Methods in Art
Esther Williams, Art and Music
A consideration of Esther Williams’ painting Mozartiana presents a marvelous opportunity to reflect on references and depictions in one artistic form of items from another, and to go a step further by reflecting on some of the similarities and differences in art media, in this case the visual arts—especially painting—and music.
A painting such as Mozartiana is a concrete object created by an artist to reflect an idea that originated in the artist’s mind, done by applying paint to a flat surface to produce an image that the viewer can contemplate. This image may be representational, depicting recognizable objects, or it may be abstract, using color, shading, texture, and so forth to create the final image without reference to any particular object. When depicting objects, the artist has the freedom to represent them with “photographic” realism and detail, or to use some possibly minimal detail that merely suggests the objects. The artist may also depict objects in either conventional or in unorthodox juxtapositions in the total content of the painting, for the latter breaking them up into parts and combining them in unusual ways, or perhaps combining objects that don’t belong together in “real life.” The artist may have a specific impetus for creating a particular painting, such as a story to tell, an event to portray, an object or person to represent and interpret, or an emotion to suggest and elicit in the viewer. When finished with a painting, the artist is essentially finished with the creative process. The viewer beholds the painting and draws conclusions as to the intent of the artist—who is typically not present—and has an emotional reaction from such viewing. The painting as an object is essentially static (although its effect can certainly be affected by the context in which it is viewed—including the frame in which it is displayed, the lighting in which it is seen, and the viewer’s own background, current emotional state, and previous experience).