Curriculum Materials: Art in America
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Image 26 Bob Thompson Questions: |
Homage to Nina Simone
The free-flowing forms and vibrant colors of Bob Thompson's painting Homage to Nina Simone celebrate not only the singer, but also the rhythms of jazz. Colorful adults and children relax and dance around a central blue woman representing Simone and her music. Intense colors, broad curving BRUSHSTROKES, ORGANIC forms, and swirling clouds animate the environment. Frequent changes in color and shape create rhythm throughout the painting.
Thompson rendered the red,
yellow, pink, and blue figures as flat areas of color,
clearly defined by curving
CONTOUR lines. The
strong contours draw attention to the figures' animated
poses and gestures. By arranging the figures into triangular
groups, however, Thompson gave an
underlying sense of calm to the celebratory atmosphere. The
standing, seated, and reclining figures on the left form one
triangle, and the central group forms another. Other
triangles appear throughout the landscape, in the bushes, in
the mountains, and in the colorful patches on the ground.
The vertical lines of the figures and trees balance the
strong horizontals formed by the shifts in color in the
landscape.
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