Utility Quilt
About 1910
Scale is relative size. It's easier to show than to talk about.
Floor Cake by Claes Oldenburg
Oldenburg began making giant "soft sculptures" in the 1960s, creating a discussion of scale.
Jeff Koons
Balloon Dog
Koons continues to play with scale today.
Lily Tomlin in the Big Chair
Contrast in scale grabs the eye.
Ros Cross
Pancakes, Butter & Syrup Quilt 1973
Bedquilt and rug
Bedquilt and rug
See more of his sculpture here:
Whaam by Roy Lichtenstein 1963
Collection of the Tate Modern
(And this is only half of the painting.)
When you think of scale in art Roy Lichtenstein comes to mind. He took small comic panels and changed the scale.
Roy Lichtenstein
Modular Painting
A lesser known series from the 1960s is his modular series (here 9 canvases) based on modern textile design blown up to fill a wall.
Georgia O'Keeffe
White Shell with Red, 1938
Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago
The painting is only a little over 2 feet wide but scale is relative.
It seems enormous.
It seems enormous.
Théodore Géricault
The Raft of the Medusa
Collection of the Louvre
Traditional art also dealt with scale but in a different way. Géricault's 1819 painting of a ship wreck is over 23 feet wide. Modernism is more about creating a contrast in scale.
David Byrne in the Big Suit
Perhaps wth irony.
Scale is one important reason why these vintage quilts are so arresting.
Three utility quilt tops (about 1950) from online auctions,
perhaps by the same quiltmaker.
Remember these are full-size.
You have to consider the size to appreciate scale.
About 1910
Amish quilt from the Susie Tomkins Collection.
Amish quilt by Mrs. Albert Miller
Lakeview Museum
Tied comforter, about 1910
1930s
Mennonite quilt from Woodard & Greenstein
About 1890
This one is a crib quilt from 1930-1960.
Perhaps 1880-1910
Read an essay on scale in art:
http://artarchives.net/artarchives/liliantone/strangelyfamiliar.html
Michael Heiser
Levitated Mass
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
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