Art - Karel Appel

One of my favourite hobbies that many people are unaware of it my love for art. I enjoy going round to different art galleries and looking at the different pieces and also discovering new and different artists and looking into their work. When I went to The British Museum, I went around the different exhibits and found a range of great artists and have explored their portfolios. The next section of blog post will be all about the artists I have discovered or re-discovered and how their art is interpreted by myself. 

First up is Karel Appel and his piece Phantom with Mask.

I found this piece to be very dark. At first the picture looking like a face screaming, but upon further reflection I found that the image appeared to be more shouting - less scary, more fearful. The abstract image is quite odd when you first look at it, as the black eyes are almost staring right at you - however the position of the arms up and around the mouth, looks like they are trying to project their voice. The image in my eyes is a cry for help, despite the dark colours which have negative connotations. One aspect of the image which is very obvious is the child-like structure of the image. The facial structure of the painting, looks as if a child may have drawn in - which with the previous analysis makes me believe that Karel Appel has tried to capture the cry of a child through abstract art. Often children struggle to be heard and this is exactly the idea I get from this piece.