The Use of Light in Bill Henson and Caravaggios Work Essay Example for Free

The Use of Light in Bill Henson and Caravaggios Work Essay Through the use of light, artists continue to receive a strong emotional response from the audience. This is an essential element of an audience’s perception of a work – it may determine whether the artwork is perceived as happy or depressing, or even provides the difference between whether the work is friendly and welcoming, or shocking and confronting. Artists have used light for a long time to stimulate the emotions of the viewer. Two artists that have used this technique are Bill Henson and Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, or more simply known as just Caravaggio. Bill Henson is a contemporary Australian photographer, born in 1955, while Caravaggio was an Italian painter (1571 – 1610). When Henson’s photographs are viewed through the subjective frame, they are looking to induce an emotional response from the viewer, while through the cultural frame, they are depicting the themes and issues of adolescence, isolation, the urban landscape and more. When Caravaggio’s work is similarly viewed through these two frames, his paintings induce an emotional response from the viewer, and his work is culturally significant. His paintings are often depicting scenes from history, a recurring theme being religious scenes from the bible. There is a similar key tool used by both artists to reach their audience. This is their use of light. Both Bill Henson’s and Caravaggio’s work includes a similar dominant stylistic device. This device is called ‘chiaroscuro’, which is an Italian term, meaning ‘light-dark’. It refers to the tonal contrasts used in art. Caravaggio was a pioneer of a style of painting called Tenebrism (literally translating to ‘murky’), in which a leading aspect was the dramatic lighting and prominent, heightened chiaroscuro. Caravaggio’s use of tenebrism brought a dramatic feel to the subjects, heightening the emotional intensity of the work. This intensity was then transferred to the viewers through the subjects of Caravaggio’s works. The subjects were most often realistic human figures, which made the work extremely easy to sympathise with. Caravaggio effectively portrayed emotion in his paintings, dramatising his figures and bringing a story into his work. This is why his art was so successful in reaching his audience and connecting him with the art world. This is a similar concept in Henson’s work. Most of his subjects are human figures, assisting him in the representation of his ideas in a confronting, direct, and sometimes controversial way. The way that Henson achieves the same effect of chiaroscuro in his photographs as Caravaggio does in his paintings, is through his underexposure and adjustment in printing. Henson’s work is powerful, creating an illusion of both a painting and a film through a combination of different techniques that make his work unique. The most prominent feature and device of Henson’s work is his use of light. The majority of his work features dark tones and colours, sometimes slightly tinted with yellow, red or blue. The brighter portions of Henson’s photographs and his use of light is tactically well controlled to uncover only crucial details. In some of his photographs, Henson juxtaposes the colourful yet mysterious, distant city lights through the use of bokkeh, with the underexposed, graphic images of the subject in the foreground. Some examples of this in his work include several images from the Untitled 2000/01 series, such as the girl sitting, the girl that is lying down, yet at the same time positioned so to look as if she is in flight, and another image of a girl lying on her stomach, Untitled #52. A combination of all of these devices is how Henson creates a mood for his photographs and opens his art to the world. He attracts the attention of audience and raises their awareness of a situation and his view of it, yet he still leaves his work open for interpretation and analysis. In a way, Henson’s work is almost haunting. It allows the viewer to feel as if they are almost spying on the subjects of Henson’s photographs. This is achieved by the way his photographs seem to stare right past the viewer, carrying on with their actions. This forces the audience to consider whether these are really models or actors, or if they are real life, documented figures. This is seen in his photograph of the girl in Untitled 2000/01. Through the use of chilling tones and contrast, along with his use of bokkeh, Henson allows the viewer to interpret the image in several different ways. The soft, pastel blue tinge on the girl’s skin suggests an almost unhealthy and dirty look, while the blurred city lights in the background aid with the image’s sense of mystery. This feeling of â€Å"spying on the subject† is also seen in Henson’s work Untitled 1994/95, as well as Untitled 1995/96 series where Henson’s use of white space highlights the possibility of a peephole or vantage point of sorts into the image’s environment. This is also a prime example of how Henson uses light to stimulate the emotions of the viewer. Surprisingly, during the time of their exhibition, Henson’s works did not spark much controversy, despite the particularly touchy subject of nude adolescent girls being exhibited in them. It was more recently, however, that a controversial issue was debated about Henson’s works, and a police investigation had even been issued, as well as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd commented on Henson’s works, and referred to them as â€Å"absolutely revolting†, of â€Å"no artistic merit† and â€Å"that Bill Henson† was becoming a notorious household name. For Henson, this criticism was nothing out of the ordinary. It was the product of his works being open for varying interpretations from his audience. His works empower the audience to experience their own diverse selection of emotions, and these emotions vary by interpretation. Caravaggio’s use of chiaroscuro was very unique. Artists had used it before him, but he was the one who perfected the technique and used it flawlessly throughout his works. Caravaggio’s work was emotionally provoking for audiences, as the severe contrast of shadow and light created a new feeling of passion in his paintings, mixed with harsh reality. There is no doubt that Henson was influenced by Caravagesques and Tenebrists. Caravaggio was an expert in darkening the shadows in his work and drawing attention to the subject by placing them in a mesmerizing light. Some examples of his work where he did this include Judith Beheading Holofernes, 1598/99, as well as The Entombment of Christ, 1602/03. These are only two examples, but his use of chiaroscuro is seen throughout every one of his works. Not only did this technique fixate the attention of the viewer on the subject, it heightened their emotional response to the painting. All his paintings scream of, and were filled with, drama and emotion, and the key component of him achieving this was through his use of light, almost burning the image into the viewer’s brain. Both Bill Henson and Caravaggio are surprisingly similar in several ways. Both their works are realistically appealing, yet confronting. Henson creates painterly photographs, while Caravaggio successfully creates cinematic paintings. However, there is one particular thing that ties these two artists together and shows their similarity exceptionally well, and this is their extensive use of light to set a mood to their work, and to evoke an emotional response from their audience. â€Å"Work a great deal with evening effects, a lamp, a candle, etc. The tantalizing thing is not always the source of light, but the effect of light. † – Edgar Degas.