A blank page is more intimidating than one with words.
This evening I have read that van Gogh was intimidated by a blank canvas.
Moan: Why do so many write ‘van Gogh’ as ‘Van Gogh’? It’s incorrect, people. The guy’s first name wasn’t ‘Van’, it was Vincent. His full name was Vincent Willem van Gogh. Go on, look it up. And note my correct use of capitalisation when you do.
I’m not van Gogh, not in any sense, but I am similarly intimidated by a blank canvass – in this instance a blank page.
My assignment (Mr Phelps) is:
In no more than 300 words, write a descriptive analysis of this painting. Pay particular attention to features such as the composition of the pictorial space, to the organisation of form and detail, and to the use of lighting and tone, and say how you think these contribute to the effect of the work.
‘This painting’ is Man Reading by Georg Friedrich Kersting:
I know what I’m supposed to look at, appreciate the distinct areas I should pay attention to.
But it’s the blank page, sitting there, intimidating the life out of me.
I could bow down to the bullying intimidation; could do this assignment in significantly less than 300 words but with very little attention to the areas I’m supposed to dutifully visit.
Words such as ‘cold’, ‘boring’ and ‘lacking heart’ spring to mind.
But I won’t give in, will not let myself be intimidated by the bullying blank sheet of paper.
I’m off to bed though.
Not as an act of procrastination, oh no.
You see, my head’s so full of artistic analysis I need to sleep on it to let my subconscious process it all down in to manageable chunks.
Brian Sewell, you’d better look out!
Oh yes.
But first bed.
And perhaps a chapter from ‘Guerra‘ to help my mind switch off from this high-level concentration.
B.
That’s seems like a lot to cover in 300 words. Good luck!
The shadows on the wall are fantastic…zats it for my artistic mumbojumbo LOL
For my twopennorth – I think he’s very worried and has one hell of a quiff going on!
The light is stunning although the whole painting is (imo)quite dull. My eyes get drawn to the gadget in the centre of the photo that pulls the curtains!
There’s a definite criss-cross of lines in the whole painting – see the shelves, the shadows and the carpet.
I would love to hear what ‘they’ have to say about it because it’s not ‘speaking’ to me at all!
Hiya SG and the eye-catchingly attractive Sooz!
I was going to do a turn, roll out the selected highlights of my essay but…
In the brief while since I put this post up it’s been googled three times with the search terms ‘Man Reading Kersting’, ‘Man Reading descriptive analysis’ and ‘Man Reading help analysing’ so…
I’m keeping quiet.
🙂
I think something is utterly wrong with the shadows. Maybe not on an optical point of view (too tired to think about it) but certainly on an artistic point of view. On the other hand, if the message is supposed to be “books and studying are boring”, it could hardly have been better conveyed.
And back to van Gogh, is there any good reason why it should be pronounced “van Go” in English, when it isn’t the actual Dutch pronunciation and is only vaguely related to the spelling?
(And where did the “o” of “pronounce” go in “pronunciation”?)
Wait till you try the sonnets! Fellow OU student
Hiya Jo.
Are you any good with sonnets? I have a mental blind spot with all forms of poetry. All advice very gratefully received!
No , But I am probably even worse on music. Roll on philosophy! Maybe this is not the right course for me.
Oh Jo, I’m sure it’s not as serious as that. Think of the Lenon-McCartney piece as just another form of poetry, if that helps?
Would you like me to email you so we can rattle on about it?
Is there life outside A103 – I guess not! Working on this analysis myself now. How sad is that on a Saturday night!! Roll on sonnets…..
i am totally stumped by thiscourse and am starting to think ive chosen the wrong route
Hey, no! Don’t be stumped.
I’m sure that once you’re rolling you’ll be impossible to stop!
Perhaps you’re just having a hard time kicking things off?
Hi Chris.
Well what can I say?
Sunday evening and ‘Man Reading’… Mmmmm… how groovy is this?
🙂
Oh god ive just started man reading by Georg Friedrich Kersting, and i have a complete mental block:(
Neeing help ASAP!!!!
Would be soooooooo greatful!
x
Am working on this one myself. Beginning to have the impression A103 is more a persistent sense of impending panic and looming deadlines than anything else.
I’m finding 300 words very difficult – I can write 800 just describing this – word limits are a nightmare…with 300 you have to..pick..them..very..carefully..which takes ..forever…
800 words? Crikey I can think of only one line – it’s a man and he’s reading and… it’s alright, if you like that sort of thing.
So comforting to know others are questioning the course, I feel sooo behind and have written nothing. I think I’ll put something on my own blog about my course and it might prompt some action!
Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
Hi Philipa and welcome…
The course is a challenge – which is what I wanted. I just wish it wasn’t quite so much of a challenge. 🙂
There’s a little idiosyncratic joke in the painting in the area of light and lighting.
But I don’t know if they’re looking for that level of analysis – it’s a funny game this; easy to do if you know what they’re after.
🙂
Hi I’m a late comer to the course!!!
Only just got my material- well some of it anyway the rest is somewhere in the post strike!!!
I think the guy was studying this course & figuring what to put in his essay!!!
Pls help what was TMA 1 on and when was/is it due?
Tks anyone who answers!
Hello Cathy,
Welcome to the course!
TMA01 was the Silent Spring analysis – I don’t have my paperwork with me but I think the deadline was 5th October, but don’t worry about it. It’s an unmarked piece – it’s just a practice run so they know what to expect from us, and we know what to expect back in terms of detail.
Does this help?
I’ll also put this reply on the blog, just in case anyone else in a similar situation comes along.
B.
Hi All, Another OU student seriously struggling to put pen to paper and come up with anything half way decent to write about on a “Man Reading”. Feel like I’m lagging behind, and spending too much time procrastinating instead of just writing something down and getting on with it.
Loretta
Jaysus!!
And all I wanted was an English degree! Pretty pissed off that OU are forcing me to do A103. SO not interested in a year of this sheeite. But also glad to see that I’m not the only person having a ‘mare trying to do this. Is everyone else working full-time too? I don’t think I can fit it all in. WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?!? Not impressed that you’re not sharing your knowledge Bully Boy… I mean what’s a bit of plagerism between OU bloggers? And what’s all that sh**e about idiosyncratic jokes in the lighting?!?
I should have started my essay on this days ago.
I have such a mental block it’s ridiculous.
Other than a short sentence about the vanishing point and the light source I’m now at an utter loss for words.
I really don’t know that I’m cut out for the art side of this course. 🙁
I really want to be studying litterature!
Good luck to everyone!
If anyone wants to msn me for general “THIS IS DOING MY HEAD IN!!!” then it’s pijamasagogo (at) hotmail (dot) com
Hello Fellow A103ers!!!
I actually quite liked the analysis of Man reading (not the painting itself so much of course)
I thought it was pretty clever how the calmness of the colours (lots and lots of secondary, and muted) worked with the calm moment depicted.
I feel I should say something about the red boxes but not sure what, and also the only textured bits of carpet and coat
I admit tho, this is hard work, and doing it as a single mum, working full time? All I can say is wow, I thought I had no time before!!!
Hi Jules,
Interesting comments…
The painting makes me ask more questions than it answers; there are just too many things about it that aren’t quite right.
And the painter has a fascination for fenestration!
OK, Brennig I gave in and googled fenestration!! Do you mean all the ‘ windows’ in the book cases?
What is the thing that probably isnt a stuffed sock in front of the open red box?
Jules xx
Well, I’ve just finished. Frankly, it’s the biggest load of crapola I’ve ever written, and I’m slightly embarrassed to put my name to it.
I suppose, on the other hand, the fact I’ve been able to *find* 300 words to write about the cursed thing is something of an achievement…!
Hello there!
This assignment gives me a headache everytime I think of it. I keep looking at the painting, looking back at the question and then coming up blank. I have no idea how to start it off or what to write when I have started it off. I have the notes that I took from my tutorials and am currently trying to decipher them. I was hoping I would have at least made a start on it by now.
It is so frustrating…..
I feel such a relief that I am not the only one who is finding this TMA so frustrating – written the opening sentance – so I suppose that is a start?
I’m a new OU student (still haven’t even got my course materials yet… due to the conveniently timed post strikes!) but have been googling the pics and have somehow managed to get through the Art section of Block one.
What a I relief to find you all- I thought I was the only one who hadn’t completed this assignment. Have you all been on A103 Chat? Everyone seems so ahead, I’ve been too embarrassed to post anything. Some people are starting Philosophy already! (Shock, horror! How is that possible?)
Ok must get back to the issue at hand… Man Reading…
Not A103 Chat … OUSA A103 the forum… Just discovered it yesterday and there are like a million posts to read!
Yes there are a lot arent there Sarala?
Dont worry a few people might be 2 or 3 weeks ahead, but many of us are still on Part 1 and 2 of TMA02
Jules xx
Well I wrote it, but my god what a pile of rubbish!! It just sort of ends abrubtly. Where did you find the A103 forum?
The A103 forum is:
Arts Cafe -> OUSA Arts Room -> OUSA A103.
Cheers,
Just wanted to say I am so glad I have found you all!!! I am finding the analysis of this painting unbelievably difficult. I am way too intimidated to leave a message on the official A103 forum because everybody seems to be so far ahead of me. I completed a social science course last year with no problems at all, so I was completely unprepared for this! Thanks for giving me hope and keeping me going. x
Greetings all, great reading all these mails, feel as if I am not the only one a tad lost here. Stuck in the wastes of Kazakhstan, trying to get to grips with this analysis lark.Have been trying to make sense of it for a couple of hours now,well find the right words but the vocabulary does not seem to be doing the right thing. Try again tomorrow.
Phew!!!
Not just me, then! I’ve decided to leave this one for the time being, as I couldn’t even start until I got back from a trip to Italy (damn…. should’ve had a look at the colosseum while I was there) and I’m gonna “fast forward” to the Sonnets. My God, they’re hard work. I’ve watched the DVD, listened to some sonnets, read some sonnets, and they read/sound like utter trip to me. I know I shouldn’t be saying that sort of thing, what with me studying for a Philosophy degree, and all (be open-minded to everything, etc.) but I have no idea how I am going to “analyse” one.
As for this picture, could anyone on here give me a hint on how to find the VP and where the horizon should be? I understand the theory gien, but I can’t seem to apply it here. 🙁
trip = tripe
I too have decided not to look at the OU A103 forums anymore as it seems everyone is charging ahead and I feel totally out of my league. I feel like it’s a big competition and that is not why I’m doing this course. I will go at my own speed, and o.k I’m behind at the moment, but as long as I get the exam in by it’s due date and I keep to the calender as close as possible I feel that I’m going to be o.k. At the end of the day nearly everyone passes this course and I also have still NOT done either parts one or two of our TMA. Read the sonnet this evening for the first time this evening and thought that they really couldn’t have come up with something any harder, could they? And the painting – head against a brick wall!!!
Hiya Dudius!
I see that you’re in the area of my old stamping ground (brought up in Blaenavon, went to primary in Forge Side until the family moved to just outside Abergavenny when I was 12 or so).
I see the OU are organising a weekend in Rome to inspect the Colosseum in a few weeks time (my own view is that if the Italian builders haven’t finished it by now they probably never will).
The VP for the painting is an interesting topic – let me ask… *Is* there a VP in this painting? There’s no law that says there has to be one. All the tutor is looking for from you is a reasoned argument that a) you’ve found it and it is at place x, or b) you can’t find one because…
We did sonnets in last night’s tutorial which gave me a better insight to the form (even though my blind spot still exists).
Cheers,
B.
Hi Loretta,
The painting asks more questions of me than are comfortably answered. I think it’s important not to get hung up on detail but to step backwards and say what we see.
The sonnet has to be seen within the context of it being a war piece – once you have the setting, the structure becomes easier to dismantle and examine.
My head is about to explode. I have just re-written it again after establishing the 1st couple of sentences didn’t actually make sense. I did have a large glass of wine in my hand while writing so that might account for the gibberish!!
There was me thinking Timbre was French for Stamp…one thing bothering me with these essaylets do we have to put in references if we are drawing from the given published material?? AS for the man in the chair did not put in about VP, guess I will have to visit it again.
Hi, been reading all your comments religiously – hoping that i will be inspired at some point and come on here full of good ideas and wise advice. Still not happened! I have arough draft of the Art History sitting in front of me and i can honestly say it is absolute garbage! I simply cannot think of ANYTHING to write on this piece of ‘Art’. Haven’t mentioned anything about VP (is there one?). it tells us to be ‘selective’ in order to keep to the limit! Am i missing something – am i looking at the wrong paiting? I just dont know what to say about it and i dont mind saying i feel completely thick!
Gillian
Hi A103ers, I thought that I was the only one having difficulties with this course. Everyone else gave me the impression that it was going very easily for them. I’m glad to see that I’m not alone and lost. I am way behind and also have stopped using the forum as it was depressing me. At 61, I felt that I had bitten of a lot more than I can chew. Reading the comments above has made me feel a lot more human and not as useless as I had begun to feel.
Edmund
Yeah glad we’re all in the same boat. The book is pretty helpful, you can get through study week 1 in about 2 days. (less if you aren’t working) They’ll be looking for certain key words and they’re all in the chapter. Write a few notes and you end up with an A4 page of handwritten nonsense which is surprisingly difficult to compress into 300 words of crap 🙂
I thoughtthe poetry and art was tough till I started on the Philosophy. Can’t sort out my premises fdrom my conclusions.:-(
Hi Pete. I’ve pushed the philosophy section to the side – the conversational set-piece we’re supposed to study is so inane as to be beneath comprehension.
It’s certainly beneath mine. I think the picture of the dogs playing snooker is far better than the Mona Lisa.:-)
I am struggling with part 2 of the TMA – the sonnet. I have quite a bit to say about structure and imagery, but cannot seem to find anything to say about poetic diction. Any ideas/comments would be gratefully received!
I’m goin through the same thing. And let me tell you me mind is blanker than any canvas and i only have 6 days to write all of it.
DOH!