ROLE MODEL ESSAY

Role Model: Georgia O'Keeffe

Role Model: Georgia O'Keeffe

Introduction

The role model I like is the legendary painter, Georgia O'Keeffe. Her name immediately brings to mind images of vibrant, oversize blossoms, desert landscapes and floating cattle skulls. Despite their undeniable beauty and elegance, these images were considered radical when they were first exhibited, as they said something new and bold about America, its artists and the way in which they saw the world. It may be somewhat surprising, therefore, to learn that these paintings by O'Keeffe — the ones with which we are most familiar, the ones reproduced on countless note cards, calendars and posters — were actually among the least radical canvases produced by this pioneering artist. This paper discusses the famous painter Georgia O'Keeffe as my role model.

Georgia O'Keeffe Role Model

When she was thirteen, Georgia O'Keeffe announced she would become an artist. She was never sure where the idea came from, but she remembered the moment she discovered a tiny pen-and-ink drawing called Maid of Athens in one of her mother's books. (Benke 2005)

When Georgia died in March 1986, at the age of ninety-eight, she left behind a body of work that represented her unique view of the world around her. She believed in herself and dared to present bold and indigenous subjects in a way they had never before been painted. (Cowart 2007) For over sixty years, she continued painting her enormous flowers, canvases celebrating the skies, and floating animal skulls, while others were switching styles to keep up with the latest trends. Her interpretations of nature vibrate with exceptional strength despite their simplicity of form and color. (Castro 2005)

Georgia was born in rural Wisconsin in 1887, where the land made an early and lasting impression on her. The changing seasons with their cycle of crops, the fragrance of ...