Paul C{u00E9}zanne, Georges Seurat and the practiced actions of painting: the visibilty of pictorial and painted structure in the material construction of painting

Abstract

Dissertation. This practice-led study examines representational painting as a visual and material dialectic. The related dissertation examines Paul C{u00E9}zanne and Georges Seurat's unique contributions to late nineteenth century painting. It argues that they turned the established understanding of the structure of painting inside out: that they presented thought through the traces of practiced actions in the material construction of painting. The studio project questions how applications of such historical ideas can be applied to new purposes in painting now. The visual and material problems of painting are investigated through the interface of depicted representations and materially constructed surfaces and in the integrated relationship of pictorial and painted structure. Abstractions as painted units are examined in systems of painted deliveries that recursively present equivalents for sight and thought in the visible traces of the practiced actions of painting that determine the visibility of process and depicted representations. Collapsing the historically stratified separations of pictorial and painted structures defines painting towards a more complete and complex bearing where representation and material construction are equally weighted. The study investigates painting's representational purpose and questions the complexities of sight and thought in painted touch evinced in the material construction of painting.