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The Mellow Pad
''The Mellow Pad'' is a 1945–1951 jazz-inspired painting by American modernism, American modernist painter Stuart Davis (painter), Stuart Davis. It is held by the Brooklyn Museum of Art in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. Description The origins of ''The Mellow Pad'' lie in an earlier 1931 painting by Davis titled ''House and Street'', now held by the Whitney Museum of American Art. Davis was deeply inspired by jazz music; the painting's title "''The Mellow Pad'' is a jazz term for the satisfying emotional state reached during a "sweet spot" in the music. He also attributed his vibrant color and style to jazz, and the painting's irregular dots, arcs, curves, and shapes visually parallel the music's Syncopation, syncopated rhythms. Amidst its complex and abstract patterns, the painting does retain structure. Near the center of the painting, a vertical black bar divides the composition in half, thus acting as the painting's focal point. This bar can be traced back to a simi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stuart Davis (painter)
Stuart Davis (December 7, 1892 – June 24, 1964), was an early American modernist painter. He was well known for his jazz-influenced, proto- pop art paintings of the 1940s and 1950s, bold, brash, and colorful, as well as his Ashcan School pictures in the early years of the 20th century. With the belief that his work could influence the sociopolitical environment of America, Davis' political message was apparent in all of his pieces from the most abstract to the clearest. Contrary to most modernist artists, Davis was aware of his political objectives and allegiances and did not waver in loyalty via artwork during the course of his career. By the 1930s, Davis was already a famous American painter, but that did not save him from feeling the negative effects of the Great Depression, which led to his being one of the first artists to apply for the Federal Art Project. Under the project, Davis created some seemingly Marxist works; however, he was too independent to fully support Mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |