It is definitely an abstract and imaginative painting with the gorgeous and bright colors, the exaggerated and amplified images. This canvas piece gives onlookers a sense of spaciousness and third dimension. It is drawn by the subject of natural history. I was plunged initially and directly into the scene and confronted with the monumental face of an unknown creature resting at the surface of a still pond in the center of the painting. Later, I got its name "mudskipper" as a result of having a look at the introduction. It looks quitely different from the normality because of its two large eyes and the tremendous bulk. In particular, its body is transparent and some other special colors like black, orange, yellow are applied subtly with painter's excellent craftsmanship in the process.
Shifting my eyes a bit up, it is accessible to notice that there is a dragonfly and a mosquito in the sky. The blue dragonfly on the left is absorbing the nutrition from the flower. The yellow mosquito on the right is spawning. However, to their unexpectation, as a matter of fact, they are both suffering a threaten from the mudskipper.
Then I keep my eyes in the middle of the painting. A precise blue line delineates sky from water, allowing me to find out and distinguish the animal from both above and below the water's edge. The striking water-plant with multiple colors on the left makes me feel more impressive and unforgettable. Its roots are tightly sticked to the deeper water, the petals are blooming shiningly.
The eyes finally horizontally travel to the bottom on the right side. I can figure out that there is a mosquito larva under the water environment. It is just a kind of aquatic and is used to live on sucking up blood from other water animals. Besides, water provides a good and positive atmosphere to give birth and survive. Nevertheless, mudskipper's bulging eyes are scanning for food, and the mosquito larva also undoubtedly become its hunting target.
I have seen this painting in the Wexner Arts Gallery for several times and enjoyed myself while having a good look at. In special, I always ruminate about this work "Pond's Edge" and my mind starts to be haunted by the idea that what is going to occur and the surrounding. I try my best to imagine all the possibilities.
One setting I come up with is most feasible to come true. Originally, this should be the harmonious living environment for all living things. The dragonfly is happy to live on the blooming flower. She is always attracted and fascinated by the sweet fragrance. Nothing needs to be worry about and she is carefree. For mosquito, it's the most suitable time to spawn. Just like what she has done before, she is flying a bit high over the pond and laying her larva into water. Being accustomed to give birth in this way, she never takes other stuffs into consideration.
However, there exists a mudskipper in this environment, which is bulging her big eyes skyward toward a dragonfly and downward to a mosquito larva. She is saying to herself: I am the strongest and largest one in this habitat, I can get all the preys I like. All of a sudden, she is launching her hunting to the still dragonfly. With the instinct of defence reaction, the dragonfly is trying her best to avoid external attack and swinging up higher. Despite it goes beyond the anticipation, the mudskipper never gives up and she starts to try again. At this time, she is coming up with an idea that she can drag roots of the flower down to the pond gradually and then ingurgitate the prey rushly without prey's reaction. After making all preparation done, she begins her hunting action. She is pulling the roots down little by little, and then she is promptly opening her big mouth and swallowing the dragonfly and flower together. She is making a new trial to prey together with some other related substance successfully.
Then the mudskipper is going to look for other food and the mosquito larva becomes her aim. Owing to the aquatic environment, she thinks that she need to hunt in a different way. Drifting down herself, she is trying her best to approach the mosquito larva. Even though water is unstable and flowing quickly, she does well in hunting within water. She is staring at the mosquito larva and taking action quietly and immediately. Eventually, she gets the prey to feed on.
From my standpoint and what I have learned from Art Education Class, a piece of art work is created for a variety of reasons: some may use it to express and disperse their ideas and thoughts; Some intend to show their craftsmanship and techniques applied in the painting; Others may describe the spectacles, sceneries, portraits within the social background. The painting of Pond's Edge was portrayed by Aleis Rockman, who is regarded as a famous American contemporary artist. This painting provides rich depictions of future landscape and can be treated as a piece work of art.
With respect to its artistic values, I would like to discuss from the following points. In the first place, this painting gives people a good understanding of beauty. It utilizes painter's unique and reprensentative composition, providing a means to simultaneously represent terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This kind of careful and crafted description makes the beauty much more lively and visually. Secondly, I can easily find the theme and concept of this piece. By means of depicting the living creatures and the surrounding, the painter wished audiences to imagine what will be like in the future with impact of climate change and evolution. Furthermore, this piece is displayed in the inferior gallery. Considered as an art form, I think the meaning and implication would not be affected by the change of location. Taking an example, the online Exhibition of "Alexis Rockman: A Fable for Tomorrow" has included this famous painting, which shows the same meaning. Finally, what kind of style I can figure out is imagination, space and futurism. The genre is indeed an indispensable factor to make it be an art form.
Talking about the attitude to this piece , from the point of my view, I am fairly attracted and fascinated by it, in other words, I am into this piece of artwork. Firstly, It is an amazing and distinctive painting which possesses aesthetic, imaginative values and so forth. Morever, it makes much more sense that I can learn high skills about how to draw a fantastic painting because I am really interested in drawing. Besides, it can makes me feel as if I would see the changes and difference in the future. And finally when I come back to the reality, I can understand deeply and impressively what the artist is trying to express.
In short, it is worthy of being appreciated. I strongly believe "Pond's Edge" is a piece of artwork. It has become my most unforgettable memory and most favourite artwork!
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