Background
The visual piece of art discussed and analyzed in this work is Old Tribal Chants by Joseph Henry Sharp. According to official sources, the artist spent about a decade, from 1915 to 1925, bringing this beautiful thing into reality (Sharp, 1925). The dimensions of this masterpiece of American Art are 30″ x 36″ inches (Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), n.d.). In terms of conventional art mediums, Old Tribal Chants falls under the category of painting.
Subject Matter and Composition
The first scene I noticed in this painting is a group of Native Americans gathering and spending time together in a wigwam. The story in the painting aligns with my perspective, as it only shows the audience a group of indigenous people chanting. Its museum label explains that the artist intended to draw an indigenous tribe, the Sioux people or the Crow Indians (Sharp, 1925). Therefore, judging by the description of the painting in the Talkington Gallery, the subject matter that I perceive and the one that the artist wanted to present are the same.
In terms of composition, the painting primarily features human figures. I counted 15 Native Americans depicted by Sharp on canvas. Four figures are in the foreground, and 11 are in the background (Sharp, 1925). I also noticed that the spatial organization within the painting is based on two horizontal lines, which are formed by the faces of the tribe members. One line runs straight down the center, while the other is positioned near the top of the canvas.
The picture contains the center of attention, two faces of chanting Native people illuminated by background light. Such visual highlighting, along with a yellow-white background of a wigwam with no tribal members in the upper central part of the painting, supports my statement. To conclude, Old Tribal Chants has a well-functioning yet straightforward visual-spatial structure and organization.
Element of Art in Old Tribal Chants
Sharp’s use of color is one of the more exciting elements of the art in Old Tribal Chants. The artist employs a mixed color scheme, incorporating both bright and subdued colors, tones, and hues. The first category is employed to create a lively and warm atmosphere, utilizing lighting and an authentic portrayal of traditional Native American clothing. The second one creates the feeling of being in a wigwam and the sense that something important, ritual, local, and sacral is happening. These two groups of colors complement each other, creating the necessary contrasts and unisons in the figures’ lighting, hues, and positions on the canvas.
Elements of Design in Old Tribal Chants
The design element of Old Tribal Chants that deserves the most attention is how Sharp emphasizes the focal point. It utilizes two visual elements to draw the audience’s attention, including mine, to the center of the canvas. The first is the lighting that reaches its maximum brightness near the central part of the picture, illuminating the faces of the Native Americans and creating a necessary contrast with them.
The second is their lines of sight, as almost all focus on the two significant figures in the foreground who lead the chanting ritual. The key characters are drawn with their backs to the audience, defocusing the viewer’s eyes. The artistic techniques described above fix this moment when viewers begin to look at other picture elements.
Meaning and Personal Experience
Sharp was very interested in Native American culture, and Old Tribal Chants expresses his love for it. With this painting, he attempted to encapsulate the sacred elements of the indigenous lifestyle so that they would escape destruction and oblivion. Chanting, a collective rite, as a chosen topic, and a wigwam, a small hut, as a setting, hint at this.
Perceiving art in person differs drastically from other ways of experiencing art. The natural colors and the closeness of the painting made me perceive the artwork more deeply. Neighboring pieces of art enhanced this effect by creating the appropriate atmosphere.
References
Joseph Henry Sharp (1859 – 1953). (n.d.). Nancy Shahani. Web.
Sharp, J. H. (1925). Old tribal chants [Painting]. Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX.