"Matrix III" in process - 110" x 55" acrylic on paper.
Monday, September 29, 2008
New Work Started-3 Layers In...
Here's the new piece after a week. Three colors/layers done...
"Matrix III" in process - 110" x 55" acrylic on paper.
"Matrix III" in process - 110" x 55" acrylic on paper.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Test Finished, New Work Planned...
I finally finished my test painting. In the end I realize that this was just a means to an end and it really (in my opinion) doesn't stand up as a finished work. I learned quite a bit on it, and that's what is important.
Means to an End (The Matrix II) 36" x 24", acrylic on paper
Based on what I learned from this piece, the reading I've been doing on immersion (I just finished the book "Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion" by Oliver Grau, which was excellent), and my recent trip to Chelsea is resulting in the study (below) for my next painting. This piece I think will end up being close to 108" x 55". The source material is also from the movie The Matrix Reloaded as photographed on my wide-screen TV. The study below is a Photoshop file, where I have completely deconstructed the TV photo into over twenty layers that have been re-colored, and re-ordered to achieve the effects I'm looking for (not finished with this step yet). This will pose as a study that will then be re-interpreted in paint using the same technique as the one above. So, stay tuned as this one evolves, it's likely to take me many, many weeks to complete...
Study I for The Matrix III, 53" x 23", digital print
And just to put it into perspective, here's the source image...
Means to an End (The Matrix II) 36" x 24", acrylic on paper
Based on what I learned from this piece, the reading I've been doing on immersion (I just finished the book "Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion" by Oliver Grau, which was excellent), and my recent trip to Chelsea is resulting in the study (below) for my next painting. This piece I think will end up being close to 108" x 55". The source material is also from the movie The Matrix Reloaded as photographed on my wide-screen TV. The study below is a Photoshop file, where I have completely deconstructed the TV photo into over twenty layers that have been re-colored, and re-ordered to achieve the effects I'm looking for (not finished with this step yet). This will pose as a study that will then be re-interpreted in paint using the same technique as the one above. So, stay tuned as this one evolves, it's likely to take me many, many weeks to complete...
Study I for The Matrix III, 53" x 23", digital print
And just to put it into perspective, here's the source image...
Fall Season in Chelsea
I took my once-a-month trip to the Chelsea galleries last Friday. I really didn't have time to plan which shows to go see, so I counted on my intuition to guide me to the right shows (although there were two I did specifically want to see). I wasn't disappointed. I saw a lot of good work. A few shows stood out to me. I've been reading about the history of immersion art and I found myself looking at everything through that lens.
One artist in particular (Amy Ellingson at Charles Cowles Gallery) was interesting as I am using a very similar process, although her final pieces were encaustic and oil paintings, very large and layered, filling the space. While there are aspects about the work that does not resonate with me, I was blown away by the mastery of her technique and the immersive effect they had on me.
Another artist was Danielle Julian-Norton at Reeves Contemporary, in particular her installation of hanging panels made of pressed rice titled "Breathe" created an interesting immersive experience. The curved aspect (similar to a panorama technique), with multiple layers and dimly lit allowed me to become enevloped by the piece.
Oh, and I got to see one of Adam McEwen's "chewing gum" paintings in person at Mary Boone. What a treat that was. Seeing the work first hand completely enhanced my perception from the artist talk he gave a few residencies ago. It's a clear example of how most work needs to be experienced in person, the materiality of the paint/surface is of utmost importance in some cases, which was the case in Adam's painting. Seeing his paintings in a slide show, a book or on the web just do not do them justice. It seems that I'm focused on the quality of the materiality in others work, and consequently in my own paintings. I know what I want the experience of my work to be, and I'm still so far away from achieving it. I know it will come in time, and it's a matter of just keeping on plugging away at it. So I do...
Another interesting show was Chris Duncan's "The Faith Void Split" at Jeff Bailey. He had a large string installation that took up one entire wall in the gallery. The wall was black, and the string white, all radiating out from a center point. A simple design, but the immersive effect was quite astounding. The scale, the fine-ness of the lines, the central point that pulled me in...
I saw Jim Dingilian at McKenzie (quickly becoming my favorite gallery). Dingilian's work is also at a show at the DeCordova Museum that I plan to go look at today.
Kwang-Young Chun's work at Robert Miller was beyond describable. Large topographical pieces made up of traingles covered in paper from old Korean books. He really used color and values of the "circle" areas to make the illusion of depth, it was an interesting use of light and three dimensions with flat areas of shaded color to create the illusion of depth.
The last gallery I went to was Friedman Brenda where I saw an installation by Tadanori Yokoo that was the ultimate in an immersive experience. It was an entire room covered with postcards of waterfalls. There were mirrors on the floor and on one wall and when you walked into the center you felt as though you were suspended in the middle of the room, the only down side to the experience was that you knew you were standing on mirrors, but if you could suspend that knowledge, it was a very interesting experience.
Other galleries/Artists I saw on my trip included:
Emily Eveleth at Danese
Jodie Cary at Daneyal Mahmood
Selina Trieff and Derek Buckner at George Billis
Ferdinand Pleines at Luise Ross Gallery
Steve DeFrank at Margaret Thatcher Projects
Valerie Hammond at Garson Baker Fine Art
Olivier Sabria at Agora
Jina Lee at Pleiades
Arlene Baker at Noho Gallery
Despina Konstantinides at Prince Street
Cheryl A. Thomas and Ferne Jacobs at Nancy Margolis
Judy Glantzman at Betty Cuningham
"More Than Words" at Von Lintel
One artist in particular (Amy Ellingson at Charles Cowles Gallery) was interesting as I am using a very similar process, although her final pieces were encaustic and oil paintings, very large and layered, filling the space. While there are aspects about the work that does not resonate with me, I was blown away by the mastery of her technique and the immersive effect they had on me.
Another artist was Danielle Julian-Norton at Reeves Contemporary, in particular her installation of hanging panels made of pressed rice titled "Breathe" created an interesting immersive experience. The curved aspect (similar to a panorama technique), with multiple layers and dimly lit allowed me to become enevloped by the piece.
Oh, and I got to see one of Adam McEwen's "chewing gum" paintings in person at Mary Boone. What a treat that was. Seeing the work first hand completely enhanced my perception from the artist talk he gave a few residencies ago. It's a clear example of how most work needs to be experienced in person, the materiality of the paint/surface is of utmost importance in some cases, which was the case in Adam's painting. Seeing his paintings in a slide show, a book or on the web just do not do them justice. It seems that I'm focused on the quality of the materiality in others work, and consequently in my own paintings. I know what I want the experience of my work to be, and I'm still so far away from achieving it. I know it will come in time, and it's a matter of just keeping on plugging away at it. So I do...
Another interesting show was Chris Duncan's "The Faith Void Split" at Jeff Bailey. He had a large string installation that took up one entire wall in the gallery. The wall was black, and the string white, all radiating out from a center point. A simple design, but the immersive effect was quite astounding. The scale, the fine-ness of the lines, the central point that pulled me in...
I saw Jim Dingilian at McKenzie (quickly becoming my favorite gallery). Dingilian's work is also at a show at the DeCordova Museum that I plan to go look at today.
Kwang-Young Chun's work at Robert Miller was beyond describable. Large topographical pieces made up of traingles covered in paper from old Korean books. He really used color and values of the "circle" areas to make the illusion of depth, it was an interesting use of light and three dimensions with flat areas of shaded color to create the illusion of depth.
The last gallery I went to was Friedman Brenda where I saw an installation by Tadanori Yokoo that was the ultimate in an immersive experience. It was an entire room covered with postcards of waterfalls. There were mirrors on the floor and on one wall and when you walked into the center you felt as though you were suspended in the middle of the room, the only down side to the experience was that you knew you were standing on mirrors, but if you could suspend that knowledge, it was a very interesting experience.
Other galleries/Artists I saw on my trip included:
Emily Eveleth at Danese
Jodie Cary at Daneyal Mahmood
Selina Trieff and Derek Buckner at George Billis
Ferdinand Pleines at Luise Ross Gallery
Steve DeFrank at Margaret Thatcher Projects
Valerie Hammond at Garson Baker Fine Art
Olivier Sabria at Agora
Jina Lee at Pleiades
Arlene Baker at Noho Gallery
Despina Konstantinides at Prince Street
Cheryl A. Thomas and Ferne Jacobs at Nancy Margolis
Judy Glantzman at Betty Cuningham
"More Than Words" at Von Lintel
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
New Work Partially Finished
My design business is very busy - now that summer is over everyone is ready to do their marketing campaigns again - the ants have crawled out of the woodwork! So I've been focusing on keeping my reading and studio practice going and maintaining updates to this blog is what has taken the hit as a result. I've also been working on my second thought piece "What Influences Our Perceptions of Art and the Aesthetic?" which I just finished (in sidebar at right).
As for my studio work, below is the continuation of the "third attempt" at my interpretation of my "tv photo." It's taken me over two weeks of solid work to get to this point (see previous blog entries to see visual progress). I figure I have about 2-3 days left on it. This is only 36w x 24h so I'm wondering how this process is going to translate to something that is 90w x 55h! I guess I'll find out next week when I start it!
(third attempt - still in process)
As for my studio work, below is the continuation of the "third attempt" at my interpretation of my "tv photo." It's taken me over two weeks of solid work to get to this point (see previous blog entries to see visual progress). I figure I have about 2-3 days left on it. This is only 36w x 24h so I'm wondering how this process is going to translate to something that is 90w x 55h! I guess I'll find out next week when I start it!
(third attempt - still in process)
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