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Breaking the Rules 101:

I spent my first year of college at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I was disheartened to discover my options would be to either strictly abide by the rules of a subjective rubric and get an “A” or to make the art that I wanted at the risk of my GPA and subsequently, scholarships. Aside from the consequences, I was mostly just confused. All the artists I’d ever been inspired by went against the conventions or expectations of their time. I thought art was the very place in which that was celebrated. Art history has only furthered my opinion. There are artists of each generation and time period that push the boundaries and rules. It is these artists who stand out against white museum walls, the Times New Roman fonts in our textbooks, and throughout history. The following is an analysis of works ranging from Renaissance to today. We will be examining rule breakers and what made them so through the topics of affairs, portraits, environments, form, and the ever changing definition of art. 

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Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s La Pia De’Tolomei was created between 1868-1880. There was a lot of change going on socially and politically during Rossetti’s time. The Civil War had ended three years prior, Enlightenment ideas were spreading, abolition was going on, and the world was still adjusting to the Industrial Revolution. This brought forth the rejection of Romanticism. Artists began depicting their everyday observations and lives. Rossetti was a part of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood along with his close friend, William Morris. The Brotherhood referenced the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance, ergo the name. It is not uncommon in art history for artists to look to the past during times that are changing and feel uncomfortable or foreign. Comfort can easily be found in the past. One of the Brotherhood’s main goals was to bring back the spirituality that they thought was missing from the art around them. The woman in La Pia De’Tolomei is supposed to be a character from part two of the poem The Divine Comedy, titled “Purgatory”. In the poem, La Pia married a man who kept her trapped in a castle, where she later died. In the painting, we see La Pia fidgeting with her wedding ring. The foreground consists of old love letters from her husband and a sundial seems to hint that time is passing. Rossetti’s model was none other than William Morris’ wife, Jane, whom he had an affair with. Which makes Rossetti a rule breaker in more ways than one. Given the context of his affair alongside La Pia De’Tolomei, we are able to see the parallels of the poem with Rossetti’s life. Perhaps he was no different than his contemporaries, he was in fact painting the feelings of his everyday life. Where other artists break stylistic rules and conventions, Rossetti took the moral and social route, which has earned him his place on the rule breaker list.  

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On the topic of affairs, next we have Camille Claudel’s The Waltz made over the course of thirteen years (1892-1905). Claudel worked on Burgher of Calais as an assistant to Auguste Rodin. Not much later, she became his star student and mistress. This arrangement went on for the next fifteen years. The Waltz was started the same year her relationship with Rodin began. The bronze sculpture is of a loving couple dancing. It was no secret that her relationship with Rodin was rocky, as affairs typically are. The couple doesn’t appear to be on stable ground as their body language leans far over to the left, showing the potential to fall at any time. Originally the figures were nude, but Claudel was forced to censor the woman if she wanted funding to cast the mold in bronze. The draping of the skirt that came out of that situation can be seen as the disintegration of herself or her mental health within the relationship, as she did end up spending her last thirty years in a mental asylum. The skirt also classified the sculpture as Art Nouveau with its flowing shapes. Again, we see the moral and social breaking of rules. 

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That leads into the next theme; depicting yourself. Durer’s Self Portrait from 1500 is a staple of German Renaissance. Durer felt that the Italian Renaissance had many fixable problems. He published writings outlining solutions for Renaissance’s perspective, ideal human proportions, and painting techniques. He viewed himself as an independent creative genius. This is evident in his Self Portrait. Durer represents himself as a Christlike figure making eye contact with the viewer like that of an icon. He wanted to showcase his gifts of technical skill and intellect. We see this in the light upon his hand and head. Against the dark background, he is all that we see. Which aligns with how he viewed himself. 

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Jean Michel Basquiat’s Glenn 1984 shows a different perspective. Some historians believe the figure to be Glenn O’Brien, an East Village art and culture journalist. This is because of the many papers in the background. The title suggests the portrait could be of John Glenn, a senator considered to be the Democrat with the best chance of beating President Reagan for the Presidential nomination. He dropped out of the race in 1984.The figure also displays Basquiat’s feelings of his personal life at the time. Who was once a homeless graffiti artist was now a successful painter who sold his work to wealthy white people. Some of his friends and peers considered him a sell out. Is the figure himself in front of his work? Are his headphones on to drown out the criticism he is receiving? Could that also be why he is yelling? Perhaps the portrait is of all three of these people. Basquiat’s childlike style already falls under rule breaking, but maybe so does his incorporation of multiple people in one figure in a portrait. 

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The next two artists discovered new ways for viewers and artworks to interact with their surroundings. We have Cut Piece by Yoko Ono. Cut Piece was first performed in 1964. Ono sat on a stage wearing a suit. In front of her was a pair of scissors. Viewers were invited to come to the stage one by one and cut a piece of her clothing off, to keep for themselves while Ono stared out into the distance and kept still. The entire performance is dependent upon the participation of the viewers, which was unheard of at the time. Viewers were no longer looking at a finished piece in a gallery or museum. Ono made viewers a part of the creative process and final results of her art, making it their art. Each time she performs Cut Piece, the results are different than the last. She was one of the first artists to include the actions of her viewers and many artists have followed her lead since. 

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This brings us to Frank Llyod Wright’s 1937 Fallingwater. The home was built between the World Wars. After witnessing the horrors of WWI, it is understandable that artists of this time would be rethinking their surroundings and the potential within rebuilding. Wright believed that architecture shouldn’t just be built on top of land, but become a part of it. Fallingwater was designed to replace Wright’s client’s family summer home. The original land featured a waterfall that flowed into a pool. Wright then designed the house to hang over the pool, that way the water moved underneath it. The home features many windows and glass doors, which only plays into Wright’s philosophy. If you are inside, you are able to see the lush environment and feel within it despite being indoors. From the outside, the forest reflects off of the glass continuing to make it appear a part of its natural surroundings. Wright rejected the skyscrapers and the popular International Style of his time to show that the environment and architecture do not have to be binary. 

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Thirty years earlier, we have Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. The content and style most certainly went against the expectations of 1907. Even his own art world friends outwardly hated the painting. Typical standards of beauty are nowhere to be found in Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. The women’s facial expressions, bodies, and poses go against all that is considered conventionally feminine. Their forms are broken down into geometric shapes. The women in the painting were to represent prostitutes of the red-light district in Barcelona. The stylistic choice matches the content in the way that it makes you uncomfortable, while demanding your attention all at once. Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is considered to be what launched the cubism movement and the era of modern art. Cubism and Les Demoiselles d’Avignon challenged viewers through its use of perspective and use of geometric shapes. 

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Another challenger of form is The Miracle by Constantin Brancusi made between 1930-1932. Brancusi’s depictions of animals were only of those that either swim or fly. This is mainly because he sought to capture their sense of movement and speed. This is shown through the use of the limestone base the animal is on top of. The limestone holds the same amount of importance in the space, allowing the sculpture and base to work together as opposed to being separate objects. The polished white marble makes the animal appear weightless, much like how a real seal would look in water. Its form is broken down into two main shapes, simplifying its body and the whole sculpture is made of two elements; the limestone and marble, the seal and the base. Brancusi’s simplistic style mixed with his use of base and figure grant him a spot on this list. 

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One of Brancusi’s fellow artists and good friends, Marcel Duchamp is known for questioning and pushing the definition of art. This is best seen through his work, Fountain. Since its creation, Fountain has been questioned as to whether or not it is art. Duchamp submitted the sculpture to the Society of Independent Artists’ in New York City. The society advertised that they would accept any artwork, as long as the artist paid their application fee. The upside down urinal was rejected. The board did not consider it as art. Duchamp argued that it was in fact art because he chose it and gave the object a new perspective. It wasn’t a urinal because it no longer served that function. He insisted you do not have to make something by hand in order for it to be art. Objects like these became known as readymades and forever changed the art world. 

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 Similarly is The Home of the Rebel Sharpshooter: Battlefield at Gettysburg by Alexander Gardner. At the time, photography was a relatively new form of technology. People became increasingly interested in the observable world just as it was, meaning no manipulation. This was a rejection of Romanticism and Neoclassical idealism, which later became known as Realism. Photography was thought to have aligned with these ideals. Photos would produce truthful accuracy. However, in The Home of the Rebel Sharpshooter: Battlefield at Gettysburg that was not the case. Alexander Gardner posed the dead body in the photo. In fact, the body wasn’t even in that location. Gardner dragged it there. I think this contributes to expanding the definition of art. Photography is commonly not considered to be art, as much like Fountain, you’re not physically creating something. To manipulate and plan a shot though, falls under Duchamp's idea of “choosing”. 

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Conclusion

These works and artists were influenced by different religions, politics, movements, and philosophies. Their ideas and courage were shaped by the world around them. We see this in their affairs, portraits, exploration of environments, form, and their definitions of art. While they are different in style, content, medium, and approach all of these artists have successfully broken the rules of their time. For that, I celebrate them. I realize now it is better that artists are not taught how to be rule breakers. After all, a “how to” would have to include some sort of expectations at the very least. I think that makes me appreciate these artists even more. There is no teaching of how to go against conventions and rules. Nonetheless, art is the perfect place to break and test them.