Martin Wittfooth
Introduction
Martin Wittfooth is a modern American artist, working in the surrealistic art direction. Martin was born in 1981 in Canada; however, the boy spent most of his childhood in another cold country, Finland. This atmosphere has influenced the unique painting manner of the artist. Apparently, the gloomy landscapes of his painting are inspired by the ruins and wretchedness of his environment. The surrealist artist has studied the images and symbolism of the classical art for a long time. Being known as the artist that creates remarkable, deep, and socially important pictures, Martin Wittfooth also addresses the contradictory and rather sensitive issues of the human impact on nature.
Peculiarities of Wittfooth’s Paintings
In the paintings of Martin Wittfooth, one can trace the technique and conceptuality of the classical artists, while the subjects of his pictures are connected with the solution of the modern environmental and social problems. His works communicate some presentiment and represent landscapes and animals affected by the anthropogenic impact. These paintings reflect the long influence of people on the kingdom of animals through a powerful visual narration. It is a kind of caution to warn people about the events, which can potentially happen in the future.
The specific feature of the Wittfooth’s works is the absence of human beings in them; his paintings force the viewers to witness only tragic scenes. The collision of two environments, the industrially developed humankind and the flora and fauna of the wild world, results in the rigid and compulsory assimilation of the former. The paintings of Martin Wittfooth focus on the violence, concern, and chaos of the wild world. However, at the same time, they demonstrate the true beauty and hope for the better future of the world.
Martin Wittfooth has always been concerned about one of the most burning issues of the modern world, namely the human impact on the environment. This effect of the human civilization on nature is destructive and makes people realize the threats of the influence of their actions. Through his surrealistic pictures, the artist depicts the tragedy of the modern world, in which technologies invented by people interfere with nature and force it to live in accordance with the human rules. The beauty of the living world that has existed for millions of years in perfect harmony turns into the chaos. Consequently, animals are forced to live on the human wastes. By means of his symbolic art, Martin Wittfooth tries to reach the impenitent hearts of indifferent individuals and show them the true tragedy of nature. He urges his viewers to pay attention to the environmental problem of the world around and try to change everything for the best. As a result, the life on the Earth can be preserved. The admirers of the Wittfooth’s artistic talent write,
Through his paintings, Martin Wittfooth presents a world which is dystopian by its very definition. The Earth he depicts is void of human life, and filled with strong symbolic implications that the root cause is of our own making; principally our disconnection from, and disrespect for, the natural world (Artist Interviews).
The artist’s pictures feature neither landscapes for the delight of eyes nor the portraits admiring with the expressiveness, and nor the bright dabs in the style of surrealism for the revelry of imagination. His works communicate a kind of appeal built on a parable, giving an opportunity to stop and think. Martin Wittfooth touches the human painful points by means of a palette and a brush. The works of this artist influence strings of the human heart and overturn the human consciousness. His paintings are dowered with the deep philosophical context. Despite the fact that the artist does not paint people, he tries to reveal the human power that destructively affects nature. Martin Wittfooth’s paintings are full of the violence and chaos.
When speaking of his paintings in details, it is necessary to note that animals are the main heroes of his works. However, these characters are not in the peaceful environment, which one could expect. The background of the paintings, depicting animals is littered, and the sky is filled with smog. All his paintings have a deep meaning; for example, the eagle symbolizes sanctity, and fire - the fanatical religiousness. The artist likes to depict the fire, which, according to his ideas, is the holy light that gives hope of the better future. He asserts, “Painting fire is really interesting, as it’s very organic in its structure: alive and ever-transforming, affecting the color and temperature of the elements around it”. Besides, the artist explains his choice of the fire and smoke in his paintings, “Fire and smoke are rather blunt symbols for destruction, and for a while I incorporated these elements rather clumsily to get at that point, though in recent works I’ve been bringing [them] in for more nuanced reasons”.
In his paintings, the bear lives in the sewerage, the humming-bird eats a big bird, the eagle kills a deer, and the owl holds the scales with the flowers on the one basin and a corpse on another one. The animals depicted by Wittfooth resemble people; they thriftily walk around the apartment or imposingly lay on a sofa. All human sins and shameful acts are demonstrated in his works through allegories. The artist tries to represent animals as the reflection in a mirror of human nonsenses and burdens. For example, one of the artist’s paintings depicts a monkey with the crown made of a newspaper with the ruined building on the background.
Picture 1. The Coronation (source: Swenson).
This painting impressed me greatly by its deep social and philosophical meaning. I could see that there is nothing holy or valuable in the life of people. The fire symbolizes the full destruction of nature as a result of the anthropogenous impact on the environment. The image of the gloomy and upset monkey symbolizes a person that is not able to struggle with own nature, thus tending to destroy and ruin. The crown is an allusion to people of high ranks, the elite, kings, and queens, in the overall hierarchy of the society. At the same time, by depicting the crown of a newspaper, the artist wanted to stress the illusoriness of the human desire to rule the world.
Martin states that there is the traditional reaction of people to animals. For example, people experience the feeling of respect for some animals and the disgust to others. He tries to create his painting in such a way so as to make viewers feel the presence of the artist. He works not only with the rational analysis but also with the content, which can affect one’s emotional understanding of the painting.
Often, the characters in the artist’s pictures are surreal and hardly noticeable. The artist creates a gentle image of a haze that allows pictures to pass the general illusiveness. They have the depth and the ease of shades, and the viewer can not only understand the meaning of what was communicated but also to enjoy the talent of the artist in every painting.
Martin Wittfooth investigates the destructive nature of a blind belief, the romanticization of violence, the roots of self-sacrifice and sufferings that are characteristic of the religion and martyrdom. Such an approach is very interesting and unusual for the modern art since it focuses on the interior but not on external problems. However, a person learns and develops through external manifestations: acts and deeds. The artist addresses the questions of moral, thus urging people to pay attention to the most important issues.
In my opinion, the works of Martin Wittfooth are extremely touching and impressive. His paintings possess the profound meaning and make viewers study them again and again. I think that his works of art are very professional and ingenious. Animals depicted by the artist resemble people, and each has a peculiar character and role. The abstract worlds presented by the artist are rather complex, allowing me as a viewer to search for something hidden and unknown.
Another characteristic feature of Wittfooth’s works is that the majority of his works utilize dark colors. To my mind, they penetrate into the soul and touch the most distant areas of the human soul. I believe that the vital issues of animals and the destructive impact of the human activity on the animal life, arisen by the artist, receive the increasing popularity since they address pressing problems.
Conclusion
The relations between technologies and nature, the absence of the balance between them, and the collision of traditional ideologies with the modern fears meet in the gloomy pictures of the American artist, Martin Wittfooth. The artist’s concern focuses on the crash of the natural values owing to the rapid development of technologies. Martin creates atmospheric worlds by the combination of the symbolism and comparison of visual narrations, which show the viewers that they should treat nature more carefully. Otherwise, animals will launch a war against the humankind, and the Great Chaos and destruction will rule the world.
The article was written by professional writer - Olivia Adamson, more her papers you can find following freshessay writing service.