Providing his viewers an opportunity to examine core sociocultural issues interspersed across several decades, Frank Moore created the paintings that offered a truly other-worldly experience. Though many of these deserve an analysis of their own, “Patient” remains the best-known and the most emotional art piece. By creating an entire surreal environment out of a seemingly mundane setting of a hospital bed, Moore conveyed the idea of the cyclic nature of life and the concept of interconnectedness between its elements.
The choice of color, lighting, and composition are central to the unique atmosphere that “Patient” creates. Specifically, the light blue palette that dominates the painting evokes the feeling of sadness, yet the choice lighting, namely, the decision to avoid substantially dark elements, in general, and place the source of light outside of the frame to the left elicit the emotions of hope and peace. Furthermore, with the source of light not being visible in the picture, the image conveys and other-worldly feeling that could refer to the spiritual concepts of heaven and afterlife. As a result, the painting creates the environment that establishes a specific mood.
In turn, the use of composition and spacing sets the context for the painting. Namely, portraying the hospital bed, Moore chose to leave a substantial part of the central part of the painting mostly empty, which symbolizes the concepts of death and loss. While nothing in the painting suggest directly that the patient has passed away, the emotional core of the art piece set by the choice of color, tone, and spacing implies death rather than recovery. Moreover, the composition incorporates a variety of nuanced details that become obvious on further and more scrutinous consideration of the painting. Specifically, the fact that the hospital bed morphs into snowy hills and a pond encourages the audience view the idea of an individual death in a broader context. In turn, the details such as the bird, the snowflakes in the air, and the falling leaves, introduces the idea of nature continuing its course, and death being one of natural occurrences.
Moore’s choice to combine snowflakes and falling leaves in the same setting amplifies the specified message. Representing changing seasons, the specified elements of the painting enhance the impression of a continuous cycle and, therefore, convey the idea that life and death remain in equilibrium. Similarly. The juxtaposition of the inanimate objects typically associated with illness and death, such as the blood transfusion devices and a stain of blood on the bed, to a living creature, namely, the bird amplifies the significance of the message.
With a masterfu8l use of painting techniques, “Patient” delivers a powerful and important message. As a rule, people tend to personalize death, which further leads to the inability to perceive it objectively. In turn, Moore’s painting allows the viewer to reconcile with the idea of death and see it as a part of a natural process of change. As a result, the audience embraces the inevitability of death, interpreting it as an inevitable part of natural harmony.
By integrating a unique approach to constructing formal elements of his painting, particularly, by utilizing a unique approach to composition, space, tone, and lighting, Moore managed to imbue “Patient” with a complex meaning of existence. Specifically, the painting outlines the cyclic nature of life, specifically, the thriving of life where recent death has occurred. The original approach to the selection of color, space, and light creates the sense of mourning of a loss while accepting it as a personal tragedy rather than a universal one.