"Mixed Blood" by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith

Essay by Anonymous UserUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, February 1996

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A good paper if your looking for an analysis of a strange piece of artwork

This painting done in 1992 by Quick-to-See Smith has a lot to say, much of which can be interpreted in different ways by the viewer. The main object in the painting is a hand. Around the hand are newspaper clipping and pieces of cloth. There are big areas of color and red dripping paint in some places. There is not a lot going on in this painting, but the things that are happening are very powerful and thought provoking.

Mixed Blood is a statement made to get people's attention. The artist wants people to better understand the Native Americans and to respect the battles they fought in order to remain alive. The colors used and the boldness of the hand in the center of the picture are eye-catching. The hand is a familiar object, but it could have a few different meanings.

The viewer is able to interpret it in which ever way they are most comfortable with. The principles of art used in this work include emphasis, balance, and contrast. The most obvious elements of art used in this painting are color, time, and shape/form.

The hand in the middle of the painting is the emphasis. Your eye is attracted to the hand right away. The hand is somewhere between idealistic and abstract. It is abstract because it is simplified and idealistic because it's what the idealistic vision of a hand would look like. The reason for making the hand look generic is that Quick-to-See Smith wants us to believe that the hand could be anyone's. By not individualizing the hand, it makes it seem like it's not one person's hand in particular, rather the common hand, or the hand of the human race.