Artist research 2 -Charles Sheeler

Charles Sheeler 

Charles Sheeler, born in 1883, can be seen as one of the creators of the American modernism. Charles grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and studied at the Museum School Of Industrial Art with the teacher William Merritt Chase. After graduating Charles easily established some success by his work being displayed at the Macbeth Gallery. During 1908 to 1909 Charles lived in Paris just as Cubism was becoming mainstream,on return to the United States, Charles released he couldn’t carry on creating modernist paintings. Alternately Charles took up photography, mainly focusing on buildings. Charles Sheeler lived with another artist, Morton Schamberg, during his photography stage in a small farmhouse. Inside the farmhouse, they owned a 19th century stove which Sheeler made the focus of many of his photographs. Sheeler mainly photographed structures such a buildings and machinery, he would then use his painting technique to complement his photographs. Later in his life Sheeler was employed by Ford Motor Co to advertise their factories by taking pictures and painting them. Although from the brief description above of Charles Sheeler, layers isn’t related at all. However after studying his building paintings i believe that his work relates to layers well. The style that Charles Sheeler paints buildings shows layers built onto of layers to create the different buildings. There is no space between any of the buildings, each building is connected and created by different colours on top of each other. This creates obvious layers. 

"Canyons” 

This is was made using oil paint on a canvas and was created in 1951, well into Charles Sheeler’s modernism paintings. I really like this pieces of artwork, i think it clearly shows layers on which the buildings on top of each other to create a layer, to create a finishing picture. I can try incorporate this into my work by using the style of Charles sheeler to create layers in my drawings of buildings. I can also use the texture that Alberto Burri uses in his pieces, to create textured building drawings, showings layers.

“On a Shaker Theme” 

Again this piece has been painted onto a canvas in oil paints. This particular piece shows Charles Sheeler’s respect for the shaker design. This then lead onto Sheeler collecting shakers furniture and visiting the towns of Hancock and Massachusetts to photograph the second meeting house. Ultimately Sheeler painted the first shaker piece, which then lead onto the private Shaker collection. This piece of artwork shows two overlaid images, both of a laundry and machine shop. One of the images position is changed so it faces the other way. Sheeler was know for his processes of changing and “overlapping” his images. This is why i believe that this piece clearly shows layers because of how Sheeler overlaps the two pictures which creates a layers. I think that Sheeler’s work has been strongly influenced by Cubism, because of the bright bold colours and bold shapes. I feel that i can link this into my work well because i can create simples layers using bold colours and shapes. 

“Ballardvale Revisited” 

Created in 1949 and painted onto a canvas, this piece is one of Sheerler’s many famous factory paintings. It shows his abstract painting method used throughout many of his artwork pieces. It also shows the bright, bold and strange, colours and shapes that you notice in many of Sheerler’s pieces. I appreciate this piece of work, i like the bright colours used because it catches your attention and this makes you interested in the art work. I also like this piece because you cant tell what it is straight away, i enjoy art work like this because it makes you think about it. I can easily link this particular picture to the topic of layers because as i haver mentioned in the art work i have analysed above, Sheeler creates layers whilst drawing his buildings, each building is put on top of each other, which creates a layers, then overall it creates the picture we see when it first catches our attention.