Cubism (1908-1922)

[silver geode]

Initiated by Picasso and Braque, Cubism revolutionized art by challenging traditional conventions. Instead of mimicking nature, Cubist artists developed an abstract style emphasizing the canvas's flatness and defying techniques like perspective and shading.

Cubism has two main phases:

1. Analytical Cubism (1908 - 1912): Artists fragmented figures into geometric shapes, crafting abstract forms with muted colors like browns and grays.
2. Synthetic Cubism (1912 - 1919): Artists used non-art materials and everyday objects, blending them with abstract symbols. This style was colorful, surreal, and often incorporated collages.

Prompts using ChatGPT with DALL-E 3:

• Oil painting capturing the spirit of Analytical Cubism with a simplified approach. The woman with a guitar is represented using fewer geometric facets, emphasizing the fragmentation into planes. The colors are restricted to muted hues of browns, grays, and blacks, reflecting the early cubist works.
• Photo of a collage artwork that captures a woman playing a guitar, deeply inspired by the Synthetic Cubism style. The composition prominently features materials like snippets of newspapers, swatches of fabric, and textures of wood, piecing together the woman and the guitar.

[tropic gulch]

Sometimes, it can be hard to know what kind of words/phrases will get the image we are aiming for. I used ChatGPT/DE3 combo to learn about Cubism, and picked up useful phrases like "Analytical Cubism," "highly fragmented," and "overlapping geometric shapes," which I used to create Cubist art in two different media.

Ink sketch: "Artistic representation in ink and watercolor of a secret garden. The garden is lush, with a myriad of trees and flowers that are depicted using fragmented and overlapping shapes characteristic of Analytic Cubism. Somewhere within this maze of vegetation lies a hidden gate, leading to an unknown realm. The color palette is restrained, with muted tones that evoke feelings of wonder and surrealism."

Collage: "Artistic collage crafted from a blend of fabrics, aged photos, newspaper clippings, and botanical elements like leaves and petals. It represents a dense secret garden, alive with flora. Tucked away within this green haven is a discreet gate, leading to an unknown dimension. The fragmented and intersecting geometric designs are reminiscent of Analytic Cubism. The whole artwork is bathed in subdued hues, imparting a sense of wonder, fantasy, and transience."

[shy dome]

I distilled the long description of ChatGPT about the 4 characteristics of cubism into the following:

• Fragmentation and geometric forms
• Multiple perspectives
• Abstract realism
• Monochromatic colours

On a path to give this style a refresh I've made a single person that is both an apprentice as well as a master. In one the person is more defined as crude cubes as an apprentice, still needing to be refined into the smooth features of his master form.

In the second a master walks in a library, looking at his past reflection where the cubes show his unrefined knowledge and grasp on reality.

`Illustration of a grand library filled with towering bookshelves and ancient scrolls. On one side, an apprentice mage is depicted in cubist style, fragmented into geometric shapes, showcasing the raw potential and multiple facets of learning. On the opposite side, a master mage stands, his form also rendered in cubist techniques, but more refined, representing mastery and wisdom gained over years.

Photo-realistic image of a majestic library with a vaulted ceiling and intricate designs. Amidst the sea of books, a young apprentice mage appears in cubist abstraction, symbolizing the journey of discovery. Nearby, a master mage, also depicted in the cubist style, exudes an aura of power and knowledge, with his geometric forms appearing more harmonized.`

[candid prism]

Orphism was an an offshoot of Cubism, and it represents a bridge between traditional Cubism and full-fledged Abstract Art. It is characterized by its vibrant colors, intricate patterns, and a departure from rigid lines and sharp angles, seeking to evoke emotion through abstract portrayals of concepts rather than direct representation of objects. At the helm of this movement were Robert and Sonia Delaunay and František Kupka, whose work laid the foundation for this style. Their art took the monochromatic geometries of Cubism and infused them with rich hues and unusual compositions, transforming them into a dance of colors and patterns.

Prompt: "Orphism-inspired painting of a bird-like figure on a window sill, oil painting on canvas, in the style of Robert Delaunay, circa 1912. Abstract forms that only vaguely recall the subject. Unique colors and large shapes. Faint overlaid checkerboard pattern with a black circle placed on top of the artwork."
(Bing's Image Creator)