Declaration

Many would consider their possible concept to be just envy, greed, or maybe wrath; however, this concept contains those and more. The seven deadly sins are feared by many, and observed by those who are more curious.  In categorizing the seven deadly sins, the Christian religion chose upon gluttony, greed, wrath, envy, sloth, lust, and pride.  

The mystery of their origin, and their dark secrets enticed myself to this concept immediately upon the assignment. To be able to learn about more than one concept, and explore its possibilities gave me inspiration and motivation to continue forward with the idea. The dark aspect of the seven deadly sins has a luring effect, and once one gets mesmerized by the intensity, they cannot turn away from it. 

Out of all the sins in the world, it has intrigued me to find out that there have been a certain seven deadly ones that correspond with a specifically chosen seven heavenly virtues. When looking more closely at these sins, one realizes that they are guilty of most, if not all of them, at some point in their life. It is absolutely fascinating to realize that people knowingly commit these deeds, and it has inspired me to try and learn why people do so. 

In this concept portfolio, many of the images and stories are very dark and deceitful, just like the sins themselves. There are many forms of each of the sins portrayed throughout the pages, giving new excitement with every glance. 

The Seven Deadly Sins

Of Mind’s Eye Critique

The artistic masterpiece, “Still Life” by Mr. Kefor, depicts a simple, but yet complex arrangement of original items.  All of the objects, including skulls, cinderblocks,  flowers, a treasure chest,  and a still monkey, are located in the center of the painting creating a full composition.  Most viewer’s eyes are drawn to the uppermost skull because of its mysterious value fabricating an intriguing focal point to the image.  With the exception of the lower skull, the objects are being supported by a large, sturdy but yet damaged cinderblock, and are displayed in a neatly fashion.  The curious ensemble leaves one to imagine the connection between the items to each other and their whereabouts. 

The dark, death like feeling emitted by the image is appropriately accompanied by grey tones of blues, greens, and reds.  Gradually, the light fades from the left of the image to the right, creating a masterly and clever shadow effect.  The background can be interpreted in many different ways due to its ambiguous structure and expertly intermixed colors.  The hollowness of the objects bring an empty, gloomy emotion to viewers and the desire to fill it with the knowledge of its creation. 

There is not a clearly depicted narrative given by the artist, making one think of  the possibilities.  The combination of skulls, flowers, and cinderblocks remind one of cemeteries, basements, or funerals giving an alarming realistic feel to the painting.  Without any emphasis on certain aspects of the painting makes one’s mind free to imagine anything and everything about this exquisite painting.

Critique #1

“The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things”

Hieronymus Bosch’s, “The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things” depicts each of the sins themselves in action, along with four other interesting illustrations.  The original intent by Bosch was to create a wheel of the sins surrounded around the eye of God through the divine Christ, to express the idea that God knows of all one’s sins at all times.  Wrath, greed, envy, sloth, lust, gluttony, and envy are accompanied by death, judgment, hell, and glory within the painting.  The combination of these topics blend easily together due to their common trait of being shunned by the religion of Christianity.  

At the first glance of the painting, it is hard to clearly see the vignettes within it, making it appear to be disorganized.  Bosch created his masterpiece around the eye of God, known by many as Christ, making the particular image the focal point.  By using softened hues throughout the image, it allows one’s eyes to focus on the artistic details versus contrasting colors. The almost symmetrical composition brings the desired balance to the painting, and a clean-cut feeling that Bosch demonstrated.

 Within each of the vignettes are extreme portrayals of the seven deadly sins in action.  Most of the individual images contain violence, and malicious intentions, creating a dark atmosphere that the black background suits appropriately.  Most view these images with fear, horror and disapproval; the precise emotions Bosch intended to have felt to create the desire to never commit one of the fateful sins.