Peter Dean 1982
Oil on canvas
Blanton Museum of Art, Texas
The art life in America went through many transformations throughout
history. The decade or historical backdrop that this work was produced in is:
New York during the 1980s.
Peter Dean's use of bold colors definitely catches the viewer's attention. He uses both primary and analogous colors to unite the work as a whole. His title seems very fit for the matter it depicts: utter chaos. The painting was formed from short, sharp and static brush strokes. A million things are going on simultaneously. He uses oil paint as his medium which gives his work a certain glow as the different camera flashes detonate around the main subject. This painting is explosive and dynamic, full of movement. Lines are unnatural an give the painting a cartoon-ish, carnival like demeanor. It reminds me of a circus, some of the subjects are actually wearing masks or costumes. As is the case of Jack ruby who has been given blazing-red angel wings, or Oswald who is carrying a mask with him. Oswald is also dressed in a style almost resembling that of a clown. It is a huge spectacle. This is a closed painting, I believe. The artist makes great use of space and it almost feels too crowded, like an invasion of privacy which would explain the presence of the paparazzi.
I do not know if Dean meant this piece to be seen in any specific place or setting but as I examined the painting, I found a reference to the Dallas city jail in the form of a sign near the left hand corner. Before digging in deeper in the history behind this painting, I thought that maybe he was alluding to city life in this particular place or city life in general. I believe that many city dwellers would in some form or another, would be able to relate to some aspect of this piece. Dallas Chaos II is as loud as city life, at least. Dean's use of garish colors and carnivalesque aura seems to mirror the dynamic ways of a large city.
After further investigating (reading the caption next to the painting), I found out that this particular painting depicts the historic moment when Jack Ruby shot the presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in the presence of the media. I think that this work may have been designed in order to show how the media play in important part in the formation of and how history can be later perceived. It also alludes to our predatory nature and how we can become in essence selfish predators of information and scandal.
The pop art movement had begun in the 1950s led by
such artists as Andy Warhol,
as a reaction against abstract art. In the 1960s, New York suffered race riots,
and during this time conceptual art became popular. This was a type of modern
art that challenged the validity of traditional art. Conceptual art claims that
the materials used and the product of the process are basically unnecessary.
The IDEA that a work expresses is considered the sole most essential point, NOT
the visual appearance. Then, in the 1970s, the inner cities of New York State
declined and urban ghettos developed, with high levels of crime, unemployment,
and drug abuse. Crime and economic problems continued
in the 1980s, and financial crises, social welfare, and the state's economy
became the pressing issues. Conceptual
art passed its epoch of popularity by the mid 1970s, but there was some renewal of interest
in it during the 1980s.
During the 1980s, the nation faced significant challenges like inflation and unemployment ruled the economy. The art life in New York during
the 1980’s erupted with a return to neo-expressionism. After World War II, New
York replaced Paris as the art capital of the modern world as a result of great
progression in abstract art. Neo-Expressionists believed that Conceptual and
Pop Art had ignored art's ability to activate the imagination. This type of art
favored simplified imagery over realism. It also gave rise to graffiti
art in New York at the same time.
The chaos that the city of New York faced during this era seems to parallel the chaos in the painting.
