Julie Mehretu - Layering

Layering in Art

Layering is one of the key principals that can be found in postmodern art. It's a very simple and easy principal to incorporate into your own work. Layering in its most basic form involves putting two or more subjects on top of each other. Although it is a very simple effect it can have many powerful implications for the significance of a work. Layering can be used to discern complexity in the subject a work of art focuses on. A common subject that is represented or depicted through the use of layering is the subconscious. Since the subconscious mind is sporadic and enigmatic, layering is used as a mixture of concepts.

Julie Mehretu - Background

Julie Mehretu was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1970. Mehretu and her family left Ethiopia in 1977 in order to escape the Ogaden War. They moved to East Lansing, Michigan where Mehretu would attend East Lansing High School. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Kalamazoo College in Michigan. She would later go on to Rhode Island school of design to get her Master of Fine Arts degree. Her work mainly consists of canvas paintings that have a background and foreground. Sometimes she will perform certain techniques to blend these two layers.

Julie Mehretu - Arcade

Mehretu, unlike most artists, doesn't state the significance of her work. She instead leaves it up to the interpretation of the viewer. In the first work I selected titled Arcade, Mehretu's signature style can be seen clearly. Her style consists of using architecture of buildings in the background with splashes of paint on top. Some of her paintings do differ from this pattern but they are all similar in style and balance. My favorite part about Mehretu's work is the compositional techniques that she uses. Throughout this painting there is a lot of curved lines and diagonal lines. The way that they are spaced and angled directs the attention of the viewer all around the piece. A few key points have multiple lines angled at them to further emphasize and give your eye a place to rest. The way that this painting uses lines to lead the eye is something that I will bring into my own work. By doing this the audience is better able to understand the points trying to be communicated. I also feel that this sort of sporadic burst of color would make cool transitions for a title sequence. The concept of drawing from architecture or other pieces for the backdrop of your own design is intriguing as well.

Arcade by Julie Mehretu (2005)

Julie Mehretu - Untitled

This work by Julie Mehretu is visually dissimilar from her other works. The most striking difference is the plethora of blank space left around the actual painting. This form of simplicity brings the viewers eyes to rest at the center of the painting. Also the spacing of the paint itself has an effect on where the viewer looks. Another aspect that makes this painting appear unique is the quite large variety of textures present. These textures range from tightly packed circles to long wispy lines. Texture is something that I find very attractive in an image or composition. It adds depth and a sort of realism to the image. This is because of the sorts of textures our eyes expect to see. In my animation especially, where texture is not always present, I would like to focus on texture more deeply. Simply adding textures works wonder but applying contrast, lines, repetition, and rhythm can do so much for a shot. By using texture to apply principals of design where they would otherwise be missing is something that I will play around with.

Untitled by Julie Mehretu (2000)

Julie Mehretu - Enclosed Resurgence

For the third piece that I found inspired my compositional choices I chose Enclosed Resurgence. This painting utilizes the same techniques to control the viewers eye as the previous painting with the addition of one. This piece uses contrast. While the other two use it to some extent this piece uses contrast heavily. The two trapezoids at the top and bottom are opposing warm and cool colors. The paint throughout opposes both thin and thick lines. Some are thick ink blots while others are thin, wavy lines. The contrast between color and no color is also present. If you look to the right side in the painting there is a green squiggle surrounded by no other colors. To the left the vibrant red blot is encompassed by more faded blurry colors. This use of contrast also creates a sense of balance because of the way that the oppositions are spaced. Balance and opposition is something that I enjoy seeing. It inspires my own work and is something I want to employ further. More specifically I would like to create formally balanced shots with opposition on either side. This could be a man in a white suite walking down a hallway next to a woman in a black suite.

Enclosed Resurgence by Julie Mehretu (2001)