John Sloan

Recently, I make a trip to the Cleveland Museum of Art to seek inspiration and visit some “old friends”.  While I have reservations about museums being the best place to view artwork I do like how an artist can stand out in a mix.  John Sloan’s A Woman’s Work has always been one of those paintings for me.

What cannot be represented in a photograph is the presence a painting has in its environment.  Some paintings seem to reflect light, others suck it up or negate it entirely.  What makes this painting stand out is that it seems to glow and soften next to the other paintings within the same space.  It is like a repose in the corner that you find yourself slowly gravitating towards.  Willem De Kooning once said that he liked to create doors within his paintings.  A way in and a way out of the composition.  You could say that for me this particular Sloan painting was a door out of this gallery or space.  Museums are jammed with work that could drive you nuts were you to devote time to each piece.  The actual experience of viewing a piece factors in these kinds of ideas subconsciously.  Fatigue, boredom, levity or inspired mania can all direct the way the you respond to a painting.

It is a medium sized painting, possibly smaller next to some historical pieces or landscapes, so when it is placed at eye level you acknowledge the borders immediately and are able to view it as an image.  To clarify, some landscapes are just enormous and you can lose yourself in their space if you step in deep enough.  This painting immediately registers as a painting, that illusion of depth and space is second to design, paint and color.  As a result the construction of the various elements of its design are directed in order to present a scene that is organized, thoughtful and clear.  Sloan’s experience as an illustrator definitely speaks to his inclinations for presenting an image such as A Woman’s Work as a social narrative or snapshot.  He composed this painting of large vertical shapes and a palette of neutral colors where the highest contrast is the white clothing that the woman collects into her basket.  You are drawn into the subject of the painting and you can take time to let it sink in a bit due to the reduction of contrast on the fringes of the composition.  Devices like ladders and shadows draw you back to the focal point if you do make your way around the canvas.  A painting like this is deceptively simple, there is sophistication and directness in how the painting accomplishes it’s goal without beating you over the head to make it’s point.  Just like you can sit back and enjoy Billy Holiday sing Autumn in New York and pleasantly get lost in the melody and tone of her voice, that kind of simplicity and effortlessness has depth and emotion.  Paintings don’t always have to be dynamically provocative in order to raise some eyebrows.  This painting has that kind of quality to it, especially when it is right next to Bellow’s Stag at Sharkey’s.  On that particular evening at the Cleveland Museum, a little fatigued, John Sloan took me for a nice ride and I appreciated that.