The Design of Art - Transforming Reality

I have been reading the collected letters of Vincent Van Gogh, most of which he wrote to his Brother Theo. They are an amazing insight into the creative development of someone who has become one of the most recognisable and universally popular painters on the planet. You can find out more about the letters here.

In a letter from 1885, Vincent explained his desire to draw figures in a way that best showed the character of their action even if that was at the expense of anatomical accuracy. Vincent wanted to create “transformations of reality” that resulted in a visual fiction that would be “truer than the literal truth”.

Move forward 46 years to see a perfect example of another visual artist, the Grosvenor School printmaker Sybil Andrews, putting this idea of ‘transforming reality’ into practice. The New Cable is a multi-layer lino print of a construction scene, with heavily abstracted and stylised workers reeling a hefty cable from a massive spool.

Sybil Andrews skillfully transforming reality.

‘The New Cable’ 1931.

Although clearly not anatomically correct, or drawn in a realistic way, the print really communicates the straining movement of people engaging in very heavy manual labour. You can feel the tension of the four workmen tugging the cable at the bottom left of the composition, and the extreme exertion of the figure unwinding the spool handle.

I think Sybil Andrews transformed reality to convey the force of the figure’s exertions to a level that Vincent would have approved of, and it certainly makes for an engaging and striking relief print!

What do you think about this print? Let me know in the comments below!