Congratulations on receiving an Art History Honorable Mention/ Spring 2022 and best wishes ongoing to:
Samantha Oleschuk is a Junior at Appalachian State University majoring in Art and Visual Culture with a concentration in Art Management and minors in Nonprofit Organizations and French.
“As an optimist at heart, an empathetic observer, an admirer enthralled with each and every art museum, a student given an abundance of opportunities, and a girl who wishes to leave a positive mark on the world, I anticipate my future, wishing for both immersion in the art world as well as laughter on linoleum tiles. I have strong passion and grand ambition.
With museum and arts-based interests refined through my past internship in the registrar’s office at the Weatherspoon Art Museum and my current roles as Art Collections Manager in Plemmons Student Union and Art Criticism Intern at CVNC, I plan to attend graduate school for Museum Studies and/or Art Administration. I will be studying abroad in Caen, France this summer to develop my global mindset and expand my network internationally. I hope to continually participate in various internships with nonprofit arts organizations and museums to prepare me with the dexterity and versatility necessary for the museum profession.
Intellectually, I wish to cultivate my eagerness to learn. I plan to continue taking advantage of all the Honor College’s opportunities for a well-rounded education through seminars and research endeavors. I want to uncover a new side of myself as I explore greater independence, engage in deeper learning and research, and foster new relationships.
Professionally, after graduation, I want to explore the business side of the art world and build a career in an art museum in an effort to ensure the daily interaction with art that I cherish and consider priceless. If I truly am dreaming, I wish to someday open my own gallery and establish a business selling art. Ultimately, and arguably the most ambitious, I want to enjoy my profession and lead a happy life.”
Honorable Mention Scholarship Essay / Samantha Oleschuk
Compare and contrast the 2 paintings shown below:
The watercolor works of Eileen Monaghan Whitaker and Frederic Whitaker in their respective paintings “Orchid” (1975) and “Recumbent Nude” (1944) are striking in their immersive qualities and attention to detail. Both works of art share a medium, utilize natural colors, explore natural elements, and place a nude woman as the subject, but the individual messages conveyed by each artist differ in thematic content, particularly with the role of the painted women, and the world in which the rendered women exist.
Eileen Monaghan Whitaker’s watercolor creation, “Orchid,” situates a seated bare-skinned female figure in the center of the composition, looking over her shoulder with her hair flowing behind her back. She is surrounded mostly by blurred flowers, similar in size to herself, and a large plant painted in greater detail than the rest. These life size plants provide an inviting, almost fantastical and imaginative environment for the subject. The woman is the focal point of the piece; one’s eyes are drawn to her ethereal presence, focusing on the contentment communicated in her stance and the detailed expression of her face and hand.
Frederic Whitaker’s watercolor painting, “Recumbent Nude,” depicts another unclad, disrobed woman though his female figure is reclined on the floor, only protected from the hard wood by some hastily laid sheets. Surrounding her are white walls, warm red rugs, and potted house flowers, but the woman herself is the prime focus of the composition; one’s eyes incline directly to her bare back’s silhouette. The familiarity of the space, a room dressed modestly with evidence of natural light, creates a simple, intimate environment. The majority of the detail included is centered on the nude figure and the folds of the sheets and blankets; such concentration of attention and lack thereof on the surrounding living space is considerably erotic.
In this way, the woman in Frederic Whitaker’s work is recognizably nude, while the figure in Eileen Monaghan Whitaker’s painting is defendably naked rather than nude. The woman in “Recumbent Nude” is positioned as an object of the gaze where one peeks in on an intimate scene, a moment where the subject observes she is being watched, for in such a domestic, recognizable space, the viewer positions themself within the scene. She, recumbent on the floor of the living space, is present to be looked at, surveyed, and pleasured in. In contrast, the woman of “Orchid” is settled among her surroundings, naked in regards to being without clothes, but also as a state of vulnerability. She is not staged in a room for enjoyment, rendered unclothed for satisfaction and, therefore, described as nude. Rather, this female figure is presented as one with the orchids, vulnerable in the joy of her world. By omitting the sense of surveillance, Eileen Monaghan Whitaker presents a vulnerably naked woman in her element enjoying the space she takes up.
Further than the existence of the two females in contradictory capacities, the technical application and achievement of each painting also differ. Both women are depicted realistically, though Eileen Monaghan Whitaker’s female is yellowed and warm while Frederic Whitaker’s is blue-toned and cool. Both works have deep color saturations and natural tones, but each approach the application of the paint quite differently. Where one’s paint application is soft and curved, the other’s is sharp, angular, and heavily shadowed. “Orchid” is coated in drip-like streaks of watercolors, blending the background and adding to the dreamy quality of the subject matter. “Recumbent Nude” is accomplished with a more precise application of the watercolors to paint the picture as a sort of reality.
As Frederic Whitaker was taken with architecture and nature in his creative endeavors, it is not a surprise for the artist to illustrate a woman in a natural yet constructed form as beautiful but looked at. And with his composition forged in familiar domestic space, he exercised his perceived spontaneity and pursued perfection in watercolors. In a similar manner, Eileen Monaghan Whitaker’s art was heavily influenced by the joys of life and her own experiences which she employed in her interpretation and expression of the inherent beauty of all things natural, including the human figure. Though the two artists approach translating the subject matter of nude women in separate distinctive fashions, their shared interest in and appreciation for the natural world as well as its presence in their art is remarkable.
Works Cited
“Eileen Monaghan Whitaker: Whitaker Watercolors.” Whitaker Watercolors | The Watercolors of Frederic Whitaker and Eileen Monaghan Whitaker, 13 Nov. 2018, https://whitakerwatercolors.org/eileen-whitaker/.
“Frederic Whitaker: Whitaker Watercolors.” Whitaker Watercolors | The Watercolors of Frederic Whitaker and Eileen Monaghan Whitaker, 4 Dec. 2018, https://whitakerwatercolors.org/frederic/.
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