I’ve recently moved into a new apartment, and I’d like to try something new in terms of decorating the place. I scored a lot of IKEA furniture when I moved in, and I accidently ended up with a sort of cold, sterile look to the place. I like it! And I’d like to play with that theme some more.
Can anyone recommend appropriate artwork for that purpose? It can be abstract or representational, but I’d prefer something:
1.) Not commonly found in college dorm rooms, that I can nonetheless
2.) Buy a print of for under $30;
3.) No or minimal “warm” colors;
4.) Nudes are okay, provided they fit the overall “cold, sterile” theme (and for the love of Ford, label them NSFW!)
5.) If it all possible, the art should convey a mild sense of menace or unease.
A bit vague, I know - that’s intentional. When picking the brilliant brains of the Teeming Millions, it doesn’t do to constrain them unduly. And if you can think of something that you think works for this theme, but happens to be bright orange or costs $50, let me know!
My first thought was a nice big print of a scary storm cloud, preferably threatening a lonely farmhouse or something. Y’know, like a classic mesocyclone. You’d have the menace in spades, the cold sterility of a largely monochromatic image, and the thematic sterility of nature at its most ruthless and potentially destructive.
Upon googling, I also found this site full of apocalyptic posters, and thought that several of them might fit your needs.
If you can get your hands on it, you could try one of Palle Nielsen’s woodcuts or linocuts. He is one of my favorite artists and I think that if he hadn’t chosen prints as his medium he would be considered one of the greats of the 20th century. For your project I’m thinking specifically of some of his “People in the Abandoned City”-series or “The Enchanted City”-series.
Indeed he is. This stuff is fantastic - thank you!
Okay, Kent was clearly just not a happy man. Thanks for the pointers, Elendil’s Heir! I love HR Giger as well - but not for this theme, I think. His stuff is many things, but I’d be hard-pressed to call it “sterile” - rather the opposite.
I can’t remember who painted it, but we have this great piece done probably mid 50s. It is whichever bible story is the whore hanging the red rope out of her window of the walled city … this is a great piece, very twilight zone-esque art. The overall color is a misty grey representing the wall, with a single window and a thin red rope hanging out of the window. Next time I visit my mom’s house Ill see if it survived the fire and get a picture of it. I think it is/was a Peter Heyward.
It might be a little more subtle than you are looking for, but if you want artwork that portrays a cold, uncaring universe, there is nothing better than Demotivators.
Never be afraid to share your dreams with the world, because there is nothing the world loves more than the taste of really sweet dreams.
Frank Stella? Hereare some images of his painting of the Brooklyn Bridge…
How about a photograph of a starscape or one of the **Hubble **photos of deep-space phenomena?
Damien Hirst, besides putting animal corpses in tanks of formaldehyde, also did fairly simple canvases- similar to Mondrian, but not active and warm like his - more cool and…vaguely menacing…
This may be veering into college dorm territory, but works by Balthus (possibly NSFW) seem to fit your description. You’d be a braver man than I to hang one on your wall though – those things give me the chills.
Out of the stuff I like that come up to mind at the moment:
Paintings Francis Bacon: A little scary and disturbing and some are not so minimal) Georgesde La Tour: From the classics that might fit your criteria but there are definitely warm-ish colors; I luv the uneasiness of de la Tour and the directions of stares.
Phillip Guston: His paintings generally have red but cold dye color red though mostly.
Georgio Morandi: Still life, minimal and uneasy but probably not menacing.
Alberto Giacometti: He’s a sculptor though there are some drawings and paintings. Frank Auerback’s are kinda minimal-ish, often cold and possibly menacing.
Marlene Dumas has a lots of weird minimal stuff (Possibly some NSFW)
And maybe Brice Marden’s early prints and mono color minimal paintings?
That’s all I have time for, right now. I’ll think of some more.
I don’t know whether you will be able to find prints for all these artists but this placehas a lots of fine art prints.
Thanks for the pointers, Elendil’s Heir! I love HR Giger as well - but not for this theme, I think. His stuff is many things, but I’d be hard-pressed to call it “sterile” - rather the opposite.
