My exhibition is titled Waves: Emotions of the Ocean.

This collection aims to capture the

majesty and complexity of Earths fluid emotion: waves. Waves are often represented in art as
powerful forces of nature that contain a flurry of frustration. I think they are very comparable to
human emotion as the pieces I chose contain a calming chaos to them. While the array of pieces
differ in artists, time periods, and moods they each offer tones that evoke emotion in the viewer.
There is a power that the pieces contain which can be seen in the brush strokes of the artists.
Each of the pieces display a righteous anger within them. There is an overlying theme of unrest
among the pieces.
Long Ships Lighthouse, Lands End, (28.6 x 44 cm) is a watercolor piece painted by
Romanticist artist Joseph Mallord William Turner around 1834. This piece perfectly captures the
raw power of waves as the piece is a blurry scene of wind, water, and chaos. The brushstrokes of
this piece are sporadic throughout the canvas which creates crashing waves in the water. There is
a destroyed boat to the forefront of the picture and a small lighthouse in the horizon. The size and
destruction of human elements in the picture emphasize the dominating nature of waves. The
lighting of the picture suggests a storm either arriving or departing as half the picture is shrouded
in darkness and the other light.
The Wave (21 x 25 5/8 in.) is an oil painting by Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir
painted in 1882. While in a different style than Long Ships Lighthouse, Lands End, Renoirs
The Wave shares some themes with Turners Romanticist piece. The pieces are similar in that
there is a blurriness created with the brushstrokes. This was intended to convey a chaotic mist
being sprayed by the violent crashing of the waves. The only difference is that Renoirs, being
impressionistic, contains a more unrealistic color palate. While Turners was blurry, the lighting
and colors of the sea, while bleak, were somewhat realistic. Renoirs wave contains reds,
yellows, and indigos swirled in a quasi-tie die way. The same emotion of destructive power is
conveyed, but the tone is somehow brighter given Renoirs color choice. The chaos is more
manic and less angry. Turners Romanticist style of painting resulted in a more realistic
representation of a waves emotion in his work, while the Impressionistic influence of Renoir
offered a more abstract view into the emotions of the ocean.
List of Works:
Aivazovsky, I. (1850). The ninth wave. The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg. 3320 x 2210
mm. Oil on canvas.
Ayvazovskiy, I. (1881). The black sea. The State Tretyakov Gallery. 208 x 149 cm. Oil on canvas.
Courbet, G. (1870). Waves. The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. 925 x 725 mm. Oil on
canvas.
Gim, D. Y. (2007). The black wave (the surf). Korean Art Museum Association. 6000 x 650 x
1200 cm. Magic tape sculpture.
Hokusai, K. (1830). Under the wave off kanagawa. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 380 x 258 mm.
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper.
Homer, W. (1890). Sunlight on the coast. The Toledo Museum of Art. 1233 x 769 cm. Oil on
canvas.
Renoir, P.A., (1882). The wave. Dixon Gallery and Gardens. 21 x 25 5/8 in. Oil on canvas.
Takeji, F. (1932). Breaking waves at dai misaki. Mie Prefectural Art Museum. 100 x 73.3 cm.
Oil on canvas.
Turner, J.M.W., (1834). Long ships lighthouse, lands end. The J. Paul Getty Museum. 28.6 x
44 cm. Watercolor.