Points Flashcards
Subject Matter (4)
- No Woman, No Cry is a very large, thickly layered painting which shows a crying woman set within numerous abstract patterns. The woman has dark hair and skin and in shown in profile. Blue tears are seen falling from each of her eyes, which hold a small photograph of a boy’s face. This helps to convey the narrative of the painting.
- The painting is more expressive than realistic. The woman is made up of flowing, curved and directional lines seen around her neck, facial features and hair. Some of her features are larger than others like her large eyes, which emphasize the large tears that fall from them, conveying the sad mood of the painting.
- No Woman No Cry has been created in the style of ‘punk art’. There are multiple elements to the painting which make it a mixed media piece and represents the artists cultural identity; including the use of elephant dung and photographs of a boy who was the woman’s son, showing Ofili’s social views of racism.
- The background is painted with a mixture of pale green and bright yellow colours, lines made up of circles, painted to look like a pattern of diamond shapes. In the center of each diamond, there are small dots which resemble hearts. The dark colour of the woman’s skin contrasts with the vibrant colours of the background, making her the focal point.
Techniques/ Materials/ Use of Media (3)
- The piece has been painted onto a rough linen canvas. When painting, Ofilli added several layers of acrylic primer and covered the entire canvas with phosphorescent light green acrylic paint. To commemorate the boy which had been murdered, the artists wrote ‘RIP Stephen Lawrence 1974 - 1993’ very faintly underneath its top layer. This can mostly only be seen in the dark.
- Repeated large, white tears fall from the woman’s eyes and over her neck and shoulders which stand out against her dark skin. This effectively draws the viewers eyes down through the composition. The tears are also very large and fit a collaged photograph of of the boy inside each tear, revealing the paintings narrative.
- Ofilli used a wide range of mixed media in his piece. A varnished piece of elephant dung as the woman’s necklace was pierced with map pins to represent a broken heart. Resin mixed with orange and black pigments along with glitter was poured onto the work. The canvas was then tipped before drying, producing streaks of resin, giving the painting a highly textural look.
Colour (4)
- The vibrant use of warm colours like reds and yellows reflect Doreen Lawrence’s passion and drive. The bright fiery colours which sit over her chest represent the fire she has in her heart for her son’s justice.
- The bright blue coloured eye shadow on the woman’s eye and its large scale represents her sadness and conveys a somber mood as she mourns the death of her son.
- The artists has used pointillism to create the woman’s skin. This causes us to see the yellow background peeking through the woman’s skin, representing the woman’s loss and how it makes her feel lacking and not whole; while also representing her grief which was transparent to the public.
- The artists has used colour in an unusual way. This can be seen in the phosphorescent light green acrylic paint which spells out ‘RIP Stephen Lawrence 1974-1993’ which is painted underneath the top layer of the painting, and can mostly only be seen in the dark. This gives the painting a haunting and somber feel when it glows.
Mood and Atmosphere (4)
- The stark white and large teardrops contrast with the woman’s dark skin, making it clear that she is crying. Collaged inside each teardrop is a photograph of a young boy. This helps us understand that the boy is the source of the woman’s tears and that she is crying for him. This suggests a somber and grieving mood and atmosphere.
- The bold intersected lines of the background continue over the Woman’s face. This creates the idea of a vail flowing over her face, suggesting a mood of grievance and shows that the woman is mourning.
- The phosphorescent light green acrylic paint which spells out ‘RIP Stephen Lawrence 1974-1993’ is painted underneath the top layer of the painting and glows when in the dark. This creates a haunting mood and atmosphere, showing that the grief which Lawrence’s mother feels for him not only haunts her during the day but also at night.
- The bright blue eye shadow on the woman’s eye and its large scale represents her sadness and conveys a somber mood as she mourns the death of her son.
Scale (4)
- The painting is very large and therefore portrays Dooren Lawrence as larger than life and represents how she stood tall and bold in her fight for justice for her son.
- The canvas is slightly raised and sits on 2 pieces of varnished elephant dung. This causes the viewer to physically have to look up at the woman, giving her power and portraying her as a dominant figure.
- The large scale of the painting help the viewer to recognise all of the tiny details. This detail includes circular shapes which make up the intersected lines over the piece, the photographs of the young boy and the tiny dots which make up the profile of the woman.
- The artist has used scale to clearly show the tears large tears which fall from her eyes. These large tears emphasiase her amount of grief and clearly display the photographs of her son inside.
Composition (4)
- The woman in the painting takes up most of the composition. This shows that she is the main focus of the piece. The striking contrast between her dark skin and the yellow colours of the background also draw our attention directly to her.
- The composition is made up of a series of long flowing lines. This can be seen in the outline of her facial features and hair, which contrast with the diagonal lines of the background. These directional lines help to move the viewer’s eye around the painting and make the woman the focal point.
- The large tears falling from the woman’s eyes guide our eyes down through the compostition of the painting. The large scale of the tears also clearly display collaged photographs of the boy inside, creating a narrative to the piece.
The composition is made up of a repetition of circular shapes. This can be seen in the woman’s skin where the artists has used pointillism to fill in her skin and the intersected lines of the background, made up of circles. This gives the painting a calm mood, even through the somber mood and atmosphere.
Style (4)
- The woman in the painting is created in a series of coloured dots. This is very similar to pointillism, this was also inspired by Aboriginal stule of art.
- The painting us much more expressive than realistic. The woman is made up of curved, directional lines and her features look out of proportion from the rest of her face, which emphasises the large tears that fall from her eyes.
- Due to the many layers, expressive drips and heavy use of pattern, the painting has a lot of energy. Although the woman is mourning, she contrasts with the energy of the painting, representing her drive and power.
- Offili has created an interesting and diverse painting in terms of media. To make the painting he has used many traditional materials including acrylic and old paint, as well as more unusual metrials like elephant dung and glitter.
Pattern (2)
• There is repetition of coloured dots throughout the painting. The woman’s face is made up of numerous brown dots and the backgrounds intersecting lines are made up of circular shapes. This repetition gives the painting a sense of calm, despite its sad mood.
• The repeated tear drops falling from the woman’s eyes, down her neck and over her shoulders show the viewer how much sorrow the woman feels. Their repetition of the tears emphasises her sadness
Line (3)
• The artist has used line in the obvious intersecting lines of the background which continue over the woman’s face. This creates the idea of a vail sitting over her face, adding to the paintings sad mood and her mourning.
• The stark diagonal lines in the background help frame the lady as her curved lines contrast with yhe diagonal lines in the background.
• The woman is outlined by a thick dark line, made up ofba series of dark brown dots which are placed very closely together. This line helps to separate her from the background as well ad identify her features clearly.
Tone (3)
• There is not a lot of tone in the painting making the woman look flat and unrealistic.
• The woman’s face is made up of a series of small brown dots. Although there is little tone, the artist has grouped the dots together in certain parts like under her chin and eye to create some shadow and partial form to her face
• The bright white tone of her tears contrasts with the dark tone of her skin. This creates a focal point, and highlights that she is crying, creating narrative
Form (2)
• Her necklace is made from a 3D piece of elephant dung which sticks out of the painting. The piece of dung is similar to the other two lumps of dung which the painting sits on when it is displayed.
• There is little form to the woman as there is a lack of tone in the painting. This makes her look flat and unrealistic.
Shape (3)
• The woman’s face and features are made up of a series of coloured dots. These circles are reflected by the circles in the diagonal lines in the background. This repetition helps to guide the viewers eye around the painting aswell as connect the woman with her background despite their contrast
• Due to the curved lines used, most of the shapes in the painting are soft and free-flowing. This adds to the calm yet sad tone of the painting
• The shapes which make up the woman like in her facial features, neck and shoulders are disproportionate to the rest of her face. They are elongated which adds to the paintings abstract style.
Texture (3)
• The piece is painted on a rough linen canvas. Ofili used resin mixed with orange and black pigments and glitter which he poured onto the work while it was turned horizontally. He then tipped the canvas up before drying, producing visible streaks of resin. This gives the painting a highly textural look.
• Ofili has used a wide range of traditional materials within the painting such as acrylic and oil as well as more unusual materials like elephant dung and glitter. The rough texture of the dunh contrasts with the smooth texture of the resin.
• The words ‘RIP Stephem Lawrence’ are written on the painting in thick paint under its top layer of resin. The thick textural letters stand out from the smooth background.
