Paintings & commercials

I came across two videos that are great accomplishments of bringing art to life. Both the videos have been made by famous U.K ad agencies for “Johnny Walker” and “Guinness” brand drinks respectively. They are A 60 second Johnnie Walker spot from Bartle Bogle Hegarty and Aardman Animtons. The other one is the “Surfer” spot for Guinness that has drawn inspiration from Walter Crane’s painting of Neptune’s Horses(1893).

In the Johnny Walker ad

, the spot’s central character begins as one of the warriors in Eugene Delacroix’s The Battle of Taillebourg and proceeds to travel through works by Seurat, Miro, Magritte and Hokusai.
In this video the animation studio has showcased several art styles but I am going to discuss the paintings that belong to the work and perception of two different artists who lived in different periods of time showing different contexts.




In the first picture Delacroix has painted a battle scene that evokes strong emotions in the viewer. Both in the video and the painting besides the context our eye is drawn to the “white horse” in the centre and the soldier in the red cloth with the head gear. The entangled bodies, the weapons, the soldiers and the surroundings in which they are confronting their enemy (the place looks does not look like a typical battlefield but it looks like trench near a fort) has been painted in a dramatic and striking way. In this painting” color” seems to be the main element that rules the composition. The painter has not paid much attention to the form or outline which is not very clear in this painting.
The painting looks magnificent, realistic with the color, tone and visual elements such as the soldier’s fighting each other, the spears and other weapons in their hands (creating visual tension), their head gear, the majestic looking horse which is of light color contrasting with the surrounding that is much darker in tone, the horse that is almost upside down in the background and the trench with its brick wall create the mood and impacts the emotions of the viewer.
In Eugene’s own words:

The work of a painter who is not a colorist is illumination rather than painting. If one intends something other than cameos, color is, strictly speaking, one of the founding principles of painting, no less so than chiaroscuro, proportion and perspective... Color gives the appearance of life.
The ad ends with the central character disrupting the quiet stillness and the languid summer afternoon party that George Seurat’s characters in Sunday Afternoon on The Island of La Grande Jatte are enjoying. It is one of those rare works of art that stand alone. Herethe theme of the work is not some profound emotion or momentous event, but the most banal of workaday scenes- Parisians enjoying an afternoon in a local park. The beautiful landscape, a good use of space when painting a crowded party scenario is surrealistic and beautiful.

In Seurat’s words

This is a world both real and unreal - a sacred world. We are often harried by life's pressures and its speed, and many of us think at times: Stop the world, I want to get off!
The use of light, the contrasting colors make the characters look real.
The elements that create hierarchy are the several human characters, especially the ladies with their umbrellas and flowing gowns reminiscent of the bygone era. The scenario looks like a scene from a film corresponding (romantic) to that era. The landscape with the trees and bushes painted in a striking green and the grassy knoll is contrasted with the color of the landscape.
The painting persuades its viewers to immediately relax and transports them to a world of pleasure.
The animation video shows the varied emotions, experience, people that the central character encounters and when he is just about to relax in the party(Seurat painting) the ad ends as if supporting the theme related to the product being advertised.



Jonathan Glazer’s 1999 “Surfer spot for Guinness, inspired by Walter Crane’s painting Neptune’s Horses.


This is an illustration by Walter Crane who is a famous children’s story illustrator. The video's theme is an inspiration drawn from this painting. The makers of this video say that the aim of this spot was to persuade the viewers to think that power and danger are synonymous with “surfing”. This illustration is an allegory, a striking visual narration of Greek mythology, the ever-powerful horses are here like Eugene’s painting but they are shown here for their resilience, they appear to be more like mythical creatures, they symbolize power, masculinity and epitomizes adventurous spirit found in the men doing the ad. The strong tidal waves showing the danger and risk involved in the sport.
Elements such as light, color contrast, symmetry, line and shape are present in this picture. The sunlight’s effect on turquoise color water, and the water droplets create a visual tension. Unlike Eugene’s painting this one uses pastel color palette but the man in this ad is contrasted and dark in tone compared to that of the horses.
The picture showing the "motion" of the horses and the use of space between them and around them creates a visual tension that has been dramatized in the advertisement showing a group of men on thsir surfboards. The natural rhytmic wave pattern found in the ocean and the hooves of the horses splashing in the water creates a 3D effect you can almost hear the splash and feel the water in your legs.

I think to paint four moving horses in water each one showed with a visually striking posture (creating line, symmetry and visual tension) is a difficult one- the effect created is dramatic, magical and a timeless, beautiful visual expression.