Georgia O'KeeffeGeorgia O'Keeffe

Question A the interviewQuestion A the interview

““I decided I was a I decided I was a very stupid fool very stupid fool not to at least not to at least

paint as I wanted paint as I wanted to ... I found that to ... I found that I could say things I could say things with colour and with colour and shapes that I shapes that I

couldn't say any couldn't say any other way-- other way--

things I had no things I had no words for.”words for.”

• O’keeffe in her O’keeffe in her early works early works painted painted abstracts using abstracts using large scale and large scale and painting images painting images such as flowers such as flowers close up.close up.

• She focused She focused on the on the colours and colours and shapes within shapes within the objects the objects she painted she painted not on the not on the idea of idea of painting it as painting it as it isit is

““Nothing Nothing is less is less

real than real than realism”realism”

O’keefe’s use O’keefe’s use of materials of materials progressed progressed over time.over time.

In her earliest In her earliest works she works she used just used just

charcoal and charcoal and paper. paper.

“I decided to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught.”

These charcoal These charcoal works were first works were first exhibited in exhibited in 1916 at the 1916 at the avant-garde avant-garde gallery of gallery of Alfred Alfred Stieglitz.Stieglitz.

She then She then moved on to moved on to water colour water colour paints …paints …

and oil and oil paints.paints.

O’Keeffe’s Images were O’Keeffe’s Images were often of objects that she often of objects that she painted as if they were painted as if they were magnified or seen from magnified or seen from

an unusual angle such as an unusual angle such as her flower paintings.her flower paintings.

“I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty.”

At the time (the early 1920’s) it was At the time (the early 1920’s) it was very unusual to see a female painter, very unusual to see a female painter,

especially one who painted using especially one who painted using abstracts. This made the fame of abstracts. This made the fame of O’Keeffe important to not only the O’Keeffe important to not only the art of abstract painting but to the art of abstract painting but to the

idea of women as artists.idea of women as artists.

“It was in the 1920s, when nobody had time to reflect, that I saw a still-life painting with a flower that was perfectly exquisite, but so small you really could not appreciate it.”

She painted objects she found She painted objects she found interesting such as in her work interesting such as in her work in New Mexico (first visited in in New Mexico (first visited in 1929) in which she used skulls 1929) in which she used skulls she found while exploring the she found while exploring the

area.area.

She then placed images of fake She then placed images of fake flowers she also found lying flowers she also found lying

around.around.

“I hate flowers - I paint them because they're cheaper than models and they don't move.”

Georgia O'Keeffe…Georgia O'Keeffe…•Paints abstracts focusing on colour and Paints abstracts focusing on colour and

shapeshape•Uses a variety of materials over her life time Uses a variety of materials over her life time

(charcoal, water colour paints, oil paints.)(charcoal, water colour paints, oil paints.)•Paints still lives from unusual angles.Paints still lives from unusual angles.•Uses objects available (skulls in New Uses objects available (skulls in New

Mexico) and uses them as models for the Mexico) and uses them as models for the still lives.still lives.