Image Essay #6

This is a painting created by L. Haywood Coffey. I chose this painting because I think it is a great example of dominance within a piece. The dominant figure is the man in the foreground. This is because the shape is in the foreground, is outlined to bring it out against the background, and takes up more of the picture plane than most of the other objects within the artwork. The subordinate object appears to be the spiral in the background of many different colors along. The accentual objects are then the wavy lines bordering the picture and the spiral in the top right corner of the art piece.

Coffey’s piece also is comprised of many different abstract objects rather than geometric shapes. The “man” in the picture is very abstracted with extremely large hands and fewer fingers than a normal person has. His legs and feet are out of proportion, and his body is manipulated into a position unlike what normal humans can do. Rather than using straight lines, the artist makes them look more like mountain ranges. Also, Coffey warps the circular objects to make them look more like spirals. This piece is a great example of dominance and abstracted imagery.