VL
VISUAL LANGUAGE
contemporary fine art
VL
March 2013 Volume 2 No. 3
Cover Artist Linda McCoy www.cfai.co/lindamccoy
VL
VISUAL LANGUAGE
Contemporary Fine Art
VisualLanguageMagazine.com Subscribe today. March 2013 Vol 2 No 3 @GraphicsOneDesign1998-2013
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Linda McCoy Contemporary Realist, Impressionist Palette, describes my approach to both oil and watercolor. I have been painting for over twenty-five years, forever chasing the light filled still life, landscape or person. I enjoy working with clients to create personalized works of art of their family members, homes, pets, or places they have visited.
Moody Blues
Yolko Oh No
Blog: Lindamccoyart.blogspot.com
Chuckles
VL Cover Artist
Sunlight fuels my passion to create art. I am fascinated by the way it passes through a transparent flower petal, how it dances through glass, warms the top of an apple and appoints sentiment to ordinary objects. Capturing that transformation when an object is illuminated into something previously unseen is what truly inspires me. This light is what drives me to share my perception with others; and is a reminder to cherish the nuances of life.
Annie OBrien Gonzales
Look of Love
annieobriengonzales.com
s
content
VL
New Artists and Art Picks Pages 5-6 Painter’s Keys - Robert Genn Page 8 Artspan Gallery Visit Pages 21-26 Annie OBrien Gonzales
CFAI Art Challenge Pages 29-32
Best of Show: David Patterson
VL Gallery Visit Pages 35-40 Pamela Blaies
Artspan Artist Spotlight Pages 41-46
Richard Newill
Colors on My Palette Pages 49-50 Carolee Clark and Barbara Churchley
Artspan Review Pages 59-64
Photographing the Body, Capturing the Soul by Sarah Hucal
Guest Art Review Pages 65-68
Glenn Ligon by Christopher Hutchinson
CFAI Reviews Pages 71-74
Features include Maryann Lucas & Bebe Ruble
Daily Painters Pages 93-94 CFAI Collection Starters Pages 113-116
VL new artists on cfai.co Seshadri Sreenivasan
Reza Soufdoost Ally Benbrook
Rosemary Bonnin
Denise Bossarte
Mary Opat Nancy Taylor Levinson
Beverly Fagan Gilbertson
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Jonelle T. McCoy Maria Kitano
Susan Santiago
SusanSantiago.net
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VL
VISUAL LANGUAGE
Contemporary Fine Art
Visual Language Magazine Staff Editorial Editor -in-Chief Laurie Pace Executive Editor Lisa Kreymborg Managing Editor Nancy Medina Consulting Editor Diane Whitehead Consulting Editor Debbie Lincoln Feature Contributor Robert Genn Painter’s Keys Artspan Media Manager Sarah Hucal CFAI Contributor Kimberly Conrad Feature Editor Art Reviews Hall Groat II VL Sponsor ARTSPAN Eric Sparre Advertising Contact: VisualLanguageMagazine@gmail.com Marketing and Development Director Laurie Pace Senior Director Lisa Kreymborg
Amy Whitehouse “Fruit Bowl” 20 x 20 Oil
Hall Groat II “Blood Money” 24 x 30 Oil on Canvas
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All Artwork is Copyrighted by the Individual Artists. Visual Language Vol 2 No 3
Painter’s Keys with Robert Genn
Robert Genn’s Studio Book
Dear Artist, “The Matthew Effect” in economics was named after the verse in Matthew in the New Testament of the Christian bible: “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.” (25:29) A popular way of saying this is, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” The Matthew Effect as applied to education was first described in 1990 by Canadian psychologist Keith Stanovich. You can get the idea with all the talk these days about the importance of third grade. Children who move into fourth grade without knowing how to read suffer significant disadvantages for the rest of their lives. Learning to read is the vital precursor to reading to learn. Poor readers drop out. Later on in life, good readers get the good stuff, and poor readers don’t. The Matthew Effect can be applied to art. Historically, would-be artists who didn’t learn the basics of drawing, composition, colour and form put themselves at a disadvantage. But with the widespread democratization of art, particularly in the Western hemisphere, folks these days often feel self-expression is up ahead of proficiency. It seems many artists are simply educated with a sense of entitlement and audacity. In many places, big, decorative art is popular. Artists with very little training or academic instincts can often make effective, even sensitive, wall-fillers that make people happy. One of my more conservative dealers calls it “the end of connoisseurship.” He tells me people are not looking so closely for exquisite rendering, good drawing or the skillful nailing of light and shadow. “Right now they want ‘em mighty, moody, and splashy,” he says. “Because traditional skills aren’t so respected anymore,” my dealer says, “there’s an industry in teaching people to be amateurs.” As he said this I was remembering Picasso’s remark: “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” I’m curious about this. Is “painting like a child” just a trend? Are skill, technique, and connoisseurship truly on the endangered list? If so, what is this doing to people? Best regards, Robert PS: “Slow reading acquisition has cognitive, behavioral, and motivational consequences that slow the development of other cognitive skills and inhibit performance on many tasks.” (Keith E. Stanovich, Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, University of Toronto) Esoterica: Another friend regularly attends courses where everyone is encouraged to throw paint onto giant, inexpensive surfaces--often from a lineup of commonly-shared pots of colour. The idea of these events is to free up the creator within, express oneself, shake out demons, and have a good time. Colour mixing and other basics are not part of the curriculum. After a weekend of emoting and splashing, my friend asked if she could bring her results to me for a crit. In a diplomatic manner I pointed out what I thought were their strengths and weaknesses. After a while she hesitantly asked, “How much do you think I should charge for them?” 8
Painter’s Keys - Robert Genn
The Matthew Effect January 30, 2013
artspan picks
Vivian Wenhuey Chen www.vivianwenhueychen.com/ USA
Michele Colburn
www.michelecolburnart.artspan.com US
Eric Palson
www.ericpalson.com US
Selected Members Worldwide
Sarah Lou Newman
www.sarah-lou-newman.com/ USA
John Counter
www.johncounterphotography.com US
Judy White
www.judywhitefineart.com/ DE
Kenneth Johnson
www.kennethjohnsonart.com/ USA
Cathy Berg
www.cathyberg.net/ NL
ishnonn
www.ishnonn.com/ UK
Irreverent A
www.lizhillart.blogspot.com
Workshops with Liz
February 8, 9, 10 Austin, Tx. @Dragonfly Gallery March 4 WEEK CLASS, Conroe , Tx. Art League March 22,23,24 Dallas Workshop April 2, 3 Bryan Texas Workshop (art center) May 9,10,11 WENMOHS RANCH (Hill Country) June HOUSTON, TX. Art Expo in the Woodlands (The Marriot) September 11,12,13 Midland, Texas
Art - Liz Hill
www.lizhillart.blogspot.com
Barbara J. Mason
Titled: Garden Gathering Medium: Pastel Artist: Barbara J. Mason
www.dragonflystudiocreations.com
Acrylic on Canvas 20 x 16
Holly Hunter Berry HollyHunterBerry.com
artspan
FOCUS ON: Photography
Kerry Stuart Coppin http://www.kerrycoppin.com/
Louise Daddona
www.louisedaddona.artspan.com/
Paul Bloomfield
www.paulbloomfield.artspan.com/ 17
https://www.artspan.com/visual_language
VL
Dutch Art Gallery Invites A
Paintings by Nancy Medina - NancyMedina.com
RITES OF
Artists to Show
F SPRING Show is open to all artists over the age of 18 living in the United States. First Place Win $1000. The Dutch Art Gallery brings world-renowned art to the southern region of the United States, located in Dallas Texas. For over 45 years, The Dutch Art has represented artists from around the world and showcased many well known American artists. Rites of Spring is a new juried exhibit that will feature winning works in the unique space of the Dutch Art. It is open to all artists over the age of 18 residing in the United States. Media eligible for admission include paintings, watercolors and statuary. There will be fifty pieces chosen for the month long show in Dallas. First Prize is $1000, additional cash prizes for second and third place. Entry fees are $40. www.artistsoftexas.org/shows.html
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STUDIO VISIT ANNIE
E O’BRIEN GONZALES
annieobriengonzales.com
Artspan/CFAI member Annie OBrien Gonzales at home in her studio. There’s just something about still life paintings that grabs me. It’s slightly voyeuristic-but yet private--like peeking into someone’s life. Henri Matisse’s “Goldfish” painting (or poster I should say) was the first piece of art I ever purchased (probably $10 at World Market). I put it up in my college dorm room in a cheap plastic frame. I’m not sure I knew a whole lot about Matisse at that time but I knew that I loved this painting. Later trips to museums allowed me to see the real thing and I was wowed. Matisse has always been my favorite painter--the color, the looseness, the pattern-love it.
DeLovely
annieobriengonzales.com
Lets Fall in Love
annieobriengonzales.com
My personal journey in art began after a considerable time lapse after art school while of necessity, I entered the “real world� of work. When I restarted my art life, I began while I was still working with art quilting because it was so portable and not as messy as painting. And it also met my criteria of allowing me to work with color and pattern--I thought my opportunity to paint has passed me by. When I got the courage to begin painting again 8 years ago, I tried it all--landscape, abstract and still life as I relearned how to handle the paint. This year, I decided to focus on still life painting--my love since that first Matisee poster and try to find my own style. I am deeply in love and find still life painting endlessly fascinating. So fascinating that I have started my first blog--Common Objects: Modern Still Life Painting on my website. On the blog I’m studying modern still life paintings as I continue to work on my own paintings. ANNIE
Begin the Beguine 25
annieobriengonzales.com
Too Marvelous
annieobriengonzales.com
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World of Marbles
www.worldofmarbles.com.au/
www.worldofmarbles.com.au/
JAN CLAY
CFAI.co Art Challenge “
CFAI Art Challenge
Best of Show D
Best of Show Glass Macro Photography by David Patterson 29
http://www.cfai.co/art-challenge-january-2013-shiny-and-new/
“Shiny and New” January
David Patterson
http://www.cfai.co/davidpatterson
CFAI Art Challenge
First Place Tomato with Basil by Tatiana Roulin
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Tammy Sorrell
CFAI Art Challenge
Second Place First Barefoot Walk the Sunlight
http://www.cfai.co/art-challenge-january-2013-shiny-and-new/
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http://www.cfai.co/art-challenge-january-2013-shiny-and-new/
CFAI Art Challenge
Third Place Yellow Shoes
Nancy Taylor Levinson
Submit your portfolio to join Contemporary Fine Art International www.cfai.co/register
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Amy Whitehouse
AmyWhitehousePaintings.blogspot.com
Earth laughs in flowers. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Barbara Churchley BarbaraChurchley.com
VL
Studio Visit with Pam
mela Blaies
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Texas Artist Pamela Blaies I am inspired by light and how it affects the world around me. The warm gleam of a copper pot, reflections on a polished table, and sparkling shadows cast through colored glass onto a white tablecloth are some examples of subjects that intrigue me. I often use chiaroscuro in my painting, which incorporates contrast to create dramatic light.
Green Apples
Comparing Apples to Oranges
Peonies and Stacked Books
I love to paint from life. Seeing lines, colors and shapes in full glory right in front of me has taught me to see on a deeper level. There is always more to experience than first meets the eye. I work “alla prima� style, finishing each piece while the paint is still wet. This wet-on-wet technique imposes a time limitation that motivates an energetic pace to my work and helps to keep my inspiration fresh. With endless subject matter and significant control over composition, the still life genre allows me the opportunity to paint from life on an almost daily basis.
Studio Visit with Pamela Blaies
I never received formal art education and did not discover my passion for painting until right after starting a family. At that time, my children were sad about our family’s recent move to a new home. To lift their spirits, I created murals on their bedroom walls. I found myself anticipating each morning filled with painting. Soon, I began experimenting with painting on canvas. This started me on a journey toward a lifelong commitment to the pursuit of painting. Over the years, I have studied with many talented and accomplished artists. I’ve also discovered that self-study and experimentation work well for me. Through dedication and hard work, I enthusiastically pursue my art as I continuously strive to grow as an artist. Visit my blog “Alla Prima” where I love to share my art and inspiration: http://pamelablaies.com/blog
ARTSPAN Artist Spotlight
Richard Newill Contemporary Fine Artist When did you realize you loved art and wanted to be an artist? I developed a love for creating art at an early age, but did not begin my professional career until I was in my forties. Even as a child growing up in the small town of Dawson, PA. I wanted to be an artist. Of course, just like the other kids, I dreamed of being a cowboy or a baseball player when I grew up, but I knew I would be an artist. Who has been your mentor, or greatest influence to date? As a young child, I stayed with my grandmother quite often. Although not an artist herself, she loved art, and she introduced me to that world. She taught me how to draw. I learned about perspective, lighting and shading, composition. And then she passed away, and that was the end of my brief art career. But I never forgot the things she taught me about life and art. Who is another living artist you admire and why? Daniel K. Tennant. He is an amazing realist painter. I have learned so much about painting from his book “ Realistic Painting�. What is your favorite surface to paint on? I use Fredrix 7oz. pure cotton duck unprimed canvas rolls. I cut the size I need, then apply it to plywood board. so I will have a hard surface to paint on. I apply a number of coats of gesso to the canvas until I have the right suface to paint on. When my painting is complete I transfer my canvas from the plywood to the strecher boards. What is your favorite brand of paints to use? I like Winsor & Newton artists acrylic, because of their strong colors and no color shift from wet to dry. Do you have a favorite color palette? Not really. My palette changes with each painting. What is your favorite color in your closet? Blue. How often do you paint? how many times a week? I try to paint everyday, even if it is for a half hour or so. On average about 25 to 30 hours per week. What is the one thing you would like to be remembered for. I never really thought about it. I would like to be remembered as a good husband, father, brother and friend. And of course, a good artist. There are many culprits that can crush creativity, such as distractions, self-doubt and fear of failure. What tends to stand in the way of your creativity? I believe self-doubt and the fear of failure are a part of our eveyday lives and painting process. For me, the biggest culprit that can crush creativity is distractions. How do you overcome these obstacles? You cannot let any of these obstacles stand in your way. Over the years I have trained myself to deal with distractions. When I am in my studio painting, and somethng comes up that I have to do, I do it, then go back and pick up where I left off.
RichardNewillArtist.com 41
Penny Candy What are your inspirations for your work? Inspiration can come from where you least expect it. For me, I just love to create art, and that’s all the inspiration I need. What is your favorite way to get your creative juices flowing? I enjoy being an artist. I love the fact that I can take a blank canvas and create a piece of art. To be passionate about the path my art appears to be taking. To be challenged as an artist to find beauty in what others may overlook or even concider mundane. Do you have any final thoughts? With so many things in the world to make us uncomfortable, I want my art to provide the viewer a feeling of serenity. Those small intimate moments of life. And one final note. Life is so precious. Every single moment should be blessed and lived to the fullest. Embrace life with passion and follow your dreams, regardless of the odds.
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ARTSPAN Artist Spotlight
Richard Newill
Autumn Sonata
Still Life with Violin
RichardNewillArtist.com
Up Close and Personal What book are you reading this week? I rarely read books. I do read the newspaper daily. Do you have a favorite televion show? Seinfeld reruns What is your favorite food? Anything italian What color sheets are on your bed right now? My wife, Ronnie, loves penguins. There are all these penguins all over the sheets. What are you most proud of in your life? My daughters Amanda and Elizabeth. Who would you love to interview? Jan Vermeer. Do you have a passion or hobby other than painting? What is it? My wife Ronnie and I love to attend or watch sporting events on TV. especially Pittsburgh sports. Who would you love to paint? Mona Lisa, What is it about that smile? If you were an animal what would you be and why? That’s easy. My sister in law Patti’s dog Max. He has got the life.
Rich and his wife visiting the White House.
RichardNewillArtist.com
ARTSPAN Artist Spotlight
Richard Newill
Romanza 45
RichardNewillArtist.com
Masterpiece with Crayolas
RichardNewillArtist.com 46
GABRIELE BITTER GabrieleBitter.com
‘You are Here’ 30 x 30 Acrylic
Carol Engles
carolenglesart.blogspot.com
Colors On My Palette
Carolee Clark
http://www.cfai.co/caroleeclark/ http://www.cfai.co/colors-on-my-palette/carolee-clark/
When did you realize you loved art and wanted to be ‘an artist’? My mother dabbled with paints when I was growing up so I always had crayons and pencils in my hand and loved it. I was encouraged to enter business as a profession so that I could “earn a living,” but knew that I would return to art as soon as I could. Who has been the greatest influence from your past to mentor you to this career? The Willamette Valley has amazing artists and I was lucky to be included in a critique group of very strong artists. I learned a lot from all of these amazing friends. Who is your mentor today, or another artist you admire and why? There are so many incredible contemporary artists that I admire. The world has become very small with the internet and one may see inspiring art at every click. What is your favorite surface to paint on? Describe it if you make it yourself. I now paint on gallery wrapped canvas. I used to paint with watercolor but became very tired of the framing. Also the galleries with whom I dealt didn’t really want any more works under glass so I changed to acrylic and haven’t looked back.
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Read more at http://www.cfai.co/colors-on-my-palette/carolee-clark/
http://www.cfai.co/barbarachurchley/ http://www.cfai.co/colors-on-my-palette/barbara-churchley/
When did you realize you loved art and wanted to be ‘an artist’? I have been drawing since about 4 years of age. I created art through high school. Then, like so many artists, life took me along a different path for many years. I re-discovered my passion for art through the medium of pastel about 7 1/2 years ago and oil about 5 1/2 years ago. When I travel, which is often, I carry sketch books, pencils, and watercolors.
Who has been the greatest influence from your past to mentor you to this career? My mentor and I am proud to say, friend, was Ann Templeton, a well known abstract expressionist who was best known among many artists through her many pastel and oil workshops. Sadly, she succumbed to cancer last year, and I still miss her.
Colors On My Palette
Barbara Churchley
Who is your mentor today, or another artist you admire and why? My mentor, and friend, today is Walt Gonske, whom I met through Ann Templeton. I admire his work so much, as he conveys such emotion, style, and energy in his work. He paints primarily en plein air, and his strokes are confident, free, and expressive. He seldom paints over a stroke, wanting the viewer to feel the energy and impression that the artist felt when in front of the scene. I paint with him at least once a year, usually at his home in Taos, NM. My approach has become much more confident and free due to his influence. I am one lucky artist to know Walt. He is a treasure, both artistically and as a friend. What is your favorite surface to paint on? Describe it if you make it yourself. My favorite surface to paint on is birch For larger paintings, I have to consider the weight of the panel, so linen and cotton are preferred then. I also paint on gallery wrapped canvas. The surface I paint on somewhat depends on the gallery that the painting will be hung in.
Read more at http://www.cfai.co/colors-on-my-palette/barbara-churchley/
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Buckets of Fun
Kay Crain KayCrain.com
Buffalo Beach
CAROL NELSON
CarolNelsonFineArt.com Mixed Media Workshops Limited Space Available Please see Carol’s website for details and contact information.
2/25-28 Wenmohs Ranch Art Workshops, Texas 3/15-16 Littleton, Colorado 3/27-29 Westminster, Colorado 4/15-19 Raleigh, North Carolina 5/6-9 New Orleans, Lousiana 9/2-5 Dillman’s Art Retreats, Wisconsin
SVETLANA NOVIKOVA
svetlananovikova.com
Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow. John Lennon
Johnjabisch.com
FILOMENA BOOTH filomenabooth.com
When I judge art, I take my painting and put it next to a God made object like a tree of flower. If it clashes, it is not art. Paul Cezanne
DORENE BLAKE doreneblake.artspan.com
ROB COMPTON RobCompton.com
Gibson Pottery and Glass 1837 Panther Creek Pass Mount Vernon, TX 75457 info@gibsonpottery.com
Beverly Fagan Gilbertson
BeverlyFaganGilbertson.blogspot.com
Lucian Freud and Artspan Artists take a In 2012, a year after his death at the age of 88, there’s hardly been an artist talked about more frequently than Lucian Freud. In his lifetime he was lauded as an old master, wellloved by those within the artistic community. Yet in the last two decades of his life, he was continuously skipped over by dealers and collectors in favor of Hurst’s bedazzled skulls and the work of various Turner Prize-winners. It wasn’t until his exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery early last year, that the artist’s work once again had the Art world abuzz. Freud continued to paint until the day of his death, and his final labors of love were not lost to both gallery-goers and critics that attended the blockbuster event. Recently voted the best exhibition in 2012 by The Guardian, Freud’s portraiture proved that the painter had a tender, loving side, despite his penchant for what many consider to be crude and cruel depictions. From nude portraits to both gigantic and close-cropped works, an entire floor of the vast museum was devoted to the painter and his work. “Not cruelty, but a raw appetite for life is what came through in this selection of a truly great artist’s works” said Jonathan Jones of The Guardian. What became apparent through the exhibition was Freud’s desire for honest depictions—he kept his eye clear, unmarred by sentimentality. “If his art has an icy hauteur, its lucidity is grandly compassionate for humanity.” said Jones. Freud’s well-known portrait of Big Sue Tilley entitled Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, shows one of the painter’s first models displaying her bulk proudly—a slap on the face to the many airbrushed supermodels in today’s magazines. The huge Irishman – another of Freud’s greatest subjects – sits perched on a chair many sizes to small for his girth. Then there are the frequently-occurring familial subjects, such as his doe-eyed daughters Esther and Bella. Freud has a way of painting children as dolls and society hostesses like tawdry transvestites. Many of Freud’s early works featured in the exhibition were particularly unforgiving. Paintings of his first wife, Kitty Garman displayed incredible tension, love seeming curiously absent. Hotel Bedroom, a 1954 painting of Freud with an aged version of his second wife, Caroline Blackwood, presents an undeniably bleak representation of their crumbling marriage.
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an honest look at Portraiture
by Sarah Hucal
Freud’s signature style of thick, creamy strokes is easy enough to recognize, but if that doesn’t clue in the viewer, his subjects’ poses are a dead giveaway: naked bodies spread-eagled on a bed, sprawled on rags, huddled on chairs, twisted, eyes down or averted. Through his meticulous process of reworking and correcting, even the slenderest and most agile of sitters were made to appear massive, or roughed up. Picture to right: Lucian Freud, Hotel Bedroom 1954 Picture Below: Lucian Freud, Big Sue
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Portraiture continued
The same frankness is apparent in the portraiture and drawings of Artspan Artist Bonnie Shapiro, whose work frequently features overweight nudes sprawled on sofas, or forlornlooking women with less than perfect figures. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had a fascination with the motivations behind ordinary behavior,” says Shapiro, who is based in South Florida, and who’s work has been lauded by MiamiArtZine, New Times Broward-Palm Beach, Coastal Living, and more. Because of her motivation to express human emotion in its rawest form, Shapiro said: “ drawing the human figure is one of the most challenging tasks I’ve undertaken.” Her ink drawing Sonia in Repose, with its swirling lines and approximations of a generous figure are reminiscent of Freud’s well-known Big Sue portrait, as is her graphite drawing, Vesna at Rest. She cites the work of the Ashcan School, particularly Hooper and Glackens, for their depiction of every day life in unsentimental forms. Like Freud, who repeatedly painted himself, as well as those closest to him in his life, Shapiro has formed relationships with her models, whom she has worked with over the last six years. “We have developed close friendships” says Shapiro, “and those relationships serve as an inspiration for my drawings and paintings.” She has no interest in the perfection of what she calls ‘fashion magazine body types,’ and prefers to portray the people she knows and sees in her daily life. “I strive to set a mood and a sense of place in both my paintings and drawings.” she shares. Irish-born artist Jackie Hoysted is similarly inspired by the mundane. Hoysted’s work is featured on Artspan site Gallery 555, which is dedicated to promoting the work of artists in the DC area. Irish-born artist Jackie Hoysted is similarly inspired by the mundane. Hoysted’s work is featured on Artspan site Gallery 555, which is dedicated to promoting the work of artists in the DC area.
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Bonnie Shaprio ‘Vesna at Rest’
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Portraiture continued
Jackie Hoysted ‘Lisbeth’
Hoysted’s figurative work mirrors the bluntness of Freud’s, whom she considers one of her greatest inspirations. Her work for Gallery 555 comes from the collection “Out of Context/No Context” which was as she says “adversely motivated” by a friend and former art critic who told her an earlier body of her work lacked context. “I felt that it should be possible to create a painting that stood on its own without revealing any background information.” Indeed, her subjects stand alone powerfully. The women featured in her paintings sit in front of muted backgrounds, some gazing questioningly at the viewer, such as Antigone in her yellow bathing suit, while others avoid the eye-contact, their faces cast down dejectedly, like the despondent Lisbeth. “My goal was to challenge traditional depictions of women as sex objects and receivers of the gaze” says Hoysted, “I did this by creating images of women that are beautiful and exude mental strength. They challenge the viewer to decide what they are really about.” Hoysted’s subjects are wiry and minimally clad, yet their pale, greyish pallor gives them a nearly corpse-like quality, challenging traditional depictions of femininity. Hoysted has said that her motivation in using the high-key palette was to suggest a particular mood and sense of contemplation, much like the way Freud used color and stroke to create a certain aura around his sujects. As for her greatest artistic influences, she cites the expressionist movement because “they excel at depicting our base qualities and humanness” as well as the minimalist movement for its purity. The artist hopes to marry these two styles in her current work by “limiting the palette and confining mark making to suggest essential form.” The inverse of Freud’s thick strokes, which force the viewer to see the paint before the subject, Hoysted uses no more than what she needed, yet managed to similarly depict a haunting frankness in her subjects. But like Freud, her desire to delve into the human psyche—the intelligence, moods, feelings and passions that we experience— is more important than staying true to form. “I am not interested in achieving a likeness,” says Hoysted “I don’t mind if I misrepresent form, I am only interested in humanness and not the particulars of a person.” Freud and Shapiro would likely agree with Hoysted when she says “Beauty alone doesn’t make for a great painting or a great person.” It’s the complex set of emotions that we humans experience every day— from the bitterness of an unhappy marriage stunningly portrayed in Freud’s “Hotel Room,” to the aura of strength in Hoysted’s subjects—that really counts.
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Critique of: High Museum of Art prese
by Atlanta Art Professor C
Glenn Ligon is a conceptual artist whose work explores issues of race, sexuality, representation and language. Born in the Bronx, Ligon still lives and works in New York. With a BA from Wesleyan University in 1982, Ligon was chosen for the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program in 1985. His work has since been featured in solo exhibitions at impressive venues including the Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Brooklyn Museum, Dia Center for the Arts, the Studio Museum in Harlem, The Power Plant and most recently a mid-career retrospective traveled from the Whitney Museum of American Art to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, closing its tour at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. http://musiqology.com/tag/glenn-ligon/
http://whereisthepower.com/?page_id=77
From a Postcolonial viewpoint Ligon exemplifies the lens to which African American art should be evaluated, from its own aesthetics and through its own lexicon. The fact that one has to know who Richard Pryor, James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Malcolm X all point to the mandatory reading required and excluded from Western art dialogue. He uses African American culture and language as the primary source material of his work. Ligon lecture was the very best artist conversation the High has hosted, he was so candid about his influences and progression as an artist, and it was truly refreshing. Ligon discussed the retrospective and why those particular works were included in the exhibition. How his Malcolm X piece came to be, as well as his noted neon’s. It was great to see and hear the conflict between medium and concept that became present in Ligon’s text based works, leaving the “painterly “ behind to pursue a precise dialogue. This lecture illuminated some inconsistencies between Ligon’s personal conversation and the commonly accepted “text-based conceptual artist” dialogue about his work. These discrepancies demanded an analysis/ rereading of Ligon’s retrospective. Upon rereading his work, it is often formulaic, iconic, illustrating concept rather than conceptual.
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ents A Conversation with Glenn Ligon
Christopher Hutchinson
https://www.facebook.com/christopher.hutchinson.545?fref=ts
http://alexastrautmanis.blogspot.com/2011/06/negro-sunshine-glenn-ligon-at-whitney.html
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http://mitakuyeoyasinn.blogspot.com/2011/05/glenn-ligon.html
Formulaic
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/articl ture/2012/10/6538741/glenn-ligon-lights-lu gustine-though-few-works-remain-d
Ligon discussed the shift from abstract painterly paintings to his well-known stenciled text based paintings. The battle to incorporate text and paint together has been a clash for most painters-with painters either choosing text or paint. He abandons the painterly and focuses on the text. When he does this the process becomes most important. This praxis can be seen as repetitive formulas that lead to the exact same result, a gradient. Ligon’s stencil begins, as clear as a representational painting, and then slowly gets destroyed by the process. Yes the text is important, but more important is the formal visual element of the calligraphy. Ligon is responding to the typography as an icon to be smashed, similar to aspirations of the abstract expressionist DeKooning’s woman 1. This body of work has more to do with obliterating the icon of type than it does the deconstruction of text. Icon “Even my Richard Pryor paintings,” he went on, referring to a series of work based on jokes told by that black comedian, use a common racial epithet. “Turn on the radio,” he said. “A word like that is so archaic, it’s not of this time. It’s about language.” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/arts/design/27ligon.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& 67
le/culuhring-audark
Glen Ligon Using Icon’s in artwork is a deception that has immediate implications. The work no longer belongs to the artist; it now has to contend with the reputation of that Icon. This is discernible in his Richard Pryor text pieces. For those who don’t realize Richard Pryor’s work the pieces are just troubling transcripts that are hard to read. But if you are conscious of Richard Pryor, doesn’t it just summon one of Mr. Pryor’s comedy shows again? Richard Pryor’s Icon dwarf ’s the artist’s message. The best this work can accomplish is denoting the original source material. Should these instructions be the occupation of art? At best this is only appropriation. What is the point of Ligon’s work then? Is it to put up arbitrary quotes to examine your intellect? What crafts this effort as distinctive from those people on Facebook with their mundane daily affirmation? Ligon’s handling of these quotations is “irresponsible” name-dropping that amounts to proselytization. It is not deconstructed, or intertextual. It is derivative. The possibility of deconstruction originates when the viewer does not identify the quote/text. When the observer assumes and generates meaning for him/herself. Conceptual Even though, Ligon never spoke of being a conceptual artist in his conversation at the High, He is regarded as one by many. In one of his latest pieces, “One black day”, Ligon uses his black neon in a text form that reads Nov 6, 2012. “Depends on who you’re voting for and who wins,” Ligon said evenly. “It’s a ‘black day’ either way. You just have to think about it.” Ligon giggled. “It’s just a different black.” http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/culture/2012/10/6538741/glenn-ligon-lights-luhring-augustinethough-few-works-remain-dark
Yes the work is charged by its racial implications to this post-racial American farce, but is this conceptual art or the direct meaning illustrated? It is definitely postmodern by poking fun and being irreverent, more appropriately POP “all the same it’s easy stuff ”. by Christopher Hutchinson January 17, 2013 http://blackflight144.com/blog-2/ 68
Judith Goolsby
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Also soon to schedule will be the great teaching team of KAREN VERNON and KEN MUENZENMAYER. For those of you looking for a great holiday gift idea--other than a class at the WENMOHS RANCH, En Plein air Pro is offering a 15% off until the end of 2012 on all of their artist easel packages.
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