1. Comparative Study
Marie Ronde DP1

2. Slide 3: Introduction and “What I Will Prove in my Study”
Slide 4: Micheal Kvium’s Function and Purpose and Cultural Significance
Slide 5: Annotation of Kvium's Work
Slide 6: Micheal Kvium’s Formal Analysis
Slide 7: Salvador Dalí's Function and Purpose and Cultural Significance
Slide 8: Annotation of Dalí's Work
Slide 9: Salvador Dalí's Formal Analysis
Slide 10: Wangechi Mutu's Function and Purpose and Cultural Significance
Slide 11: Annotation of Mutu’s Work
Slide 12: Wangechi Mutu's Formal Analysis
Slide : Art Comparison and Venn Diagram
Slide 16: Bibliography
Table of contents

3. What I Will Prove in My Comparative Study:
MICHEAL KVIUM
SALVADOR DALÍ
WANGECHI MUTU
“The Gallery”
(2017)
Danish
-November 15, 1955 in Horsens
-55 years old
-Focuses on negative human aspects
”Galatea of the Spheres”
(1952)
Spanish
-Born: May 11, 1904, in Figueres Spain 
-Died: January 23, 1989
“Misguided Little Unforgivable Hierarchies”
(2005)
Kenyan
-Born: June 22, 1972 in Nairobi, Kenya
-45 years old
What I Will Prove in My Comparative Study:
Throughout this study, I will be discussing these 3 artist’s and these 3 specific pieces: Micheal Kvium’s “The Gallery”, Salvador Dalí’s “Galatea of the Spheres” and Wangechi Mutu’s “Misguided Little Unforgivable Hierarchies”. I will analyze each piece in regard to their function, cultural signifance, and media. As well as, annotating each piece with focus on formal qualities and design principles. There after I will undergo a formal analysis for each piece. At the end, I will compare and contrast each artist and art piece discussing the points of analysis, influence, and concepts using a table, a venn diagram, and then a formal monologue discussing each point.

4. Function/Purpose-Social Function with a hint of Narrative
Function/Purpose-Social Function with a hint of Narrative. The Social Function is to criticize society, specifically Denmark and the Western World’s society. Kvium uses the image of the puppet as symbolism as a “puppet-master”, or someone with control and power over someone else. This can be applied to many different societal situations and problems, like rape, pedophilia, and puppet-governments. The problems Kvium addresses have a tendency to be taboo, which also links to the freakiness of the person holding/controlling the puppet.
Cultural Significance-As Kvium targets a Western audience, his work is closely tied to the Danish or Westernized identity and relationships using his own personal and cultural expression.
Media- Oil on canvas
870 1/10 × 82 7/10 in
2210 × 210 cm
Michael Kvium
“The Gallery” 2017

5. Annotation of Kvium’s Artwork (formal QUALITIES and design principles)
Formal Quality: Line and Space
These lines are intestine-like, located in the background of the piece. Add a human factor: everyone has intestines, everyone has some way of power: many use it for evil, as this character does. It shows something you don’t want to see inside yourself, in a painting to show what you don’t want to see inside society, but is still there. The audience may want to be aware of their intestines as it is connected to excretion which has a common connotation of disgust, as well as the audience may not want to see powerful people manipulating through cruelty.
Annotation of Kvium’s Artwork (formal QUALITIES and design principles)
Symbolism
Glasses: The morphed way he looks at the world through his eyes
Puppet: A child, someone of lesser power/strength: easily controllable by the man (represents: puppet government/rape/pedophelia)
The Hand (drop down canvas): ”Sign of the Horns” symbolizes the ugly truth in the characters actions, what he is doing is “devilish”, cruel, unholy, and sinful
Principle of Design: Pattern
The parallel lines fulfill a satisfactory whole in most minds. 3 is a common number in stories, speeches, and other forms of media as it is a number which pleasing us as humans, as it is incorporated in this piece is also used to have a bit of satisfaction and simple-ness to contrast the asymmetrical uneasy curvy lines inside the main canvas.
Principle of Design: Proportion (drop down canvas)
Gives the piece some more depth than a simple one canvas work. The drop down canvases are a-symmetrical which add to the idea of freakiness and impurity. Creates focus on different places, though the main eye-catcher is the pink canvas. The black canvas hangs down on the bottom, almost hiding which connects to the sinful acts hiding, the hanging of the hand, the fact that it is facing down and not reaching up is because of the influence of language, where up=good, down=bad. For example, heaven and hell, where heaven is up and is good, down is hell and is bad. Therefore the connection between the low hanging hand and hell can be made.
Formal Quality: Line
A bold statement, catches attention. The black is in between the red as if it’s hiding in plain site.
Principle of Design: Contrast
The striking difference between the colors of these parallel lines catches uneasy attention of the audience.
Formal Quality: Shape
A realistic human hand, covered in red glove: symbolizes the devil/sinful acts. Realistic human hand connects this character to us as humans/ and a part of society
Principle of Design: Repetition
Movement
The movement of the lines are spastic, asymmetrical, and overall unappealing to the audience. It catches the attention, makes them wonder, and leads them to try and connect the background with the foreground.
Formal Quality: Color
Red Black Red (repetition of color) Red: Color of strength/power
Black: Color of evil and cruelty
Not on color wheel
Strong contrast, the black is in between the red as if it is hiding in plain site, like the character’s sinful act is hiding in our society. As well as the red glove is painted on the black canvas, is a symbol of strength and power in a cruel and evil way, as the character is manipulating his “red” power with his “black” evil
Formal Quality: Shape
Disfigured and deformed body (surrealism). An unnatural, unappealing ”human-ish” body portrayed in the piece incorporates the audience as a human but also an evil, sinful, messed-up quality used to freak out the audience, as well as catch their attention. It is also a bit ironic, as Kvium is critizing society he portrays a body that would not fulfill society’s standards of perfectionism/attractive factors, so the character would be ostracized from society, though it is in reality Kvium’s portrayal of society.

6. Formal Analysis of Kvium
Audience’s World
Audience
Artwork
Artist
Artist’s World
Context: 2017 Danish and Western Society:
During the Refugee Crisis, Donald Trump’s Presidency
Cultural Beliefs:
Family, Jobs, Equality
Values:
Equality, Love, Human Rights
Religious Rituals:
Confirmations, weddings, funerals
Ideas/Concepts that Impact Audience:
The crisis’s around the world and the audience’s responses to them. Such as the refugee crisis and the obvious response of unwillingness to help, or the act of power being used for evil and manipulation and the audience’s lack of response and overall recognition that is is a problem.
“The Gallery”
Oil on canvas
870 1/10 × 82 7/10 in
2210 × 210 cm
Formal Qualities:
Shape
Line
Color
Space
Mood:
Discomfort
Strange
Eerie
Symbols (convey meaning):
Devil Hand sign
Glasses
Puppet
Movement: Surrealism
Technical Processes:
Identifies problem wanting to address,
Incorporates the disfigured character and the symbol that targets the “problem” of the piece
Artist’s Intent:
To Freak, Make audience uneasy, uncomfortable in order to draw attention as well as show what’s inside of you, and the truth of our reality/society is not something you may like.
Context: Born in Denmark on the 15 of November, 1955, after WW2 and pre-Cold War.
Cultural Beliefs:
Equality
Values: Truth, Equality, Recognition of problems rather than ignoring it/denial
Ideas/Concepts that Impact Artist:
Society, Taboo Problems, The ugly but truthful reality of who we are as a society.
Contemporary to time and place: Danish and Western People in 2017
Informed: The artwork is in an exhibition called “Circus Europa” at Arken, a Danish art museum, along with an introductory video describing the essence and purpose of the artworks. The narrator tells the audience to dig deeper into themselves, but warned them that they might not like what they see.

7. S a l v a d o r D a l í Function/Purpose-
The function of this art piece is highly conceptual focusing strictly on Dalí’s style of Nuclear Mysticism. Nuclear Mysticism is a visual interpretation of quantum mechanics influenced by the context of the nuclear bomb in 1945.
Dalí obsessed with the philosophical ideas behind this.
Cultural Significance:
It was made in 1952 in Spain, relating to the first nuclear bomb dropped in the end of World War 2. It relates highly to the scientific and technical innovation at Dalí’s time. It shows how Dalí understood the scientific advancements and it’s impact and meaning for the time. It portrays how Dalí understood the world he lived in, as well as his orientation in time and space. Through his own personal infatuation and discovery of ”nuclear mysticism” (the idea of how things are made up of matter, in other words small unlatching sphere/particles) linking to interactions and displacement.
Media- Oil Paint on Canvas
S a l v a d o r D a l í
“Galatea of The Spheres” (1952)

8. AnnotaTiOn of SalvadOr dalí’s work (Formal Qualities and Design principles)
Formal Quality: Space
Discontinuous, random spheres in foreground and vast blue setting in back ground, with a sky, a horizon, and an ocean.
Formal Quality Symbolism:
Spheres: Atom Particles Bursting in to pieces, Swirling like atoms: created new style he called Nuclear Mysticism. Incorporated the fact that matter is made up of atoms that don’t touch.
Deconstructing his wife.
Spheres have deconstructed her face.
Design Function: Harmony
Creates restfulness through the repetition of circles, and nude colors.
Design Function: Proportion
The proportion of the spheres aids Dalís construction of the wife’s face, rather than just being circles they are proportioned in a way to portray a human with humanized features.
Formal Quality: Shape
Of the spheres, goes hand in hand with the symbolism and style of nuclear mysticism.
Design Function: Repetition
The repetition of the spheres is the essence to the concept of nuclear mysticism as it directly relates to the way matter is made up: of many un-touching circles
Formal Quality: Texture:
Realistic, smooth, human-like: build character of his wife
Formal Quality: Color:
Pale, color in spheres show the face.
Design Function: Movement
The uncontrolled, moving visual of the spheres, again, directly links to the vision of the atoms moving inside matter: Dalí deconstructs his wife shown through the nuclear mystic perspective.
Formal Quality: Shape
Disfigured and deformed body floating (surrealism) made up of circular parts (nuclear mysticism)

9. Formal Analysis of Dalí
Audience’s World
Audience
Artwork
Artist
Artist’s World
65.0 x 54.0 cm
Formal Qualities:
Shape
Color
Space
Texture
Mood:
Unrealistic
Free
Dramatic
Emotional
Power
Symbols (convey meaning):
Spheres: particles that links to the Nuclear Mysticism- form the face of his wife
Movement: Surrealism
Nuclear Mysticism
Technical Processes:
Used the concept
Artist’s Intent:
Represents: Helena Diakanoff Devulina, better known as Gala Met when Dalí was 25, Gala was 35 and married. She left her husband for him.
Dalí was immensly dependent on Gala, he once stated that, “Without Gala, Divine Dalí would be insane.”
Lived in a “nuclear age”, Dalí was highly affected by the context he was living in.
Context: Catalonian town called Figueres(a state in Spain)
Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid- expelled.
Expelled, as well, from the French Communist Party, whom surrealists were allied to at the time.
During WW2- lived in the USA with Gala (his wife)
Family: Father was a well paid official
Values: Encourage creativity, imagination
Ideas/Concepts that Impact Artist:
Joan Miró (fellow Catalonian)
Surrealism
WW2: The First Nuclear/Atomic Bomb- nuclear mysticism (splitting of the atom)
Living in the USA (during WW2)
Aware of his times
Entralled with Werner Karl Heisenberg (leader of scientists who created the the bomb)
Changed from Freud to Heisenberg and the Atomic Bomb
Context:
World War 2 (Most of the World in war: including the USA, Germany, Britain, Japan)
Nuclear Bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945
Values: Peace (not war), Victory
Religious Rituals: Baptized, strongly religious, confirmation, weddings, funerals
Ideas/Concepts that Impact Audience:
Nuclear Mysticism: the idea of things coming distinctly coming a part into atom like particles to connect to the context (of WW2 and the nuclear bomb) at hand.
Contemporary to time and place: 1950’s, Western Society
Informed: Dalí was well-renowned at the time, many new of him. Did not fail to spread word of his newly created style “nuclear mysticism” and it’s no secret that it links to the nuclear bomb.

10. Wangechi Mutu Function/Purpose-
Mutu’s purpose of creating such an art piece is for expression and concept. She expresses the “unforgivable hierarchies” through the piece which comments on the violent and unfair treatment of women. The second reason being to express her main concept as well.
Cultural Significance-
The true significance of this piece is through her own personal and cultural expression as she distinctly comments on the fairness of treating women violently in such a hierarchy, and such developments.
Media- Medium: ink, acrylic, collage, and contact paper on Mylar
Wangechi Mutu
Misguided Little Unforgivable Hierarchies (2005)

11. Formal Quality: Texture
The texture of this piece is smooth and natural. It contributes to the realistic and humanistic tone of the piece, as well to communicate the concept of the violence in a more real and relatable sense.
Design Function: Repetition
Repetition of the elephant grass, allows a nature-like feeling to emphasize the environment and context of this situation Mutu is presenting to the audience.
Annotation of Wangechi mutu’s work (FORMAL QUALITIES and Design Principles)
Formal Quality: Color
Red: represents the conflicts the tribes experience as well as the violence against women.
Design Function: Proportion
The proportion highly relates to the meaning behind the piece. The lowest body being a women with many breasts, the middle being a young girl, and on top is a monkey. The three figures symbolize the status and perceptions of the social hierarchy.
Design Function: Movement
The figure in the middle, whom is standing on the lowest crouched figure, is acrobatically flipping the body over. It looks uncomfortable and awkward for the audience. It stresses the importance of observing this figure, and what she represents.
Formal Quality: Shape
Breasts: There are multiple breast on both the front and the back of the women on the bottom. The stresses the fact of that it is a feministic piece. It shows the possible over sexualization of the women, and the “purpose” of her.
Design Function: Pattern
The bodies are all covered in multiple patterns, the hybrid bodies are mixed with natural and exotic to the western audiences perception.
Formal Quality: Space
The red in the background which represents the violence and tribal conflicts, is in the background not the foreground, as if to symbolize the hidden part of it. The fact that it is not out in the open and it is something no one criticizes but just accepts and puts in the back of their minds.
Design Function: Contrast
The contrast of the ground, the grass, the figures, and the background all ties together to create a sense of emphasis through the differences of each part of this art piece. It allows the audience to deconstruct each pattern, movement, and proportion as there is differences to separate each part.

12. Formal Analysis of Mutu
Artist’s World
Artist
Audience’s World
Audience
Artwork
Context: Part of the The Kikuyu who are one of the original nations in Kenya, before colonization.
Has 3 siblings
Father-university professor, obsessed with indeginious trees
Mother- nurse, uncomfortable with dissection and surgery, yet it was her job, had medical books with tropical diseases
Cultural Beliefs:
Grew up- Catholic (in school)
Family- Protestant
Inspired/References To:
-Gustav Klimt
-Egon Schiele
-Chris Ofili
-Romare Bearden
-History
-Sexuality
-Colonization
-Female Identity
Ideas/Concepts that Impact Artist:
-violence
-misrepresentation of women (especially black women) in modern world
-abuse
-rape
-feminism
-tropical diseases
Dimensions: 81 in. x 52 in. ( cm x cm)
Formal Qualities:
Color
Texture
Shape
Space
Mood:
Uncomfortable
Strain
Balance
Symbols (convey meaning):
The Woman- lowest, symbolizes hierarchy, where women are at the bottom, the many breasts emphasis the purpose of these women: for sex, fertility, maternal role, and family purposes
The Child- on top of the woman, shows the hierarchy again. The girl, she is raising. High heels, symbolizing sexuality and femininity, stepping on the mother’s back.
The Monkey- The top of the hierarchy, the man, the unfair proportion on top of the females.
Wangechi Mutu
Movement: Surrealism
Feministic Roles
Technical Processes:
Uses: images from anthropology, ethnographic, medical texts, Vogue, and pornography
Artist’s Intent:
Plays with female identity and roles
Inspired by nature
Combination of history and literature
Layers work
Discuss race, feminism
Politicizes bodies
Questioning perception and representation
Context:
Large Scale Global
Recent
2017
As she is a contemporary artist who reaches a global community.
Ideas/Concepts that Impact Audience:
-African Culture
-Rape
-Power
-Female Representation
Contemporary to time and place: 2017
Global audience
Reaches galleries from New York to Berlin
Informed: Very, due to the internet and the obvious influence of Mutu’s background

13. Misguided Little Unforgivable Hierarchies, 2005 Kenyan
The Work
Function and Purpose
Cultural
Significance
(Work 1)
Michael Kvium
The Gallery, 2017
Danish
Social Function with a hint of Narrative. The Social Function is to criticize society, specifically Denmark and the Western World’s society. Kvium uses the image of the puppet as symbolism as a “puppet-master”, or someone with control and power over someone else. This can be applied to many different societal situations and problems, like rape, pedophilia, and puppet-governments. The problems Kvium addresses have a tendency to be taboo, which also links to the freakiness of the person holding/controlling the puppet.
As Kvium targets a Western audience, his work is closely tied to the Danish or Westernized identity and relationships using his own personal and cultural expression.
(Work 2)
Salvador Dalí
Galatea of the Spheres, 1952
Spanish
The function of this art piece is highly conceptual focusing strictly on Dalí’s style of Nuclear Mysticism. Nuclear Mysticism is a visual interpretation of quantum mechanics influenced by the context of the nuclear bomb in 1945.
Dalí obsessed with the philosophical ideas behind this.
It was made in 1952 in Spain, relating to the first nuclear bomb dropped in the end of World War 2. It relates highly to the scientific and technical innovation at Dalí’s time. It shows how Dalí understood the scientific advancements and it’s impact and meaning for the time. It portrays how Dalí understood the world he lived in, as well as his orientation in time and space. Through his own personal infatuation and discovery of ”nuclear mysticism” (the idea of how things are made up of matter, in other words small unlatching sphere/particles) linking to interactions and displacement.
(Work 3)
Wangechi Mutu
Misguided Little Unforgivable Hierarchies, 2005
Kenyan
Mutu’s purpose of creating such an art piece is for expression and concept. She expresses the “unforgivable hierarchies” through the piece which comments on the violent and unfair treatment of women. The second reason being to express her main concept as well.
The true significance of this piece is through her own personal and cultural expression as she distinctly comments on the fairness of treating women violently in such a hierarchy, and such developments.

15. Compare and contrasting
All three artist, Micheal Kvium, Salvador Dalí, and Wangechi Mutu, all revolve around very similar concepts and ideas, where all three personally develop these concepts in an extremely individual way. All three focus on surrealism. This idea of surrealism; taking the real world and recreating it in an unrealistic yet extremely symbolic way in all three pieces: “The Gallery” (2017) by Micheal Kvium, “Galatea of the Spheres” (1952) by Salvador Dalí, and “Misguided Little Unforgivable Hierarchies” (2005) by Wangechi Mutu. The differences between these three art works consist upon looking at the artists themselves, in a cultural aspect. Dalí, who is from Spain, has had different influences then Mutu, from Kenya, and Kvium, from Denmark. These three artists differentiate through their diversity, various influences, and completely different backgrounds. Where Dalí was highly influenced by his own personal context, in this piece I have analyzed, “Galatea of the Spheres”, he is specifically influenced by the creation, meaning, and dropping of the atom bomb in 1945, to inspire to his Nuclear Mysticism, where Dalí forms his wife out of multiple atom-like circles, breaking and deconstructing her down. Whereas, Kvium is also highly influenced by his own context, which is much different from Dalí’s and Mutu’s. Kvium is impacted by his 2017 Western audience, their focus and ignorance of problems in society; in his art piece “The Gallery”, he blatantly highlights society’s manipulation and injustice use of power, through his symbolization of the doll. Whereas, Dalí and Kvium play around with their very Western contexts, Mutu, from Kenya, has her completely separate influences, coming from African folk tales, and foreign diseases. As well, as being highly influenced by the way females are perceived and shown in forms of art, specifically black women. This can be seen in her piece “Misguided Little Unforgivable Hierarchies” which portrays women set up in a hierarchy, juxtaposed to men, through the inclusion of African plants and her own personal influence of foreign diseases. Though very different, all these artists are highly influenced by their own personal contexts backgrounds, ethnicities, and culture, which can be shown quite obviously through these three art pieces. In Kvium’s “The Gallery” he uses oil on canvas as does Dalí in “Galatea of the Spheres”. This is where Mutu stands out and creates her own piece using ink, acrylic, collage, and contact paper on Mylar. As stated, Mutu’s techniques and use of media are very different to Kvium’s and Dalís, this can be traced back to contexts. Where in the Western world of Dalí and Kvium, it is very traditional to use oil paint on canvas. Mutu shines through with her own form of art, most likely originating from the images of foreign diseases in her mother’s nursing books. Another difference is, Kvium and Dalí’s works are portrayed with strong colors, that stand out, where as Mutu creates a flow and peaceful resonance in her chosen colors. It is a good thing to keep in mind, that whereas Mutu and Kvium are quite contemporary, relatively new, and able to reach a global audience easily, Dalí is on the other hand, very much history and no longer able to create more art in 2017’s context and never had the ability to gain a global audience easily, as the internet was not yet invented. How ever, though these three artists are distinctly different, the art pieces all circulate around some very similar concepts such as: symbolism, shown through Kvium’s doll, Dalí’s circles, and Mutu’s portrayal of her hierarchy. They all attempt to create a very strong and powerful audience impact through colors and disfiguration. This is shown through Kvium’s character, in which is human, but not very human-like at all in his proportions and movement, as well as the disfiguration of Dalí’s wife and Mutu’s women. All three art pieces create discomfort for their each individual audience’s to a certain extent. Also, these three artist’s play around with deconstruction, but each do so individually. Kvium deconstructs Western society, Dalí deconstructs his wife through atoms, and Mutu deconstructs the portrayal of women, specifically hierarchies. Kvium uses abnormalities and human disfiguration to do so, where as Dalí uses Nuclear Mysticism and Mutu uses collage. Micheal Kvium, Salvador Dalí, and Wangechi Mutu are all three strong and talented artists, which in these three art works have shown their influences, techniques, personal backgrounds, and intents extremely well.

16. Bibliography (BOOKS) Micheal Kvium:
“Michael Kvium Cirkus Europa.” Arken,
“Video: Kvium Lader t.” Forsiden, 30 Aug. 2017,sn.dk/Sydkysten/Video-Kvium-lader-taeppet-gaa-til-CirkusEuropa/artikel/679761
“Michael Kvium | Gallery III (2017) | Artsy.” Artsy - Discover, Research, and Collect the World's Best Art Online,
Salvador Dalí: 
“Swans Reflecting Elephants.” Dalipaintings.com, 17 Nov. 2017,
Dali, Estate of Salvador. “Salvador Dali ~ Books & Cards.” Salvador Dali :: Shop :: Books :: Postcards,
Meisler, Stanley. “The Surreal World of Salvador Dalí.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Apr. 2005, /.
“Nuclear Mysticism.” Nuclear Mysticism: Salvador Dali, emerald.tufts.edu/programs/mma/fah188/clifford/Subsections/NuclearMysticism/nuclearmysticism.html
“Dalí Theatre-Museum. The Collection.” Galatea of the Spheres | The Collection | Gala - Salvador Dali Foundation, collection/131/galatea-of-the-spheres.
Wangechi Mutu:
“Wangechi Mutu.” Wangechi Mutu, wangechimutu.com/. 
Gallery, Saatchi. “Wangechi Mutu.” Wangechi Mutu - Artist's Profile - The Saatchi Gallery,
“ARTS CURATED.” (Un)Masked: Wangechi Mutu, artscurated.blogspot.dk/2012/04/unmasked-wangechi-mutu.html.
Goldberg, RoseLee, et al. “Shirin Neshat and Wangechi Mutu.” Flash Art, 10 Nov. 2015,
“Wangechi Mutu.” Gladstone Gallery,
“In Past ShowWangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey at Brooklyn Museum.” Wangechi Mutu | Misguided Little Unforgivable Hierarchies (2005) | Artsy, misguided-little-unforgivable-hierarchies.
“Wangechi Mutu by Deborah Willis - BOMB Magazine.” Wangechi Mutu - BOMB Magazine, bombmagazine.org/articles/wangechi-mutu/.
Other:
“Color Wheel Pro - See Color Theory in Action.” Color Wheel Pro: Color Meaning,