Samuel van der Swaagh

01/11/13

Art - Journal Entry 1

George Bellows’ “Men of the Dock”

     On entering the Met’s George Bellows’ painting art exhibit, I am immediately captivated by Billows’ visceral and raw images. An intriguing aspect of Bellows’ work was his ability to “frame” crude scenes and immortalize none-ideal subjects. Bellows had a great artistic talent for defamiliarizing the ugly and the bold. For example, Bellow’s boxing and wrestling portraits possess familiar images of glory, sweat and defeat. However, the painting also presents the glum reality of estrangement, being lost, and perhaps social struggle.

     A piece in the gallery that I believe encompasses all these discussed themes is Bellow’s Men of the Dock. In this relatively simpler painting, which was completed in 1912, the artist portrays a group of men during winter gathering by a New York City harbor. Although one could imagine the background harbor to be in a roar of activity, the subjects seem to be in a somber mood. For the exception of the two men facing away from the viewer (just right of the center of the painting), the dock men appear confused and motionless. As I continue to stare at the painting, despite the industrial activity in the harbor, I feel a little bewildered and cold. The mellow colors of the sky scrapers and boats drew my eye towards the clustered group of men. As my focus engaged the eyes of the dock men, I instantly noticed the actual subject of image. On the far left of the painting there is a despondent man trudging limply away from the group of men.

     While I continue to assimilate the painting, I observed that almost all the men seem attentive to the depressed man’s motion. Could the gaze of the dock men be one of sympathy or hostility? One cannot know for sure because neither of the men seems angry or inclined to cheer the man. Perhaps the man lost an item in the water or a loved one at sea. The other question that arises is does the man belong to the group or is he merely a stranger? The activity of the two men facing away from viewer and the man could be a valid expression of either neglect or ignorance. In other words, the two men could be intentionally dismissing the man’s presence, or could be completely unaware of the man. The picture paints many mysteries.

On the surface level, the studium of the painting is perhaps depression or social conflict. The puctum of the painting is the lonely man because he explains the unified gaze of the dock men. Bellows’ defamiliarization is perhaps a reconstruction of the view of NYC being a place of opportunity. New York City rests in the background, yet there exists unsatisfied or unrewarded people in the foreground. Or probably more simply, Bellows is attempting to communicate that even in one of the worlds’ busiest harbors there can exist plenty of poor or lost people.