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J. A. SEMPLINER
J. A. SEMPLINER
(1953 - 2013)
John Alexander Sempliner was one of those rare artists whose art and how he lived his life were indivisible. He was intellectually uncompromising, meticulous, energetic, openhearted, and always exploring. From the outset of his studies at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. and Pratt Institute in New York in the 1970s, Sandy, as his friends knew him, was fascinated by colour and cultural symbolism. In his collages and early paintings he placed contemporary US imagery -
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three cherries, a washing machine, an aeroplane - along with vibrant colour to produce dynamic and often witty images. However, it would be a mistake to think Sandy was attempting Pop Art. He was not seeking a narrative quality or to supply social commentary. This is perhaps more easily apparent in his later works, painted after he moved to London in 1985. Certainly, these surprising and vibrant canvases are a response to his experience of moments and landscapes.
However, he did not intend they “tell a story”. As earlier, his motivation was very different. Sandy was not producing art as a “window on the world”; he was pursuing an investigation of the relationship between colours and the relationship of elements in composition. The nonobjective painter, he wrote in 1995, was “like a visual scientist engaged in a scientific study of visual perception”. His paintings were an attempt at a “polemic of pure reason and reflection” that displayed “reality in its purest manifestation”. “Albeit for only a moment [I wish] to share with the viewer a personal universe unfettered by subjective beliefs and fascinated only with endless possibilities of pure visual interaction.” His statement is one of the most articulate definitions I have come across of nonobjective consciousness by an artist. I use the word consciousness because of the personal and passionate philosophical depth he arrived at and which in turn motivated his performance; the processes he used to realise his paintings. It is important to stress the significance of his arriving at making nonobjective paintings. To bring forth his personal vision he embarked on a process of elimination, not conceptual but actual; the resulting image being determined by what he could no longer bring himself to do.
His uncompromising search for a truthful way to be, his integrity, his honesty, his courage drove out the values of the contemporary art world’s fashionable aesthetics. Through his art Sandy intuitively created a form that eradicated all surplus to his cause. That cause was a philosophical and theosophical one which delved unflinchingly into what a human being is. He, the artist, is the subject of research and the process of making a painting is the active material of investigation. The outcome of the experiment is a work of art that re-awakens our visual visceral awareness. Sandy’s beautiful works seduce us back into feeling the joy of seeing. Sandy stopped painting in 2002. He went to help less fortunate communities around the world, working to prevent Aids in Africa, rebuild hospital services in Tsunami-torn Indonesia and feed hungry children in Cambodia. I have no doubt he continued there the search for beauty, order and meaning we see in the images he created. Sotirakis Charalambou, October 2015
He achieved a vision free from the distortions of visual symbolism and which transcended the restrictions of linguistic interpretation, with its narratives, conceptual constructs, propaganda and duplicitous sentimentality. He eschewed emotion and irrationality.
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DIRECTORY OF IMAGES Cover: Arc lV, 1999, 2 x (48” x 60”) acrylic on canvas.
P17: Papa’s Visit, 1988, 11” x 14” acrylic and collage on paper.
P2. J A Sempliner, studio portrait.
P19: White Post Lane, 1989, 47” x 30” acrylic on paper.
P1: Arc lV, 1999, 2 x (48” x 60”) acrylic on canvas.
P3: Cherry Blossom Time, 1976, 32” x 32” acrylic on canvas. P4: DC, 1976, 32” x 32” acrylic on canvas.
P5: (Clockwise from top left.) Crop Duster, 1976, 4” x 4” acrylic and collage on canvas; Toy, 1975, 8” x 8” acrylic and collage on canvas; Georgia, 1976, 8” x 8” acrylic and collage on canvas; Cash When You Need It, 1976, 8” x 8” acrylic and collage on canvas. P6: Last Thanksgiving, 1977, 8.5” x 11” acrylic and collage on paper; Atomic Power, 1977, 8.5” x 11”, acrylic and collage on paper; Luck of the Irish, 1977, 8.5” x 11” acrylic and collage on paper; Small Vacation, 1977, 8.5” x 11” acrylic and collage on paper. P7: Bear and Green Jelly Fish, 1978, 12.5” x 8” acrylic and collage on board; Bonnie Blues, 1976, 36” x 60” acrylic on canvas; P8: Patriotisk, 1975, 48” x 36” acrylic and collage on canvas. P9: Untitled, 1976, 8.5” x 11”, acrylic and collage on paper. P10: Leonard Street, 1985, 36” x 60” acrylic on canvas. P11: Untitled, 1985, 36” x 60” acrylic on canvas.
P12: (Clockwise from top left) Common Aviation Hazards, 1981, 12” x 14” acrylic and collage on paper; Red Menace III, circa 1983, 11” x 17” acrylic and collage on paper; Then We Drove to Baltimore, 1980, 11” x 14” acrylic and collage on paper; There is a lot of Irish in Latin America, 1980, 12” x 14” acrylic and collage on paper. P13: (Clockwise from top left.) In the Ballpark, 1987, 11” x 14” acrylic and collage on paper; Queen’s Birthday, 1986, 15.5“ x 21.5” acrylic and collage on paper; Robot Slave, 1987, 11” x 14” acrylic and collage on paper; Title unknown, 1988, 11” x 14” acrylic and collage on paper. P14: Heidi entertained the Mexicans on the Boat, 1988, 11” x 14” acrylic and collage on paper. P15: Blue Jay Day, 1988, 11” x 14” acrylic and collage on paper. P16: Bobsled, 1988, 11” x 14” acrylic and collage on paper.
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P18: Title unknown, 1988, 11” x 14” acrylic on canvas. P20: Candy Street, 1988, 36” x 24” acrylic on canvas. P21: Monier Road, 1988, 36” x 24” acrylic on canvas.
P22: Chapman Road, 1989, 60” x 60” acrylic on canvas. P23: Rothbury Road, 1989, 60” x 60” acrylic on canvas.
P24: Old Ford Road, 1994, 20.25” x 20.25” acrylic on paper. P25: Fornalutx, 1994, 26” x 38” acrylic on paper.
P26: Roman Road, 1994, 20” x 28” acrylic on paper.
P27: Luncheon in Cap Ferret, 1994, 38” x 51” acrylic on paper.
P28: Palmengarten, 1999, 4 x (10” x 10”) acrylic on canvas; Cortals de Miraval, 1999, 4 x (10” x 10”) acrylic on canvas.
P29: Meadow above Miraval, 1999, 4 x (10” x 10”) acrylic on canvas; Epiphany in La Seu D’Urgell, 4 x (10” x 10”) acrylic on canvas. P30: Glen Clunie, 1999, 4 x (5” x 5”) acrylic on paper.
P31: Chumleigh near Wembworthy, 1996, 84” x 30” acrylic on canvas. P32: Ocean Drive, circa 1996, 30” x 60” acrylic on canvas. P33: Elaine Marie, 1994, 42” x 48” acrylic on canvas. P34: Racing at Sha Tin, 1999, acrylic on canvas.
P35: Excursion a La Plata, 1996, 2 x (14” x14”) acrylic on canvas. P 36 & 37: Arc Il, 2000, 2 x (40” x 14”) acrylic on canvas; Arc I, 2000, 2 x (48” x 14”) acrylic on canvas. P 38 & 39: Arc III, 2000, 2 x (36” x 48 “) acrylic on canvas. Book design and artwork by Fernando Farah