The artwork

The artwork I chose for my paper comes from an artist by the name of Angel Rodriguez-Diaz. The title of the artwork is Circulos de Confusion meaning Circles of Confusion, and was painted in 1993. It is 31 7/8 inches high and 84 inches wide. This particular piece of art is painted, oil on paper on linen. Angel Rodriguez-Diaz is an American contemporary artist born in 1955, who lives in the San Antonio area. In Circulos de Confusion, there is a detailed painting of a shirtless man, 30’s-40’s in age, wrinkles in the face, surrounded by a multitude of different colored circles.

The man has his hands resting on his face. His index and middle fingers on each hand above his eyes, his ring fingers touching across the bridge of his nose and his pinkies resting above his lips just under his nose. He has a watch on his left wrist. His eyes have a blank, captivating stare. The circles in the painting range in color from bright yellows and oranges to deep blues and subtle greens. The eyes of the man give meaning to the title of the artwork.

Without his facial expression I would just assume this painting would be titled ‘ circles – man with a headache’. His eyes having a blank stare show his confusion without words. The way his hands rest on his face show where the focus should be in the painting. The watch in the painting shows the element of time but because you cannot see the time on the watch it leaves you with the impression that maybe time is still. The circles in the painting provide for thought that the man’s mind is cluttered with thoughts as is the paper cluttered with circles.

The brighter yellows and oranges are more centralized in the painting, whereas the darker greens and blues are more around the edges. The circles surround the man in the middle, except for on his chest and arms where the circles are not as close together but are still present. The way this painting was conducted only provides me with one meaning, although to a better trained eye there may be more. The man in the center of this painting is confused.

His eyes give that iconic meaning to the expression of confusion. There is no clear indication as to what he is confused about. With his appearance being shirtless, I would say it is either early in the morning or late in the evening and he may be staring into a mirror or reflective surface. It is possible he has a difficult decision to make or is not sure why a certain set of events occurred. The lack of background provides me with the notion that he is alone and isolated from the world in his thoughts.