A Pure Water Lily (Work of Art About Nature Summary Essay)

This work of art depicts a lone water lily surrounded by five lily pads resting on a pond. This piece is representative of the purity of nature and plant life cutting through the dark surroundings of the rest of the world. This artwork was a comforting piece to create as it was pulled directly from one of my happiest memories in one of my favorite spots in nature. There is a state park in my hometown that I would frequent whenever I needed to escape stress or get some fresh air. In that park was a beautiful clearing with a view of the pond with a small granite bench surrounded in tall grasses and wildflowers where I would sit and gaze out at the rippling water and little frogs and fish. This is the same spot where I would eventually ask out my now current girlfriend of three years, as we sat in front of the pond and saw one lone water lily remaining from the end of their growing season staring back at us. From that day onward, that state park has been a great source of my joy and inspiration and water lilies have become my favorite symbol of purity and tranquility.

I made this piece by first sketching the water lily and lily pads in graphite on a black sheet of paper. I then traced along the lines with an x-acto knife and thickened the incision by creating a parallel cut right next to the first and pulled the paper away from in between the two cuts to remove a thin strip of paper where I had originally drawn the form.  I then glued the black paper, now covered in dozens of small thin holes onto a piece of white bristol paper for color contrast and stability. This is a subtractive method of art, similar to the classic carving of a statue out of various types of stone.

My original concept involved creating a similar piece out of air-dry clay and painting it to add detail, since most of my work prior to coming to MassArt has been three-dimensional, like my woodworking, modeling, and sculpting. However, the night this was assigned I was bored while my roommate was doing their homework and I looked over at their visual language paper cutting assignment where they had to cut shapes out of black paper and glue it onto another white sheet of paper and assign meaning to the forms, and I rather spontaneously decided to push my boundaries and learn a new art form. I resolved to give this a try instead and leave the clay idea as a backup plan in case this did not go well. After changing my plan and cutting the form out of the black paper I also considered painting the white paper beneath to emphasize the beauty of the flower and nature itself, however I ultimately decided the message of the white flower on the black background gave off a stronger message of purity that I could agree with more than a message of nature’s beauty. 

Water lilies are beautiful aquatic flowers, generally ranging from shades of white to pink but can also be red, purple, or yellow. This depiction of a water lily is a sharp step away from the traditional view, given they are normally admired for their soft colors and gradients and this piece was done in black and white. My intentions were to use the color choice purposefully and show the white flower and lily pads as bringing light and purity to the dark world surrounding it. The white of the flower and lily pads is symbolic of the pure nature of the plant life in the scene. This is contrasted with the blackness of the water they are assumed to be resting on top of which could be expanded further to encompass the entirety of the man-made world that surrounds them. Since my inspiration was from myself going to this park to see nature and escape the stress of the rest of the world, I wanted to show the flower and lily pads as the only light in the picture to emphasize their greatness.

Due to the silhouette nature of the art form, this piece has heavy emphasis on the form of the petals with their curved edges coming to a pointed tip, all spread apart facing up to the sky and the rounded sides of the lily pads. The view of nature depicted is simplistic and minimalistic, a mere collection of cuts coming together to form a new meaning greater than the sum of its components. Rather than detailing the complex lines and ridges on the surface of the petals, I decided to keep the flower untouched and pure. I also ensured that every petal pointed up towards the sky, or the heavens, rather than allowing them to bend and flatten out as they naturally would so as to further indicate the connection between the plant life and the concept of being untouched by evil or darkness.

In history, water lilies have been used in many different cultures to symbolize love, life, innocence, and purity which I thought tied in nicely with the choice of using black and white and a simplistic form to demonstrate the purity of the plant life cutting through the darkness. Flowers are closely associated with childhood and marriage, both times where society connects the subjects with purity and happiness. The subject matter of this piece in itself is a pictorial definition of my view of nature being pure and tranquil. 

Through the use of symbolic subject matter, form, and color, this piece demonstrates the purity of nature bringing light to a dark world. This concept was a very relaxing one to think about and I look forward to the next time that I will have the opportunity to create a work of art relating to nature’s purity. The technique I used was something I had never tried before and it has opened my eyes to many great methods of creating minimalist art where I can continue this message. I also loved the way the flower turned out in black and white which was something I had never considered before this assignment and I intend on trying again in the future. All in all, the methods and techniques were able to capture purity in a beautiful manner. Helping to drive my message through the art.