Neil Jenney, Trash and Trashcan, 1970. Oil on Canvas. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/78525?classifications=9&date_begin=1964&date_end=1975&locale=en&page=2&q=&with_images=1
Finding Meaning in Trash and Trashcan
The artwork I selected for this assignment is a painting called Trash and Trashcan by Neil Jenney. For this 1970 painting, Jenney used synthetic polymer paint on canvas, with painted wood frame. Overall, the painting appears quite minimalist and paired with a straightforward title (Trash and Trashcan) the subject matter is easily identifiable in the image. However, a deeper analysis of its form reveals the use of several principles of design working together to make the focal point, or main visual idea of the artwork, identifiable. In the instance of this painting, I identified two focal points. The primary focal point is, of course, the trashcan itself.
This artwork makes the focal point identifiable by utilizing positive space and negative space. The object of the trashcan occupies the positive space its green background is the negative space. As opposite spaces meant to create a distinction between two parts of a whole, there is still a sense of unity and balance.
For instance, there is unity in the textures Jenney creates through his brushwork. Using simplified, yet short, unbroken strokes for the green background, I interpreted this space as being akin to grass. He doesn’t use broken strokes for the grass, but short, almost wave-like strokes which implies continuous movement. He uses almost the same brushwork for the trashcan; multiple but evidentially broken strokes, which go in different directions. Since he uses relatively the same size brush strokes when painting the trash can, and when painting the grass, he achieves unity there; the trashcan feels like a natural part of the setting it is in by not straying from the size of his brush or the opacity of colour too much.
Compared to the trashcan, the trash itself is much smaller; one of the two crushed cans is barely visible but the other crushed can is within the viewer’s line of vision. The shade of grey the metal of the crushed cans is the same shade of warm grey the trashcan is, which unifies the trash and the trashcan as one. Jenney uses two principles to help make the cans stand out more. His most effective method is using red, the complementary colour of green, to generate visible contrast where the red meets the green. His second method seems hardly noticeable because the viewer is not meant to consider it closely at first glance, but upon looking closer it is evident that the brushwork is different for the two cans; smoother brush strokes make for a smoother texture. The brushwork of the grass differs around the cans too. Rather than large strokes, the grass surrounding the cans have finer, more defined strokes. White lines representing highlights help define the grass further.
Still, the most identifiable way Jenney uses contrast overall is his desaturation of the trash can; warm-toned grey and white for the text, against a saturated, green, background.  Yet, despite this colour contrast, the value of the colours used in the image is relatively the same. The shade of grey of the trashcan and can, the shade of green of the grass, the shade of red if the can’s label, the shade of white of the text, and even the shade of black used for the black border share the same warm undertone, thus unifying the artwork. It only appears that Jenney could have applied the paint thick at the bottom of the artwork first then spread the paint in such a way that by the time he reached the top, the paint was thinner– lighter. This is a technique I can tell he might have used to create highlights and shadows in the trashcan too.
The artwork feels mostly balanced, but there’s a sense of imbalance from the brushwork. The silhouette of the trashcan is vertically centre, but horizontally off-centre and for a good reason. This helps control the dominance of the trashcan, making the space the grass occupies feel balanced with the amount of space the trash can occupies. The trashcan is upright, making it seem grounded and stable. However, the brushwork Jenney has used is a typical method for creating texture and movement in a painting. These dynamics and the title of the artwork, and the composition of the subject matter, does not immediately compute in my mind. Sure, this technique makes sense for the grassy backdrop, however, the grass is not the intended focal point of the painting; the trash and trashcan is. This psychological imbalance is probably more easily spotted by art enthusiasts. When I contemplated further on what his intention was for this technique, I still arrived at the perception that as the trash and trashcan are situated in nature, it acts as a commentary on the presence of unnatural objects in a natural setting, and how elements of trash return to the earth in this process of throwing away trash into a trashcan.
Despite his unique approach in using brushwork for texture and movement in the trashcan, there are minuscule white lines that ‘stop the movement’ and create the shape of the trashcan.
The secondary focal point I identified is the front of the trashcan. The word TRASH appears in white capital letters against the lightest shade of grey of the trashcan. This contrast makes the word easier to read, but also makes this side of the trashcan identifiable as the ‘face’ of the trashcan. Highlights and shadows and lines direct the three-dimensional appearance of the trashcan. You get the sense that a light source is coming from the top left of the painting because the right side facing away from the trash is a darker shade of grey. The grass at the base of the trashcan is also a darker shade of green.
The base of the trashcan is interesting because it’s the area that has the most detail. From the smoother, more detailed appearance of the crushed cans– the trash– to the defined blades of grass in the shadow of the trashcan, done by thickly applying green paint and using small, short strokes to mimic individual blades of grass, the visual information in this area intrigues me. The way the trashcan, this whole, unaffected, grounded object versus the crushed cans, both crushing the grass, making it appear more defined– affecting the movement of the grass– feels like there’s a possible meaning there that relates to environmentalism.
