Why Noir? The Art and Style of the Era

A series on how film noir inspires my art- Entry #4

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Any artist will tell you, the key to artistic maturity is to discover one's own unique, consistent language. I seek to find a balance of representation and abstraction.

Modern Art, and design in the Modernist period dealt with this specifically.

Italian travel poster, Mario Puppo, 1948

Italian travel poster, Mario Puppo, 1941

While experts say Modernism died with the onslaught of WWII, I think it was a part of the cultural zeitgeist well afterwards, especially in popular culture.

Blind Minotaur Led through the Night by Girl with Fluttering Dove, Picasso, 1935

My style is evocative of the painting and graphic arts that were contemporary with the hey-day of film noir. So, not only do I learn from films noir directly, I also love the style of the era, and let this inform the way I choose to depict the subject.

The Little Fish, Max Beckmann, 1933

Charles Sheeler, Canyons, 1951

Much like how I engage with the subject of film noir, I like to find the essence of what I am seeing and try to express it with forthright simplicity.

©lesliepetersonsapp Glass Houses 30x28

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Why Noir? is a series! Read 'em all.