When we visited the
Adirondack Museum on our field trip a few weeks ago, I only took two
pictures. One of them, oddly enough, was
of Don Wynn’s Campfire, 1975, the
painting that Mandel describes on page 26.
She states that this painting “introduces a new subject matter into
Adirondack art, the figure study.
Although this painting like the earlier camping scenes of Arthur
Fitzwilliam Tait, records a specific event in time, the size and Caravaggiesque
lighting of his weary girl camper denote a change in the artist’s focus. The figure is more important than the
landscape. This marks a real departure
in Adirondack art.”
The things that attracted me to this painting were its great size and incredible
source of light. (Caravaggio is one of my favorite artists and I love paintings
that play with sharp contrasts of light and dark). Even though the light source
is not depicted, we are forced to believe it is a campfire emanating from the lower
right corner, just off of the picture plane. This imaginary campfire does a
great job in illuminating the scene in a sort of magical way. This glowing of the girl’s body and the
objects surrounding her, sort of tell a story and draw the viewer into the
painting while the surrounding darkness adds an element of mystery. Personally, I like that this painting places
dominance on the figure instead of the landscape of the Adirondacks. Instead of showing the purity or forcefulness
of the wilderness, themes that have been depicted by countless artists, it
depicts what life is like for a camper in the Adirondacks. It depicts a distinct moment in time and
shows us the reality of camping in great realistic detail. We see food, pots and pans, and socks and
gloves lying out to dry. We also
see the psychological effects of camping on the girls face and posture; she
looks very tired and contemplative.
This is the picture I took on my phone of Campfire by Don Wynn
Sara, I'm really excited that you took a picture of this. I Googled it earlier today but was unable to find it--and I found that sad because I am also intrigued by the idea of figure drawing in the context of the Adirondacks, simply because very few Adirondack artists have experimented with that (with the exception of Tait). I looked up Tait's "A Good Time Coming" but as you mentioned that has a very different aesthetic feel than this painting. That painting depicts a daytime scene -- those outdoorsmen probably were eating lunch, and the setting is, overall more jovial, and less contemplative. Not to say I like the painting less. I liked it a lot and included it in my blog post, but I think that this one is very intriguing because of the light source, like you mentioned. The way the fire ignites her face is really lovely.
ReplyDeleteI definitely feel a connection with this woman. I could be her, sitting there in front of the fire, mulling things over, or just letting my mind go blank after a day in the mountains. It is an exhausted look, but not an unhappy one.
Wow, this painting is really incredible. I agree that this move from landscape to figure is an interesting shift in the history of Adirondack art. Unlike landscape art of the 19th century, this painting strikes me as unapologetically realistic. I feel as if I'm transported to this girl's experience and to my own recollection of feeling exhausted and somehow enlightened at the end of a day in the wilderness. Maybe, as the Adirondacks became more popular, these realistic depictions were more popular because they were more relatable and honest.
ReplyDeleteI am the artist who painted this, nice to see these comments. I am still painting and some of my work is Adirondack in origin. I haven't lived there since 2000, but visit frequently. I have a web site, www.donwynn.com, where some work can be seen and it has contact information, career summary,etc.
ReplyDeleteDou you have prints of this? My sister did a decoupage of this on a wooden plank somtime in the lates 70's. I felt the subject of this picture embodied who I was at that time in my life. My plaque is gone, but I am finally getting an 'office' of my own at home (kids are Really Gone) and hope to do an Adirondack theme I need this picture!
DeleteI have known about Don's work for years. He is one of the last great living American artists. Everyone should for sure check out his work, especially if you are interested in art and the Adirondacks.
ReplyDeleteA number of good quality prints by this artist's Adirondack paintings are available through Neumann Fine Art, in Hillsdale, NY.
ReplyDelete