Comparison Of Jeffrey Smart And Russell Drysdale's Man Feeding His Dogs

Jeffrey Smart’s Cahill Expressway (1962) and Russell Drysdale’s Man Feeding His Dogs (1941) artworks are concerned with isolation and the desolate nature of Australia however differ in style and convey the contrast between urban and rural settings yet display the similarities in the way in which these environments evoke feelings among their residents.

Image One, Cahill Expressway expresses isolation through the desolate urban setting depicted. The fabricated environment is clinical and impassive through the absence of natural elements such as plants and animals. The lifeless sterile setting, constructed entirely of concrete, buildings and infrastructure developing the way in which humans dominate a landscape creating a melancholy urban emptiness.

Drysdale’s surrealist work was indicative of the Australian Modernist movement which either worked to portray the ugly nature of the urban landscape or showing the countryside as mythical and land of freedom. Similarly, Jeffrey Smart was also influenced by this movement depicting the apparent ugliness in the urban environment but in a highly detailed way. Both works develop the idea of isolation and alienation is present in society however differ in the way in which it forms. Drysdale had a deep emotional attachment to the land and depicted this through his work in a dark desolate sense conveying the suffering of the country and its inhabitants from fire and flood. It is common for rural areas of Australia to be lowly populated creating a sense immerse isolation for residents due to a lack of human interaction which may effects ones mentality, however Drysdale implies the resolution of humanity in the face of such remoteness, a testimony to strength of the Australian people who choose to survive in such areas. The desolation and darkness evident in the piece symbolic of the despair and depression of the time in Australian history, in the grips of war which dampened Australian culture and society. Smarts piece however comments on a different sense of desolation and isolation. Produced in 1961 Cahill expressway represents an era of dramatic growth in the urbanization and size of cities in Australia. Smart portrays how humans can dominate a landscape removing all forms of nature, replacing them with concrete and high rise buildings. This emotionless sterile landscape creates feelings of dislocation and disconnection from the natural world resulting in an overwhelming sense of isolation and a lack of respect for nature due to its