Although the images in Evolutionary Balance may seem random, there is in fact meaning to their order—when read together, they communicate Rosenquist’s message. Exploring this painting with your students can introduce and reinforce lessons about the structures of paragraphs, essays, and arguments.

While discussing the painting as a class, emphasize that though the imagery may seem random, there is meaning and order to them. To explore this idea, you can divide a digital or printed image of the painting into three equal parts. Ask the class to reorder the parts of the painting. When out of order, does the painting feel “off”? How does the painting feel different when put in the correct order?

After discussing the painting, have the class develop a thesis statement about the painting. Then, guide the class to write a paragraph supporting their thesis statement, based on Evolutionary Balance. The beginning can relate to the first panel of the painting, the middle to the second, and the end to the third—followed by the thesis statement.

The activity can be repeated to cover essay structures. Discuss the structure of an essay with your class, and guide students to write essays about Evolutionary Balance, in line with that structure.

Emphasize the ways the painting functions like an argument. Did Rosenquist have a unifying argument? What did he use to support his argument?

 

Rosenquist’s Evolutionary Balance is an ideal work of art to form a bridge between developing habits of mind generally and reinforcing basic writing organizational skills in your language arts habits of mind curriculum component. Middle school students can have difficulty making the transition from the “paragraph-centered” writing of elementary school and the longer, more detailed writing and organizational skills required in middle school curriculums. By analyzing the structure of Rosenquist’s Evolutionary Balance, students should come to a better understanding of the writing trait of organization. Developing a multi-paragraph expository essay or literary analysis requires the ability to observe details relating to the topic of the written piece, to analyze varying information sources, and synthesize those sources and the student’s own thoughts. Communication of ideas requires organization. Thus, clarity of writing requires good organization, and analysis of this painting can help students understand the importance of organization to good writing. Because the painting is rich with symbolism, it also can be a springboard to students’ understanding of symbolism not only in this work of art, but in literature, too.

 

• Describe the objects in this work. Since only fragmented sections of the objects are presented, how does the objects’ placement within the composition guide the view or offer clues on how to read the work?
• How is this painting similar to a collage? What effect does the collage-like composition add to the work?
• How would you describe the colors used in this work of art? Are they cool tones, such a blues and greens, or are they warm tones, such as reds and oranges?  How do the colors add to the stylized appearance of the work?
• Notice the crispness of the lines and shapes. Where in the everyday world would you find similar images?
• How do the abstract scribbles in the right panel add tension to the work compared to the other sharp, recognizable images?
• Early in the artist’s career, he was a billboard painter. How do you see a relation to his experience as a billboard painter and this work of art?
• Consider the horizontal format and large scale of this work. How would the work be different if it were smaller?
• These objects appear to be lifted from their natural environments and placed in timeless, undefined space. How does the lack of a contextual backdrop create a sense of void? What other words would you use to describe the tone of this work?

• How does the artist’s use of bright warm tones add to the intensity in the work? How would the tone be different if the artist used cooler tones, which typically denote a sense of calm and tranquility?
• Consider the symbolism behind each object. What relationship do you think the objects have to each other?
• This work was created at a time when many artists were critiquing consumer society. How does the artist reference consumer society in the work? Consider both the objects and their presentation.
• What associations do we have the candles on a cake? The artist included these candles as a means to represent youth. Do you think the birthday candles successfully represent youth?
• Where do you think the sources for the objects pictured are from? Why do you think the artist chose to use everyday, recognizable images?
• While the objects are recognizable, they do not reference a certain time or place. How does this lack of specificity allow the work to be universal?
• How does this work act as a kind of memento mori, or reminder of death?

As a student, artist James Rosenquist developed an interest in painting and took up billboard painting to make money. After moving to New York in 1955, he became involved in the art scene and began to experiment with some of the ideas and techniques he had developed while painting billboards. Rosenquist, one of the originators of Pop Art (a reaction to the Abstract Expressionist movement that dominated the 1950s), is known for his images of popular culture and fragmented spatial relations.

              

The composition of Evolutionary Balance is divided into three major sections. The left side depicts the stylized head of a woman placed over a bright interior. She represents the image of youth; the perfect features of a model superimposed over a sunlit interior.  The center shows memory and time passing as a clipboard with birthday candles near the top and a body of water with a floating oar beneath. The right side shows the silhouette of a skull amid a tangle of colored abstract lines that depicts old age and death. A slice of uncooked bacon stretches across the composition, uniting the three sections and representing the corporeal, mortal body. Using media-generated images, Rosenquist attempts to address issues of life, death, and the passage of time. As the title suggests, an evolution is taking place from left to right, with the end result acting as a kind of memento mori, or reminder of death.

 

The artist’s seemingly irrational juxtapositions reference Surrealism; however, his imagery is from pop-cultural, mass-produced items and images from magazines, popular films, and other media sources. While employed as a sign painter, Rosenquist worked on enormous displays, including billboards in Times Square. This experience inspired him to draw from elements of the advertising world, such as abridged format, garish colors, and airbrush techniques. The techniques and subject matter of commercial billboard art found their way into his work in the form of intense color, monumental scale, and distinct crispness. As seen here, he lifted objects from their natural environments and juxtaposed them with others, offering the viewer a side-by-side comparison. Rosenquist once said "Painting is probably much more exciting than advertising, so why shouldn't it be done with that power and gusto, with that impact."

 

With the beginning of the 1960s came the end of Abstract Expressionism, and the emergence of the Pop Art movement. A growing disillusionment with the government was taking place, as well as advances in civil rights, a heightened concern for the environment, and increased exploration in space. As they became increasingly aware of the consumer culture that had been created by postwar abundance, artists began moving away from “highbrow” subjects and embracing the realities of everyday life, which included visual satisfaction from television, magazines, and comics.