tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71554171207713048232024-03-19T15:57:05.864-04:00Tyrus's Eye on ArtMusings on Contemporary Art and Artists:
For the average person the contemporary art world seems to speak in a foreign language. I have found over the past decade that many people have an interest in art but feel like outsiders to a very insulated conversation.
The purpose of this blog site is two-fold. First, it includes thoughts, observations, and analysis of contemporary artists and their works. The second type of blog entry is based on my own artwork.Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-24364017264665326082020-08-06T00:31:00.000-04:002020-08-06T00:31:14.544-04:00Monumental Changes<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljT8nhdjeqCRQIGOcYH_XGi6-kQvlZZrjoITgHcqTl1S8u6AAqqqha-CKxH-oh6_hzYGvkz9ZMSSuIgWXJoyuz-IpU11A9S_6jfg4jbuPYp9QI25EBxSPG6JbVGC-ls_0zaxfwnTRKRZq/s1600/head-king-Sargon-of-Akkad-Nineveh-Akkadian-c-2300-bce.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1137" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljT8nhdjeqCRQIGOcYH_XGi6-kQvlZZrjoITgHcqTl1S8u6AAqqqha-CKxH-oh6_hzYGvkz9ZMSSuIgWXJoyuz-IpU11A9S_6jfg4jbuPYp9QI25EBxSPG6JbVGC-ls_0zaxfwnTRKRZq/w291-h410/head-king-Sargon-of-Akkad-Nineveh-Akkadian-c-2300-bce.jpg" width="291" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">As an artist and educator who teaches both art and art history, I have been closely observing the recent removals of statues and monuments across the United States over the past couple months. I certainly have formed opinions about this. I may currently live in the South, but I resided in states much further north for most of my life. Some of the culture of the South has been baffling to me. It is not uncommon for me to see large pickup trucks, with full-sized Confederate flags streaming from them, driving around my neighborhood. This has always been disconcerting and somewhat sickening.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">I recently asked a friend on social media—who also teaches art history and lives in the South—what he thought should be done with the statues of Confederate soldiers/leaders that are slated to be removed from Statuary Hall in the Capitol; he emphatically proclaimed that he hoped they would be destroyed. I get it. I certainly understand the sentiments that have led protestors to pull down Confederate statuary around the county as the Black Lives Matter movement has surged in the days since the killing of George Floyd. The removal, often violently, of monuments of oppressors has a long history.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">When studying ancient art, the first period following prehistoric art periods is often the ancient cultures of the Middle East. The artifacts from these cultures are thousands of years old and the fact that any of them still exist is amazing. Often archaeologists have found the sculpted heads of ancient rulers with the eyes gouged out, separated from the bodies of the statues. Whether the ruler was oppressive or not, the leader who conquered would typically have statues of the former ruler destroyed. In fact, they would behead the statue (which was probably the same fate as the person it represented) as a symbol of his defeat and the end to his power. The bodies of the statues, if they were bronze, would just get melted down to become something else. And we are left with an assortment of blinded, deposed rulers. But those heads were kept as </span>a sign to any would-be upstart who sought to challenge the new power—a powerful symbol.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkJacjpWmNvPckXdzJrve18PjhqtbBXqqmvAmxoKmrQ7vA8NyPKY3KvALBiUIkY0GM8nPAfnENnH_uHWGrphYPn0Co-dWy09Jf9tZXmO3JQ4RRItnyStg3RXI0Vnc2tPZXCVGzAE0cOwoF/s1560/Iconoclasm.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="1560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkJacjpWmNvPckXdzJrve18PjhqtbBXqqmvAmxoKmrQ7vA8NyPKY3KvALBiUIkY0GM8nPAfnENnH_uHWGrphYPn0Co-dWy09Jf9tZXmO3JQ4RRItnyStg3RXI0Vnc2tPZXCVGzAE0cOwoF/s640/Iconoclasm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">During the Protestant Reformation a similar thing happened when the iconoclasts revolted against the cult of saints evident within Catholic churches and cathedrals. Taking the Second Commandment’s prohibition of graven images quite literally, the iconoclasts toppled carved statues of saints (as well as Christ and Mary) and even beheaded them in the same fashion as earlier cultures. Even the toppling of statues of Communist leaders at the end of the Cold War, in more recent decades, shows that this concept is a fundamental human reaction.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></p><p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">What seems to be new is a specific mania associated with statue removal. I would expect that some of the statues that have come down in 2020 were passed, day in and day out, by some of the folks who pulled them down—maybe even for years—without a second thought. Statues of lesser known figures often go unnoticed and the histories of the figures are unknown but to a handful of people. When they are suddenly demonized and destroyed by mobs it can be a shock to the collective system. From an artist’s point of view it hurts a little when anything that took so long to produce is destroyed so swiftly, whether or not I agree with what the monument stands for or represents to others.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Now, I am not saying that Confederate statues need to remain on prominent public display. They probably need to be considered on a case-by-case basis by the local municipalities with a clear plan for their removal in place. I understand that some locales do not have leaders who will willingly do this, but I applaud the ones who have understood the harmful impact of these objects on their constituents and have taken preemptive actions. Yet, we have not been satisfied with only the removal of Confederate statues and symbols. An ever increasing side eye is being given to monuments of figures who, at one time at least, seemed to be on the correct side of history.</span></p><p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-oLGMsmgKu7y3HaDl4mt6vCixH_Ja9hEYdD6SkjeFgRoezcMVRidSZOD2INQ_b6HNjJO_CoPD4fGNU3lO1RbQdAjZ9n5iajBkgyi01kUGMGm4I9G1Fn_haNcievbfTDghQX7yVna5PiA/s1280/im-203879.jpeg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1278" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-oLGMsmgKu7y3HaDl4mt6vCixH_Ja9hEYdD6SkjeFgRoezcMVRidSZOD2INQ_b6HNjJO_CoPD4fGNU3lO1RbQdAjZ9n5iajBkgyi01kUGMGm4I9G1Fn_haNcievbfTDghQX7yVna5PiA/w409-h410/im-203879.jpeg" width="409" /></a></div><p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p></div><p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The removal of the Emancipation Memorial (AKA Freedman’s Memorial) from public display in Boston is a prime example. Evidently the reading of the intent of this sculpture has transformed over the years. Created mainly with funds from former slaves, it likely originally reminded early viewers of the release from shackles of so many Americans, as well as the recent assassination of the leader who worked to put an end to their slavery. In light of decades of Critical Theory debate, it now elicits feelings of subjugation to some. It did fare better than the nearby statue of Christopher Columbus which got the guillotine days before.</span></p><p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Another U.S. presidential monument, also recently removed, was the equestrian monument of Teddy Roosevelt at the entrance to the Museum of Natural History in New York City. Two male figures of a native African and native American walking alongside the horse also brought charges of subjugation and white supremacy. Roosevelt is seen by many as the father of modern conservationism, and the national parks are indebted to him. Yet, the statue is gone. So where are we? Where do we go from this moment of so much shifting and changing?</span></p><p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjivtPpYI_pc9sbgXrX6Iq-mrEl8jz0yS8Rl-VUYij4fsZBlww_3Uz8r4W77hNa4M6jWXElHdX5uVMZ9sT02pneN5FLeDqpNuhwqdmD8Z2LeuVWbV9H_nwzSIHlXQdtIErNYtlEuJeezd4/s2048/roosevelt_statue_outside_the_american_museum_of_natural_history.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1367" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjivtPpYI_pc9sbgXrX6Iq-mrEl8jz0yS8Rl-VUYij4fsZBlww_3Uz8r4W77hNa4M6jWXElHdX5uVMZ9sT02pneN5FLeDqpNuhwqdmD8Z2LeuVWbV9H_nwzSIHlXQdtIErNYtlEuJeezd4/s640/roosevelt_statue_outside_the_american_museum_of_natural_history.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><div><span face="" style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">Number one. These are cosmetics to a certain degree. You could remove every monument of every questionable figure—and guess what? they all are because we are fallible human beings. You could even replace them all with deserving African American or Native American figures.</span></div><div><span style="font-kerning: none;">
<p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The only problem is that you haven’t changed anyone’s heart or anyone’s mind. Taking down a statue, as a municipal government or as an act of protest, feels good and feels righteous for a moment, but has anything really changed?</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Number two. Where do these statues go from here? Many museums do not want them, even if they are of great technical quality or by important artists, because they are now tainted. Are they now condemned to be stuck in a warehouse somewhere, next to Indiana Jones’ famed lost Ark?</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Number three. Is there a way to move past this moment that is truly healing and transformative for all?</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">I think there are some positive steps that can be taken. One of the easiest steps is contextualization. For the remaining monuments which are typically under the care of a municipality, it is much cheaper to contextualize a statue than remove it. I do think think some statues need to be taken down, but the Lincoln and Roosevelt statues could have been recontextualized long ago. Historical societies and cities all over are making walking tours guided by smart phone apps. The locations include QR codes that can be scanned on a phone for additional information and videos about the buildings or monuments. These can easily be created to tell the good, the bad, and the ugly about any figure represented. In the case of these monuments these materials could cover how the works were perceived when they were first erected and how views have changed over time. Even when works are removed this would be an excellent, interactive way to recontextualize them in a new setting.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">For the removed and disgraced works… what is their fate? These are still someone’s relative. Families might take some for their private estates, but more and more, even the families are dissociating themselves from the moral failings of their ancestors. That takes us back to the beginning, to ancient times. If Confederate generals were truly the losers of a war then should not their statues bear the same fate as the ancient Middle Eastern rulers (and for the moment I’m not even considering the fact that they were often made several decades after the Civil War</span> as tools of the Jim Crow era)? So, like my friend stated, they might just be destroyed. However, let’s think about how the statues were used in the ancient times. They were altered (beheaded) and a portion was kept to show the regime change.</p>
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<p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">We are living in a time when many deeply desire regime change. I’m not just talking about government leaders. People want society to change. People want institutions to change. But deep down, people want hearts and minds to change. That does not and can not happen with just policy. It may start there, but there is no switch we can flip to make people act (and feel) differently overnight. It takes time.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">One of the most powerful tools for change is art. Some of these monuments were created (intentionally or not) to keep the status quo, but art can start revolutions—not only in governments but in hearts. My vision for the disgraced and hidden monuments, the beheaded Christopher Columbuses of our day, is that they be resurrected. The disembodied head might be a reminder that for centuries we held onto a tale that was murkier than just a jingle (in the year of 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue). The head testifies to that. It testifies to the craftsmanship of an artist who believed in that tale, and didn’t question it. But the body of that statue… perhaps it can be reborn into a new tribute.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Is it too much to ask the cities and museums that question the appropriateness of these objects to do more than just remove them? If a city wants to remove a statue of Columbus because of its offense to native peoples then why should they not offer the material (bronze, marble, etc.) to the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC? Could not a contemporary native artist use that material to create a new work in response? Who loses in this scenario? The artist gets material with which to create. The museum gets a new artwork. The Italian-American Bostonians who treasured that statue could still at least visit the head, but they would also have the opportunity to see an artwork that could perhaps open their hearts and minds to a broader view of the past. Something that would put them in another’s shoes.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The same could be done with Confederate statuary and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. There are so many inventive contemporary artists out there who could create stunning, thought provoking works if just given the materials and the chance. And these are just a couple museums. There are plenty of art museums who would likely not desire a Confederate monument, but would relish the chance to have new, reborn work by an artist of color. Let’s face it. When these statues and monuments are removed, we are not going to see them again. If they are going into a deep freeze to never be displayed again—even with recontextualization—then they should be resurrected into something new, something that acknowledges the past, the present and the future.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">America is an imperfect experiment. This is my call to artists, museums, local governments, and philanthropists to work toward making their mark on this MORE perfect union.</span></p></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;">
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</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote></blockquote><br />Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-52913786323867613412018-09-01T17:59:00.001-04:002018-09-01T17:59:41.254-04:00Krishna Reddy: A Strong Impression<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">On August 22, 2018 one of the giants of twentieth century printmaking passed away at the age of 93. N. Krishna Reddy was instrumental in making printmaking something unique, not merely a secondary medium for creating a reproduction of an artwork in another form, as it had been perceived for much of the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries. He and his mentor, <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2009/04/engraving-and-art-of-stanley-william.html" target="_blank">Stanley William Hayter</a>, are far from common household names, yet their impact on Modernism proved fruitful in shaping the processes and works of some of the key figures of midcentury Modernism, such as Joan Miro, Louise Nevelson, Pablo Picasso, and Jackson Pollock.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Reddy was born in a small town in India in 1925. He went to university in his home country and began teaching art there in the 1940s. At this point he was working primarily in sculpture and painting. After WWII, as Europe was beginning to rebuild, Reddy made his way west and first settled in London in 1949. There he studied sculpture with Henry Moore. By the next year he had moved on to Paris where he also studied sculpture with Ossip Zadkine.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Stanley Hayter had first set up his workshop (<a href="http://www.ateliercontrepoint.com/a171.html" target="_blank">Atelier 17</a>, but now running as Atelier Contrepoint) in the late 1920s. It was a meeting place for artists from around the world, who had come to Paris to study the evolving styles of early abstraction. Hayter’s workspace and press allowed these artists to try their hand at engraving and etching, even if their primary media were something other than printmaking. With the onset of WWII Hayter moved Atelier 17 to New York City for a period, but by the time Krishna Reddy was in Paris, Hayter had returned and was running both the American and French versions of the workshop for a period.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Reddy took to printmaking, especially engraving, right away. He shared Hayter’s enthusiasm for the direct processes of working a metal plate. Eventually, during the 1950s, Reddy was named as a co-director of Atelier 17 in Paris. It was not odd that an individual who had originally trained as a sculptor would become a director of the most significant printmaking workshop in the world. Hayter, himself, had started out as a painter and continued to paint throughout his life. Helen Phillips, Hayter’s second wife, was also primarily a sculptor before she met her husband and began working in etching and engraving processes. This was also the case for the American Shirley Witebsky, Krishna Reddy’s first wife. With this group of very physical printmakers it was no wonder that some new, experimental, and significant changes would soon be discovered at Atelier 17.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">The most famous technique to come out of Atelier 17 is often called Color Viscosity Etching. It was usually called Simultaneous Color Intaglio printing by both Hayter and Reddy. The process was discovered somewhat accidentally by Reddy and his fellow countryman, Kaiko Moti, before being fully developed by Hayter and Reddy. At its root is the tendency for two oil-based inks to reject each other when one is oilier than the other. If an oilier ink is rolled onto the surface of a plate, another, tackier ink can be rolled over the first inking without disrupting that initial ink surface. This became most important when the sculptural aspects of Reddy’s (and others’) works allowed rollers of different densities to apply the inks. A hard roller would deposit an oily ink on the top surface of the etching plate, whereas a softer roller with a tackier ink could deposit ink on a lower surface, while not changing the ink from the previous roller. This discovery finally achieved the effect that Hayter had long been searching for—a way to ink an etching plate in colors so that it could be sent through the press only once.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0aHuxaaRApHL-ndY6juEibq0kBhk956jKEfiaeYYXrt6c46wZeNRe2r1LOPCxVjqRmaoUZtFUsrZQPzyFY_vdAR7Bdyqbapqo7gCnsNlDGsSuswRbBrXf_8NbhT7IPG2-DkFYoHrJJ9mq/s1600/WitebskyEtchings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="757" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0aHuxaaRApHL-ndY6juEibq0kBhk956jKEfiaeYYXrt6c46wZeNRe2r1LOPCxVjqRmaoUZtFUsrZQPzyFY_vdAR7Bdyqbapqo7gCnsNlDGsSuswRbBrXf_8NbhT7IPG2-DkFYoHrJJ9mq/s400/WitebskyEtchings.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">The technique of simultaneous color printing became synonymous with the artists of Atelier 17. Hayter had his own ways of utilizing the process which changed over time, as he worked in the collaborative atmosphere of Atelier 17. Reddy, however, made the process his own. While Hayter favored engraving and the use of etching acids to develop textures and depth in his plates, Reddy was prone to work the plate in a more sculptural way. Using traditional hand engraving tools alongside electric rotary (aka Dremel) tools, Reddy produced what were essentially low relief sculptures in a metal plate. As aggressive as this method might sound, under his masterful hand, using the color viscosity method, Reddy was able to achieve incredibly nuanced inkings of his intaglio prints.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>Floraison</i> (or <i>Blossoming</i>) from 1965, was the first work that Reddy created entirely utilizing hand tools, without any etching techniques. It is reminiscent of many of his and Witebsky’s etchings of this period. The true print collector can relay just how interesting these works are to examine. They may look lovely framed, but are best enjoyed outside of a frame where the embossed depth of the plate can be seen on the back side of the sheet of paper. Close examination reveals that Reddy was a master of color with this technique. What first appears to be a basic inking with black and blue is discovered to be more complex. Reddy actually used a pale orange color with one of the rollers. This layer of color is made to mix with one of the lower layers of blue—instead of rejecting it—creating a richer gray than what is possible with an inking of black alone.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie0C77ao2BsGwqmbPSJ4om0jzARtLGyQrekz8QY8JakLwdZXQnj4bSOrIS0Uh5HR4MiUhElTbNK4IhVXcA0X1ZGBHIMMOYBYDXn74gVub44LMkA7B-omb_bJgX2c-A7veU85wKg_YinOcL/s1600/ReddyFloraison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="369" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie0C77ao2BsGwqmbPSJ4om0jzARtLGyQrekz8QY8JakLwdZXQnj4bSOrIS0Uh5HR4MiUhElTbNK4IhVXcA0X1ZGBHIMMOYBYDXn74gVub44LMkA7B-omb_bJgX2c-A7veU85wKg_YinOcL/s320/ReddyFloraison.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Hayter wrote two editions of his seminal work <i>New Ways of Gravure</i> that explain the process of Color Viscosity printing. They are each illustrated with works by a variety of artists—including Reddy—who passed through Atelier 17. However, Reddy’s book, <i>Intaglio Simultaneous Color Printmaking: Significance of Materials and Processes</i>, goes much further into the details of the process, revealing just how complex the inkings of some of his prints were. It is an essential handbook for anyone interested in learning the process. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">One of the last major exhibitions to highlight Reddy’s work was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, about two years ago. I was fortunate to see <i><a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2016/workshop-and-legacy" target="_blank">Workshop and Legacy: Stanley William Hayter, Krishna Reddy, Zarina Hashmi</a></i> at the Met in February 2017. This was not a huge exhibition, but the limited works actually made it a more intimate encounter with the works. There were several very important Hayter works on display (including two works that appear in my own collection) but there were many Reddy pieces that I had never seen in person. Also included was one of Reddy’s sculptures. This exhibition was the highlight of my trip to New York. It has been instrumental as I put together an exhibition of Atelier 17 artists from my own collection.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">With the loss of Reddy, there is one remaining major figure from Atelier 17 still working. Hector Saunier continues on at the Atelier. He started at Atelier 17 after Reddy moved to the U.S. Luckily, with shows like the one at the Met, and others that have been touring (such as Syracuse University’s <i>About Prints</i>, named after Hayter’s other major publication), the important work of these artists is not being lost. A new generation can discover just how influential these men and women were on Modernism in its early days.</span></div>
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Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-83302250676719363062017-07-17T19:38:00.002-04:002017-07-17T19:38:52.865-04:00Georges Rouault: A Synthesis of Tradition and Innovation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of my artistic heroes is the French Expressionist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Rouault" target="_blank">Georges Rouault</a>. Though he is still discussed in twentieth century and Modern art history courses, his name does not resound with most people as one of the elite Modern artists of his generation, such as Henri Matisse or Pablo Picasso. In a cursory comparison one would not find much in common between Rouault’s work and my own. His very direct and aggressive style seems at odds with my more “refined” realism. Still, Rouault’s primary work in both painting and printmaking, as well as his consistent themes of uneasy religious engagement with contemporary culture, can be aligned with my own work.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Rouault’s monumental print undertaking—one of the greatest all time achievements in printmaking—is his <i><a href="http://www.bowdencollections.com/Rouault/rouault.html" target="_blank">Miserere et Guerre</a></i>. These large intaglio works, originally envisioned as two sets of fifty plates each (fifty for the <i>Miserere</i> segment and fifty for the <i>Guerre</i>), ultimately were produced as a total of fifty-eight plates. Still, that result is an enormous achievement.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The suffering of Christ is mingled amongst the suffering of humanity in these works. What first seem to be awkward juxtapositions of images are quite intentional. The images are all dark, both in value and subject. Even images of the Virgin Mary seem stained with darkness. She butts up against images of wealthy, bourgeois women, as well as haggard prostitutes. She is the deliverer of salvation to both. The sadness and brokenness of the prostitute are balanced against the detachment of an elite, whose indifference and intractable hold on resources are partly responsible for the circumstances of the former. All are in need of mercy (miserere) and all are at war (guerre) with the world and their own condition.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The themes are further explored through kings, judges, clergy as well as skeletal specters of death. All of these expose the corruption of this world in some form. Christ suffers with and for each one. While the individual images may seem desperate and despairing, there is a strand of hope running throughout the entire series.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">However, it is not just Rouault’s thematic elements that have held sway over me. His process for these works, and his unswerving dedication to seeing the work completed just as he originally envisioned, have been instrumental in my own current work. It took Rouault about fifteen years to physically complete the <i>Miserere</i>. But it was actually a project thirty-six years in the making, from the first drawing to the final publishing of the completed prints. Of course, he was working on many other paintings and print projects during that period, but I recently took comfort in this. My own intaglio project consisting of fifty plates, originally conceived almost twenty years ago, is probably more on schedule than I would have believed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The original designs for the <i>Miserere</i> prints were actually ink drawings. Since Rouault’s work was always an odd mixture of tradition and innovation, the drawings were actually transferred to copper etching plates through a photographic process. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photogravure" target="_blank">Photogravure</a> (sometimes called heliogravure) is an early photomechanical process that allowed photographic images to be printed on paper, from a photographic negative, without the fading that happened with earlier photographic prints. The photogravure work prints like an etching but looks more like a photograph.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Rouault was not at all content with his initial photogravure plates and refused to allow them to be printed as they first existed. Instead, he meticulously reworked each of the plates with traditional forms of etching and intaglio, including hand working of the plates with mezzotint roulettes, scrapers, and burnishers. The results are far more than early photomechanical “reproduction.” Rouault did so much working and reworking of the the copper that it is often impossible to know what exactly he did to get the soft, velvety effects and deep, rich values. Many of the etchings look more like charcoal drawings than etchings. Each plate could be considered a masterwork, but considering that there are fifty-eight, it is an unfathomable achievement.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This brings me to the comparison with my own <a href="http://www.tyrusclutter.com/menus/palimpsestpetching.html" target="_blank"><i>Palimpsest Portraits</i></a> series. While there are many images of Jesus within this series, there are also “out-of-place” figures, just as with some of the <i>Miserere</i> works. I want viewers to analyze the series as a whole, much like the<i> Miserere</i>, to consider the unusual juxtapositions. Individual images may have a similar dark content as Rouault’s, but there is just as much similarity when it comes to the process.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i><a href="http://www.tyrusclutter.com/menus/viscosityetching.html" target="_blank">Palimpsest Portraits</a></i>, likewise, mix technological innovation with more traditional modes of working. Each of these plates starts with a drawing, too. However, my drawings are completed in Photoshop and are composed completely from passages of text. The next step is quite like the photogravure process employed by Rouault. I transfer the images onto copper plates via a toner-based transparency print (these are the transparencies used for overhead projectors which are printed through a copy machine or laser printer). The plate and transparency are slowly heated so that the toner offsets (or melts) onto the plate, eventually acting as a resist in an acid bath.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If I was only printing these images in black and white, most of the work would be done at this point. Still, also like Rouault, I do extensive additional work on each of the plates after the first photomechanical etching process has been completed. To enhance the realism, I use multiple applications of soft ground etching textures to soften and darken the tones. This is tempered through much scraping and burnishing. The textual elements still remain, but may be further enhanced with traditional hard ground etching. The plates are also developed to differing levels to allow for the color printing process. This allows multiple colored inks to both separate and mix in various ways to create the final effect.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is a time intensive process. There is no other way to achieve the effects required by the concept. Rouault has taught me that there is no need to compromise on your vision. Working and reworking these plates becomes a joy as I am surprised with each new plate. The new color combinations and alternate pairings of images continue to open the series in directions that far exceed my first thoughts about this series. I am pleased that the reception of these images by viewers will further expand how the pieces “speak” to each other.</span></span></div>
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Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-77548536563188461762017-03-31T16:05:00.000-04:002017-03-31T16:08:11.342-04:00Building a Book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Long long ago, I believe in 1999, I first started making some handmade, artist books. I participated in a weeklong book binding workshop at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA. It was a wonderful experience and it led me to organize my printmaking courses in such a way that the students would print enough etchings or linoleum prints for everyone in the class, which we would then bind into books at the end of the semester. It was the perfect way for them to learn to edition prints and trade those prints with their classmates, plus learn a new process.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I mainly just try to get my editions of prints finished these days, but I remain committed to the physical codex-style book. No ebooks for me. I like to feel the paper, smell an old book, maybe even see what someone else wrote in the margins. Some may feel that I don't actually love books, since I do tend to <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2010/07/artistic-fathers-masters-of-readymade.html" target="_blank">tear them apart and paint on them</a>. In reality, that is part of my love for them. Turning an otherwise ruined book into artwork gives it a new life.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Recently, I finally finished a book project that first began in 2007. This involved the <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2009/02/floorplans-text-as-foundation.html" target="_blank">second generation of Cathedral Floor Plan etchings</a> that I started at that time. I started in on the plates in 2007, got busy, moved, and then they sat in storage until the end of 2016. The intent had always been to create an edition of six books that included these five etchings. The prints stand alone as individual works, but the book actually has text that explains the concept behind these works. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I made a video recording of the steps of binding the book together and the edited version of that can be found below. Hopefully it inspires a couple more people to take up the cause of the book in this digital age.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-49688781402324288752016-02-15T18:41:00.001-05:002016-04-28T16:30:19.822-04:00Ready, Set, Print<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">It has taken a few months to get everything aligned, but the time has finally come. The <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/308706881/palimpsest-portraits-art-of-ancient-wisdom" target="_blank">Kickstarter Campaign</a> to make the <a href="http://www.tyrusclutter.com/menus/viscosityetching.html" target="_blank">Palimpsest Portrait Project</a> a reality is now live. You can find out more about the particular printing process I use <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-palimpsest-portraits-resurrection.html" target="_blank">below</a>, but all the specific details are available right on the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/308706881/palimpsest-portraits-art-of-ancient-wisdom" target="_blank">Kickstarter Campaign page</a>. The best overview is actually presented in the video shared here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Your first question about the images you’re seeing is probably, “Why are you pairing <i>those</i> particular people together?” Well, the answer to that comes down to the text that actually makes up these images. That text is from the Desert Fathers, the ancient, mystic monks of the Egyptian desert. While reading of the accounts of their lives, I came across a monk who was said to have asked God to show him which of the saints he was like. God sent him to several individuals, both good and bad, with whom the monk could make this comparison. In the end the monk realized that, “no one in this world ought to be despised, let him be a thief, or an actor on the stage, or one that tilled the ground, and was bound to a wife, or was a merchant and served a trade: for in every condition of human life there are souls that please God and have their hidden deeds wherein He takes delight.” This got me thinking about how I view and treat people. Do I see that element or spirit of God in everyone? Is or was there ever a person I could not view in that way?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">These figures, and more, came to my mind and I began to design this provocative project. It is meant to be seen as a whole series and not just as individual works. After years of working on the concept, on and off, it is time to finally see it made. That is why I created the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/308706881/palimpsest-portraits-art-of-ancient-wisdom" target="_blank">Kickstarter Campaign</a>. This project cannot happen without the help of many people coming together to make it happen. Unless artwork is specifically commissioned, it is typically up to the artist to self fund the project and hope that someone will, eventually, like it enough to buy it. Often, the sale of one artwork funds the creation of the next one. When the funds needed to obtain equipment and materials reach a certain level, turning to crowd sourcing is a wise option.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, please take a look at the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/308706881/palimpsest-portraits-art-of-ancient-wisdom" target="_blank">campaign</a>. Join in if you can. Even if you can’t, <b><i>please</i></b> share the project on social media (you can do that right through the Kickstarter page). When many people come together around this <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/308706881/palimpsest-portraits-art-of-ancient-wisdom" target="_blank">project</a> it <i>can </i>become reality. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Note: The full funding goal for this project was not reached through Kickstarter, however, several generous individuals did fulfill their pledges directly To Tyrus so that he could begin a portion of the etching portraits. If you would like to give toward the completion of the funding goal, to see this project fully completed, you can <a href="http://www.tyrusclutter.com/donation.html" target="_blank">do that through his website</a>.</i></span></div>
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Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-19433737926512685382016-02-02T17:29:00.000-05:002016-02-02T17:29:01.402-05:00The Palimpsest Portraits: A Resurrection<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7y7w5iTQ5u3EaifMT4lgHysshYC5-gZWRhqqwqPWM4w4zWdxtHaCYop_RbpkPjH3n-jRynYpsIz1Ps2tZ33wCBFvf8FxoGEAnIXf0bF4QWafJh8oHph2yQM_6YR408q1680yazksYfpT/s1600/MLK_Final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7y7w5iTQ5u3EaifMT4lgHysshYC5-gZWRhqqwqPWM4w4zWdxtHaCYop_RbpkPjH3n-jRynYpsIz1Ps2tZ33wCBFvf8FxoGEAnIXf0bF4QWafJh8oHph2yQM_6YR408q1680yazksYfpT/s640/MLK_Final.jpg" width="395" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">In 2006 and 2007 I first began serious work on a <a href="http://www.tyrusclutter.com/menus/viscosityetching.html" target="_blank">project</a> that was not yet named. Conceptually, it was to consist of twenty-five portrait pairs—fifty total portraits. Each pairing would situate an image of Jesus, from art history, with another individual. <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2008/08/bono-vs-jesus.html" target="_blank">The other person might be historical, from popular culture, or even relatively unknown</a>. He or she may be generally acknowledged as good or bad or somewhere in between. The idea was based in my understanding of a story I read from the Desert Fathers and has been mentioned here before. (<a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2016/01/love-letter-foundations-of-family.html" target="_blank">for an explanation of “Palimpsest,” refer to the </a></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2016/01/love-letter-foundations-of-family.html" target="_blank">previous posting</a>)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For various reasons the project was not completed a decade ago. Mainly, it was an expensive venture. I did acquire some of the materials needed to complete it, but the process was also quite time consuming and my job at the time left little available time to devote to the task. And, quite a daunting task this was. The color viscosity printing technique planned for the series is technical and complex, too. And I added the complication that the images were to be “drawn” from text—just to complicate matters more.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKavheKVS1gdnYhic_LA4sHhKEXdexk_FGBV93cgv7DtKNALXT6zvHxsThehE2jSBtDlthXc9t9uHdgtaQ7HEvjbjK2il3vYaiuEh9lBEnx7Bv68SyUlIxqV6pdioBx9i5dsCjsNVhJR7M/s1600/SelfPortraitStates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKavheKVS1gdnYhic_LA4sHhKEXdexk_FGBV93cgv7DtKNALXT6zvHxsThehE2jSBtDlthXc9t9uHdgtaQ7HEvjbjK2il3vYaiuEh9lBEnx7Bv68SyUlIxqV6pdioBx9i5dsCjsNVhJR7M/s400/SelfPortraitStates.jpg" width="162" /></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">I had wanted to utilize this printing technique since I first came across the works of <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2009/04/engraving-and-art-of-stanley-william.html" target="_blank">Stanley William Hayter</a> and <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2010/07/dick-swift-art-of-physical-printmaking.html" target="_blank">Dick Swift</a> in the university art collection when I was in graduate school. The intensity of the colors used and the complexity of the color mixings enticed me. Hayter’s work tends to be on the more abstract side, though some of Swift’s includes a good amount of representational imagery. I wanted that element of representation, but desired to make it my own. The use of text, running through all forms of my artwork, was my distinctive take on the technique. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The major pause in the project came when I moved in 2008 and no longer had access to the large rubber ink rollers of varying density that are required for the printing process. Over the past few years I have further experimented with the technique on a limited scale, with the small ink rollers I do possess. They are not large enough to complete the project as planned, but I have been determined to perfect the technique and seek funding for the equipment and materials needed to complete the project as originally envisioned. The images here reveal two of those experiments.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6y58j7Qd33kIKvWXQCBYbofZmQivREo_sg3FmWk6I6Rp9P8iSiKhiJ6Xnbqst33_H4OASYKmq_r0fwx8PQ-mejsnO0c3BWMjlXTfzUoAsATwzP8zATT7YN-FC-Ewf8QZ3eldOhUpf9Kq/s1600/MLKStates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6y58j7Qd33kIKvWXQCBYbofZmQivREo_sg3FmWk6I6Rp9P8iSiKhiJ6Xnbqst33_H4OASYKmq_r0fwx8PQ-mejsnO0c3BWMjlXTfzUoAsATwzP8zATT7YN-FC-Ewf8QZ3eldOhUpf9Kq/s400/MLKStates.jpg" width="163" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">The digital “drawings” of the images are first composed from text in Photoshop. When the values have been sufficiently produced, the image is transferred to a copper plate. However, much traditional etching work still needs to be completed at that point. At least three distinct levels need to be developed into the copper plate (this is for color separation and mixing with the various inks and rollers). Surfaces need to be bitten in acid or smoothed with tools so that colors and values print clearly. Here, I show the multiple states of a self portrait and an image of Martin Luther King. The first tests of each can be somewhat unrecognizable, but over time, the development of the plates reveals both the images and the tiny textual elements that compose them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">These are still only trial images, to give prospective funders an idea of what I’m attempting to produce. The comparison between the first images from a decade ago and these newer versions shows how my process has changed—and improved—over that period. I feel that I am finally ready to complete these works as they first existed in my imagination. The larger images allow for much greater complexity with the text as it relates to the design. Hopefully, new larger works will find their way into future posts later this year.</span></div>
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Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-81312899768876270002016-01-22T13:15:00.001-05:002016-01-22T13:15:47.836-05:00Love Letter: Foundations of a Family<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjykxjlnnyO9I88dsgQ1hiyD2h1KdzI_H0ooeckgBD5s-m2Qzlxmf9J2fugynPeXKlg7O805E-NHdpKIXblIlBzyNfSQvTUZV68vEQ2fXJvlrz2LfKiQUx8Lr7ZLosN1luXK69YNxVouoOm/s1600/George%2526Eleanor_Napkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjykxjlnnyO9I88dsgQ1hiyD2h1KdzI_H0ooeckgBD5s-m2Qzlxmf9J2fugynPeXKlg7O805E-NHdpKIXblIlBzyNfSQvTUZV68vEQ2fXJvlrz2LfKiQUx8Lr7ZLosN1luXK69YNxVouoOm/s400/George%2526Eleanor_Napkin.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyone browsing through posts on this blog will quickly find that the presence of text and words within my artwork has been evident for about two decades. In <a href="http://www.tyrusclutter.com/painting.html" target="_blank">paintings</a> this has often taken the form of applying paint over book pages. When incorporated into printmaking techniques the combination has become increasingly integral to how the imagery is actually developed. At first, the layering of words and images was related to the concept of the incarnation of Christ—the Word made Flesh. While that idea remains in the background, I more recently have embraced the terminology of the <i>Palimpsest</i> for this process.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The origin of the term Palimpsest comes from an ancient practice. Before paper was developed in the West, the writing of manuscripts was often done on parchment (dried and prepared animal skins). Preparing the parchment was time consuming and expensive, so it was much more precious and less plentiful than paper would later be. If a parchment document was no longer needed or wanted, the text layer could be scraped off to erase the words from the document. This was ink, so the text was never completely erased. When a new text was written on the parchment the first layer was invariably still legible beneath. A parchment with both layers of text visible was called a palimpsest.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8IgOaRHp60t_MeA1PD7-cZc0HmNMRcyXuWku6W406nvdacuY8XU-H_ARU7bdB1aRgzbSnTXWi9SXIydXWpapPFxbsMs4PK7f-gOpD3QN5MFrvXelWRLhaOZJuXJVqgFoSxTZOv-1B2z3A/s1600/MyDearestGeorge_horizontal.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8IgOaRHp60t_MeA1PD7-cZc0HmNMRcyXuWku6W406nvdacuY8XU-H_ARU7bdB1aRgzbSnTXWi9SXIydXWpapPFxbsMs4PK7f-gOpD3QN5MFrvXelWRLhaOZJuXJVqgFoSxTZOv-1B2z3A/s640/MyDearestGeorge_horizontal.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">While I first began to develop the use of erasing and relayering texts to create an image with <a href="http://www.tyrusclutter.com/menus/viscosityetching.html" target="_blank">etching</a>, I eventually employed the process for <a href="http://www.tyrusclutter.com/menus/lithographs.html" target="_blank">lithographic techniques</a>. With both of these I actually develop the imagery in Photoshop. Portions of a page of text (often scanned as a high resolution file) are erased in Photoshop, then a new layer is added an<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">d more portions are erased, and so on. Eventually the values build up and the image is created from the words that still remain.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The images here are printed as polyester plate lithographs. These plastic plates can actually be fed through a toner-based printer or photocopier. The toner will attract the oily ink which can be offset onto another surface when run through a printing press, or even rubbed with a wooden spoon or baren to transfer the ink. The plate is wiped down with a wet sponge during the inking process, like any traditional lithographic printing. While there are multiple ways to develop a plate with this medium, I prefer to create the image in Photoshop and then print the plate through a toner-based printer and print from that matrix. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4SVHzKSFdeFQzr43OEUo1GyhF_ecv-gJNx9YFC8HsHJhkLlKuFMnCTKjPMxsIDgiR7qLFkUQKCL6fn5Q2duC7NnfgXSeZJdh6d8Qz1gN7arTIOd7OqRQ5ZeUoqYCWB0e4iVrB6VzF_3h/s1600/PianistSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4SVHzKSFdeFQzr43OEUo1GyhF_ecv-gJNx9YFC8HsHJhkLlKuFMnCTKjPMxsIDgiR7qLFkUQKCL6fn5Q2duC7NnfgXSeZJdh6d8Qz1gN7arTIOd7OqRQ5ZeUoqYCWB0e4iVrB6VzF_3h/s400/PianistSmall.jpg" width="268" /></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: large;">In these works I chose to recreate photographic images of my maternal grandparents which I then printed on paper, antique textiles, and even hymnal pages. This takes a bit of experimentation since some fabrics are more receptive than others. Also, any preprinted pages (like the hymnals) require several layers of printing. The first three or four passes are with a white or cream colored ink that deadens the text already printed on the page. The final layer is in black and it is enhanced by the underlayer of text. The “white” printing produces an additional erasure to that already created digitally. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The text that creates this image is actually from a handwritten love letter that my grandmother wrote to my grandfather in 1936, before they were married. The text that reveals their relationship materializes into a physical form in the prints. It recalls the physical manifestation of their union which was eventually my mother and her siblings, extending into future generations. While both of my grandparents have now died, the materialization of their love still exists in new generations. I believe that these works provide a unique visual metaphor—our words and their intentions are able to carry forth into the future as physical manifestations of who we ultimately are. </span></div>
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Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-67577608644757130652013-09-03T13:48:00.000-04:002013-09-03T13:48:39.279-04:00Provenance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIwLfxNuqM1C3hRMwWh153sodx-iDuu7zbxU2ZRL_MSCLSOEePeNsmd28d6uLinUvZKLtGjzQyrgf5SaCLUnpthZQ4Ww5TBAgrPJLeOpVLO9r3qv8YGp-L18yzMgxU9qT-QjMnhOsZUgnl/s1600/provenance-book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIwLfxNuqM1C3hRMwWh153sodx-iDuu7zbxU2ZRL_MSCLSOEePeNsmd28d6uLinUvZKLtGjzQyrgf5SaCLUnpthZQ4Ww5TBAgrPJLeOpVLO9r3qv8YGp-L18yzMgxU9qT-QjMnhOsZUgnl/s400/provenance-book.jpg" width="322" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">During the year between my undergraduate work and my
enrollment in a graduate MFA program I worked at a bookstore. That was the best
job that I have ever had outside of my positions in the field of art. I had
previously not thought of myself as much of a reader, but then I realized I was
always reading, but it was not the typical “bookstore books.” In other words, I
did not read much fiction.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I enjoy some fiction. That has never been the problem. I was
just more likely to be reading art history and criticism, philosophy, or
theology. A bit dry for some tastes, I admit. Most of the prose does not compel
one to keep turning the pages late into the night. There are few surprising
plot twists. This chasm between writing styles has meant that I typically plod
through the non-fiction in my library in order to get a deeper understanding of
a topic but not much enjoyment.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">However, I am deeply grateful when a rare non-fiction title
comes along that is written with such skill that it keeps me thoroughly
engaged. If I keep getting to the end of a chapter and saying to myself, “I
know I need to get up early, but just one more before I turn the lights out,”
then I recognize I have an excellent book. <i>Provenance</i>, by Laney Salisbury and
Aly Sujo provided this kind of experience.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Provenance</i> read like a mystery novel. The difference was
that I knew “whodunit” after the first chapter. The skill of the authors was in
slowly unwinding just how the ruse was accomplished through the admission of
the perpetrators and the revelations uncovered by those caught up in the hoax.
Even the afterward provided a partial resolution and “happy ending” while still
leaving some things open ended, almost like a Hollywood ending that leaves
enough room to make the obligatory sequel.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are many books about art forgery and forgers. It can
be interesting to see how someone works to skillfully pass off a piece as that
of a master. These books often divulge the secret tricks and techniques of the
forger that allowed him to pull the wool over the eyes of even the elite art
history scholars. Oddly, that is little of this tale. The title of <i>Provenance</i>
provides the key to the scam laid out in the book. The forgeries were sometimes
barely passable, but the documentation of what owners and exhibitions were
attached to the works—the provenance—were what allowed so many to fall prey to
the scheme.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">While the role of the forger John Myatt is a key to the
scam, he is both a likeable and sympathetic figure. Myatt is merely one of the
pawns. The master manipulator is John Drewe. He is the one who convinces Myatt
to paint the fakes for him; first as works for Drewe’s own collection,
then—playing upon Myatt’s vanity and need—as the objects of a widespread fraud
that has never been completely unwound.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Drewe is able to not only manipulate people, but to
manipulate documents. After gaining the confidence of some of London’s leading
museum staff he is allowed the opportunity to do some “research” in their
archives. His work in the archives is permitted because of his numerous
connections. Name dropping gets him far, as does his top secret military and
defense connections which he can never fully divulge or verify. Regardless,
with a little time at the Tate Gallery he is able to doctor paperwork enough to
get his scheme the proper credentials for a full scale fraud that spans the
globe. By the time the book ends it seems the museum name should be changed to
Taint, as it is difficult to tell just which documents are original or not.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The cast of characters all play either a part in the scheme
or in unraveling it. The reader will root for the tenacious archivists at
various organizations and foundations who do not founder in their denials of
authenticity of suspect works. They assist investigators who first uncover
suspicious behavior through trails that also lead to arson and murder. The love
and promise of money in this story are the root of all this evil. Drewe plays
on this. He obtains and uses money in his frauds, but he manipulates others by
the conspicuous use and promise of funds. His promises of greater sale prices
to Myatt are matched by his five star dining and allusions to art and cash
gifts to museum staff.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The web spun by Drewe is so tangled that the reader keeps
reassessing this as fiction or truth. Once witnesses start coming forward one
wonders just how Drewe could keep such a complex system of lies straight. He
never falters. And the reader wonders what exactly is true about the man. His
entire life, from his school days, seems to be one giant fabrication. The art
forgery scam is the pinnacle of his “career.” </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I picked up this book because the jacket promised some
interesting insights into a section of the art world with which I am not as
familiar. I did not expect to be so riveted by the story. I would suggest
Provenance to those who actually know little about the art world, too. The
story is crafted in such a way that it is a compelling read. It does not get so
deep into the names of artists and galleries that it is overwhelming. If you
like intrigue and twists and turns then you will enjoy <i>Provenance</i>.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the
History of Modern Art</b>,</i> Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo, Penguin Press, New York, 2009</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-40963169850991046962013-08-06T11:27:00.000-04:002013-08-06T11:27:28.031-04:00Let me show you my etchings...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAmKUnJweaxea97bL5Ohh2GVTCccwhnYTseYBhL10sQEuv_6DiRqaDhBTsbqsnqPxDrH-M5OmJfNihJKdL6pRmOG-2GetTE51Q96bBhyKmm0O88l71RxrE3lK_1AauUaEuqw8O-BDgr63/s1600/Word8_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAmKUnJweaxea97bL5Ohh2GVTCccwhnYTseYBhL10sQEuv_6DiRqaDhBTsbqsnqPxDrH-M5OmJfNihJKdL6pRmOG-2GetTE51Q96bBhyKmm0O88l71RxrE3lK_1AauUaEuqw8O-BDgr63/s400/Word8_web.jpg" width="361" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I often work on the carving of my <a href="http://www.tyrusclutter.com/woodcuts.html" target="_blank">relief prints</a> in public
places. If I have a particularly intricate linoleum or woodcut design that will
take hours and hours to carve then I break it up over several weeks or months.
The process can both be tedious and tiresome, so I keep the block in the car
and work on it at Starbucks for an hour or two between appointments or classes.
This provides an introduction to all sorts of conversations and I see it as an
extension of my educational work with the broader public.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As annoyed as I feel inside when a stranger refers to my
process of carving as “making a stamp,” I do understand that the terminology
provides a way though which many people can enter the process. Most comments
are made concerning the carving alone. It is only through further explanation
that these casual observers recognize that the finished artwork is not the
block itself, but the eventual transfer of the image onto paper.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirACivQ86VtE16OXQKT8lESo0ugOD2LyXjRuBysoAuXTE_7VphVFbsQdDI8mSsDQbGf7hqXtk66TSj560VF9dBIC49eVF6SeS7_t6LPB-HrJEncXaSMGzDkWafnbMzBRNWnYcR3r_nf8hy/s1600/FirstFour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirACivQ86VtE16OXQKT8lESo0ugOD2LyXjRuBysoAuXTE_7VphVFbsQdDI8mSsDQbGf7hqXtk66TSj560VF9dBIC49eVF6SeS7_t6LPB-HrJEncXaSMGzDkWafnbMzBRNWnYcR3r_nf8hy/s640/FirstFour.jpg" width="144" /></a></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Etching is also a form of printmaking, but it is such a
foreign process to most that it takes a bit more explanation to understand. In
fact, Some people assume I am “etching” when they see me carving a wood or
linoleum block. Etching, by its very nature, cannot happen in such a public
setting as Starbucks. It requires materials that are not quite so portable. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The main difference between the way woodcuts and etchings
are produced is the way they are printed. Carved wood and linoleum blocks print
from the high surface, from the areas left after the carving has been
completed.<a href="http://www.tyrusclutter.com/etchings.html" target="_blank"> Etching</a>, one of several intaglio processes, prints the ink from the
recessed areas, those lower than the top surface of the plate. Ink is pushed
into those recesses and the top surface of the plate is wiped clean. The plate
is then run through a press which forces paper into those recessed, inked areas
to offset the image.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">That is the quick explanation. Etching is different from
most of the other intaglio processes because an acid actually does the work of
making those recesses in the plate. That does not mean that producing an
etching requires no physical labor on the part of the artist. An
etching plate can be manipulated and changed in several ways as the artist
works toward a final image.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9O-ckoET-HZvYoEep-Ru0viv0g_I76J3Aq59SKmeOd5FBynvoutghZzUEjYPtu4SeTAdTdo21HrckY1EVWcodfo4A8Pmm8FOAIAXQcQF8X1u_LlGKiQWnOS94p2OalTrA5hmzH1Lv7aYx/s1600/Plate_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9O-ckoET-HZvYoEep-Ru0viv0g_I76J3Aq59SKmeOd5FBynvoutghZzUEjYPtu4SeTAdTdo21HrckY1EVWcodfo4A8Pmm8FOAIAXQcQF8X1u_LlGKiQWnOS94p2OalTrA5hmzH1Lv7aYx/s400/Plate_web.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The etching shown here is one I produced to show my students
the processes of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etching" target="_blank">hard ground and soft ground etching</a>. I find people are more
familiar with the hard ground etching style. The result looks like a pen and
ink line drawing. In this process the metal etching plate is coated with a
material that protects it from the corrosive effects of acid. The artist takes
a sharp tool and scratches a drawing or design through that protective coating.
When the plate is placed in an acid bath the exposed lines are bitten into
recessed areas of the plate. The acid does the work, not the scratching of the
artist. The longer the lines are exposed the deeper, darker (and sometimes
wider) the resulting lines will be.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">While hard ground etching was used in this image, much of
the gradation of tone was produced with soft ground etching. The soft ground
never completely sets on a plate. You can impress your finger prints into the
soft ground and they will eventually bite into the surface of the plate.
Typically, artists press fabric textures into the soft ground and bite those
into the plate. <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/search/label/Dick%20Swift" target="_blank">Dick Swift</a> often used the textures as an integral and very
obvious element within his etchings. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A4the_Kollwitz" target="_blank">Kathe Kollwitz</a> also employed the textures
of cloth within her soft ground etchings. She used an alternative method,
additionally, in which a piece of paper is placed over the plate with soft
ground applied and then a drawing is made on the paper. A soft, pencil-like
line pulls some of the ground away and can then be bitten into the place, as
opposed to the pen and ink-like line in hard ground etching.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAaDfilY3DQnUywLPUOe3CgD9L4F-X29xIgPndWFN_QiaFjWLqGYdXTfHqK-9VciqoVlQAPEj8-BRIJNlvfZshQ00c-d3TkVpimKclaHkJMn7ocKPoyhNzNVSzXyx0mRf99JaGlwMdo6yJ/s1600/SecondFour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAaDfilY3DQnUywLPUOe3CgD9L4F-X29xIgPndWFN_QiaFjWLqGYdXTfHqK-9VciqoVlQAPEj8-BRIJNlvfZshQ00c-d3TkVpimKclaHkJMn7ocKPoyhNzNVSzXyx0mRf99JaGlwMdo6yJ/s640/SecondFour.jpg" width="144" /></a></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I used all of those methods in this print. You can see the
progression of the image through the eight different states. I did not want the
fabric texture to obviously read as fabric. Several times I bit in a texture
for a few minutes, then re-applied soft ground and did another fabric texture
for a similar amount of time. Slowly, the values were built up in this way.
Essentially, little dots of value are being bitten into the plate, not unlike
what we see in a close up of a computer printout. These are like pixels.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You will also notice that some areas get lighter from one
stage to the next. That happens through scraping and burnishing the plate. This
is the more physical part of the process. It is like using an eraser on a
drawing. Metal tools actually remove thin layers of the surface of the plate so
that less ink is caught in the recesses. The recesses actually become
shallower. When this is done multiple times, along with the areas being
repeatedly bitten with soft ground, very delicate grays are possible that look
less and less like a fabric texture.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Many of the etchings I have made over the last decade or so
have either been <a href="http://www.tyrusclutter.com/menus/viscosityetching.html" target="_blank">inked in colors</a> or have employed text in some way. My process
for developing those plates is similar, but many of those prints are far less
realistic. I created this print as a stand alone work, but I also wanted my
students to see what possibilities are available in this process. It is fairly
easy to make a bold soft ground texture, but not necessarily easy to do that
well. And when “mistakes” are made in the plate there really are ways to get
rid of them and totally change the image. However, as with all art making, it does
take time and work.</span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<!--EndFragment-->Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-34679335737306800492013-06-21T18:19:00.000-04:002013-06-21T18:23:29.416-04:00Glossing Over It: The Process of Glazing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfsg_NU0cDkwmeQGCCFPCNNfEr59i2X9Z5Ie9hJkjJ7d2JR4B4RRBRUCmse00usJD6Se0Z_j27L7PwaLh29P8GEp_RFEqVWigQx9INaPGWeDlIzKAqp6eKleyXpbqb7OfXAeR7Dl9Exlrr/s1600/boundary_angle2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfsg_NU0cDkwmeQGCCFPCNNfEr59i2X9Z5Ie9hJkjJ7d2JR4B4RRBRUCmse00usJD6Se0Z_j27L7PwaLh29P8GEp_RFEqVWigQx9INaPGWeDlIzKAqp6eKleyXpbqb7OfXAeR7Dl9Exlrr/s400/boundary_angle2.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
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<!--StartFragment--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I first began to
seriously work on painting, as an undergraduate art major, I preferred a
thicker, more opaque application of paint. It was not that I was painting with
such dimensional strokes as Vincent Van Gogh, but it was not in the style of
some renaissance master, either. I still rather enjoy applying paint with a
heavily loaded brush. It just feels good.<!--EndFragment-->
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<!--StartFragment-->However, “art life” happens
and styles change. In fact, style is more often dictated by concept than
anything else within the fine art world. Take Pablo Picasso, for instance.
Those only familiar with his more extreme forms of Cubist abstraction—and with
little or no knowledge of what this master was trying to achieve—believe that
he had no traditional skill. That is simply not the case. The work from the
period when he was a very young artist reveals that he was every bit a master
draftsman, yet he subverted that skill to challenge our assumptions of what a
painting actually is. It is those endeavors in abstraction that set in motion
the major shifts in much of the art of the twentieth century.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br /></span>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuE6qxZ6xm4HSqz1cNGnmQV8rgvbBusz5Y9tY7lUtJXoRogYL-p2uD4JyrJyRcMK0QaqcxxKZc7XQoF00y4GJoXe9sCaaOT-zjRUMuBkA_LNOn_4ThhMXjV_W6OD46497V_w-r_w-RcSOr/s1600/Confine2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuE6qxZ6xm4HSqz1cNGnmQV8rgvbBusz5Y9tY7lUtJXoRogYL-p2uD4JyrJyRcMK0QaqcxxKZc7XQoF00y4GJoXe9sCaaOT-zjRUMuBkA_LNOn_4ThhMXjV_W6OD46497V_w-r_w-RcSOr/s400/Confine2.jpg" width="240" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I, on the other hand, moved in the opposite direction. My
painting style became more traditional as my work evolved. This was not because
I necessarily improved as a painter—though that did happen, as well. It had
more to do with a change in the materials I was using. Once I started <a href="http://www.tyrusclutter.com/images/altarpiece/altarpiececoncepts.html" target="_blank">painting over text</a>, especially book pages, I needed a more transparent paint application
if I wanted viewers to still be able to see the words. So I returned to the
process of glazing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even before this shift in style happened
within my own work I was teaching the process of glazing to my beginning
painting students. I have them experiment with a variety of surfaces and paint
applications so that they can get to know the materials and what seems to suit
their own artistic needs. This particular method seems to test the patience of
many students. I suppose part of it is that it is not an instantaneous process.
It takes time. It requires an understanding of both color and materials.<!--EndFragment--> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.tyrusclutter.com/images/altarpiece/paintings.html" target="_blank">The paintings shown here</a> were actually produced as an
attempt to help solve that problem. They were painted outside the confines of
any specific series on which I am currently working. They are slightly
connected to my main body of work, but do not carry the same concerns or weight
of concept. They came into existence because 1) I had these canvas panels
laying around and wanted to finally put something on them after ten years, and
2) I wanted to show my students just how many layers of paint go into creating
a realistic glazed painting.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdtiEsN6zF3el37U42OKl0XrPw2aX7UIWBNzI67X_8A3fc1j0Frn9FI48RLbwb5VQeBX1J-sKlvvC9DpY7zKiZOfN0nk6c_Zle38-7eq77iUV9CSOsjMY-Mhf3gstpiw5se0RW-qfMYYLF/s1600/Boundary1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdtiEsN6zF3el37U42OKl0XrPw2aX7UIWBNzI67X_8A3fc1j0Frn9FI48RLbwb5VQeBX1J-sKlvvC9DpY7zKiZOfN0nk6c_Zle38-7eq77iUV9CSOsjMY-Mhf3gstpiw5se0RW-qfMYYLF/s400/Boundary1.jpg" width="237" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The video below is a tutorial for my current and future
students. I have posted it here because I feel that those who are unaware of
the processes of creating paintings may be interested in seeing one process of
how I develop a painting. I hope you find it interesting or useful.</span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-65990570566143017852013-01-23T19:14:00.001-05:002013-01-23T19:17:30.603-05:00The Story of Asher Lev<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrNjGXG5ugzdJQVBdQIgOD-72rbrIHEQ4e7ESrwWyhh6F1gZq4h2AC3GTprGTOi8GryboRkT2gITt8UNFTEBl6rSA9Xdq9HTY4LvZKZh1gKZbJh_qQ_yO-HGWoqms0XTuyeBAmO25cOpg/s1600/51A4DE5HA8L._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrNjGXG5ugzdJQVBdQIgOD-72rbrIHEQ4e7ESrwWyhh6F1gZq4h2AC3GTprGTOi8GryboRkT2gITt8UNFTEBl6rSA9Xdq9HTY4LvZKZh1gKZbJh_qQ_yO-HGWoqms0XTuyeBAmO25cOpg/s400/51A4DE5HA8L._SL500_AA300_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recently reread two books by the author Chaim Potok. Many
people are familiar with his writing through the book <i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20src=%22http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=tyseyonar-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0449911543%22%20style=%22width:120px;height:240px;%22%20scrolling=%22no%22%20marginwidth=%220%22%20marginheight=%220%22%20frameborder=%220%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E" target="_blank">The Chosen</a></i><span style="font-style: normal;">. That title continues to be popular on school
reading lists and it was also turned into a <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20src=%22http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=tyseyonar-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B00363WGF0%22%20style=%22width:120px;height:240px;%22%20scrolling=%22no%22%20marginwidth=%220%22%20marginheight=%220%22%20frameborder=%220%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E" target="_blank">major motion picture</a>. However, the
books that I revisited are the ones about the fictional artist Asher Lev. They
share a common theme with Potok’s other books which focus on the lives of
observant Hasidic Jews. The Asher Lev books center on the title character, who
is an artist.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first of the books is <i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20src=%22http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=tyseyonar-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1400031044%22%20style=%22width:120px;height:240px;%22%20scrolling=%22no%22%20marginwidth=%220%22%20marginheight=%220%22%20frameborder=%220%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E" target="_blank">My Name is Asher Lev</a></i><span style="font-style: normal;">. It was actually required reading for all students
at the college that I attended. I first read the book for my Drawing class and
then again for a capstone course when I was a senior. As the only art major in
the second class I was regularly questioned about all things in the book
relating to art and art history. I was certainly glad I had read it once
before.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once I began teaching college level art courses I adopted <i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20src=%22http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=tyseyonar-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1400031044%22%20style=%22width:120px;height:240px;%22%20scrolling=%22no%22%20marginwidth=%220%22%20marginheight=%220%22%20frameborder=%220%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E" target="_blank">My Name is Asher Lev</a></i><span style="font-style: normal;"> for my Senior Seminar
class for art majors. Even the students who resisted any and all reading
assignments came to love this book. The story investigates the balance between
the life of faith and the art world—showing that the two can often seem in
conflict for those with a strong, conservative religious bent. I read this book
every year as I taught that course and was continuously amazed by my discovery
of new things each time I reviewed the work.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I find that rereading this book always pushes me to evaluate
my life as an artist. That is why I chose to read it once more in 2012. I
wanted to examine my artistic self at this particular stage in my life and I
knew this book would pose the questions that I desired to ask myself. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While Potok does a stunning job of creating an engaging narrative
set in a believable world, I have always had one small problem with the way he
describes Asher Lev’s mode of seeing. The young artist, Lev, is a child prodigy
in the field of art. His parents cannot prevent him from drawing every nuance
of the Hasidic Brooklyn world which they inhabit. Drawing is like breathing for
Asher. The author describes the way Asher sees people and objects as if it is
through a lens that dissolves each item into seemly Cubist shapes. As an
artist, I always found this portrayal unrealistic, but I suspend this critical
analysis while reading the book because the concept makes complete sense within
the fictional world of the story.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both <i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20src=%22http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=tyseyonar-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1400031044%22%20style=%22width:120px;height:240px;%22%20scrolling=%22no%22%20marginwidth=%220%22%20marginheight=%220%22%20frameborder=%220%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E" target="_blank">My Name is Asher Lev</a></i><span style="font-style: normal;"> and the sequel, </span><i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20src=%22http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=tyseyonar-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0449001156%22%20style=%22width:120px;height:240px;%22%20scrolling=%22no%22%20marginwidth=%220%22%20marginheight=%220%22%20frameborder=%220%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E">The Gift of Asher Lev</a></i><span style="font-style: normal;">, are ultimately tales of surrender. The act of
surrender is far more complex than our contemporary concepts. We may understand
the need to surrender but we often understand it in terms of a clean cut
resolution to a conflict, neatly confined to the thirty or sixty minutes of a
television drama or the two hours of a film. Real life conflict and surrender
rarely fit within such neat and tidy packages.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For Asher, the idea of surrender is tied to competing
traditions. First is his religious tradition which is inextricably linked to
his family heritage. He is part of a dynasty that is deeply connected to the
leader of their religious sect. This leader—the Rebbe—comes from a line of
religious leaders who have sought a renewal of traditional Jewish religious
practice and the ultimate messianic salvation of the Jewish people. The
opposing tradition is the world of visual art and its secular base. For many in
Asher’s religious community these two cannot be reconciled, but the wisdom of
the visionary Rebbe sees past the dichotomy and Asher plunges headlong into the
world of art, while still keeping his feet firmly planted in Hasidic tradition.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Surrender comes into the equation when Asher must decide how
completely he will give himself over to the direction of his artistic
inspiration. He must, simultaneously, surrender to the will of his people and
his muse. The resultant decision marks the central conflict within the novel,
which is actually brought about through the artist’s synthesis of earlier
conflicts in his life. That central decision places him in a position in which,
at the end of the novel, Asher seems condemned to a perpetual balancing act
between these two forces.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgQ3CjweeV2DWCcEHr6qjZX2Ixt19NpfppZwIU7TMpH47vX6hfjVD5zvXgotka5xARZYMr_fhYgBLlZvRgfP2keac6mbABgxsdSbG8G8YMmqC9_jb2z2Zd4wzgt4PHbldLeUetbsfK1ww/s1600/chaim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgQ3CjweeV2DWCcEHr6qjZX2Ixt19NpfppZwIU7TMpH47vX6hfjVD5zvXgotka5xARZYMr_fhYgBLlZvRgfP2keac6mbABgxsdSbG8G8YMmqC9_jb2z2Zd4wzgt4PHbldLeUetbsfK1ww/s400/chaim.jpg" width="250" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second book, <i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20src=%22http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=tyseyonar-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0449001156%22%20style=%22width:120px;height:240px;%22%20scrolling=%22no%22%20marginwidth=%220%22%20marginheight=%220%22%20frameborder=%220%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E" target="_blank">The Gift of Asher Lev</a></i><span style="font-style: normal;">, finds Asher twenty years later, married, with two
children, and living in France as a successful artist. The comfortable life he
has carved out for himself is soon disrupted with the news of his uncle’s
death. Upon the family’s return to the Hasidic Brooklyn enclave of his
childhood, Asher discovers one riddle after another. Some riddles are answered
within the novel while others are left unresolved. The key riddle, again, is
answered with a form of surrender.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I age, as an artist, I find <i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20src=%22http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=tyseyonar-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0449001156%22%20style=%22width:120px;height:240px;%22%20scrolling=%22no%22%20marginwidth=%220%22%20marginheight=%220%22%20frameborder=%220%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E" target="_blank">The Gift of Asher Lev</a></i><span style="font-style: normal;"> to be a more compelling story. Potok’s writing is
more subtle and refined. The doubts faced by an artist that necessitate an
evolution of style and form are accurately portrayed. The anxieties and
surrender are handled with complexity and maturity.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The gift mentioned in the title is actually multifaceted.
One would expect it to reference Lev’s gift of artistic talent. That is,
however, only the most obvious reference. The gifts can also allude to Asher’s
family. His wife and his children are a gift. The gift is his family heritage,
his life in France, his successful art career, and his faith. The gift is also
connected to the secret art collection of his recently deceased uncle—this is
also one of the novel’s riddles. And the surrender is both a surrender <i>to</i> some
items and circumstances as well as a surrender <i>of</i> some others.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each time I get to the climactic moment in <i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20src=%22http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=tyseyonar-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0449001156%22%20style=%22width:120px;height:240px;%22%20scrolling=%22no%22%20marginwidth=%220%22%20marginheight=%220%22%20frameborder=%220%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E" target="_blank">The Gift of Asher Lev</a></i> it is an emotional
wrenching. I know what will happen. It has not been a surprise since the first
time I read the book. Still, the tale is so engrossing and the characters so
compelling that I cannot help but get caught up in the story. This is why I
often suggest these books to people. For artists, they are essential, but for
others, they are simply gripping fictional tales.<!--EndFragment-->
</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20src=%22http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=tyseyonar-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1400031044%22%20style=%22width:120px;height:240px;%22%20scrolling=%22no%22%20marginwidth=%220%22%20marginheight=%220%22%20frameborder=%220%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E" target="_blank">My Name is Asher Lev</a></i>, by Chaim Potok, Anchor Publishing, Reprint edition (2003)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20src=%22http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=tyseyonar-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0449001156%22%20style=%22width:120px;height:240px;%22%20scrolling=%22no%22%20marginwidth=%220%22%20marginheight=%220%22%20frameborder=%220%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E" target="_blank">The Gift of Asher Lev</a></i>, by Chaim Potok, Fawcett Books, First Ballantine Books (1997)</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-12902208764336946402012-07-15T15:49:00.000-04:002013-01-23T19:19:32.949-05:00The Eyes Have It<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlO4w81MzPBghDCtXG3tlXFC8zV02k5MP5sA4Hu8pkGBwk3axMgJO8wSmvZkRTXAGVihc1a8-L2HTReDWnQYDjqZJpMx4ImvKsfG-U_b1FZ5XM4BQFcZ4bYpa7mr4jnaZu_heWZI-5CBQW/s1600/Eyes1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlO4w81MzPBghDCtXG3tlXFC8zV02k5MP5sA4Hu8pkGBwk3axMgJO8wSmvZkRTXAGVihc1a8-L2HTReDWnQYDjqZJpMx4ImvKsfG-U_b1FZ5XM4BQFcZ4bYpa7mr4jnaZu_heWZI-5CBQW/s400/Eyes1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes art makes us uncomfortable, or rather it should
make us uncomfortable. I recognize that this flies in the face of popular
concepts of art consumption. When many people consider “decorating” their homes
with art they gravitate toward the tranquil, peaceful, and beautiful. If the
work matches the sofa all the better. I have no problem with considerations of
color palette. The work in my living room actually matches the furniture, too.
We are bound to be attracted to specific color combinations. That, however, is
not my main point.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a time and place for beauty, but that is not the
only purpose of art in the twenty-first century. Art has a forcefulness to it
and to neglect that power is to push it into the background—to make it
wallpaper. Some art, even that placed in the sanctuaries of our homes, should
cause us to pause and consider the deeper aspects of life.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Art that deviates from the beautiful or
causes us to consider the great questions of life may not be what everyone
wants in his or her bedroom, but it does have a place in the home. This kind of
imagery works on us over time. It forms and informs us in subtle ways. If that
work is not within our living spaces, but only in museums, then it does not
fulfill its purpose. It does not reach its potential.<!--EndFragment-->
</span><br />
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</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfn6cePIiqKEAt738nTUZdo_FJdA8_jY-92hd4bQEih-QvqzggLg9WInYeF7hEv4rmc-Z6JfQiVHRlEIYyqsFHouDcMj9aTQ5gfMxmlSZ9AYpKZf0uLhhCstzkwm9EjyasQUCkgzmGcxt/s1600/Eyes2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfn6cePIiqKEAt738nTUZdo_FJdA8_jY-92hd4bQEih-QvqzggLg9WInYeF7hEv4rmc-Z6JfQiVHRlEIYyqsFHouDcMj9aTQ5gfMxmlSZ9AYpKZf0uLhhCstzkwm9EjyasQUCkgzmGcxt/s400/Eyes2.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">With all this in mind, I recently obtained several sets of
antique doll eyes (pictured here). These are the type of eyes that close when
<i>Betsy Wetsy</i> is placed on her back for naptime. The lead weights dangling from
the bottom of the pairs of eyes causes them to pivot inside a doll’s head. The
first time I came across some of these was at a summer art workshop. A friend
had some reserved for an assemblage project. I was fascinated at once.</span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">They are creepy. I will not deny that. Any time we find eyes
loosely roaming outside of a head it is creepy. The fact that some of these
sets are missing one eye and that I have other eyeballs rolling around that are
not even connected to these sets makes them even creepier. I purposely
photographed them on the crushed red velvet because it adds a bloody element
that is even more disturbing. Maybe not what you want to see when you first
awake in the morning, but the unsettling quality can be beneficial.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The idea of using these eyes has been gestating within me
for about six years. Even before I purchased some of them I was writing notes
about their “artful purpose” within my sketchbooks. Once I had them in hand I
started making sketches for the altarpiece construction for which I envisioned
them. A few days after I made these initial sketches I found some old notes in
another place in my sketchbook and found that the combination of objects and
imagery I had been sketching was something I had already been thinking about
much earlier, though I had forgotten.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As is normal for postings like this, I’m not going to
divulge too much more information about what I plan to do. However, I am going to
share that these eyes will be used alongside a type of book page—a form of
text—that I have not previously utilized. Gospel pages from a Braille Bible.
Okay, now I’m ruining the suspense. Keep checking back for future details.</span></div>
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</span>Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-56187814698809044532012-06-20T18:14:00.000-04:002013-01-23T19:20:42.743-05:00Blasphemy: Art That Offends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qsZw5T50WP-Xa9-LQWdtXE97ADyVJEf7vRhEN83pKEFZp9z211SgmXR_fu0dftRF3WINvt9q6B94jlM2rwctjzkVxa4F50yqVv74e2X72nkzgiOHNlQ8S8RHdT4kFsW19NG0Xkcv60zK/s1600/blasphemy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qsZw5T50WP-Xa9-LQWdtXE97ADyVJEf7vRhEN83pKEFZp9z211SgmXR_fu0dftRF3WINvt9q6B94jlM2rwctjzkVxa4F50yqVv74e2X72nkzgiOHNlQ8S8RHdT4kFsW19NG0Xkcv60zK/s400/blasphemy.jpg" width="283" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have occasionally heard people state that the older one
gets the more each person tends to be like him or herself. In other words, our
natural tendencies and inclinations seem to be enhanced with age. Some people,
for instance, become more laid back, while others complain about the slightest
inconvenience. I have found that it takes much more to offend my sensibilities
than it ever used to. I may find comments or images distasteful, but they
rarely agitate me to the point of being personally offended.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I imagine most of my ambivalence comes from having viewed so
much artwork that was produced to make comment on one thing or another,
typically through provocation directed at one specific subset or group. A major
component of artwork over the past century or so has been to cause offense
through explicit, suggestive, disgusting, blasphemous, or otherwise shocking
imagery. So much so, in fact, that little surprises me anymore. A brief
examination of offensive imagery is considered in S. Brent Plate’s book <i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1904772536/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tyseyonar-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1904772536%22%3EBlasphemy:%20Art%20That%20Offends%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tyseyonar-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1904772536%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E">Blasphemy: Art that Offends</a></i><span style="font-style: normal;">.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The book cover, itself, sets out to let the reader know that
the fodder of the American culture wars is going to be a major theme. Mauricio
Cattelan’s <i>La Nona Ora</i><span style="font-style: normal;">—a fully three
dimensional, life-sized image of Pope John Paul II being struck down by an
errant meteorite while leading a liturgical procession—portrays a recognizable
figure and automatically raises questions. While this is not a work generally
known to the American public, it produces the desired effect. Andres Serrano’s </span><i>Piss
Christ</i><span style="font-style: normal;">—also discussed in the book—would
seem a more logical choice for cover art. However, while many people have heard
about that work, far fewer know what it looks like. And the actual artwork is
quite aesthetically pleasing, so it would not draw the same attention on a
bookshelf as the Cattelan image.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the two works mentioned tend to offend the
sensibilities of some within the Christian faith, that is only one segment of
society that the author considers. Jewish and Muslim traditions of blasphemy
are equally analyzed. And though these three religious traditions tend to
consume the greatest portion of the text, the author actually extends the
conversation into some additional areas that round off the discussion in a
helpful way. Blasphemy, we find, is not as clear cut as one might initially
imagine.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Brent Plate begins the analysis by stating that the term <i>Blasphemy</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> has been around for a few thousand years and that it
has been leveled against various, images, texts, and activities. The three
Abrahamic faiths have also used the term in many different ways that have
evolved over time. Therefore, it is too slippery a term in the first place and
he prefers to narrow it to the context of the sacred and profane. Of course,
those terms have also evolved in a way that causes us to designate only a
limited amount of things as profane. Essentially, though, these are anything in
life not immediately termed as “holy.” And that is nearly everything.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Additionally, Plate considers that blasphemy has
traditionally been used to describe offensive speech or writing, though we now
sometimes hear it in connection to images, too. The author’s analysis of this term within the judicial realm
gives insight into our current usage or misusage of the term. This connection
to court systems also alludes to Plate’s later examination of the strange
bedfellows of religious and political systems within this discussion.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The final chapter considers how patriotic tendencies are
often aligned with religious ones. The use of flags, for instance, can cause an
equal uproar as the use of religious imagery—often by the same factions.
Particularly in American society, discussions of freedom of expression and
speech blur in and out of the confines of church and state. So, for some, an
offense against the flag is both an offense against the nation and God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1904772536/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tyseyonar-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1904772536%22%3EBlasphemy:%20Art%20That%20Offends%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tyseyonar-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1904772536%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E">Blasphemy: Art that Offends</a></i> does not give definitive answers on any front. It
does, however, propose some pertinent questions to the reader. It should be
noted that while Plate (and myself) do not find the images within this book
particularly blasphemous, those who are easily offended by images that touch on
aspects of religion, sexuality, and patriotism will likely take some offense.
The text of the book, however, provides some vital discussion that assists any
open reader in finding out just why he or she is offended by the imagery. That
is the great achievement of this book.
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1904772536/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tyseyonar-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1904772536%22%3EBlasphemy:%20Art%20That%20Offends%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tyseyonar-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1904772536%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E">Blasphemy: Art That Offends</a></b></i><b>, S. Brent Plate, Black Dog Publishing, 2006</b></span>Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-69183800717345807362012-06-10T11:59:00.000-04:002012-06-10T11:59:36.375-04:00Pipe Down!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhDpmSoCUWdyud6QrXJrV-NNtLLQc8hb90N3X2XFU7kMEP8GYuH4WGuInonE2dnNFc3gHkcJWnzwK2qEpP6qZJ9xKQ3-k6ooK11ZhpNJaQ_U7GKwOO3mKC6Y1gE9Pe_IhP5Suv3zOHyo7/s1600/OrganPipes1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhDpmSoCUWdyud6QrXJrV-NNtLLQc8hb90N3X2XFU7kMEP8GYuH4WGuInonE2dnNFc3gHkcJWnzwK2qEpP6qZJ9xKQ3-k6ooK11ZhpNJaQ_U7GKwOO3mKC6Y1gE9Pe_IhP5Suv3zOHyo7/s400/OrganPipes1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each individual artist works at his or her unique pace. I
have some artist friends who are so prolific that I still cannot comprehend how
they complete so much work. Other artists may only complete a dozen or so works
in a year. That can sometimes mimic the quantity of my own output, though that
has more to do with teaching nine months or more during each year. And some
artists who work full-time on their art are simply just methodical and
thoughtful craftsmen, so their output can be nothing other than minimal.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because I work in a variety of media, some pieces naturally
take longer than others. I have stated previously that the <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/search/label/Altarpiece%20Constructions">altarpiece constructions</a> tend to be multi-year projects. There are several reasons for
that. The actual construction of the boxes takes some time, followed by many
additional steps in the finishing process of the exteriors. The painting
portions take some time, too. Additionally, there are years of “fermentation”
time during which I think about the form, imagery, and objects that will
compose these works. The complexity of the work dictates this kind of extended
timetable.</span></div>
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</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few years ago I first mentioned that I had rescued <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2009/06/tickling-ivories-or-plastics.html">two keyboards</a> from an old, discarded organ. I had not yet decided how I was going
to utilize them. In the intervening years I have worked on various sketches and
changed my mind numerous times. Early on I had decided that this piece was
going to look somewhat like a pipe organ. Just how I was going to achieve that
look was uncertain.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmSoOmZ7POczbIyh9k_fstsTcn6C5D_7OSHo0Yz1q44O1BHVOyAOauIylfIu89OOPWaE5KmrK5ZXgdmt92C5icRseLEyFj91yX9_S9oaGboGH6w3xd0cfHbYHKywlj3pcSmPSE7658ToJ/s1600/OrganPipes2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmSoOmZ7POczbIyh9k_fstsTcn6C5D_7OSHo0Yz1q44O1BHVOyAOauIylfIu89OOPWaE5KmrK5ZXgdmt92C5icRseLEyFj91yX9_S9oaGboGH6w3xd0cfHbYHKywlj3pcSmPSE7658ToJ/s400/OrganPipes2.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I regularly spend many hours wandering the aisles of home improvement
stores, considering how I might use materials in ways that are typically
dissimilar from their intended purposes. While doing this, I worked through a
few different concepts for the pipes for the “organ” project. For part of the
time I considered using metal pipes. There were various types of metal pipes
that I considered, but they all seemed too heavy. Then I thought about using
PVC pipe, applying gold leafing so it would appear to be metal. That solved the
weight problem but the time investment seemed a bit burdensome.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eventually, I returned to the core of my original concept. I
wanted this to look like a pipe organ, but finding actual organ pipes was going
to be difficult. Then I thought of one of my favorite places to find
inspiration—eBay. There were often pipes available there but most were full
sets from old organs and they cost many thousands of dollars. They were also
far larger than what I intended to use. It took a few months, but I finally did
find some small sets of pipes that were perfect for my design.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One change, that I had not previously been considering, was
the use of wooden pipes. I found some small wooden pipes and then some other,
larger ones. The small ones were just the size I had been searching for. The
larger ones, I decided, could be used more structurally within the piece; more
as a decorative embellishment. However, I still wanted to use some metal pipes.
Those were elusive. But I did manage to track down a set that fits perfectly
with the smaller wooden pipes.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes I am willing to make slightly larger purchases for
materials, for the sake of the artwork. This piece needed the authenticity of
the actual organ pipes. They are, however, only one portion of this much larger
project. I expect this construction will be far larger than any previous altarpiece works I have completed or
designed. The pipes and keyboards are just a couple portions of a much greater
scheme. I look forward to sharing more of the process as I begin constructing
the work later this year.</span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-6280044661867162352012-05-23T17:38:00.001-04:002012-05-23T17:38:03.180-04:00The Gardner Heist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBv1IPqUasr1wek1EnyziXX0frcr_DcUrViahp0wAGYwYVZZG8wVgjm8oLjG5sUWIOdvbBkbvdfsTv8j1m8lLtPf0i5TmqjTX0Jfd0XqkrDCEGnZuiDKxX_0HeanKSTbiS-y574cfz5id/s1600/GardnerHeist.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBv1IPqUasr1wek1EnyziXX0frcr_DcUrViahp0wAGYwYVZZG8wVgjm8oLjG5sUWIOdvbBkbvdfsTv8j1m8lLtPf0i5TmqjTX0Jfd0XqkrDCEGnZuiDKxX_0HeanKSTbiS-y574cfz5id/s200/GardnerHeist.jpeg" width="132" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prior to living outside of Boston I knew very little about
the city and its rich history. Certainly, there were the vague generalities
gleaned from junior high American history courses. Most Americans recall
phrases like </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lexington and Concord</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bunker
Hill</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, the </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">shot heard ‘round the
world</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, and the </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">midnight ride of
Paul Revere</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. I actually did know a bit
about the <a href="http://www.mfa.org/">Boston Museum of Fine Arts</a>, but my knowledge of the art scene in the
city was lacking. I was mostly aware of the MFA’s collection of John Singleton
Copley works which I had discussed while teaching an American Art History
course.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even after I was living in Massachusetts for a year or so I was
still unfamiliar with another treasured landmark—the </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.gardnermuseum.org/">Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum</a></span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. I had heard from friends
and acquaintances that it had a superb collection and that it had been the
victim of an infamous art theft, but I had not made the time to visit. So, my
first visit was with a friend from the <a href="http://theadventboston.org/">Church of the Advent</a>. I had heard tales
about the museum and its namesake from people who worshipped at that church.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhNIll4ZHfO59RlYOs8BZGMvKc9S9Lb8y4F-A81NCSO3_NVEWu-xBMnDKDu1WyEPCSW27D8ZHnBtUYDXA7VBB52rDSZZPiy5U-d_IZqwx7GKACcnPfXxqeGkIvROPnRcJpHYQnj_9eZWY/s1600/AdventReredos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhNIll4ZHfO59RlYOs8BZGMvKc9S9Lb8y4F-A81NCSO3_NVEWu-xBMnDKDu1WyEPCSW27D8ZHnBtUYDXA7VBB52rDSZZPiy5U-d_IZqwx7GKACcnPfXxqeGkIvROPnRcJpHYQnj_9eZWY/s320/AdventReredos.jpg" width="296" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I attended the Church of the Advent for three years. At each
mass I was entranced by the extensive neo-gothic stone <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reredos">reredos</a> that graces the
back wall of the chancel. I was told that Mrs. Gardner had actually gifted that
item to the church. She had attended there in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries. A rather peculiar individual, Gardner is said to have
scrubbed the steps of the chancel by hand—on her knees on Good Friday—as a form
of personal penance. Her will stipulated that a requiem mass be said for her
there each year around the middle of April. It was possibly these stories of a
famous former parishioner that led me to my first visit to the museum.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That visit also led me to eventually pick up the 2009 book—</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061451843/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tyseyonar-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0061451843%22%3EThe%20Gardner%20Heist:%20The%20True%20Story%20of%20the%20World's%20Largest%20Unsolved%20Art%20Theft%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tyseyonar-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0061451843%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E">The Gardner Heist</a></span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">—that examines the
multifaceted art theft. This remains the most infamous art heist on record and
Ulrich Boser provides an enthralling account of the tangled web—or rather,
endless cocoon—that surrounds the mystery.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is something in this book to engage nearly any reader.
A reader need not know anything about Mrs. Gardner, her museum, or art in general.
Boser initially approached his writing somewhat distant from all these. The
reader becomes enveloped in the tale just as the writer became subsumed by the
mystery. Boser had never intended to be so personally invested in the theft,
yet he was compelled.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The tale begins like a scene from a movie. Using the details
given by witnesses, and from the author’s countless interviews over several
years, he paints a vivid image of the night of the museum robbery. The reader
is already invested in the story by this point. The author then proceeds to
unravel the tale, from every imaginable vantage point.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Boser, first, details how he was infected with an
unrelenting fever that kept him chasing every lead in the case. The author
initially met Harold Smith, a renowned art robbery detective, in early 2005.
His goal was to research the story of the Gardner heist for a writing project.
Smith has solved several major thefts in the past. However, the Gardner theft
had remained unsolved for a decade and a half by that point. It was no small
job as the thieves had taken a Vermeer, a Manet and two Rembrandt paintings. It
was always just out of Smith’s reach. Within a year the detective was dead and
the mystery was still not solved.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After all those years, chasing down all those leads, Boser
decided to continue tracking down the art himself. Through that journey he
provides us with detailed accounts of all the major figures. Gardner herself is
considered. We learn of the wealthy eccentric and her passion for collecting
art. We discover some history of the museum and the lax policies that allowed
the robbery to happen, along with Gardner’s own stipulation that the works
remain in the places she left them upon her death. This last tidbit provides an
ever present reminder for the museum staff that part of their precious treasury
is still missing. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From there the paths spread out across Boston, North
America, and around the globe. Boser moves from one Boston underworld figure to
the next. Each seems a likely suspect. Even when discounted for one reason or
another, the author second guesses the mobsters’ involvement. At one point the
infamous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitey_Bulger">James “Whitey” Bulger</a> is even implicated. This was before his recent
arrest. Bulger had been on the FBI most wanted list for some time, but stealing
artwork was minor on the list of charges.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Boston underworld connections take the
author to the British Isles. Some informants suggest that the IRA was connected
to the missing paintings; that they may possibly be stored in Ireland. Near
this part of the story Boser evaluates his own involvement in the long tale of
the missing paintings. He brings the book to a close, leaving the reader still
examining the possible leads not yet resolved. And it is this lack of
resolution that actually makes the book so intriguing. The reader does not feel left in the lurch. The mystery remains and
the reader is still considering the heist, waiting for the eventual return
of the paintings.</span></span>
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</span><br />
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<b><i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061451843/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tyseyonar-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0061451843%22%3EThe%20Gardner%20Heist:%20The%20True%20Story%20of%20the%20World's%20Largest%20Unsolved%20Art%20Theft%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tyseyonar-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0061451843%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E">The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World’s Largest Unsolved Art Theft</a>,</i><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Ulrich Boser, Smithsonian Books, 2009<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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</span>Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-18115601959163410092012-05-13T12:15:00.001-04:002012-06-24T13:18:38.853-04:00Creation through Destruction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_INaqbGLsjJnmdSZRltKNCYELSuDiXsIJ_kg8ol9p3H-7m-fvpLEh8iuL5EphufffQsAZZ8bn_ZUML51E7xxuvrvpQp5q8Z4Ep7f5-wlsPR-YvLJMVe6zcL62-oZCVidhNlNYhLvwiRF/s1600/OneFlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_INaqbGLsjJnmdSZRltKNCYELSuDiXsIJ_kg8ol9p3H-7m-fvpLEh8iuL5EphufffQsAZZ8bn_ZUML51E7xxuvrvpQp5q8Z4Ep7f5-wlsPR-YvLJMVe6zcL62-oZCVidhNlNYhLvwiRF/s320/OneFlock.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>
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There is something quite intriguing to me about the
processes of our creative endeavors. While viewers of artwork are immediately
taken by the object or image that is ultimately presented before their eyes,
artists have more opportunity to consider the creative process in relation to
and separate from the artwork itself. As with many other activities of our
daily existence, we can make some analogies to the deeper questions of life
when we examine art in this way.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">That seamless connection between the art
object and its creation was ramped up during the mid-twentieth century when
artists from the Abstract Expressionist movement joined psychological and
philosophical ideologies to consider the prominence of the “act” in the making of
art. The existentialist concept that “being is doing” pervaded some of that
work, such as in the action paintings of Jackson Pollock.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xsGQ0To14nOGLCH5K2vZFToKJuzkZnVi87M8pXqP6w-fLxySDNs9VCByFaPNcgqUQqyfeoq2R9XRY2E1YVoCpK3PNHGZUMUlGZFqLZzRIV0nnDYPqydCJEaaCYiirW0GluIUNFeS6t2N/s1600/IntoYourHands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xsGQ0To14nOGLCH5K2vZFToKJuzkZnVi87M8pXqP6w-fLxySDNs9VCByFaPNcgqUQqyfeoq2R9XRY2E1YVoCpK3PNHGZUMUlGZFqLZzRIV0nnDYPqydCJEaaCYiirW0GluIUNFeS6t2N/s200/IntoYourHands.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
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Still, the conceptual analogy of the art making process goes
back even further. Pablo Picasso, though still often misunderstood among the
wider population, was even seen by the conservative art establishment of his
day as destroying the foundations of art. Yes, he and Georges Braque did pull
apart the picture plane, but he did other things that were equally
“destructive.” One of his unique additions to art production was the process of
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduction_print">reduction relief printing</a>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">For centuries prior, there had been woodcut
prints composed of multiple colors, printed from multiple blocks. Picasso’s new
twist on this process was to use only one block to print multiple colors. In
order to accomplish this he had to basically destroy the linoleum block to
create his final image.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgP-R6lzJzsCw314lQw_uy2IDc3inqL0de6n772iOlV57PsQ6VrLXTQctbUvZKVnOEtBazqwcHenFG3iby2vTdT5Wk1djEaXToul0EAu-3sBcTbLZl1rFXxKR_4bnVsvBC2coaHK66mb3w/s1600/AwayFramFlockColors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgP-R6lzJzsCw314lQw_uy2IDc3inqL0de6n772iOlV57PsQ6VrLXTQctbUvZKVnOEtBazqwcHenFG3iby2vTdT5Wk1djEaXToul0EAu-3sBcTbLZl1rFXxKR_4bnVsvBC2coaHK66mb3w/s640/AwayFramFlockColors.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The small linoleum prints shared here utilize the same
process. I printed some extra images outside of the editions in order to show
the process more clearly. This allows viewers to see just what is cut away at
each stage. Very little was cut away from each block before the first colors
were printed. Those carved areas reveal the bright white highlights. The next
area carved then reveals the first color printed and down on the line, through
the fifth color.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwtz3fHzsQ17hGBRJAZQDTkI-zX1AvXCus-b_HoGc0uh8sZmQFlB-pcKynREJas2kLTd04B8U2TroqI5pwaduL8uZ_OvQ5qeLF_0hRfWFhHjtS-2XkuHCYgLtRI6fbiHFnzYhHgOeRwjY/s1600/AwayFromTheFlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwtz3fHzsQ17hGBRJAZQDTkI-zX1AvXCus-b_HoGc0uh8sZmQFlB-pcKynREJas2kLTd04B8U2TroqI5pwaduL8uZ_OvQ5qeLF_0hRfWFhHjtS-2XkuHCYgLtRI6fbiHFnzYhHgOeRwjY/s320/AwayFromTheFlock.jpg" width="312" /></a> <style>
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This process ensures that there will never be additional
images printed. There can only ever be a maximum of the images printed from the
first state of the linoleum block, as the second carving of the block destroys
the information available from the first carving. Each additional carving and printing removes more of the
block until the only remaining information is what is left from the final
carving. The registration of the colors in the process is usually quite exact
because it is all from the same block, yet there are bound to be some mistakes
in registration. Therefore, the artist usually ends up with even fewer prints
than the number printed from the initial carving.</div>
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Confusing? A little. That is one of the reasons I printed
the various stages of the process for my students. They typically cannot
conceive of what I am explaining to them until after they have done the whole
process at least once. Reduction printing cannot produce exactly the same
results that multiple block printings do, but it is a useful and sometimes
beautiful process.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9GRZLBsZnO1VXeJa63WYBGhBcpcQHceuos-HlEGQ6XLd5vXD-qiFA0O_SPGdiTgyNF0rO2OBjEBOmNS5el8cXHyhuu0duGoFEUM5aUwDPrHV8NIjixeA8m6UoxHhrOC5yw0YDkGi5rLC/s1600/Forsaken_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9GRZLBsZnO1VXeJa63WYBGhBcpcQHceuos-HlEGQ6XLd5vXD-qiFA0O_SPGdiTgyNF0rO2OBjEBOmNS5el8cXHyhuu0duGoFEUM5aUwDPrHV8NIjixeA8m6UoxHhrOC5yw0YDkGi5rLC/s320/Forsaken_.jpg" width="316" /></a> <style>
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This concept of creation—and even beauty—from destruction is
the concept that most intrigues me with this process. Just as we see in nature,
in processes like the death of the seed that creates a new plant, we find
elements of this idea in many world religions. Some Eastern deities represent
both the creative and destructive forces simultaneously. Related to these
piece, obviously, is the idea of the suffering and death of Christ in order to
gain redemption and eternal life for humanity. When artwork can remind us of
these ideas by its very processes, and not simply through its imagery, it is a
complex and wonderful thing.</div>
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<br />Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-76098825855945000872012-03-12T18:22:00.001-04:002012-03-12T18:24:28.781-04:00Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrPbTr6oTfTk1JfuxBOkOlXj47IJ7JS-YQwBG4UAmbAnpzwQ6G-P-5cYMiDgrmUeUsCvwe7Wq19gvg9MrqnyzvPZhUeEN7EJm8ajUfdguAawsrBAqYjkcaXUbLPynteZ4dzXWPgUJ9-ff/s1600/Sketch%231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrPbTr6oTfTk1JfuxBOkOlXj47IJ7JS-YQwBG4UAmbAnpzwQ6G-P-5cYMiDgrmUeUsCvwe7Wq19gvg9MrqnyzvPZhUeEN7EJm8ajUfdguAawsrBAqYjkcaXUbLPynteZ4dzXWPgUJ9-ff/s400/Sketch%231.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a significant absence, I have returned to the blogosphere. Thank you to those who have been followers of this blog and who have voiced their interest and comments about the subjects discussed. I do intend to keep up with the entries on a more regular basis, though, if I have to forego something, writing about artwork—mine or that of someone else—is likely to be on the chopping block before actually creating artwork.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have <a href="hhttp://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2011/03/building-character.html">stated at various times</a> that the process of creating my altarpiece constructions is quite lengthy. The initial ideas and sketches typically come several years before the finished products. Sometimes that is because I am <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2010/04/karma-chameleon.html">searching for very specific elements and objects</a> to place within the works. It also takes some time to build and age the physical structures. The piece shown here was mostly constructed in the summer of 2011. However, the very first sketches for this work were likely produced in 2003 or 2004. My memory on that is a bit hazy. I tend not to date sketches because I will work on them again and again over several years.</span> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlLWiGqub7LEkSvOVk_pjNHP3SSRdDB-OhQRBGKQwbQbpaeBK1X3PvUzDbLIN2UqJKpFjU_UzSnxS1lkI_M_XR9K4Dy26hZxF35SBy536UVUmiCWujn5p_dov5s0NI-sDioqq_kQFFQpC/s1600/Sketch%232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlLWiGqub7LEkSvOVk_pjNHP3SSRdDB-OhQRBGKQwbQbpaeBK1X3PvUzDbLIN2UqJKpFjU_UzSnxS1lkI_M_XR9K4Dy26hZxF35SBy536UVUmiCWujn5p_dov5s0NI-sDioqq_kQFFQpC/s400/Sketch%232.jpg" width="370" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Within these sketches the progression of the concept is seen. I do know that this work came about from the acquisition of several pieces from an antique store in New Hampshire. The first sketch shows some specific elements, most obviously the small electric fan on the top. At that stage, I intended to place some sculptural wings along the top, as well. I never did find any wings that would be appropriate. Eventually, I happened upon a set of porcelain dove salt and pepper shakers at another antique store somewhere near Washington DC, while visiting a friend. They became an alternate solution for the wings.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two sketches appear next to each other in the second example—these are even in a different sketchbook as the first one had already been filled. The first image subtracts the wings and includes only one of the doves. The sketch below it has included both doves and some additional, new elements. One is an antique military-issued gas mask. Another is two metal acanthus leaf finials of some sort. Those finials were in a box of “junk” that I picked up at a flea market in Massachusetts at least a year or two later. They were not even what I actually wanted in that box of objects, yet I found a use for them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The evolution of this work was slow. Still, the fan remained as kind of a crown on the top of the piece. Even while the work was being built that was the intention. When I was recently gearing up to work on the piece again, finishing off the trim and all the gold leafing and aging, I decided the placement of the fan on the top was just too much. A sketch, after all, is still distinctly different from a physical, three dimensional thing. Proportionally it did not seem right. The entire work was too tall and the fan seemed spindly in that spot. The fan was, however, an integral element from the conception of this piece.</span> </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8reao6gkNuQJLYX0Xh_Bfq2XNwnp32omZ-vEI_UmGWmeDFfMUgbrPS24WJgXMryodJxcnnUv-wtiYK15Uz_oaXJWeKBjhyqmSljyPh_ALUv4dwvXXhZKp0aC9I8BIHBQcXQ3JbgI2VABY/s1600/Aldersgate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8reao6gkNuQJLYX0Xh_Bfq2XNwnp32omZ-vEI_UmGWmeDFfMUgbrPS24WJgXMryodJxcnnUv-wtiYK15Uz_oaXJWeKBjhyqmSljyPh_ALUv4dwvXXhZKp0aC9I8BIHBQcXQ3JbgI2VABY/s400/Aldersgate.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recognized that the fan could fit inside the uppermost section and would still operate as a type of oculus for the work. This did require that I shift some of the remaining elements into some other areas and boxes in the piece, but the new solution was much more satisfying. The altarpiece is now ready for the final painting stage and should be finished within the next couple months. That means that it will be nearly a ten year endeavor. That may seem too long for some artists. For a work like this it is just the right amount of time. These pieces need to evolve and change over time. The nuances that are manifested over the creation of the pieces also work on the viewer over longer periods of time. The works are not static, but reveal more with each additional viewing.</span></div></span>Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-46255425782137826412011-06-06T22:26:00.000-04:002011-06-06T22:26:20.910-04:00Discounted Transformations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxAuR3b-EiaPgNGyzRS8U1s1Wdizf_qDmLdI5i73zTuKC8e8514ZqMn5JL4UgGqfvujH3xh5jba94IR64IIt-kgqXEaF_VZ7gg4TydqQBtgFbDNKSJOZKA5NYHQqJpHMYsFiEfFYvTW0VO/s1600/NewAltar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxAuR3b-EiaPgNGyzRS8U1s1Wdizf_qDmLdI5i73zTuKC8e8514ZqMn5JL4UgGqfvujH3xh5jba94IR64IIt-kgqXEaF_VZ7gg4TydqQBtgFbDNKSJOZKA5NYHQqJpHMYsFiEfFYvTW0VO/s400/NewAltar.jpg" t8="true" width="261px" /></a></div>One of the sources of inspiration for my newer altarpiece constructions is visits to antique stores and junk shops. Since I have lived in various areas of the U.S. I have come to understand that what people believe to be “antique” in some places is considered junk in others. I will not pay top dollar for junk. I find that <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2009/11/travels-along-road-of-life.html">picking up trash from the side of the road</a> is much more economical. You tend to get the same things for free, but with added character.<br />
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I do purchase some items cheaply at <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2009/05/to-end-at-beginning.html">antique stores</a>. For instance, the ceramic dove salt and pepper shakers, that I covered in gold leaf for one of my current projects, were perfect additions to that piece. They were inexpensive, too. Still, there is another type of place that I sometimes frequent to find the odd object to include in an altarpiece—discount stores. TJ Maxx and Marshall’s have been particularly helpful. Other stores that carry home decorations are also great. The resin or plastic items often found at those stores can be particularly interesting. <br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I do not recall where I picked up the resin shelf pictured here, but it turned out to be just the thing I needed to top off one particular work. I had been stumped on how to complete a work whose design had evolved several times and this turned out to be the perfect solution. However, I realized that turning the piece upside down was the best use for my particular needs.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9PX6eqx9gGzLhSyT3y6RHrVJQg-e_R5hjLZLLbz_rV-UmPgvrDZsUdJOdwwu7r_z45npM_hfj_-utKdGMR-s-BzdNMv3ipQHkB5ign30P0OxCxjlIOTSsK3X31hkcEwC6GGZxCBY1hW4/s1600/RedBase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9PX6eqx9gGzLhSyT3y6RHrVJQg-e_R5hjLZLLbz_rV-UmPgvrDZsUdJOdwwu7r_z45npM_hfj_-utKdGMR-s-BzdNMv3ipQHkB5ign30P0OxCxjlIOTSsK3X31hkcEwC6GGZxCBY1hW4/s400/RedBase.jpg" t8="true" width="400px" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The next alteration was designated for the finish of the piece. Though the patina of the shelf looked like aged metal, I knew that it would not complement the other surfaces of the piece, so I would need to change it. The photographs here show the process of changing the surface. I have written at other times about adding gold leaf to objects, but this will actually show the individual stages.</div><br />
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The surface of the object was first prepared by lightly sanding. Paint adheres best when the surface is slightly roughened. The entire surface was then covered with a deep red acrylic paint. I usually have to apply the paint in several steps since some sections need to dry before I can flip the object over and paint other areas. The traditional color of the undercoating for gold leaf is slightly more brown, but I like the contrast that comes from this more intense red, especially in the instances when I age the leafing. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYTEVj2NbwR3jP0OT03hV9hwx9lW67q2XOvNM5Orh3H-KJXjjYr6R24UH6P8aBsVuicZbJKZUXvJsBkmhOGZNNr4_ZW1GZsdtyRA7Zot1LxW7AXVysr6j-Tk3FgXzCJCVSf8fFniQtICO/s1600/SizingImage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYTEVj2NbwR3jP0OT03hV9hwx9lW67q2XOvNM5Orh3H-KJXjjYr6R24UH6P8aBsVuicZbJKZUXvJsBkmhOGZNNr4_ZW1GZsdtyRA7Zot1LxW7AXVysr6j-Tk3FgXzCJCVSf8fFniQtICO/s400/SizingImage.jpg" t8="true" width="400px" /></a></div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Next, the surface is covered with an adhesive. It is brushed on as a milky white liquid, but dries to a glossy clear, sticky surface. Again, this has to be applied in stages since the adhesive will either stick to my hands or anything else if the whole surface is covered at once. In the meantime, the gold leaf is applied to the dried adhesive layer. Adhesive and leafing layer s are alternated until the entire object is covered.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The final steps are dependent on whether or not I want the object to be a shiny, pristine gold, or whether I want an aged and worn surface. For this piece the surface needs to be aged. A liquid chemical aging agent is then brushed over the surface. It is actually produced to create a green patina on copper materials. I do not use real gold leaf for this very reason. I use brass leaf that mimics gold. It is not because of the cost of gold—though that can be particularly expensive. The inclusion of copper within brass allows the leaf to be aged in a similar way. Sometimes the leaf all but disappears, making an abstract design in which mostly the red underpainting shows through.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkwh0a5EBdUNOvFTIozERvWQGrbr9P8Nyb7y_rKmpwPuSwa-XPYvtzu0P-iuaMobNUvFXEMMZBVSuC7AWomWCstyt6vJ05kx3orT8mQ95024axVebIuhIz5b7QeoPFlCzeHDwAaltbc1b/s1600/Leafing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkwh0a5EBdUNOvFTIozERvWQGrbr9P8Nyb7y_rKmpwPuSwa-XPYvtzu0P-iuaMobNUvFXEMMZBVSuC7AWomWCstyt6vJ05kx3orT8mQ95024axVebIuhIz5b7QeoPFlCzeHDwAaltbc1b/s400/Leafing.jpg" t8="true" width="400px" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The final stage of the process is the application of a final layer of polymer clear coat. This protects the gold surface from mars or scratches. It also keeps the brass leaf from changing. If it is needs to be kept pristine, it will be kept from any green oxidation. If it has already been aged then the oxidation is fixed at that point. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
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</div>Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-31298794697659330232011-05-05T13:08:00.000-04:002011-05-05T13:08:44.367-04:00Still Sorrowful: Passion in Venice at MOBIA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDncQ2ImFU3uGb0aO_fNLRvzSXYNCbM9ThLtLDLD5Mb1hHAB0JULzZvPeDcw5mYIGWGY-BdZ3_kYAHdigUqVGUdsYTpl5w9nzt4Qh89EI9CO8Q2dTCUFkOhPib6X-ALSOJSXiWdFEiEHm/s1600/ME0000104634_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDncQ2ImFU3uGb0aO_fNLRvzSXYNCbM9ThLtLDLD5Mb1hHAB0JULzZvPeDcw5mYIGWGY-BdZ3_kYAHdigUqVGUdsYTpl5w9nzt4Qh89EI9CO8Q2dTCUFkOhPib6X-ALSOJSXiWdFEiEHm/s400/ME0000104634_3.jpg" width="333" /></a></div><!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">The narrative of the evolution of Modern art was transformed as the 1960s ushered in a cultural change. Any ideas that pure abstraction was aligned with a utopian ideal that would help us transcend the ills of the world were put to rest. People have not changed over the millennia. There are still good deeds and evil deeds; we hurt each other and may cause immeasurable pain. And while some contemporary people—artists among them—like to believe that we have progressed beyond religion and its “mythologies,” there is no denying that these belief systems point to universal archetypes that have been devised to explain our existence.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of the most powerful images that crops up again and again is the sacrificial view of Jesus. While the concept of a figure sacrificing himself for the betterment of others is not reserved fully for Christianity, the unique image of the crucified Christ is so powerful that it is still inescapable within Modern and Contemporary art. All one needs to do is look at the work of Modernists during the mid-twentieth century to find that—even though <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">N</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ietzsche ha</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">d</span> pronounced God as dead—the figure of Christ suffering on the cross was still a potent symbol. It was used by believers and unbelievers alike.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The current exhibition at New York’s <a href="http://www.mobia.org/">Museum of Biblical Art</a> (MOBIA)—<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Passion-Venice-Sorrows-Bellini-Tintoretto/dp/1904832822?ie=UTF8&tag=tyseyonar-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Passion in Venice: Crivelli to Tintoretto and Veronese</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tyseyonar-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1904832822" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i><span style="font-style: normal;">—focuses not so much on the crucified Christ as the suffering Christ. The works in this exhibit range from the fourteenth to sixteenth century and were mainly created in Venice, Italy or the surrounding area. They are not the traditional Pieta’ images that one might associate with an artist like Michelangelo, but a subset that was born out of Venice’s connection to the Eastern church.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"> <o:p> </o:p></div><!--StartFragment--> <div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">This exhibition provides the best elements of a MOBIA show. Rare Bibles from MOBIA’s own collection are paired with works borrowed from other institutions in the city—The Morgan Library and Metropolitan Museum—and beyond—Italian institutions and the National Galleries of London and Washington DC. The curators pulled together an exceptional exhibition that considers not only master paintings but some processional and liturgical works. The consideration of Christ as the Man of Sorrows within the context of the Eucharist and other rituals of the Mass helps to explain why the image of the suffering Jesus, or Christ-like figure, is so enmeshed in our collective consciousness.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGDm7Lj6EJZMdQogWo1j8YnoINFU05IuE01xKwdm8PxmPX4AI73Gr6Hj_8c9_rqMl9tHcz0BflaUs8NFI8jKQJw8cMgpqJsr0kM9ytChwHQqfQzxFH0iEdKPGZ-39aNNALXPDi0K5vV0Y/s1600/passion-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGDm7Lj6EJZMdQogWo1j8YnoINFU05IuE01xKwdm8PxmPX4AI73Gr6Hj_8c9_rqMl9tHcz0BflaUs8NFI8jKQJw8cMgpqJsr0kM9ytChwHQqfQzxFH0iEdKPGZ-39aNNALXPDi0K5vV0Y/s400/passion-2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </div><div class="MsoNormal">One of the prize works from the exhibit, Carlo Crivelli’s <i>Dead Christ Supported by Two Angels</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, is typical of the minutely detailed work of this master. In this work, God truly is dead. Jesus is being laid in the tomb, supported by two infant angels. His flesh has been drained of all life and displays a rigidity. The wounds of his crucifixion are gaping and prominent. The grief of the angels, however, overshadows the figure of Christ. Their weeping eyes are sore and swollen from the tears. We feel the tragic state of all humanity.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A sixteenth century object within <i>Passion in Venice</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> is surely the most unique item in the entire exhibition. This small wooden sculptured head is considered a </span><i>Memento Mori</i><span style="font-style: normal;">—a remembrance of mortality. One side displays the face of Jesus with a crown of thorns. On the reverse side is a sculpted image of a skull. The skull is not only a reminder of our short lives on earth, but a symbol of the crucifixion itself. The mount on which Christ was crucified—Golgotha—was called the place of the skull. However, the most intriguing portion of this interactive work is the miniature Man of Sorrows that pops up from the interior. Christ rises from the tomb of death in an act of resurrection.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlWf65pNviuRPWQiXAdTSgS4Ky71GPKoH-YfMxG9NyIxYYWRRnDY1k92LIkBOg6btbyZclcE_ibRyHd2cmY7sNb8fak41uEyM6KpVjlCKCL6O5ZzVirdWEaN_Iizw5E5hyrkEye2tHKtbg/s1600/passion-5_thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlWf65pNviuRPWQiXAdTSgS4Ky71GPKoH-YfMxG9NyIxYYWRRnDY1k92LIkBOg6btbyZclcE_ibRyHd2cmY7sNb8fak41uEyM6KpVjlCKCL6O5ZzVirdWEaN_Iizw5E5hyrkEye2tHKtbg/s400/passion-5_thumb.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </div><div class="MsoNormal">One final contemporary addition to the exhibition is the video work entitled <i>Man of Sorrows</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, by artist <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2008/09/bill-viola-video-arts-role-in-museum.html">Bill Viola</a>. The essential difference between this work and others in the exhibit is the element of time. Viola manipulates time that we might sense the agony of this human sorrow. The male figure—not a Christ figure—slowly sways from side to side. His mouth and eyes open and close in agony. We can share in his emotion. Though Viola is influenced by Christian mysticism, his interests in Hindu and Buddhist practices have also formed his aesthetic. This work, from a series entitled </span><i>The Passions</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, shows that the core concepts of ancient Christian works remain potent symbols for us today.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The breadth and diversity of objects in this exhibition are only hinted at here. The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Passion-Venice-Sorrows-Bellini-Tintoretto/dp/1904832822?ie=UTF8&tag=tyseyonar-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">catalog</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tyseyonar-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1904832822" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> for the exhibit provides an excellent analysis of the pieces in the show, along with others. <i>Passion in Venice</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> continues the trajectory that MOBIA has set forth since its inception. It remains a unique institution that is willing to examine topics many other museums may not, in a scholarly way that proves they are a serious institution that has great things in store for the future.</span></div><!--EndFragment--> <br />
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<!--EndFragment--> <!--EndFragment-->Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-74904901593625494242011-03-29T17:09:00.000-04:002011-03-29T17:09:06.009-04:00Building Character<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><!--StartFragment--> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">Even though I completed <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-lies-beneath-underpainting-as.html">two altarpiece constructions within the past year</a>, it has actually been about eight years since I actually built the structure of one. I had done plenty of work associated with the altarpieces, but I had not been building them. I prefer to use reclaimed lumber from old furniture when I can find it. When I was months away from moving to Massachusetts from Idaho I made a big push to build the structures for five or six of these works from my stockpile of wood, acknowledging that it was better to move half finished artworks across the country than a pile of wood. It then took several years to complete the figure paintings inside the “shells.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the intervening years I have worked on the <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2008/12/communication-breakdown.html">plans for many more altarpiece works</a>. I recently began building the structures for two of these. One is for a benefit for a museum in New York and the other is an older idea that incorporates more assemblage elements, giving a taste of the direction of future works.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYD7kAzTa5mJwmwSXRBD0S7F2zuv_ZOoGvvsQ_ltO47EsG7fJ7Dr4sht4o1tTIutG9rh4jxlN7t9KgWz3Zh9TLIIgBQluqYcHwD4wI1F1HLDKGLm8ZuXjgpwIsmJU6Dmt1R5dnCBbqefF/s1600/Finial1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYD7kAzTa5mJwmwSXRBD0S7F2zuv_ZOoGvvsQ_ltO47EsG7fJ7Dr4sht4o1tTIutG9rh4jxlN7t9KgWz3Zh9TLIIgBQluqYcHwD4wI1F1HLDKGLm8ZuXjgpwIsmJU6Dmt1R5dnCBbqefF/s400/Finial1.jpg" width="287" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </div><div class="MsoNormal">I have stated before that I age these works much in the way that Joseph Cornell aged his own box constructions. I have included some photographs of these pieces in progress to show just how much effort goes into this aging process—well before the figurative elements are painted.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One image shows the unpainted state of a smaller construction. The wood is pine, with some additional elements of either aspen of poplar. The surface of the bare wood is usually scrubbed with a wire brush at this point, to bring up the grain. Most of the exposed wood on these pieces was next coated with a solution of vinegar that had a pad of steel wool soaking in it. This rusty solution oxidizes the wood, giving it a weathered, gray appearance.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The exterior sides of the boxes were then coated with a light green colored oil-based enamel paint. After that dried another coat of pink enamel was added. These colors were derived from the countless layers of paint that cover the walls of old American Protestant churches across the continent (although Catholic churches may exhibit the same thing). Growing up, I was often enlisted to help paint rooms in our church whenever some wall color went out of fashion or the use of a particular room changed. I recall many variations of pinks and light greens and yellows. So these colors show up in the altarpieces as a connection to this country’s religious history.</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-mKy6xO9vaOCN7sNL0LdgKzaiuO_o2B-AJPpK5cpEbPaVu8_pE4kBAYXl0kRDNJPZmTnLkZKEYAMNiWrl4xCCr3Ot-HHzCRaVfKo_qGuR16UhmCaySq_FnpXebuNl6pQ29gFEAfSw858/s1600/AltarRed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-mKy6xO9vaOCN7sNL0LdgKzaiuO_o2B-AJPpK5cpEbPaVu8_pE4kBAYXl0kRDNJPZmTnLkZKEYAMNiWrl4xCCr3Ot-HHzCRaVfKo_qGuR16UhmCaySq_FnpXebuNl6pQ29gFEAfSw858/s320/AltarRed.jpg" width="231" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: auto;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The next step entailed taking a heat gun (used to remove old paint), putty knife, and wire brush to the sides. This actually mixes the two colors a bit, but it also brings up the underlying layers of green paint and gray wood. Another layer of off-white (almond colored) oil enamel was then applied. This was given the same heat gun and scraping treatment. The interior boxes were treated in a similar manner using light yellow and off-white layers of paint.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Trim elements on the boxes are handled in a different way. The bare wood (without coats of the vinegar solution) is covered with a deep red acrylic paint. An adhesive is then carefully applied over the red. This adhesive goes on in a very liquid form—milky white—and dries clear.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-D4Ku1xFTd3jtc74K7JTCNBqmGLDYEZqHVTlHLMIxtzNIg0ptezZBZ-pvEnLeUrybsmzVP1Fzqi4iRX7yMo9mWEq2ufj7U9HwKzNcoFQxnE8q8wTYqABeAP8_3ZqhAGz52nQf9enEc7H/s1600/PaintedBox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-D4Ku1xFTd3jtc74K7JTCNBqmGLDYEZqHVTlHLMIxtzNIg0ptezZBZ-pvEnLeUrybsmzVP1Fzqi4iRX7yMo9mWEq2ufj7U9HwKzNcoFQxnE8q8wTYqABeAP8_3ZqhAGz52nQf9enEc7H/s400/PaintedBox.jpg" width="292" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The gold leaf—which is really made of brass—is then slowly applied. Large flat areas are easy to cover, but the intricate details and crevices in the decorative mouldings must be filled by pressing bits of the leafing in with a hard bristle brush. A chemical is then brushed over the metal leaf. This turns the copper elements in the brass to green. This may take multiple applications and some areas are still kept as unaltered gold. The final layer of this portion of the boxes is given a polyurethane clear coat that prevents the brass from changing any further.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When all this process is added to the time it takes to construct the boxes themselves, it is no surprise that I say that the painting of the images takes the least amount of time. I am very pleased with the effects in these recent works and will continue to post further updates of their progress.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRadXX0wn75P9C51TegsqP_Qu9Kc7sbeN_FvNXdrmZT-jAuVu0cs2sr1A5YGUrsqKoXp7gYoHe1vcY030YLhJ4aFvxp21HNv7dUlJugdBkUsQoAKJ4MbmQrjbPYisOLsNy8sxGcu2tT_Ww/s1600/AltarAgedLeaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRadXX0wn75P9C51TegsqP_Qu9Kc7sbeN_FvNXdrmZT-jAuVu0cs2sr1A5YGUrsqKoXp7gYoHe1vcY030YLhJ4aFvxp21HNv7dUlJugdBkUsQoAKJ4MbmQrjbPYisOLsNy8sxGcu2tT_Ww/s640/AltarAgedLeaf.jpg" width="464" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<!--EndFragment-->Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-54247264899813659062011-03-13T11:49:00.000-04:002011-03-13T11:49:04.760-04:00All the Lonely People, Where Do they all Come From?<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLw8FPvf97SXvcda0FIsXmeUFKyAxRz7LlBBUOH6Lum1Uyf26CA1gVbM09O9H09Pm8ehPM8bE0_8bi2ceb15qgY-aYvZrMbjcMI7PG-EMmasaqNMwbDmJHM44r4EnkLccU9fYsa9AhlGqV/s1600/ledray_ss_8_nov2010-505x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLw8FPvf97SXvcda0FIsXmeUFKyAxRz7LlBBUOH6Lum1Uyf26CA1gVbM09O9H09Pm8ehPM8bE0_8bi2ceb15qgY-aYvZrMbjcMI7PG-EMmasaqNMwbDmJHM44r4EnkLccU9fYsa9AhlGqV/s400/ledray_ss_8_nov2010-505x300.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">Technology has sometimes been heralded as the great savior for frail humanity. The progress of twentieth century science and technology might now enable us to live longer, healthier lives, but is there a price to be paid for this purported immortality? The post-war population explosion of the “boomer” generation loaded increasing numbers of people into the urban centers of the United States. At the same time, isolation seemed to grow exponentially. Even in a bustling metropolis like New York City, people could feel overwhelmed by isolation in the midst of the masses. The earlier model of extended families living together, or at least in close proximity, gave way to a trend of siblings spreading out across the vast continental landscape with aging parents often relegated to cell-like rooms in nursing homes.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7B3fnMz5AAOxkmOpyMHjTG1fu4GUWsi5Xq9zgG9gpb40t5Yctaf6tV_Wga0-oj7Kgc0up9fG_miXGwIQi3TM2tasDm8SrrmhON9qWffxYIOAYu6X-C9RMsmk11Rim2X9vsl_QLnLoF9kc/s1600/70_1200_hopper_imageprivacy_compressed_542_600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7B3fnMz5AAOxkmOpyMHjTG1fu4GUWsi5Xq9zgG9gpb40t5Yctaf6tV_Wga0-oj7Kgc0up9fG_miXGwIQi3TM2tasDm8SrrmhON9qWffxYIOAYu6X-C9RMsmk11Rim2X9vsl_QLnLoF9kc/s320/70_1200_hopper_imageprivacy_compressed_542_600.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </div><div class="MsoNormal">Though not curated to point out this predicament, recent exhibitions at New York’s <a href="http://whitney.org/">Whitney Museum of American Art</a> seem to align in a configuration that questions the state of human relationships in modern times. The Whitney’s collection of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper">Edward Hopper</a> paintings, as represented in the exhibition <i>Modern Life: Edward Hopper and His Time</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, establishes a foundation that might consider the rampant feelings of isolation that were already being acknowledged in the early decades of the twentieth century. Though most Hopper paintings highlight single figures in lonely interiors, even signature works like </span><i>Nighthawks</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> occasionally present groups of figures separated by their estrangement from one another.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Hopper’s <i>New York Interior</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> exhibits the voyeuristic quality in many of the artist’s works. The viewer observes the evening ritual of a woman undressing before retiring for bed; mending a garment in a state of partial undress. Her mostly bared back suggests an intimacy that does not actually exist. The viewer and the viewed remain strangers who maintain lonely, isolated existences within their separate tenement cubicles. This kind of impersonal connection almost foreshadows some current internet-based relationships.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHh88r26mMzqQGtB9R6xJt9FE-6Rc6kNLfAbjR7cUw9N8vZG3uhYeyCHD8_ozgqvGAszvNMp6B49qfenq-mpwxmLqmoRROx4D3yDBAFivBH_9y5C3lRxOyTAWnNaQSRfT49BIEJ-ZHNAFM/s1600/db50126b7ed5157b2e54942315e1a218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHh88r26mMzqQGtB9R6xJt9FE-6Rc6kNLfAbjR7cUw9N8vZG3uhYeyCHD8_ozgqvGAszvNMp6B49qfenq-mpwxmLqmoRROx4D3yDBAFivBH_9y5C3lRxOyTAWnNaQSRfT49BIEJ-ZHNAFM/s400/db50126b7ed5157b2e54942315e1a218.jpg" width="297" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"> In an uncharacteristic monochrome gray composition—<i>Untitled: Solitary Figure in a Theater</i><span style="font-style: normal;">—Hopper explores the full weight of isolation experienced in an urban environment. The single figure, alone in a theater that can hold dozens, suggests feelings of insignificance that are sometimes produced in the midst of an enormous crowd. All others melt away and the individual is overwhelmed by loneliness. Even the lack of hue denotes this sadness.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The galleries containing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_LeDray">Charles LeDray</a>’s exhibition <i>workworkworkworkwork</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> addressed this concept of isolation from another perspective. While there is a great variety within the show, all the pieces are miniscule representations of actual, real-life objects. Miniature tableaux represent groupings of personal affects—materials such as magazines and items from a purse or briefcase are scattered in piles that recall the careless placement of personal materials in an enclosed private location, like on a nightstand.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFrOzm_OLpBHx1V3z_nF-_VH_sX6G033g2d4nd57kh2P6otmwWfkigdYf8BHwQhf7FZ5b7OBErP3KgEE18g_gma8dD9bRtDIzO7d-PJ9m1xSez9XfRx9taNlgvv6C8FH0OextWoOS9UCMt/s1600/tumblr_lfpwrdCEvf1qf0whro1_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFrOzm_OLpBHx1V3z_nF-_VH_sX6G033g2d4nd57kh2P6otmwWfkigdYf8BHwQhf7FZ5b7OBErP3KgEE18g_gma8dD9bRtDIzO7d-PJ9m1xSez9XfRx9taNlgvv6C8FH0OextWoOS9UCMt/s400/tumblr_lfpwrdCEvf1qf0whro1_400.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: normal;"> <o:p>These tiny props suggest the activities of a solitary life. Miniature settings—like <i>Mens Suits (2006-2009</i><span style="font-style: normal;">), which represent what seem to be the interior of a men’s clothing store or a dry cleaner’s—are fabricated from full-sized articles of vintage clothing. They convey the sadness of a life lost. Patterns and fabrics are reminiscent of the clothing given to thrift store after the death of an elderly family member.</span></o:p></span></div><!--StartFragment--> <div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The sport coats and ties of lonely, forgotten old men are refashioned to populate a parallel world. The absence of any figures within these diorama-like scenes only underscores the tragic, lonely feeling often associated with the elderly. The stories of the lives connected to these articles of clothing appear to be stunted, shortened, or chopped off. Forgotten.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-7mNF94qKDtfSOE3TBWsSYCeJWKCNj5MHdolz-IR-DF19NHPSxBXUdApj5qNngDDu7ZEVcbv7UdefMnMGGtEqa_VyUokPZFUTZA-_eacnVINjIshKq1FD6PP7Nt9uZ8UsyftwWtb1pNY/s1600/charles%252Bledray%252Bmens%252Bsuits-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-7mNF94qKDtfSOE3TBWsSYCeJWKCNj5MHdolz-IR-DF19NHPSxBXUdApj5qNngDDu7ZEVcbv7UdefMnMGGtEqa_VyUokPZFUTZA-_eacnVINjIshKq1FD6PP7Nt9uZ8UsyftwWtb1pNY/s400/charles%252Bledray%252Bmens%252Bsuits-7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The most visceral work to approach this topic within the Whitney’s permanent collection is surely <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2009/01/edward-kienholz-study-in-interaction.html">Edward Kienholz</a>’s <i>The Wait</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. Often associated with Pop, Kienholz’s work is sometimes summed up in art history textbooks through a single image of this seminal work. Nonetheless, this multi-dimensional work can never honestly be reduced to a simple frontal photograph. It must be experienced in person to be fully comprehended.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One must move around the work to engage its complex structure. A frontal view reveals a skeletal structure composed of what appear to be cow—or some other large animal—bones. In a photograph, the area of the figure’s head and chest is, however, reduced to a mass of jars with highlights and reflections obscuring their contents. What appears as merely an antique photograph that “represents” the head of the woman in the work is only the most frontal element of that component. Behind that picture is a large glass jar containing a cow skull with life-like glass eyes.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2RCOkI57nCD5A4GsYaM3VHMIV6DPUtoZbR3ZgQwbbgfC3hUWkgWmxGpVFz5Q2Be-SH_aknBJDyMBcPcE0_ItkRmB1ThyNoX3AjsNk5pZISLPwsqWp27iMlWirVEfgiBn_BecsgVK9XpN/s1600/visions002_800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2RCOkI57nCD5A4GsYaM3VHMIV6DPUtoZbR3ZgQwbbgfC3hUWkgWmxGpVFz5Q2Be-SH_aknBJDyMBcPcE0_ItkRmB1ThyNoX3AjsNk5pZISLPwsqWp27iMlWirVEfgiBn_BecsgVK9XpN/s400/visions002_800.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The other jars include memories held close to the heart. Gold painted objects represent elements from childhood, marriage, and long-held faith. However, these golden memories are preserved and frozen in time like the cat, needlework, and photographs and Bible on the end table. All dripping with coats of clear resin that preserve them in this static scene.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The only element of <i>The Wait</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> not frozen in the past is the live parakeet in the birdcage. The droppings left on the end table by the bird may simply be seen as distasteful. They could better be read as an indictment. As a society we have left our elders to corrode in their failing memories. Their lives are prolonged by the advances of pharmaceutical companies as we separate them from the rest of “productive” society.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Few works have ever so forcefully tackled the epidemic of loneliness among the elderly as <i>The Wait</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. The representation of social topics has a long history in art, but this concept has never been a popular theme. Again, it may be unintentional on the part of the Whitney, yet this configuration of exhibitions is timely. A consideration of the feelings of loneliness and isolation, particularly in difficult economic times, is worthy of artistic and curatorial attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div><!--EndFragment--> <br />
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<!--EndFragment-->Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-32978035849888659032011-01-07T20:42:00.000-05:002011-01-07T20:42:15.390-05:00Hiding, Seeking, and Culture Warring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQSPq74x4MKCPQ6efUE8doxEjCFabO1ezpz5mXFP60WSSdIq9n3F2OphHKGfTYPdrnxvTVj0xl_NHwUgBkUxRD-vBQ0ejl95sRylZ41sdx3DcgPlTIFsGhs7jwN3te4c9AG8ISXjOQEoc/s1600/robert_mapplethorpe_self_portrait_1975b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQSPq74x4MKCPQ6efUE8doxEjCFabO1ezpz5mXFP60WSSdIq9n3F2OphHKGfTYPdrnxvTVj0xl_NHwUgBkUxRD-vBQ0ejl95sRylZ41sdx3DcgPlTIFsGhs7jwN3te4c9AG8ISXjOQEoc/s320/robert_mapplethorpe_self_portrait_1975b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>If you came across the recent reports on visual art in the news this past December, you may have considered checking the year on your calendar. Tales of the current exhibition—<i>Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture</i>—at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC revived memories of Jesse Helms and the culture wars of the late 1980s. Whenever sexuality and religion cross paths there is bound to be some commotion concerning national (aka: taxpayer) support of artists and art institutions. As was the case in the 1980s with Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano, and again in the 1990s with Chris Ofili and <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2008/12/damien-hirst-and-rebirth-of-symbol.html">Damien Hirst</a>, the yarn spun for the public was not quite a clear picture of the artwork actually displayed.<br />
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The National Portrait Gallery did learn something from the mistakes of another DC museum—the Corcoran. The Portrait Gallery’s exhibited photographs by Mapplethorpe are clearly far from controversial. Mapplethorpe will forever be linked with his photographs of S&M acts that led to the cancellation of the infamous exhibit at the Corcoran, after an earlier uproar in Cleveland. Though many in the arts continue to cry censorship, one wonders when common sense and prudence were abandoned. Museums may have substantial private funding, but they remain, essentially, public venues. A curator should probably always ask whether or not he or she would want a five year old son, daughter, niece, or nephew to stumble upon a work on a gallery visit. There will remain differences of opinion, but common sense prevails at some level.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHr3n7oVB0xtx2tQmtOly-mUZtWirjLEawTnsGzaMVUKdR9_TH1AuCukzwIvwV8cnLKx7_8pjadD9D3lpviR8fPnvrrhC1IgJCw8zKuGblcLddJ3rrwF5y3lqcoPfc4QPkwQr2HcjB-HDv/s1600/hartley_crane_memorial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHr3n7oVB0xtx2tQmtOly-mUZtWirjLEawTnsGzaMVUKdR9_TH1AuCukzwIvwV8cnLKx7_8pjadD9D3lpviR8fPnvrrhC1IgJCw8zKuGblcLddJ3rrwF5y3lqcoPfc4QPkwQr2HcjB-HDv/s320/hartley_crane_memorial.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The National Portrait Gallery did not simply suffer from a lapse in judgment in the choice of exhibiting the video, <i>A Fire in My Belly</i>, by the late artist David Wojnarowicz, it did not work hard enough, initially, to explain the goal of the exhibition. <i>Hide/Seek</i> is somewhat like the museum version of <i>Brokeback Mountain</i>—it plays the “Gay Portraits” exhibit to Hollywood’s “Gay Cowboy” movie. These may be catchy descriptors, but they are far from accurate when considering the breadth of humanity examined in each. The exhibition is touted as the first major museum show to consider the role of gender difference in the creation of artwork. That tends to get boiled down to a tagline explaining that the exhibition is composed of portraits of and by gay and lesbian individuals. That is not quite the full makeup of the show if one looks into the artists and works included. (check out the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/NatlPortraitGallery">video gallery tour</a>)<br />
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Museum historian and co-curator David C. Ward explains the goal a bit better—though after the fact—in a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-easu0klXmI">YouTube slideshow</a> of several works. He describes how the exhibition was meant to discuss how sexual ambiguity and ambivalence run as a coded thread through American portraiture, allowing personal nuances that transcend gender or sexuality to get to the core issues of personal understanding and identity. Ward claims that the show attempts to go past a very simple and tired concept that art in reference to sexual orientation is only related to sexual acts, and therefore, explicit nudity.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1wFiJUSlRc84Rd0G-hZ20Tw-aoVSMQTVKBmyG7Jj_0df7UgVDblgCpB8NMRKZT_S_dFqNBl7aWrMDMjA0ioLBYNg_542Uvj_sL6i5yy1zaEQGVoeH4sL6sb_vxKpTMFKtjb4RzSP4j3f8/s1600/Marsden-hartley-no-47-berlin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1wFiJUSlRc84Rd0G-hZ20Tw-aoVSMQTVKBmyG7Jj_0df7UgVDblgCpB8NMRKZT_S_dFqNBl7aWrMDMjA0ioLBYNg_542Uvj_sL6i5yy1zaEQGVoeH4sL6sb_vxKpTMFKtjb4RzSP4j3f8/s320/Marsden-hartley-no-47-berlin.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>The other curator, Jonathan Katz, however, does the show a disservice with some of his rhetoric. As the Founding Director of Lesbian and Gay Studies at Yale University, Katz can, at times, come across as militant in his stance. When Katz defines the show as “an exhibition explicitly intended to finally, in 2010, break a 21-year-old blacklist against the representation of same sex desire in America's major museums,” he is drawing a line in the sand with the museum establishment. His charge that “the museum world is and has been systemically and profoundly homophobic since the Mapplethorpe controversy in 1989” may hold some truth. The only problem is that he isn’t a fundraiser at any of the those museums. Museum staff across the nation may very well agree with Katz’s beliefs, but they are still running businesses and know that the American public—sex-crazed though it is—does not generally desire to be challenged with shows about sexuality when visiting museums. If people want that they can go to any number of commercial galleries where this is not uncommon.<br />
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Conversely, an enduring problem with the criticisms brought by the Religious Right is that they tend to focus on the wrong problems in the works in these exhibitions. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Ofili">Ofili’s <i>The Holy Virgin Mary</i></a> was derided as a dung-smeared Madonna. The elephant dung that was used in that work was hardly a concern if one looked more closely. The painting was covered with images of hard core pornographic photos of women. That was not mentioned by Mayor Giuliani and others when they called for a halt on public funding for the Brooklyn Museum. One imagines most children would have more difficulty recognizing painted elephant dung than graphically displayed female body parts.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzfzjrpXlAA74QHdEAE_yhhRwf_RBGEabJLVfoCxBdbkdsrhY0MsOSXMIwKsMjW9SecGnXoRvQct2vlXHoJA02HcHl-vNPeuBUHv7Bh1TlnNqgIlmXcczqgP8hSScINApUc4sMOZwS-Blx/s1600/Johns-memory-of-my-feelings.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzfzjrpXlAA74QHdEAE_yhhRwf_RBGEabJLVfoCxBdbkdsrhY0MsOSXMIwKsMjW9SecGnXoRvQct2vlXHoJA02HcHl-vNPeuBUHv7Bh1TlnNqgIlmXcczqgP8hSScINApUc4sMOZwS-Blx/s320/Johns-memory-of-my-feelings.png" width="320" /></a></div><i>A Fire in My Belly</i> was bound to face a similar fate. Speaker of the House John Boehner led the charge in attacking the work because it depicted a crucifix overrun with ants. Many people were likely more troubled with the concept of the “Gay Portraits” show and so Wojnarowicz became an easy target. In fact, his work was always controversial in his lifetime so he was a perfect scapegoat. One would think the appearance in the video of a man stripping off his clothing and then participating in an auto-erotic act, would have caused more alarm. This is certainly one of those things a curator might want to avoid when considering the five year olds. However, this part of the video was never the top concern in the news reports.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivVe9GFyqjG7aD_kUdENkf-1u3MpGnb33TV1WcI2-FirTp4v28f4FIq32VdoU0UpvZi_hAz_VEf0asCbjUPIpR_7gAW-0EQKep_ApvCsqTsssX_jY0hSB0amVTDnUqfjiPxued3AMk7STB/s1600/Rauschenberg_Canto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivVe9GFyqjG7aD_kUdENkf-1u3MpGnb33TV1WcI2-FirTp4v28f4FIq32VdoU0UpvZi_hAz_VEf0asCbjUPIpR_7gAW-0EQKep_ApvCsqTsssX_jY0hSB0amVTDnUqfjiPxued3AMk7STB/s320/Rauschenberg_Canto.jpg" width="253" /></a></div>Outside of all the excessive press, which should make the curators somewhat happy since the exhibit would probably have never been known otherwise by the general public, there are some works within the exhibit that more fittingly engage the stated theme. Though there are clearly more erotic works by Marsden Hartley, the paintings chosen for this exhibition are more in keeping with the way an early American Modernist could use abstraction as a language to express identity in a time when even the art world was less open about sexuality. Works by <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2008/08/robert-rauschenbergs-place-in-canon.html">Robert Rauschenberg</a>, Jasper Johns, and <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2009/07/cy-twombly-words-for-new-generation-of.html">Cy Twombly</a> skillfully exhibit the “coded language” of mid-century gay artists. Their early postmodern experiments with semiotic and appropriational imagery set the tone for later generations of artists—gay and straight alike. The inclusion of one of <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2009/05/art-of-felix-gonzalez-torresthe-now-and.html">Felix Gonzalez-Torres</a>’ candy spill works is a prime example of this continuum. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivVe9GFyqjG7aD_kUdENkf-1u3MpGnb33TV1WcI2-FirTp4v28f4FIq32VdoU0UpvZi_hAz_VEf0asCbjUPIpR_7gAW-0EQKep_ApvCsqTsssX_jY0hSB0amVTDnUqfjiPxued3AMk7STB/s1600/Rauschenberg_Canto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6dlMuUoY22oOeOSrhtyyUpQxbC28qGdGBv0_Op_u4ZbT-sICwevJ7b-U1_SwK8NUUe4sa1nu14NA3LlqhPSa3RrLd0sZJnr9pSimxOuQZ0qAaF8xgN5se2tE-9jUpgsHMwz7-6rPWirL/s1600/FelixGT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6dlMuUoY22oOeOSrhtyyUpQxbC28qGdGBv0_Op_u4ZbT-sICwevJ7b-U1_SwK8NUUe4sa1nu14NA3LlqhPSa3RrLd0sZJnr9pSimxOuQZ0qAaF8xgN5se2tE-9jUpgsHMwz7-6rPWirL/s320/FelixGT.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> There are some works that seem more of a stretch. The inclusion of a painting of a proud male nude standing in an open field (<i>The Clearing</i>), by <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2009/01/andrew-wyeth-farewell-to-pariah.html">Andrew Wyeth</a>, is a bit confounding. Wyeth was famous for generations though his most public notoriety came with the controversy surrounding his Helga paintings. A more appropriate connection for this exhibition would have seemed to have been the recent photographs by <a href="http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/schorr/">Collier Schorr</a> that place an adolescent male in poses that mimic the Helga paintings. The ambiguity of sexuality is much more evident in those works.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8Hbp8z1Kwqs8qaBNTvvDpv35EKBaonG5qCcI3IRNMYoGJuIZCCKx4avIZR3xwcjjyRz0jRB51RgDn4kt8P4YeYfqPckWRTVglLFSNiKiwWTkrB17J-LPsziskthZPuE0u4Nxlnk7X-Ld/s1600/The%252BClearing%252B%2528Wyeth%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8Hbp8z1Kwqs8qaBNTvvDpv35EKBaonG5qCcI3IRNMYoGJuIZCCKx4avIZR3xwcjjyRz0jRB51RgDn4kt8P4YeYfqPckWRTVglLFSNiKiwWTkrB17J-LPsziskthZPuE0u4Nxlnk7X-Ld/s320/The%252BClearing%252B%2528Wyeth%2529.png" width="280" /></a></div>The protestations of Katz that were actually the genesis for the exhibition reveal only a small segment of the current map of the art world. Gender and identity studies now abound in college and university course catalogs across the nation. Though this may be the first major museum exhibition of its kind, there is actually no lack of literature that discusses the role of sexual identity in the creation of art. Many artists showing at the major galleries in this country are now quite upfront and explicit about this fact.<br />
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In the new world where pluralism rules, the cacophony of specialized voices assures that no sub-culture or group can rise above the din. The voices that many would claim were the singular voices of the past—like Western Christianity—are now speaking in a foreign tongue. Consider the work of <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2009/06/tim-hawkinsonneo-neo-platonism-in-post.html">Tim Hawkinson</a>. Many pieces are clearly influenced by the artist’s childhood, in which he was reared in Methodist Protestantism. An installation like <i>Pentecost</i> is equally misunderstood by the contemporary art world as the <i>Hide/Seek</i> artist’s works may have been earlier in the twentieth century. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2ElXtOkCc0SVwjAhWYb3dQ7HDVBK0sWUxhKdwdfuPGkkDuelVv9wjARKN5LeGwpUh0nLIwhe-THiwfocWHKh45ppUPclv6AK3GDFf5FAICXhmCUFx858ny4oCky548rJanfXp0MmZmme/s1600/schorr-photo2-002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2ElXtOkCc0SVwjAhWYb3dQ7HDVBK0sWUxhKdwdfuPGkkDuelVv9wjARKN5LeGwpUh0nLIwhe-THiwfocWHKh45ppUPclv6AK3GDFf5FAICXhmCUFx858ny4oCky548rJanfXp0MmZmme/s320/schorr-photo2-002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>At the pre-opening gallery walk for Hawkinson’s 2005 retrospective at the Whitney Museum, curator Lawrence Rinder was questioned about <i>Pentecost</i>. His simple response was that the title referred to a religious holiday. That the work taps out the melodies of hymns and references the New Testament coming of the Holy Spirit, resulting in the speaking of unknown tongues by Jesus’ disciples, was either not known to the curator, or more likely, was something he expected a post-Christian audience would not understand. Either way, the preferential position that Western Christianity once held is obviously no more. With this in mind, curators may consider that every new position examined in museum exhibitions will seem foreign to some segment of the viewing public. New viewpoints should be proclaimed but there are sometimes wiser ways to present them than through more controversial works.Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-4522763745243981022010-11-25T17:30:00.002-05:002010-11-25T17:30:58.261-05:00Cildo Meireles: Expositor of Brazil's Christ-Haunted South<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Brazilian artist Cildo Meireles’ work, often considers the ongoing confluence of Christian European culture with that of the peoples of South America. <em>Mission/Missions (How to Build Cathedrals</em>), 1987, is composed of a narrow tower of communion wafers that teeters high above a sea of 600,000 glittering coins. The sky above the coins and wafers is a canopy of illuminated large animal bones.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgId1CFOCFwlPjKPgeftc54WOtkm6Q6SmmbE98v0pS4SfzmXFfUSNsA57Nqm7KSQTDZO-Py-xdXOZt_P9ttf_yVvQvLXcocz0Ci9rDVPH3GJmtPLE4s91S_U75EcZc1ImlUeO41sAmPEb2W/s1600/meirelesBones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgId1CFOCFwlPjKPgeftc54WOtkm6Q6SmmbE98v0pS4SfzmXFfUSNsA57Nqm7KSQTDZO-Py-xdXOZt_P9ttf_yVvQvLXcocz0Ci9rDVPH3GJmtPLE4s91S_U75EcZc1ImlUeO41sAmPEb2W/s400/meirelesBones.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Though mostly unknown to a North American audience, this Brazilian conceptualist’s work has been featured at nearly all the major international art biennials over the past few decades. Each time <em>Mission/Missions</em> is installed in a new location the coins used are drawn from the local currency; always utilizing the lowest denomination, the most insignificant coin. In keeping with the highly complicated relationship between Brazil and Western Europe, there is not an exclusive reading of the work.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiel5NqcDJRLEyncYtnpITUGjWH0ZSQ5NrVqOjCJGzrJhQA8jhHpBlUKwf7cIsbjujsD2EFekaL2rZm3z0h3Xx6RcCmlD8eH8E0f_aK6rTnScoY2wBlqhmEL72LE6ET9Seh2JXG7dJtnGya/s1600/meirelesBones2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the Jesuits brought the Roman Catholic faith to the tribes of South America in a manner both nuanced and complex. This sometimes bore the marks of syncretistic faith in which elements of the indigenous religious systems were either transmuted or subsumed into Catholic doctrines. At other times Christianity was abruptly foisted upon the South Americans, producing a hybrid culture that remained neither Western European nor native Brazilian. On the heels of this religious conversion came the much darker aspects of colonization. The natives were enslaved as cheap and expendable labor while the Spanish and Portuguese stripped the land of its wealth and resources, often in the sign and name of Christ.</span><br />
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</div><div align="left"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtgL-1dz092rI8P__whRqI6gK0Oe5cQyQtO7gD3A8n9_mdUTQX8qU_j1VrJER-pOeEwe-ujuc-CUxDuddyB7YGBBhHJMONkaK26ctXAJencMsz_CH-BMz3p_XNbEDCOOkxnH5k3PPRwTBr/s1600/meirelesBones2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtgL-1dz092rI8P__whRqI6gK0Oe5cQyQtO7gD3A8n9_mdUTQX8qU_j1VrJER-pOeEwe-ujuc-CUxDuddyB7YGBBhHJMONkaK26ctXAJencMsz_CH-BMz3p_XNbEDCOOkxnH5k3PPRwTBr/s400/meirelesBones2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The enduring shadow of Western capitalist traditions stretches even further over the form and materials of <em>Mission/Missions</em>. The pendulous expanse of bones can be understood as a metaphor for the slaughter of the indigenous peoples brought about as a result of colonial enslavement. Yet, a more contemporary reading might connect the bones to the consumerist economics of first world beef production. Brazil has been transformed into one of the world’s leading cattle producers. That beef is raised on the deforested parcels of land that once hosted the Amazon forests. The allusion to death implied by these bones may also signal the larger ecological impact </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Western traditions and systems have placed on not only the global South, but the entire planet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meireles’ message has often been political. The ‘60s and ‘70s found Brazil in political upheaval after a military coup brought to power a dictatorial government in 1964 and kept the population living in fear for over two decades. Meireles always understood that that political unrest was a descendant of colonization and that the adverse effects of early colonial impositions could never be completely separated from the Roman Catholic faith that arrived with that system. The allusions within and titles of the artist’s major works often reflect this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An example is found in the currency of Brazil that mirrors the entrenchment of Catholicism within the culture. Brazilian banknotes are called <em>Cruzeiro</em>—cross—and this is not lost on Merieles. In the 1970s he produced several works that utilized this currency. The <em>Zero Cruzeiro</em> (1974-8) banknote contains two portraits: a native Brazilian man and an insane man. It is a work that not only makes comment on the economy but on the condition of the intertwining relationship between Brazil and the religion of the Europeans. The figures represent the discarded, those rendered as worthless within the culture. This idea of worthlessness also connects to the hundreds of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_disappearance">desaparecidos</a>—the disappeared. These were the outspoken political figures who were abducted by Latin American military governments, including Brazil’s, in the 1960s to 1980s, never to be seen again. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhha587ciVJl7N9ETERQ0hyphenhyphen0_xEiAJ-XjYoA5Rwh2hMOP0-lrED_FxUWOTtx2kaVq1nkfjXjLG6P6g5FMpno4qIzux4-_CpftOr6AEi9d3pAgr94UDcwIiWug_R94l2LsBdLxP_xVi3YVLL/s1600/meirelesCoke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhha587ciVJl7N9ETERQ0hyphenhyphen0_xEiAJ-XjYoA5Rwh2hMOP0-lrED_FxUWOTtx2kaVq1nkfjXjLG6P6g5FMpno4qIzux4-_CpftOr6AEi9d3pAgr94UDcwIiWug_R94l2LsBdLxP_xVi3YVLL/s400/meirelesCoke.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The <em>Zero Cruzeiro</em> project is directly tied to the <em>Insertions into Ideological Circuits</em> projects. For some of these, Meireles stamped messages on actual cruzeiro banknotes and then reinserted them into circulation. Messages such as “YANKEES GO HOME!” implicate not only the Western Europeans but the North Americans. This process was also employed with United States dollar bills. These altered currencies continued to function in their intended ways, yet also acted subversively throughout the culture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another of the Insertions used equally common and utilitarian objects: glass Coca Cola bottles. These bottles used the standard deposit system of the period to promote reuse. When empty of their contents, the artist printed similar messages on the sides of the bottles. These remained essentially invisible until they were reintroduced to the Coca Cola factory and then placed, refilled, back on store shelves. The message “YANKEES GO HOME!” was all the more appropriate when visible on a product that remains a potent international symbol of American consumerism. The printing of this message on both the bottles and the dollar bills is an obvious indictment of the <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroe_Doctrine">Monroe Doctrine</a></em> and the influence and intervention of the United States in Latin American affairs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A larger room sized installation, <i>Red Shift</i>, 1967-84, appears to be born out of Minimalist environments. The first of the three rooms in the installation—<i>Red Shift: I. Impregnation</i>—is arranged like an actual living space in a home, except that every object is red. These consumer products and materials were all created red at the factory, they are not simply painted to fit the space. There are variations in the hue, but there is an overwhelming sense of being engulfed in this color. Even the subtitle of <i>Impregnation</i> suggests an encasement within a womb.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5Mpgpa3AnXullyeq6jAl8sUY54pQaxe2mIO9rUobRrjGwyj3srfV4D4bz0fHFXjtx7IrNYD5dlsDvCkG01ZM9A1aQ4rXtca_czbYDsgPugsxfMH5WVMYdxiojzLgXMGHgQsRXdSjfFSY/s1600/meirelesRedShift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5Mpgpa3AnXullyeq6jAl8sUY54pQaxe2mIO9rUobRrjGwyj3srfV4D4bz0fHFXjtx7IrNYD5dlsDvCkG01ZM9A1aQ4rXtca_czbYDsgPugsxfMH5WVMYdxiojzLgXMGHgQsRXdSjfFSY/s400/meirelesRedShift.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As one enters <em>Red Shift</em> there is a sense that there is more to the space than the mere unease related to color perceptions. There is a noise—the sound of constantly running water—yet in this chamber there is no indication as to where the sound is centered. This beckons the observer to move deeper within the environment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the second room (<em>Red Shift: II. Spill/Surrounding</em>) one encounters a corridor where a small glass bottle appears to have spilled an unknown red liquid all over the floor. Closer inspection reveals that this liquid would actually fill a volume much greater than that of the small bottle. The viewer is confronted with this inconsistency. The direction of the spilled red liquid then leads into the final room: <em>Red Shift: III. Shift</em>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here, the viewer experiences a darkened space with a large porcelain sink, tilted diagonally, with a continuous flow of red liquid spewing and splattering from the spigot. It appears that this is what the viewer was meant to eventually stumble upon. Though his methods and materials are certainly varied, <em>Red Shift</em> is a work that seems somewhat different from earlier Meireles works. The spatial considerations seem to connect it to the rest of his oeuvre, while the strain of Roman Catholic imagery and symbols also connects the works and cannot be denied. Just as there are multiple interpretations of the animal bone “sky” of <em>Mission/Missions</em>, there are undoubtedly various analyses of this bloody fount in <em>Red Shift</em>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Contemporary art aficionados might connect the sink in <em>Red Shift</em> to the sinks in the work of American <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/search/label/Robert%20Gober">Robert Gober</a>. A former Catholic, Gober works out of a similar place as Meireles, wherein the iconography of centuries of Roman Catholicism subconsciously manifests itself in multifaceted forms. Both artists endow ordinary objects with manifold symbolic meanings. Though Gober’s sinks reference concepts of baptism and sexuality, both artists, through the use of porcelain bathroom fixtures, automatically reference <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/search/label/Marcel%20Duchamp">Marcel Duchamp’s</a> infamous <em>Fountain.</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since much of Meireles’ work explores the sufferings of the indigenous Brazilians at the hands of their European colonizers, the blood-like flow of <em>Red Shift</em> seems to indicate Brazil’s blood soaked landscape. Whether referencing incidents from the sixteenth century or the late twentieth, the sacrificial tenor of the work may also lend itself to other interpretations. After all, the red flowing fountain in Meireles’ work digs deeper into art historical sources than those of just the past century.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Red Shift‘s biblical allusions are more clearly recognizable in a much earlier pre-Renaissance work by Hubert and Jan van Eyck. <em>Th<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghent_Altarpiece">e Adoration of the Mystical Lamb</a></em> is better known as the <em>Ghent Altarpiece</em>. Its central image portrays a scene from the final New Testament book of Revelation in which the hosts of heaven bow down before Jesus in the guise of the Lamb of God. The Lamb, standing on a sarcophagus that resembles the high altar of a church, spouts a stream of blood into a eucharistic chalice. There is something about the purity gained through the messy affair of sacrifice that links the van Eyck painting to the Minimalist scene spattered with blood in <em>Red Shift</em>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each artwork mimics the late nineteenth century hymn, <em>Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb?</em>(Elisha Hoffman, 1878):</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are you washed in the Blood of the Lamb?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are you washed in the blood,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are you garments spotless?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are they white as snow?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is essay is a shortened and edited version of the one that will appear in the Spring 2011 issue of <a href="http://www.civa.org/publications.php">CIVA's <em>SEEN Journal</em></a>.</span></div>Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-37540037609985026792010-10-17T19:21:00.000-04:002010-10-17T19:21:35.510-04:00I Come to the Garden Alone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oWk5mSX-m5J2Wa5UY8WOKHZNkr5rSgeeM96UHn8ENWspqj-rL_OOZgK8BtJRHaOGfmW08unVJkMKAPujqDI-VCNm3q6iqGAfl8v3t680SCvXBH3ipiVRsXXI8xzV6TShB4oztnSSNEq1/s1600/Mural1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oWk5mSX-m5J2Wa5UY8WOKHZNkr5rSgeeM96UHn8ENWspqj-rL_OOZgK8BtJRHaOGfmW08unVJkMKAPujqDI-VCNm3q6iqGAfl8v3t680SCvXBH3ipiVRsXXI8xzV6TShB4oztnSSNEq1/s400/Mural1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the past two years I have grown more accustomed to sharing the stages of progress of my work. It remains somewhat difficult at times to let others see some of the more raw stages of certain pieces. There are times when the unfinished work simply doesn’t look that good. Still, I realize that for many non-artists a glimpse of how an artwork comes to be is quite interesting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During the past few months I have slowly been working on a mural project for a Central Florida church. I have included a few images here of the early stages of the painting. There is also a short video that shows the preparation of the 6’ x 8’ panel on which I am creating the painting—quite a lengthy process itself. In Florida, it is far easier and more comfortable to produce a work of this size within air conditioning, out of the direct sunlight and humidity.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The church board asked me to consider producing this mural for a garden courtyard. There were not many parameters other than that. My concept for the image was inspired by the intended location of the work and the already established pictorial scheme of the church. There was previously no image of Christ in Gethsemane so this image fit quite well.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhIiDH1cnLY0PbvNZ0CegHhgkcna4MAhl4K3hm4KiuXRwXlKtZUwUNiuvHWOCa1dhPQ4RQSypenx2xK8ZaXyUke_0BMfu7kzl4DomOSsVJX5GU7F5cclw9kOfIQiJyJ82lfCm2e6jqTu4/s1600/Mural2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhIiDH1cnLY0PbvNZ0CegHhgkcna4MAhl4K3hm4KiuXRwXlKtZUwUNiuvHWOCa1dhPQ4RQSypenx2xK8ZaXyUke_0BMfu7kzl4DomOSsVJX5GU7F5cclw9kOfIQiJyJ82lfCm2e6jqTu4/s400/Mural2.jpg" width="287" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also chose to paint over text, as I have been doing in my <a href="http://www.tyrusclutter.com/altarpieces.html">altarpiece series</a> and several <a href="http://www.tyrusclutter.com/watercolors.html">watercolor</a> works. The text here, though much of it will be obscured, is taken from the <em>Anglican Book of Prayer</em>—the liturgy for the Eucharist. That communal event is foundational to the life of the Church. The image will be obvious from a distance, but the inquisitive viewer will also find nuances within the text when viewing it closely. The combination of word and image is also a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">direct reference to Jesus himself—the Word made flesh.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As with the <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-lies-beneath-underpainting-as.html">oil on book pages works</a> (the altarpieces), I have begun with an underpainting of dioxazine purple. That choice may seems strange to people. It is such a vibrant color. The purple does modify quite easily when subsequent layers of color glazes are placed over it. In these images there are passages where yellow has been applied over the purple. The complimentary nature of these colors changes the purple into a neutral brownish color, bringing out some of the more red hues the purple. On top of that, translucent white is slowly built to form the gowns. The text is more visible in certain areas than others. This begins to give an idea of how the painting will proceed.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQtWMBP1_oMBEaPEcYm93OmPkPxIMYsKLswGW0IY0YYFOq-AAEGQHV1_BiiFG5bCSnZJ3OJvhZM3_gMNeoRnM9CmetnWcwKmea26yXPhtIw88JxkGYEJpe3r8xyP0zug-Q70mDAXSifO8/s1600/Mural3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQtWMBP1_oMBEaPEcYm93OmPkPxIMYsKLswGW0IY0YYFOq-AAEGQHV1_BiiFG5bCSnZJ3OJvhZM3_gMNeoRnM9CmetnWcwKmea26yXPhtIw88JxkGYEJpe3r8xyP0zug-Q70mDAXSifO8/s400/Mural3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the imagery is somewhat different—more obviously narrative—from many other pieces that I typically produce, I have found the process of collaborating with a community of people an interesting challenge. I have to make the work pleasing to a group of people while keeping an artistic integrity for myself. This is my test for the success of the final piece. Keep checking back to see the progress.</span>Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155417120771304823.post-84150814436481886102010-09-22T12:05:00.000-04:002010-09-22T12:05:55.887-04:00Art Prize: The Popular vs the Progressive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkBBwYkmIpfV63zv5-dN7DaN0SPHnkRqTJ44xLJ8EaqhS7sXoFekqMQP-1e1mMKPdhOGwESBioGSVP_dXYzFM30g3sNNMU8S5S4azdhyPEvzd0Mh5nxFFr-1-_Kv6PbRUzSwhwSdFGv_X/s1600/banner_Art-Prize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkBBwYkmIpfV63zv5-dN7DaN0SPHnkRqTJ44xLJ8EaqhS7sXoFekqMQP-1e1mMKPdhOGwESBioGSVP_dXYzFM30g3sNNMU8S5S4azdhyPEvzd0Mh5nxFFr-1-_Kv6PbRUzSwhwSdFGv_X/s400/banner_Art-Prize.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Today begins the second installment of a unique public experiment. Grand Rapids, Michigan is in the throes of <a href="http://www.artprize.org/"><i>Art Prize</i></a>. Through October 8, venues around the city are paying host to an array of artworks from artists from across the country. The artwork—both typical and atypical—is displayed in locations and establishments that are also both traditional and nontraditional. In the midst of a still faltering economy, the 2009 Art Prize seemed to add a much needed shot in the arm (not the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Burden">Chris Burden</a> type, mind you) to one of Michigan’s larger cities. It is no secret that the Great Lakes State has retained one of the worst unemployment rates in the nation. Who would have thought that planning an art event would stimulate the economy? Rick DeVos, for one.<br />
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Anyone familiar with Grand Rapids and the surrounding area would certainly recognize the DeVos name. Half of Grand Rapids was built with DeVos money. This family was one of the co-founders of Amway. Luckily for Grand Rapidians the DeVos family is also quite philanthropic. The total prizes equal almost $250,000 and that amount is touted as the highest prize given for contemporary art.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixfx7sgLzYF_iHNjLMlyzw9CyayxgH2C_7wTvvzLgxRAmRLpCbTxK1wFGj-9QhX01JnqkYgMXefQWFb5f_6w7-n8j_Tpzz2wg3pP5eKoNyshx3tAZ9prL2BKK3jW4o7WAj9thCU3QiKkbu/s1600/CalderSculpture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixfx7sgLzYF_iHNjLMlyzw9CyayxgH2C_7wTvvzLgxRAmRLpCbTxK1wFGj-9QhX01JnqkYgMXefQWFb5f_6w7-n8j_Tpzz2wg3pP5eKoNyshx3tAZ9prL2BKK3jW4o7WAj9thCU3QiKkbu/s320/CalderSculpture.jpg" /></a></div>This is an event that is made for the masses. The public chooses the winners. Yet the populous of Grand Rapids has not always had the best relationship with Modern and Contemporary art. In the 1960s the city erected the enormous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Calder">Alexander Calder</a> stabile sculpture <i>La Grande Vitesse</i>. The public was not pleased. Over time the displeasure was replaced with pride and the sculpture is now recognized as a symbol for the city. In recent decades the city may have gone too far in their “acceptance” of the work since its image not only decorates taxi cabs but the sides of garbage trucks in the city.<br />
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This kind of love/hate relationship with art lies at the heart of the tempestuous relationship that the general public has with art. People may enjoy, say, a painting of a recognizable object or scene (such as the large painting of churning water that took the top prize in 2009), but they are less comfortable with work that pushes the limits of traditional art. And while Art Prize has the feeling of an international art fair, in one respect, it is far removed from those fairs in another way.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Days-World-Sarah-Thornton/dp/039333712X?ie=UTF8&tag=tyseyonar-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Sarah Thornton</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tyseyonar-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=039333712X" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> accurately portrays the atmosphere of a typical international art fair in a chapter from her book <a href="http://tyrusclutter.blogspot.com/2008/11/seven-days-in-art-world.html"><i>Seven Days in the Art World</i></a>. Her discussion of the <a href="http://www.labiennale.org/en/Home.html">Venice Biennale</a>—the granddaddy of all the art fairs—gives a glimpse of the interactions among art world elite and wealthy collectors that take place at such fairs. The term art fair, for many, conjures up recollections of arts and crafts fairs found in countless communities throughout North America. The two could not be further removed from one another.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAoe3JJC-EfMVs3UL5TLw5kahJuXo8d-ybTU2nBR4EGfO4Z3jkvIFY4dn0Q4tJmvkv5zFgJBypols2ImKUhT9D7-xRA7myf-MUHbpYX5T6t2cAUpMwaAbxT_SsocO96xOdBXEukyZ4INuY/s1600/artprizeInstalling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAoe3JJC-EfMVs3UL5TLw5kahJuXo8d-ybTU2nBR4EGfO4Z3jkvIFY4dn0Q4tJmvkv5zFgJBypols2ImKUhT9D7-xRA7myf-MUHbpYX5T6t2cAUpMwaAbxT_SsocO96xOdBXEukyZ4INuY/s400/artprizeInstalling.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>In the United States the only real international art fair that exists is <a href="http://www.artbaselmiamibeach.com/">Art Basel Miami Beach</a>—and that is a stepchild of the Basel, Switzerland event that predates it by several decades. Collectors and curators come from around the world to check out the newest works by the leading contemporary artists. It is doubtful that these same folks are hopping on planes to southwestern Michigan to find out what this cadre of mostly Michigan-based artists currently has on display.<br />
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The international fairs focus on works that set the discourse for contemporary art. The media and materials are often atypical and the meanings opaque. And the art world seems to like it that way. There is an amount of elitism marked by insulated conversations that leave others on the fringe—uninitiated. So it is just as inconceivable to believe that folks outside of the art world would be interested in attending one of these international fairs.<br />
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There is no doubt that the work exhibited in international art fairs somehow impacts and influences the work shown in Grand Rapids. Some of the Art Prize artists may not even realize the connections (I, for one, immediately thought of <a href="http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/celmins/index.html">Vija Celmins</a> work when I saw the 2009 Art Prize winner). The shame is that these two worlds don’t or can’t meet. For all the critical theory that goes into creating and explaining the officially canonized works of contemporary art it would seem that the relevance to the average person on the street should be enormous. After all, the subject and content of these works really does touch on all our everyday lives, even if the economic factors do not. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZ7Hueqy-JEp3xQ2eFu-SL2TMjhzELG5H7HhUAU0cNteR6on7m0CttEhtKusGpWjmYCg1JSZcGszudApPWNdHksD7rwGZSmWjd402R_5lMRoBg66tdk73ia-lctekm10Ws-NmLWTMzT4b/s1600/2009Winner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZ7Hueqy-JEp3xQ2eFu-SL2TMjhzELG5H7HhUAU0cNteR6on7m0CttEhtKusGpWjmYCg1JSZcGszudApPWNdHksD7rwGZSmWjd402R_5lMRoBg66tdk73ia-lctekm10Ws-NmLWTMzT4b/s320/2009Winner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I expect that I would not truly enjoy many of the works displayed at Art Prize. Yes, I guess I might be in that elitist category, too. Still, I give a lot of credit to DeVos. While the quality and importance of the Art Prize works may not be top notch, and the event may not attract the world’s best artists, Grand Rapids is making an attempt to begin a conversation between the public and the art world. It is like Middle East peace talks. You have to get the major players in the same room and everyone has to give a little to get the desired result. I commend Grand Rapids and DeVos for taking the first step.Musings on Contemporary Art & Artistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04520629592482077156noreply@blogger.com0