Submitted to the Factor Prize. I will be updating the entry over the next week or two. Let me know what you think:
A More Expanded Portfolio of My Work:
MORE INFORMATION about the Factor Prize
The Factor Prize is Sponsored by the Gibbs Museum in Charleston, SC
Some paintings from this summer:
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I spent the weekend in Asheville with Alysen, her sister Rachel, and her boyfriend Jason. We had a great time hanging out, going to hear the drum circle, listening to Jazz at Tressa’s and playing Chickenfoot.
On Saturday, the group indulged me by going on the Studio tour of the River Arts District.
There were some great studios there, including many sophisticated crafts people…interestingly several great fiber artists, and a couple of artists working in encaustic. One artist that caught my attention was Carol Bomer. Her work was thought provoking and interesting. The surfaces of her work were sophisticated and beautiful, with mark making akin to Cy Twombly and think rich textures like Larry Rivers…and anyone who knows me knows very well that this combination makes me smile.
There were a couple of other interesting artists there, both working in The Wedge…forgive me that i cannot recall their names, but one was working in what appeared to be photo emulsion on drawing paper exposed with images on people and then drawn on top of. I found this work to be beautifully made and subtle in surface and style. Showing side by side with her work was a portrait painter that was akin to Alice Neel’s work. Though perhaps too close in that approach, I found the paintings beautifully seen and quite nice.
If you have a chance in the near future, be sure to spend some time in the River Arts District in Asheville, worth your time for sure.
Finally, we spent some time in Blue Spiral 1. This gallery was full of intriging and world class art. I was impressed with the consistency in excellence throughout the work and the presentation. Showing in the main gallery were John L Cleaveland, Jr and George Peterson. Cleaveland’s pantings were uniquely southern in feel, with the most interesting being the large oils of trains. Peterson’s sculptures from large pieces of wood were complex in their surfaces and textures, and without reading the descriptions of the media, you would never be completely sure how they were made.
Truly exceptional work
Continuing to explore this idea that we are moving out of a Postmodern era and into a more fluid “Age of Interconnectivity” (AoI) I though it would be prudent to explore the possibilities of Art in this age.
There are several artists now working that embody the idea that we are all connected and participating in the art itself. Unlike the happenings of the 60s and 70s which “performed” art as a dramatic representation of a visual expression, art of the AoI engages the viewer personally, not only as an observer or voyeur but as a participant in the creation of the work. A perfect example of this is Daniel Rozin’s Wooden Mirrors. These pieces are incredible and will never be able to be represented well in an art history book because of the movement that is at the core if the image itself. CLICK HERE to see a youtube video of the mirror in action. Not only does the image involve the participation of the viewer, the image does not really exist without the viewer, yet the “reality” expressed by the image is still an expression of the artist’s vision.
The genre of interactive art has gone mainstream for more than a decade now, so if you are not familiar with online manipulation of images and experiences in art, take time to look at some of the past exhibitions and artists represented by Art Interactive.
All of this being said, I am still just a regular ole freakin’ painter…so how do I express my work in this new age without being irrelevant? There are a couple of ways this could be achieved. First there could be an interactive “live” interaction in the making of the paintings. Imagine a ustream video feed from the studio while the work is being made, with chat comments active during the process and me responding in the work. In this example, the “work” would really be the event itself, while the painting is merely a marketable residue of the event. Secondly there could be art that “comments” on the AoI. This is the most likely position for artists who have and will continue to work in traditional mediums. A great example of this is Eric Parnes’ work on surveillance. CLICK HERE to learn more about him and his work.
Let me know what you think, and what you suppose art will look like in this new age.
Ok, so I have finally gotten a few of the new paintings photographed and uploaded. The apples are a triptych with green on the left (Tav), Green/Red in the middle (Aleph) and Red on the right (Aleph-Tav). I re-uploaded the portrait to give it a little more accuracy in color.
A couple of people have also asked me about posting paintings in progress, so I have made a new gallery for those. The one of Paul I am still working on the torso, but the head is mostly done, and the ascension one still some work to go on the figure as well as lots to go on the environment.
I have been painting a good bit recently, and i have completed a series of three apples. Also started an ascension painting (which is the first one in over ten years). I will get around to posting images soon.
Aly’s Dad is a Reformed Presbyterian Pastor, (White Lake Church) and they only sing psalms in worship. As a result, we pay attention to psalms used in worship a lot. One of Alysen’s friends came across this group that sing psalms, and I find them interesting. Take a listen by clicking on their link and then selecting “Listen” from the top right of their menu: Sons of Korah
I have been pondering these three for the last week or so. Cool things going on in life. I remembered that Erwin McManus’ church The Mosiac focuses on these three things, and so I browsed around The Mosaic site today for a while. Wandered over to the Urban Poet website. Man these guys are very cool:
This is their Website: CLICK HERE
This is a new painting on a similar theme of another apple painting I did a couple of years ago. The glare is terrible, but I will get a better picture after it dries. Feels good to be working regularly again. Hopefully soon I can spend a few Saturdays on larger works. The apple and the self portrait are 20X24
So Aly’s tat is now featured on the artist’s website, take a look:
