on his painting style. Dixon’s love of the American land and country was rooted in him at an early age because he was raised by an aristocratic, well to do family that was closely tied to the Civil War. As Dixon began to study art he worked with Arthur Mathews, a tonalist, and associated with many artists in the Bohemian Men’s club in San Francisco. Dixon found work as a newspaper illustrator and moved into a more modernist style over impressionism. Dixon’s love for nature and influence of modernist friends led him to be a mixed artist with both regionalist and modernist styles. Even though Dixon had a hand in the business field and was busy with illustrations, he was known to dress up as a cowboy to fully embrace their philosophy of becoming one with nature. Dixon’s second marriage was with Dorothea Lange, the prominent photojournalist of the Great Depression she had a strong influence on Dixon as a social realist. Dixon’s surroundings and social circle really influenced his painting style to become a conglomerate of many philosophies.
 {via: Arts Magazine - Dixon} |
No Place to Go is most easily described by Dixon himself as, “honest art of the west” and that is exactly what it is (Bingham). The painting is of a homeless man with a full duffle bag slung over his shoulder leaning hunched against an old picket fence. The overall composition of the painting is very balanced with a rounded hill in the background complemented by a fence in the foreground lining the hill with the man in the center. Clear lines repeat throughout the painting: the hill, man’s cap, fence, and grass slant diagonally down towards the ocean. There is a sense of peace and contentment as one studies the painting. The colors of the painting are muted and although the man is made separate from nature, there is a clear distinction between the two the colors complement one another. The man is wearing a dull navy blue jacket that pulls out the blue hues in the mountain and background and even a little blue in the grass. Similarly, the man’s pants and cap are brown and the shading goes very nicely with the fence and the grass. Even Maynard Dixon’s signature fits right into the painting; it is located in the corner of the grass in a brown used throughout the painting. The colors over all are very naturalistic and muted. The lines in the painting are blurred: the one between the two hills, the one in the foreground that the man is standing on and the background. The color choice and the balance in the painting really pull out the regionalist quality in the painting. The man complements nature like he was raised by the land he is part of it. “That sense of sun and space and silence—of serenity—of strength and freedom—if I can interpret that with what I can master of technical requirements, I will have reached the best of my endeavor" (McKay). If Dixon had dressed the man in a black and white business suit he could not have achieved the naturalistic quality that the painting has. It seems as though Dixon consciously wanted to portray a man with natural roots that complemented nature. Dixon recognized the power and majesty in nature and he harnessed it and used it to his advantage. The overall subject of the painting is of man who has come to the end of the road; he has traveled some unknown distance and has reached his destination, the ocean. The tone of the painting is contemplative; the man appears to be reflecting on his past decisions that has led him to here he is now. The subject of the painting brings out the social realism side of the painting. This painting was done during the Great Depression when unemployment ran high and not very many job opportunities were available and men backed up their bags to travel anywhere looking for work. The average American man easily related to this painting because it was a reality for many people during the depression. Social realists captured what life is really like and that’s what Dixon did in this painting in fact he did a whole series of paintings called the “Forgotten Man” which illustrated different affects of life in the depression. Dixon said, “The depression woke me up to the fact that I had a part in all this, as an artist" (Hagerty, 206). Dixon used his passion and talents to paint and depict life. The man in No Place to Go is sculpture like and the face lacks any specific details these qualities allow anyone to become the man depicted. It makes the painting much more relatable which was a very important characteristic to social realists. The average citizens needed to know that their problems were known and that they mattered. At a time when there was so much need and despair, their only hope was to search the nation for a new job. The painting sets the tone for Dixon’s series the “Forgotten man”, which reaches out to the American citizen and gives the “forgotten man” a voice. Majestic flares in the painting represent the modernist influence on Dixon. The hills are very simple purged of any detail but they are majestic and dominate the foreground over the ocean and small skyline. The painting is set at the onset of the sun setting and is symbolic of the closure of the day but also of the man’s hopes. The man depicted presumably has searched for a job and a place to start his life anew but to no avail, he has reached the west coast with no luck. Dixon’s emphasize of line, shape, and color supports the claim that he is a modernist painter. It is not so much important that the painting be of an unemployed man standing against a fence on a hillside close to the ocean but use of bold lines, shapes, and color. The lines are diagonal, expressing the sense of decrease, and despair the hills are large and powerful free from adoration, and the few colors used are bold and naturalistic taking into account the time of day of the painting. There specific attributes in No Place to Go make it a modernist painting. Dixon painted in the 1930’s in America during the Great Depression when many different philosophies were bursting forth and his paintings reflect many of those ideas. Regionalism wanted to simplify life, to resort back to nature and the traditions of America. Social Realists sought to portray life how it really was without any embellishments. Modernists looked to the future and technology and painted with symbolism to portray hidden messages that could only be decoded by specific readers. No Place to Go is one such painting that displays influences of regionalism, social realism, and modernism. |
Maynard Dixon developed as an artist when many different art philosophies were flourishing and because of this Dixon’s artwork became a conglomerate of different philosophies. Modernist and regionalist are two ways that Dixon is described which is very unique because those two philosophies are contradictory. Regionalist paintings came about in response to modernist paintings that were being produced. Regionalists were realists and focused on “true” American values of going back to nature; they were traditional in response to the modernists who were looking to the future. Modernist philosophy rejected tradition and looked to new methods in technology and used a lot of symbolism to express hidden messages in their artwork. Dixon can also be described as a social realist because of his chosen themes of his artwork. All three of these philosophies influenced Dixon and can be seen in his painting, No Place to Go.
Dixon’s background sheds light on his painting style. Dixon’s love of the American land and country was rooted in him at an early age because he was raised by an aristocratic, well to do family that was closely tied to the Civil War. As Dixon began to study art he worked with Arthur Mathews, a tonalist, and associated with many artists in the Bohemian Men’s club in San Francisco. Dixon found work as a newspaper illustrator and moved into a more modernist style over impressionism. Dixon’s love for nature and influence of modernist friends led him to be a mixed artist with both regionalist and modernist styles. Even though Dixon had a hand in the business field and was busy with illustrations, he was known to dress up as a cowboy to fully embrace their philosophy of becoming one with nature. Dixon’s second marriage was with Dorothea Lange, the prominent photojournalist of the Great Depression she had a strong influence on Dixon as a social realist. Dixon’s surroundings and social circle really influenced his painting style to become a conglomerate of many philosophies.
Works Cited
Bingham, Paul, and Susan Bingham. “Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts, About Maynard Dixon, Mt. Carmell Utah Gallery and Museum, www. Thunderbirdfoundation.com.” Thunderbirdfoundation.com. The Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. <http://www.thunderbirdfoundation.com/maynard-dixon.cfm>.
Hagerty, Donald J. “The Art of Maynard Dixon.” Google Books. Gibbs Smith, 2010. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. <http://books.google.com/books?id= U6UzaYIfIT0C&dq=maynard dixon art work&source=gbs_navlinks_s>.
McKay, Jayne. “Maynard Dixon: Art and Spirit.” Maynard Dixon Documentary. Cloud World LLc., 20008. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. <http://www.maynarddixondoc.com/about.ht
ml>.
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