The fall of the Ritz

 O'Keefe's work when she lived in New York gives a very strong message. I will try to utilize a few of her paintings to describe the end of the love affair between O'Keefe and New York's buildings, and possibly its culture. 

When we look at New York Street with Moon, there is something ethereal about the painting. Firstly, the brown color of the walls gives them the appeal of being complete. The shade of blue used to create the sky also gives us a sense that this painting is comfortable in the way that it exists. The clouds have blanketed the moon in a way that it becomes a solid presence in the painting. The edges of the brown and black walls pointing towards the moon convince us to keep looking at the moon. The aesthetic of the walls and the way they are elongated gives them the identity of New York for me. They are well set up and the fact that they are elongated makes one want to become a part of the painting and experience these buildings.  

We can also feel the ethereal element of her work in the painting of the Ritz. The background of the clouds and the moon perfectly accompanies the Ritz building. The colors of the sky and the moon encapsulates the onlooker, giving the sky and the building a sense of mysticism The painting of the windows gives a sense of motion. There are people in there, every one of them with their own stories. I felt a sense of the "look but don't touch" aspect of this painting. That might just be because of the elite culture of the Ritz or even the almost unreal depiction of the sky. All in all, this picture intrigues one to wonder about the building and the atmosphere that surrounds it. One wants to be a part of the prestige of the Ritz or the mystic of the sky.

 However, this painting shows a definite disconnect from the previous two. There are only three colors present in this painting and there are no windows. I thought that the white blob in the center was the moon. The overwhelming perspective of these buildings and the use of black and white are very interesting. It seems as if the walls are caving in as the moon is about to get crushed between them. The lack of variety in the sky and the absence of clouds leads to the painting losing the mystique that we saw in the previous two paintings. One fears to wonder in this painting. 

We can see that there was a loss of love between O'Keefe and the New York buildings by comparing these three paintings. It's almost as if New York Street with Moon and the Ritz lost its mystical atmosphere, resorting to a form of life that is black or white. The windows have been shut because one does not ponder anymore. And the vigorous strokes to paint the sky in the painting above almost feel as if O'Keefe yearned for the moon and clouds to come back.