Art Project 2nd Paper

Submitted By Dandrea-Crosswell
Words: 547
Pages: 3

Dandrea Crosswell
Art
Professor Rosenberg
4/10/14

Essay # 2

In James Rosenquist’s painting House Of Fire, what he intended to create was a painting about a woman’s life, because he has the lipsticks and the groceries. I think the grocery bag in the panting would kind of throw the viewer off a little bit. What would first come to mind is the question why is the grocery bag turned upside down? Honestly no one would really know the true meaning on why the grocery bag is turned down. As you can see in the painting it has a bag of groceries, a bucket of steel, a window with blinds, and different color lipsticks. There is various different bold bright and dark colors that he used through out the painting. It looked like he used a special technique to show the various different lighting through out the painting. And he was very precise with the detailing of the painting. The bag of groceries is overturned, yet remains full. The bucket of steel descends through an open window and the huge aggressive lipsticks dwarf the other objects and seem to rush into the painting, invading the central panel like a battery of weapons racing to the rescue. The bright colors increase the dynamism and energy of the work. There is a seemingly infinite number of shades of red there, especially noticeable in the lipsticks. The fire red/orange of the central panel is contrasted by its color opposite in the blue of the window and the red of the left hand panel is contrasted by the window and the red of the left hand panel is contrasted by the green of the parsley another juxtaposition of color opposites that enlivens the picture. Unlike the rest of the painting, the parsley is delicately, even sensuously painted. Rosenquist’s illogical assembly of objects, his abrupt and irrational jumps in scale, and his bright, active colors make this striking, disquieting composition. Yet no matter how ambiguous the subject, this picture is not without meaning. The lipsticks, for example are unquestionably phallic in appearance. Perhaps they hint at they way women use cosmetics to enhance their sexuality, and perhaps in the similarity of the lipsticks to