Maja Borowicz
Kali Murphy
This publication was put together by the International Gallery of the Arts (IGOA) as a means to further promote the works of talented individuals from across the globe. Exquisite Arts Magazine not only aims to showcase extraordinary talent, but to also explore various topics relative to the arts industry. As you read this magazine, we invite you to get to know these exceptional individuals through their interviews, their words and more importantly, their work. As we have stated on numerous occasions, creativity is more than an expression, it is the fundamental ingredient of life. Join us in celebrating creativity in its many forms, as we bring you this publication filled with artistry from some of the world’s most exquisite talent.
EXQUISITE ARTS MAGAZINE Publisher: International Gallery of the Arts (Canada) Editor in Chief: Monique Jackson
Assistant & Editor: Lisa Chang
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Graphic Design/ Creative Direction: Monique Jackson Cover Art: Sculpture - Brenda Truesdale/ Painting- Abby Lippitt. Graphic Design- Monique Jackson
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Contributing Writers:
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Benson Mwang, Erin Saville
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Featured Artists: Brenda Truesdale, Vivian Antonini, Maja Borowicz Abby Lippitt, Jackson Lee, Malcolm McEwen, Gerry Chapleski
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Brenda Truesdale
Pg. 5
Vivian Antonini
Pg. 11
Maja Borowicz
Pg. 17
5 Inspirational Women Who Used Their Art to Make a Big Statement. By Erin Saville Pg. 24 Spotlight Art Contest Winner: ABBY LIPPITT Pg. 27 Jackson Lee
Pg. 36
Malcolm McEwen
Pg. 41
Gerry Chapleski
Pg. 45
Is Nudity In Art REALLY Offensive? By Benson Mwang Pg. 49
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“Everyone has their own depiction of what each piece means to them. I believe that is what art should be. Not an artist telling the public how they feel but the public forming their own personal thoughts and opinions.”
Brenda Truesdale began her artistic career as an apprentice working for thirteen years where she trained in all aspects of metal casting at Bronzart Foundry in Sarasota. During that time, she became a master in wax work, mold making and adept in the patina process. She has developed a distinctive style in her bronze castings. Her smooth, linear lines reflect Brenda’s life-long love of creating three dimensions. Her main focus is to translate into bronze the essence of the subject. To capture a moment and present it in a stylized form. Brenda’s work has been described as powerful with strong shapes yet they are also sensitive and provoke thought. The heart and spirit of the subject is brought out during the artistic process; the design starts as a simple idea and then transforms into the finished piece of artwork. Born in Miami FL – Living and working in Melbourne Beach FL
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You are very talented and your work is outstanding. Why did you decide to become an artist and how did you get started? Becoming an artist was not a conscious decision, it was something I believe was meant to be. I have never really thought about not being an artist, it was always a given and a part of my being. My real start began when I took a job at Bronzart Foundry after graduating from Ringling College of Art and Design. It was there that I became immersed in many genres of sculpture and perfected my technique with the medium. Casting in bronze is a very expensive endeavor and in the early days I would trade work with the metal chaser to shave off some of the expense. I would do his waxwork and he would chase my bronzes. We were all artists working there back then without much money and would help each other however we could.
What methodology do you use to create your sculptures? I like to begin my sculptures as a sketch on an easel, not in the traditional way but by building with wax strips. Once the initial idea is worked out I will take it off the easel to work in three dimensions. The sculpture will either be worked in direct wax or a mixture of wax and oil clay. This is when the original idea will evolve into the finished piece of artwork. When the wax/clay work is completed, I will make a mold to pour a wax pattern. This wax pattern is brought to the foundry for casting into bronze. Working at Bronzart Foundry has taught me how to perform most of the steps in bronze casting process. I make my own molds, cast and finish my own wax, and participate in my own patinas. The only part that I do not do is the actual casting of the bronze. My bronze castings are limited editions usually of 10 to 12. After the last casting of the edition the mold is destroyed so that no more of that edition can be produced.
Most of your sculptures are made from Bronze. Briefly explain some of the advantages and disadvantages of working with this material. Bronze is an extremely durable material that can last for centuries if properly taken care of. Because of this durability many monumental pieces are constructed of this material. There are also many options for coloration of bronze. This is called the patination process in which chemicals are applied to the bronze surface to give coloration - often using heat. The different chemical applications give the bronze depth and character and there is a wealth of color and texture options. However, even with all the great assets of bronze as a medium, one aspect that is lacking is the luminescent characteristics of other mediums such as glass or ceramic. I love the way light will shine through a piece of glass or how certain ceramic pieces will glow with light. Even so, I choose to use bronze as a medium and enjoy experimenting with different chemicals applied during the patina process. You mentioned that you are most inspired by people and how they react to life experiences. Why is it important for you to portray your sculptures “in a moment in time?� When I am working on a sculpture I am working to reveal the essence of the subject. Each piece starts as an idea and sketched onto an easel. The artwork is the transformation that takes place during the artistic process. This will capture the moment in time, usually a feeling. I love to hear the different ways that my sculpture speaks to people. Everyone has their own depiction of what each piece means to them. I believe that is what art should be. Not an artist telling the public how they feel but the public forming their own personal thoughts and opinions. Inspirational role models come in many forms. They could be artists from the renaissance period, while others may simply exist in our daily lives. If you could pay homage to a woman in history or within your personal life, who would it be and why? There are many artists that I draw inspiration from but the one woman that was a great inspiration for me was my sculpture teacher at Ringling College of Art and Design, Ethelia Patmagrian also known as Ms. Pat.
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She was a well-known artist in her own right with artwork in collections across the United States. She played a leading role in steering me in the direction of sculpting. At Ringling College of Art and design I worked to attain my Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art. I was exposed to many mediums in art school painting, drawing, computer art, and sculpting. It was when I was taking a sculpting class with Ms. Pat that I realized that this would be my path. Ms. Pat took five of us under her wing and mentored us beyond the classroom or studio. She would often have us over to her house to talk about art or simply about our life experiences. I remember her serving us Turkish coffee and waiting patiently for us to finish so she could read our coffee grounds left in the bottom of the cup. Her friendship and encouragement back then had a great impact on my life. Ms. Pat found employment for “the 5” at Jungle Gardens in Sarasota one summer. There we were commissioned to build large jungle animals for the children’s playground. She also played a huge role in my hiring at Bronzart Foundry in Sarasota FL.
Is there anything else that you’d like to share with our audience? I am currently working on a commission of a memorial to be installed at Gardens of Memories in Tampa, Florida. I am also working on another Mother and Child sculpture. This one is also stylized but in a more realistic form. I plan on having it cast at Bronzart next summer.
Contact For Additional Work & Commissions!
www.truesdalebronze.com truesdalestudios@cfl.rr.com
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“My Fauve Series represents the diversity of women in our world. Each of these faces displays an individual personality, mood and implied narrative. Gathering small rocks and painting them with specific colors enhances the facial characteristics of the women today and aim to convey the particular beauty reflected in each of them. The use of rocks also provides that contact each of us has with nature. The multi-colored skin reflects the enhancements that we, as women, like to show. I know a painting is complete when it has become its own separate entity, one with a sense of dignity and self.� Page 13
Your art pieces are both creative and very distinctive. What is your artistic background and what prompted you to create this unique style of artistry? Since a very young age I have always been surrounded and inspired by artistic expressions, from ballet, which I practiced for many years, music and painting. I remember my mother who is a retired oil painter now, teaching at home to her students. I was always looking forward to those classes to see what they were doing and what I could learn from them. My first experience with painting was with my mother in her studio, using oil paints and experiencing with mixed media. Later I started using acrylics in my works. While at school and at college, I was always involved in doing volunteer works for different projects from the Art department at the Metropolitan University in Venezuela. Later on, I started presenting exhibitions of my works which helped me focus and polish my painting style. I like to incorporate a diversity of materials into my creations, producing rhythm and dynamism in abstract art. In my Fauve Series I decided to use small rocks which I first painted, and then I used them as part of the creation, juxtaposing them to delineate parts of the face to create tactile textures and to enhance the facial characteristics of the women. The use of rocks also serves to provide a direct allusion to nature, to which we are all connected.
How important was it for you to create a series of work that is centered around exploring the diversity of women in our world? I wanted to create a series of work representing the women of today, it doesn’t matter your age, colour, culture, religion, etc. to see that we as women are leading the world in many areas. We have come very far in the world and society still expects us to be or behave in certain ways. It is a way to honor and represent the variety of women. Many countries around the world have taken enthusiasm in female empowerment, but there is still so much more we have to accomplish. It is up to all “men and women� to change the rules of the game and make them equal. Diversity and respect is a challenge in the world, but it is changing, and that is great in this revolutionary progress that we are in. I am still creating different types of women in this series. We are all working hard and making a voice in the world, but we still encounter barriers. Gender should not matter, no more stereotyping. Why did you choose to work with rocks as opposed to other natural materials? I like to use natural materials that I can transform, and the small rocks that I chose were ideal because I was able to paint them first, and it also
allowed me to create texture that would enhance the facial characteristics of the women. Another reason why I decided to use rocks instead of other natural materials is that rocks represent toughness, they are strong but they can also be smooth and unique, you will never find two identical rocks, same as women, there are no two exactly alike. How significant is the use of colours in your artistry and how do you decide what colours are used in your pieces? I love to use vibrant colours in all my pieces. Depending on the type of work I am creating, the music that I am listening to guides the palette of colours that I would use, especially when I am creating my blob pieces. The music and rhythm defines the combination of colours and the movement that will shape up the finished piece. Also, based on the situation or experience that I am going through, I choose the combination of colours for the work. I think that colours are a very important part on the creation, because they reflect the artist’s emotions and inner thoughts. I am still learning how colours interact with each other, and one of the most exciting things for me is to be able to create new colours and experiment with them. My works have been defined as abstract 2D expressionist paintings with a diversity of materials incorporated into them. However, regardless of the colours and techniques I use, I like to be able to transmit feelings to the viewers, and as long as this happens I know that I have succeeded in creating my work of art. If you could pay homage to a woman in history or within your personal life, who would it be and why? Well, I think there are many women that are doing valuable things to improve the world we live in, and they deserve recognition for what they do. We have accomplished a lot of things in business, careers, art and the roles we play. I believe we are at the same level as men, but we still have to change some stereotypes and work hard on this issue. We need everybody to engage on everything they are good at so we can protect and have a better world to live in. I admire women that fight against discrimination of our gender. Society, religion and human conflicts are themes that
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I take into consideration in my works. I like to be inspired by real life situations or experiences, which may cause a remarkably compelling narrative in the viewers. Is there anything else that you’d like to share with our audience? In the near future I have an exhibition at the City Hall in Atlanta GA, where I will be presenting my Fauve Series in October. Also, I am working on an outside project sculpture exhibition with my Blobs Series collection. I want people to remember today the games we used to play as children, and take that idea to the 21st century modern and contemporary art. This will be a work where you can actually interact and play with the art pieces. My goal is to have a solo exhibition of my works and to continue creating and experimenting with everything this planet has to offer us. I am always open to new ideas and challenges, and will continue expanding my body of works. Please visit my website so you can see my collection of Blobs Series, as well as my series of Abstracts, other works in the Fauve Series, events, and to get to know me a little bit more. You can also follow me on Instagram: vivianantoniniart.
www.vivianantoniniart.com
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"My paintings reflect my inner world. The way I perceive reality continuous changes, disintegration, people and things appearing in my life lasting only a moment, to momentarily become only a memory, an influx of information about human tragedies, catastrophes, wars. It is the specifics of the times in which we live. This reality is overwhelmed by my paintings, but what I try to show in them is the feelings that allows us to continue indefinitely- feelings of love, hope, longing. "
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Maja Borowicz is a painter, graphic designer and designer. She paints digital and oil paintings into the current of surrealism, on the border of magical and emotional realism. All of her paintings are created by combining imagination and talent supported by modern technology and traditional painting. In addition to the excellent craftsmanship, spectators see profound mysticism and emotionality in her works. The viewer may have the impression that his soul is taken to wander in time and space, where he experiences the story of the heroes portrayed in the artist's paintings. Maja has many individual and collective exhibitions in Poland and abroad. She is the 2014 winner of the International Art Expo Taipei in Taiwan and the winner of IGOA’s “All Scapes” Art Contest in 2016. MAJABOROWICZ.COM
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Art is a subjective form of expression. Everyone reading this magazine knows that and knows that art comes in all colours, shapes, sizes forms and the like. Over the course of the last hundred years or so, we have seen art begin to jump off the paper and into our streets in various forms. Visual art and performance art have begun to almost develop lives of their own and the artists who own these specific types have started to broadcast their art in curious, strange but bold ways to bring to light the messages they want to share. Once considered, like many things, to be an “Old Boy’s Club”, art has over the last century began to take hold in the hands of women who have been taking it to dizzying new highs when they pair their strong messages with the power of feminism. Jolted by the hippie movement of the 60s, female performance and visual artists have taken on these new assignments with gusto, being boldly in your face and doing things that were never done before, especially by women. So who are some of these bold, brave women who have brought us some of the most subversive, gripping art of today? Here are a handful whose work is more than worth checking out. __________________________________________________________________________________________
Eve Ensler, Writing Eve Ensler is best known for her extremely controversial work, The Vagina Monologues which was produced in 1996 at the HERE Arts Centre in New York City. In those days talking so candidly about women’s issues such as sexual assault, menstruation, sex work, genital mutilation and more were seen as things that just weren’t talked about as candidly as this play does. The play explores these themes and more in monologues run together episodically, with women from various backgrounds explaining their own issues and experiences of having had to deal with negativity surrounding the fact that they were born as women. Despite the fact that for the time, Ensler’s extremely powerful play received widespread criticism from not just male but also female critics, the play has raised awareness of various issues experienced by women throughout the world and has even started the global non-profit movement, V-Day which helps to raise awareness and money for women and girls in violent situations around the world that need assistance. Despite the mixed reviews and inherent good that has come from such a powerful piece at a time when these things were still being relatively swept under the rug, The Vagina Monologues now receives criticism over its clear lack of inclusiveness regarding transgendered women with some believing that the female gender now encompasses
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those who were not born genetically female and therefore have called for an addition of a transgendered monologue to be added. It’s interesting to note that many colleges have put on variations of The Vagina Monologues often with monologues of their own pre-written based off the individual experiences of the women on those campuses.
Francesca Woodman, Photography Francesca Woodman’s photography offers a staunch and dramatic look at the female form, presented as both a work of art as well as a paradoxical vessel of of pain versus pleasure. Often her photography would feature nude female models, often herself, comprised of long exposures and various plays on lighting, often in damaged, crumbling rooms. Her photography has been regarded as some of the most unique and genius work to date by a female photographer, especially when the photography world was still primarily a man’s world and featured mainly male artists. Francesca Woodman used a lot of shadow elements in her work and often littered her photography with imagery such as women looking longingly into mirrors or photographed in protective stances when simple floral arrangements sat just behind the corner, perhaps a visual display of the constant hunt for the beauty within and the difficulty that often comes with being a woman. Unfortunately due to a combination of what still is debated to this day, Francesca Woodman committed suicide in 1981 at the age of 22. Her work had never been overly displayed and it’s believed by her father that yet another rejection letter for funding was the final straw in what remains to be seen as a troubled, yet creatively brilliant life. Francesca Woodman’s work now routinely tours around and is displayed in various books, journals and galleries, particularly in New York where she lived prior to her death. Her work to this day still incites debate over its meaning, but remains to conversation starter due to its charisma and daring use of shadow and light.
Louise Bourgeois, Sculpture Louise Bourgeois was a prolific sculpture artist but also painted and did printmaking. Her large scale sculptures won praise and acclaim along with various installation art. She worked with a number of artists on collaborations and while she was never tied or associated with any one specific artistic movement, her various works over the years could be contributed to movements such as surrealism, feminism and abstract art. Some of her pieces explored the complex relationships between parents and children, particularly her piece The Destruction of the Father, in which a huge womb-like structure is created using soft materials and as the visitor enters they eventually come across a murder scene where four children have killed their father and eaten him. The symbolism of an oppressive father and the eventual rebellion of children is pronounced and perhaps even extreme, lending itself to the viewer potentially relating their own experiences with oppressive father-like figures to the installation. The Destruction of the Father
Perhaps one of her most popular works is Maman, created in 1999 but envisioned in 1946, a giant spider cast in metal, 30 feet high and 33 feet wide. It is on display in Ottawa outside the National Gallery of Canada along with other permanent installations in the likes of the UK’s Tate Modern, the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. The symbolism represents the strength of her mother, a weaver and the helpful, clever
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nature of the spider which helps mankind by eating mosquitoes and other pests for us. Maman also closely protects a sack of marble eggs, further displaying an ode to Bourgeois’ own protective and strong mother who died suddenly when she was 21.
Lyubov Popova, Painting One of the most well regarded Russian painters of her time, Lyubov Popova was one of the first female painters to work in Cubo-Futurism, a style that is derived of sharp lines and geometric shapes, worked together to create form. She had started formal art lessons in her home as a child, something her father was immensely proud of as he was fond of the arts and she was wildly encouraged to find her own style and make painting her own. When she was 18 she studied art with Stanislav Zhukovsky and in 1908 began studying in the private studios of acclaimed painters Konstantin Yuon and Ivan Dudin. She had grown up with a preferred interest in Italian Renaissance painting but soon was attending the galleries of well known cubist painters such as Jean Metzinger. Lyubov Popova traveled extensively to gain a larger understanding of various techniques and styles but was eventually drawn to cubism and what eventually became known as Suprematism, a form of art that supported the the growing revolutionary thought and desire to remake the world following the Russian Revolution. She travelled through Ukraine, Poland and to France. She was known for having friends in many artistic circles and by the time she unfortunately died of scarlet fever at the after of 35, her work had been displayed in several galleries and different shows. Her older brother became the steward of her artistic legacy after her death in 1924.
Adrian Piper, Performance Adrian Piper’s performance art is some of her most unique and in your face. In the 1970s she developed a street performance piece known as Catalysis where she would behave and act in ways that were contrary to the societal norms. It was meant to be the catalyst of where these norms were challenged and questioned. The actions she displayed involved wearing clothing that had been covered in vinegar, eggs and cod liver oil and then using the subway and going into bookstores over the period of a week. She also would go into places of quietness such as a museum with a purse full of ketchup and chew gum loudly. In 1973 her work Mythic Being featured her dressing up in men’s clothing including facial hair and acting as though she were an overly hostile immigrant male from a developing country, challenging views towards racism and how many people in the 70s dealt with immigrants on a daily basis. In an 1986 piece entitled Calling Card she would roam the streets and hand out calling cards to those people she found making racist comments in public and an act of “calling them out” on their behaviours. Much of her work dealt with bringing to light the casual passing racism that our world portrayed and still portrays daily. There are so many subversive female artists that have worked throughout the last hundred years or more to pave the way for our artistic endeavours today. From some of the bold pioneers Lyubov Popova to Francesca Woodman and beyond, these women have all pushed the boundaries of what is considered to be ladylike and proper in their individual times, often using their unique perspectives of the world to break into what were then industries dominated by men.
Using her scientific skills, Lyubov Popova pulled apart the traditional subjects of art and created this piece in 1915 Entitled “The Model�. Here she transforms a nude into a large tower of blocks in an effort to dissolve the traditional perceptions of gender.
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Being a natural intuitive, Abby was drawn to the healing arts that led her to study Theta Healing, a healing modality that incorporates reaching a theta state of consciousness and connecting to 'Creation Source' for a deep level healing. By integrating this methodology into her work and streaming her contention with Source within her brush strokes, Abby creates healing works of art.
Abby Lippitt gives new meaning to trans-dimensional by utilizing the art of psychometry (the art of reading energy in photographs). Abby can channel subtle energies contained within photos into her paintings; bringing life to canvas most apparent with the eyes of her portraits. Being a natural intuitive, Abby was drawn to the healing arts that led her to study Theta Healing, a healing modality that incorporates reaching a theta state of consciousness and connecting to 'Creation Source' for a deep level healing. By integrating this methodology into her work and streaming her contention with Source within her brush strokes, Abby creates healing works of art. Abby is highly regarded for her vibrant paintings; her preferred medium is digital art due to its capacity for the use of color and light. Abby holds an affinity with this artistic practice because it is akin to another one of her great loves and inspirations: Animation. Abby's desire to help others comes from the fact she's disabled herself. It is her wish to show others, in similar circumstances, that they too have value and something to contribute to this world. Despite her disabilities, Abby has dedicated her life to studying the Arts. Her education includes Rhode Island School of Design and The University of Arts. She has a degree in the Fine Arts with minors in Film and Animation. Abby, also, holds a certification in Theta Healing. Abby’s work was presented at an event sponsored by three nonprofit agencies (The Orion Art Center, The Art Experience, and Common Ground) honoring The Healing Power of the Arts. She also has donated a portion of her Transcendence series to the Disability Network of Michigan. Abby’s artwork has been recognized by The Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery as an SR Artist (Special Recognition Artist) for both the 7th Annual “Figurative” Exhibition & “Animals” Art Competition. Abby is currently continuing practicing her art career while inspiring others to do the same by writing articles for the Body Mind Spirit Guide. Abby’s works can be found on her website.
WWW.ABVACIOUSVIBE.COM
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You create pieces that are very vibrant, beautiful and full of depth. What initially prompted your interest in art and how did you get started? Always! Since I can remember, I have been drawing away as a child. It was first with Crayola crayons, markers, and then later pastels, oils, and now digital art. I had a fantastic imagination, and a need to express it. I have always been drawn to vivid, bright, and expressive colors. To me reality paled in comparison to inner vision, and what could be painted with the brush. I believed that world could become better by creative inspiration. Due to my passion for the arts, I pursued my education by attending Rhode Island School of Design & The University of Arts. I acquired a degree in the Fine Arts with minors in Film and Animation. In addition, I hold a certification in Theta Healing.
Your artistic style is very unique; some may even describe it as “eccentric”. Your artistic practice incorporates the use of Psychometry and Theta Healing. How important are these modalities to you and does your artistic style include the use of other types of spiritual or healing practices? Yes, absolutely they are essentially what my work is about. I am what is known as a mental/spiritual medium which allows me to see, hear and feel subtle levels of communication. By utilizing psychometry (the ability to read energies in photos and objects), while working on my painting, I will connect and focus on the subtle life energies contained in photographs of the subjects I intend to paint. I then use my intuitive sense to channel them into my work, which is most apparent with the eyes of my portraits. I am able to create high frequency work by inducing a higher vibration within myself through yogic breath work to achieve a Theta state (a state of very deep relaxation). I then use
my inherent channeling abilities to transfer energy into my work to facilitate assistance in wellness. It is my heartfelt desire to help inspire and heal through my art. My ultimate goal is to aid others to reach GOD Source within themselves to raise their vibrational frequency to a place where only wellbeing, and bliss can exist so they may live happier filling lives, and in extension help contribute to a joyous universe. Colour and light are integral to the creation of your work. Does the colour used in your art hold a specific meaning? Is there a methodology to your use of colour and light? Very much so, yes everything is vibration, color, and light are different variations of frequencies of vibration that can be connected to our spiritual centers the chakras. In regards to my paintings, the black and white component of my work represents the everyday 'world consciousness'. Regarding brainwave frequencies, this is 'Beta State.' My use of color is to express the high levels of consciousness more associated with higher Source frequency, e.g. The 'Theta State, which leads to elevated levels of being. The color pink is very personal to me, it symbolizes the thought process of creation, combining the upper and lower chakras in “Heart Coherence”. A term coined by the Heartmath institute. "Heart Coherence is the state when the heart, mind, and emotions are in energetic alignment and in cooperation to create harmonies outcomes." Color and light along with the Theta modality are my vehicles for altering consciousness by provoking the Law of Attraction: Like energy attracts like energy. Therefore, the higher frequency color/vibration will attract higher-level states of being.
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self-healing to later take what she learned to share with everyone. She helped aid others in their own path to wholeness, good health, and happiness. It is my wish to do the same through my artistic contributions. Is there anything else that you’d like to share with our audience? I enjoyed sharing with you today. It was a pleasure and honor to contribute to your lovely magazine, thank you for having me. Yes, I have a lot of exciting projects in the works. I am currently working on new portraitures series that I hope to be showing soon. For those who may have an interest in having me paint for them, I can be contacted via my web site or by email. You are a very inspirational woman. Despite having dyslexia, you’ve completed a degree in Fine Arts with a minor in Film and Animation. You’ve also received many awards for your artistic work. What advice do you have for others who are disabled and having a difficult time pursuing their dreams?
Namaste To All!
Thank you, I am glad I can be a source of inspiration to others. To tell the truth, it was not easy, I had a lot of trials and tribulations to find myself where I am today, and my life is still unfolding as we speak. However, despite it all, I am grateful for the experiences, because they helped me to become a stronger and more resourceful person.
WWW.ABVACIOUSABBY.COM
My best advice is to follow your heart, do what you love, and be open to the best possible outcome. When you believe it's possible then you’re already half way there, the rest is just staying true to your vision. Inspirational role models come in many forms. They could be artists from the renaissance period, while others may simply exist in our daily lives. If you could pay homage to a woman in history or within your personal life, who would it be and why? I would have to say Louise Hay. She inspired me with her personal life's journey on how she dealt with going from tragedy to triumph, with her own
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Love, Abby
abby@abvaciousvibe.com
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Donna L. Byers
Jackson Lee
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“In my spare time I would paint, and what began as a creative outlet eventually developed into my personal style. The idea “Hong Kong in a Better Light” has been in my head for quite some time, Hong Kong is slowly disappearing; many old buildings have been demolished to make room for the modern skyscraper -- for the sake progress. If I can capture all these images I thought, then this will live on forever for others to appreciate, enjoy, and defend!”
JACKSON-LEE.COM
You are a very gifted painter and your ability to capture the realism of a scene is amazing. How did you become an artist and what is your artistic background? I worked with acrylic painting when I was in Hong kong Polytechnic. After graduation from my Design & Illustration course in 1984, I went into the advertising field and didn’t pick up a paint brush for over 30 years! With my wife’s encouragement in 2014, I had painted a series called “Hong Kong in a Better Light” within 18 months and lounged my roving exhibition during 20152017. Frankly speaking, I am not yet a professional artist, but I would continue to paint another series in order to extend the theme of “Hong Kong in a Fresh Light.” My hope is that people can see the positive reflection of Hong Kong through my productions. What inspired you to turn your creative outlet into your personal style and do you have a preferred style of painting? My preferred style of painting is realism and I was inspired by 2 artists: Hajime Sorayama, a famous Japanese illustrator who painted the hyper-realistic and provocative “Robot Girl” series, and Ken Danby the Canadian painter who portrayed everyday life in a realistic manner. Your deep rooted passion for creating your art stems from your love of Hong Kong and its history. Why is preserving the legacy of Hong Kong so important to you? I was born in and grew up in Hong Kong. This is my home with all my family, friends and memories which are deeply relevant and integral to my identity. To reciprocate the love, care and support that this community has provided for me, I would like to preserve the legacy of Hong Kong to show its vital spirit through my paintings, e.g. “Mutual Help”, “Forever Guardian”, “Striving for excellence”, etc. If you had the power to stop the demolition of a particular building or area in Hong Kong. Where or what would it be? If I had the power, I would stop the demolition of Sheung Wan Night Bazaar which was redeveloped into a commercial building, Shun Tak Centre in 1984. The Night Bazaar was the most popular vast public space for people gathering after work since 1840s. There were many different cultural, recreational activities and features,
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such as singing, juggling, fortune-telling, local food stalls and flea markets. It was also known as the “poor man’s nightclub” and a famous tourist attraction between the 1970s and 1980s. The Night Bazaar is a valuable and collective memory for all of us. I believe that the society needs continuity and connection with the past to preserve solidarity and cultural identity.
Inspiration can be found in people from all walks of life, past or present. If you could pay homage to a woman in history or within your personal life, who would it be and why? I would like to pay homage to my wife, Jackie who motivated me to paint again and always supports me in whatever circumstances. Though having no formal training in art, Jackie has an innate aesthetic eye and sense. With her artistic vision and impeccable attention to detail, she has become my adviser and consultant for my work. Is there anything else that you’d like to share with our audience? I began to focus on my artistic career and started oil painting last year. In moving forward, I would like to continue producing and exhibiting works that shed light on the vital spirit of Hong Kong. I am going to participate in various activities:
Singapore Art Show (with 21 countries’ artists) in November 2017; Bless Asia Art Show in December 2017; Top 10 Oil Painter Art Show in January, 2018 My second round of solo exhibition with another new series in late 2018.
On the other hand, I would donate prints of my works for fund raising purposes to support philanthropy as I have done for Morning Sunshine Cancer Charitable Fund Association previously
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“To me, painting is a conversation with the canvas. Tones, colours, lines and shapes are being added, modelled and remodelled. The image is not present in my mind or fantasy from start. It surges instead from emptiness, and a rough groundwork is the seed of the creative work.� \
Your artwork is very creative and filled with texture. What inspired you to become an artist? What is your background? I used to be an associate professor in chemistry/spectroscopy, but decided to retire three years ago at the age of 61 (in my country Sweden, the retiring age is between 61 and 67) to start a new course in life. Although late in life, I feel that my theoretical and practical approach to painting together with my inherited genes (both my parents were part time artists) has given me a reasonable chance to kick-start becoming an artist. I feel I am on track. Your view of painting is very interesting. You state that painting is a conversation with the canvas. Can you elaborate more about the meaning of this statement?
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When mark making (quite often in a spontaneous manner) with its colour, form and direction, I am conversing with the canvas, which gives me a contextual response to my actions. The painting on the canvas is reacting to the marks in an integral manner. I mean by this that any modification of the painting is affecting the entire picture. Sometimes, I may guess the answer to my mark making, but more often
than not, the canvas/painting surprises me with unpredictable responses. What type of paints or materials do you prefer to work with and why? For the last year, I have been using exclusively acrylics (before, it was watercolours). I like the acrylics for its speedy drying. It suits my type of character and favours a vivid conversation/interaction with the canvas. I have found too that acrylic paper is a very convenient support to use. It is cheap, easy to handle and takes little space when storing away. The textural surface of the paper also varies from the different manufacturers.
That would be my partner Maria, who I’ve lived with for the last four years. She is a professional painter for forty years. I mentioned earlier that my genes and theoretical approach have given me a chance to kickstart as a painter. But of course, without Maria’s inspiration and good guidance, I would have had an uphill struggle in pursuing my new course in life. Is there anything else that you’d like to share with our audience? I take painting seriously without being constrained by economical necessities, or in need of achievements to lengthen my CV. Success and recognition are of course rewarding; but the driving force in my painting is the pleasure to paint and the desire to master the art.
MALCOLM-MCEWEN.SE
You are excellent at combining the use of tones, colours, lines and shapes to create a unique piece of art. Can you tell us more about your artistic style and how these elements play an important role in creating your pieces? I pursue a spontaneous approach to painting; and I like trying different techniques. I tend to use colours in a vivid way. Of late, I am using quite often a dough spatula (without the handle) to make marks instead of using brushes. Very interesting effects and shapes can be obtained. I mostly paint abstract or abstractions, which is facilitated by the interactive conversation with my canvas together with the use of acrylics and vivid colours. Sometimes, a painting that started as an abstract ends up in a surprising way representing something. Inspirational role models come in many forms. They could be artists from the renaissance period, while others may simply exist in our daily lives. If you could pay homage to a woman in history or within your personal life, who would it be and why?
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Your style of artistry is very original and creative. Where does your inspiration come from and what is your background as an artist?
Please tell us more about your distinctive style of painting, what goes into creating such masterpieces?
I pushed pixels around for a lot of years as a designer. I would apply different types of filters to images to give them a new look. Now I essentially push around liquid plastic.
I just find an image I’d like to paint, spend about 90% of the time rendering it very carefully, and then spend the other 10% obliterating it. I use pieces of rubber and plastic.
Is figurative painting your preferred style of painting? If so, why?
Do you have a preferred choice of material for your artwork? If so, what is it and why?
Humans are the most beautiful creatures on Earth. I’m searching for Beauty. There’s also some magic in the faces. I think it’s the Light of God in the Face of Humanity.
Oil, the colors vibrate the most. Your body of work includes some very unique depictions of women.
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If you could pay homage to a woman in history or within your personal life, who would it be and why? My mom, she bought me my first paint-by-number oil painting sets when I was 6, that’s when I started vibrating as an artist. Is there anything else that you’d like to share with our audience? Thank you for enjoying my painting!
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Is NUDITY IN ART “We should venture on the study of every kind of animal without distaste; for each and all will reveal to us something natural and something beautiful” Aristotle
Back in 2015, the British Museum exhibited some of the most outstanding Greek sculptures. In contrast with those of the Assyrians and Egyptians of the same antiquity years, the Greek statues were largely nude. The Assyrian and Egyptian mortals and gods were arrayed in their royal regalia while the ancient of Greece appeared in their natural state. It’s actually possible to perceive the gods and mortals of Greece strutting down the iconic streets of Athens with nothing but their birth suit. While the Assyrian, Persian and Egyptian civilizations found nude a shameful topic and refused to chisel it in marble to represent their heroic mortals and deities, the Greeks had a different persuasion. CREST OF HEROES
Xyare Lambert
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To the Greeks, nudity was the emblem of the heroes of the day and the unadulterated way of appending their gods, semi-gods and half-mortals in time. However, it’s not to say the Assyrian or Persian galleries today lack nude busts from antiquity. Naked figures are in plenty, but they aren't of heroic and famous mortals but the pitiful flayed and stripped war victims who received the vilest and most cruel punishment while still alive. To
REALLY OFFENSIVE? the Greeks, such gruesome representation of anyone, the gods or mortals of Athens wasn’t just unappealing, but also to be frowned upon.
when the nude image or sculpture is made with the objective of arousal.
Nudity in Greece antiquity was the perfect way to disassociate through creative means from the realities of commotions and wars that plagued them back then. Nude art was the perfect way of bringing to be a wholly new aesthetic world. Whether it’s the three-inch figure of the Trojan War hero, Ajax, in a sexually aroused state, Diego Velázquez's Rokeby Venus painting, the life-size marble of the Sleeping Hermaphroditus, Correggio's Danaё, Francisco de Goya's La maja desnuda, Michelangelo's David or Kerri-Anne Mesner's life drawings, all of which span over a thousand years, nude art has always been with us and a topic as dividing as the delicate, artistic measures of symmetry in these pieces of art.
NUDITY IS TO HUMAN
NUDE ART HAS ITS PLACE
HIGHLY COMPLEX IN DEPTH
Is nudity in art really offensive? From the beginning of time if the accounts of the Bible are anything to go by, man and woman were begotten brazenly naked. In that state they were considered by God to be perfect. We were probably created to remain nude and live that way without shame. The little matter of offense comes in
In art, naked images and figures are a reflection of a highly complex depth of formal ideas, cultural norms and philosophical concerns. The modern artistic innovation of the nude followed the time of the renaissance when man was at perhaps his most philosophically intelligent, discovering, creating,
From birth, man comes into the world without clothes and no human can claim to be clean if she or he took a bath in her pajamas or tuxedo. Apart from the mysterious divine conception of Jesus by Mary, no other human being alive or dead can claim to have been born by parents who did not display their nude or some of it. Nakedness and being human goes together. The complexity of the human body has always awe-inspired artists, common folk to children learning and questioning things. Kids are always asking what a particular part of the body is, what its work is and why it has to be covered. But, nudity is way complex and critical than this.
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experimenting, painting and writing self that generated some of the most celebrated pieces of art to date. EMBODIMENT OF PERFECTION The offense of the nude in art doesn't arise. From the dawn of time it wasn't offensive to be naked. In fact, it was a show of divinity and masculine perfection depending on the gender. As it was back in the day to date, nude is an embodiment of the perfection of humanity, which the Greeks figured out impeccably. Greeks saw a naked man as the quintessence of moral excellence, glory and triumph observable in the glorious and creatively done Greek nudes in marble that remain to date.
perfect body, prepares men for modern war glory, whether in Iraq or Afghanistan. It's also what makes male models perfect. The show of the most ripped men in bodybuilding contests or in celebration of the National Nude Day has never been offensive but the contrary. DIVINELY DESIRABLE NUDE ART WITH NARRATIVE AND PROPORTION The feminine nude on the other hand, not just for the Greek or ancient civilized man but for everyone else, even today, carries with it the divinity of desire and procreation. Ishtar in the Near East to Aphrodite, the goddess of the Greeks represents this notion of the feminine nude, not an offense to anyone but the apotheosis of worship. The ancient man saw the nude female as an icon of seduction, pride and life-giver. While the Near Eastern nude figurines had bulbous and exaggerated breasts and hips, the Greek bequeathed thought to the female nude art that has withstood the test of time. As seen in Praxiteles’ Aphrodite of Knidos, the female nude reverence took ratios and proportions that met mathematical and geometrical standards. The poise of the renaissance female nude painting or Grecian female nude sculpture of antiquity filled the naked image with erotic sensibilities and narrative. It was no longer just a piece of female body in its most carnal representation but offered something more.
PERFECTION LINGERS THE SAME Just like the Greeks who had naked athletes, the story has never really changed. These were men in their naked selves competing in the ancient Olympics for a wreath and honor. Nude figures were also of perfect male nudes being offered in divine sanctuaries. Their most sacred heroes and gods were contrived in nude. Only recently did men allow women to participate in bloody confrontations of war, which can be said to be the perfection of the male figure through strenuous exercises and ripped biceps and six packs. These workouts manufacture what Greeks would consider the
Nudity in art is a profound way of admiring humanity wrought in feminine or masculine anatomies. But they aren’t really a celebration of human variety but the idea of the wonder and mystery of the naked humanoid, perhaps with some sex appeal without the intention of being voyeuristic. The Romans and Greek nudes are concepts of the perfect person with their poise represented in organic equilibrium, geometrical mastery, youth and health to shout audibly the beauty of a person. The trench coat, ballet tights, yoga pants or a mere gown might cloth the nude but the symmetry, proportions and form of the human body will always remain desirable and visible art. Nudity in art seeks not to offend anyone but express and celebrate. Nudity in art isn’t without complaints.
AROUSING IN OFFENSE Some people find offense in any of its representation. Some find the nude, particularly female nude as one impacting their mind in a way that obsesses their medulla towards sexual arousal. This is considered the most offensive of all complaints towards nudity art. Even when contrived in sexual unappealing form the complaints linger. The idea of ‘clean’ thoughts when a nude person, in art or not, is perceived is said to dissipate without notice. Religious zealots and conservative minds are unable to distinguish between pornography, for instance, and Kerri-Anne Mesner's nude drawings. To them, both have the same outcome of arousing the viewer.
questions whether a child who strips to their birth suit and peers at themselves on the mirror is offended by what they see. It doesn’t really matter. THIN LINE BETWEEN NUDITY AND SEX Nudity and sex are said to go hand in hand in our current world, whether you live in downtown Alberta, work in eventful New York or tranquil Nairobi in Kenya. Sex is shameful, sexual thoughts evil and nude figures on TV, online or magazine are to be shunned. Yet, the African in his peace went practically naked save for a piece of cloth or pelt around the waist for both men and women, breasts of all cup sizes unashamedly thrown out. No man or woman was aroused or found that offending. NUDITY IN ART AFFRONT ON WOMEN Rather than the female nude being the strength of the woman as created by her maker, it’s contrived as an affront to her. Feminine nudity in art is seen as transmuting the woman into a sexual object of men, the stuff of male ecstasy, desire and evil thoughts and not that of a complete human being. Is the world in a perpetual power struggle between men and women? Which is the most effective power between a woman’s and the brawn, raw, primitive disposition of man? By the virtue of who she is behind closed doors, the woman can take men to war as in the case of Helen of Troy and antique Israel in the form of Delilah through her soft power. Nudity in art or otherwise is her strength not a vehicle of objectification or weakness.
Maja Borowicz
NOT FOR KIDS As such, nude art is offensive just by the fact that only adults are allowed to see it. Most parents would not even allow their children to peruse art magazines, browse museum websites or art e-zines with glossy images of ancient nakedness. The impact of the images on kids once they start seeing dishabille in art is seen as another chief offense of nude art. No one actually
Nudity in art, like change, is inescapable. Its offensive nature like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It can be an article of high beauty, philosophically contrived and innovatively done figurine, photo, video or paint with all the merits of intelligent proportions, ratios of geometry and mathematics or a simple object of male or female lust that should be shunned. Whatever the comportment, nudity in art in any of its form displays men and women as being full of life, not corpses; the perfect peek at what it means to be human with a soul.
Written By: Benson Mwang Page 52
Brenda Truesdale