Julie Mehretu

Sometimes the best way to learn about new artists and receive inspiration is to simply ask a friend. Up until this point I have only studied photographers that I found through my own research so I decided to ask a friend who is in the painting department. After a random "know of any interesting artists" question from myself, she quickly responded with Julie Mehretu claiming that she was one of here favorites. A quick Google search reviled to me how truly awesome her paintings are. The mix of color, line and depth come together to create a vortex like composition that is very overwhelming.




What interests me the most are the layers, both physically and conceptually. When looking at the pieces you can see the overlay of organized methodically placed lines with more organic and chaotic shapes and forms. The more chaotic the shapes become the more brightly colored and larger they grow. The sharp contrast between the madness overtaking the calm is what suggests her concept and themes. She uses maps and city layout diagrams as references for a lot of her pieces when designing what the under image is going to be. When these structured forms are taken over by the organic explosions it suggests urbanization, globalization and the demise of the traditional city as we know it.

I feel as though the work also contains a performance aspect to it. Each pieces contains two different styles that would require two different processes. A more methodical approach for the under images and a more free-flowing manic approach for the top ones. The contrasting styles create a certain depth that makes the painting appear to be in motion, like a swirling torrent of doom raining down on the viewer. The scale and image weight play a huge part on how the viewer will respond in these pieces. These are definitely pieces that I would love to see in person. The overwhelming scale and the often top heavy compositions create a tension and act to overpower the viewer.

I think that its important to study all artists, not just ones in you medium. While I will never be a painter, Mehretu's concepts and processes are incredibly interesting to me and being able to draw from them is an invaluable resource.