O'Keeffe and Kollwitz

I believe that there are obvious differences between Georgia O’keeffe and Kathe Kollwitz. Their use of color, they way they mark the surface and the purpose of their work is all incredibly different. 
Kathe Kollwitz (1867- 1945) was a German artists that focused on the tragedy of war.  Her work depicts her empathy towards the less fortunate and almost a fascination with tragedy.  Her work is said to possibly be inspired by the death of her siblings, the loss of her son to World War I.  
Kollwitz’s aggressive and bold marks on the page helps to intensify the message she wants the viewers to get.  Her marks on the page are spontanious, kind of an organized madness. What she chooses to draw is also and obvious statement about the way she feels about the world around her.  She depicts sorrow, sickness, death, depression and every other lost emotion you can think of.  All most all of her pieces are black and white which also contributes to the darkness of them. Yes, you can have a black and white image portray “happiness” but your brain wouldn’t typically correlate hot pink with death and sorrow.  Kathe Kollwitz’s work is very “in your face”, moving and is a clear advocate of the less fortunate that surround her.

The Survivors, Kollwitz

The Widow, Kollwitz

Self Portrait, Kollwitz

Georgia O’Keeffe  (1887-1986) is an American artist who’s work is centered around the beauty of Americas landscapes.  She is most famously known for her large, boldly colored images of flowers and still life's.  In 1929, O’Keeffe took a vacation to New Mexico and became fascinated with it’s landscapes.  She continued to vacation in New Mexico every summer in order to paint it’s beauty, eventually New Mexico became her permanent residence and her inspiration for some of her most famous works. 

Poppy, 1927. O'Keeffe

Cow's Skull: Red, White and Blue, 1931. O'Keeffe

Purple Petunia, O'Keeffe 

Unlike Kollwitz, O’Keeffe used bright imagery, abstract shapes and smooth flowing lines to create her work.  She also created “zoomed in” images of the flowers, landscapes and animal bones versus the dark portrait images that Kollwitz did. Similarly to Kollwitz, O’Keeffe’s work typically reflected her life experiences and the location she lived in.  I consider both Kollwitz and O’Keeffe’s work to be expressionism. Expressionism is presenting the world from a personal perspective, distorting it greatly for emotional effect in hopes to stir up ideas.  O’Keefe’s work is to get people to see the natural beauty that America has and Kollwitz wants people to see through the eyes of the distressed.