Viewfinder Continued: A Collage By Katie Parry

(For more information about the "Viewfinder Project" click here.)

Several of the artists involved in the "Viewfinder Project", including Katie Parry, transformed the initial "Viewfinder" print in sculptural ways. Parry built outward glueing new materials to the back of the print. Below is a view of the print after Parry had worked on it.

Relief print by Kip Deeds, collage by Katie Parry

On the other side of the card Katie continued to collage and made a drawing. She wrote me a descriptive note about how she arrived at the image. Initially, she imagined personalities for the figures depicted. Parry's free association was a catalyst that ultimately led toward her own narrative thread. In many ways, Katie's delicately constructed collage and drawing are a contrast to the more contained graphic content of the print. Parry's written description of her drawing is almost as stirring as the artwork she made.

Letter from Katie Parry

Parry writes, "I would like there to be a way to hold onto things that have no shape, slippery, weightless things that stir our hearts like wind. What if you could fill a balloon with a song, send it up into the air, and let it travel to a faraway place? What if a person in that far away place could release the song as easily as opening an envelope?"

Collage and Drawing by Katie Parry

It seems Katie Parry's view is expansive. Her process involved wandering, wondering, building outward, and thoughtfully communicating. Parry's letter seems an extension of the drawing. One view leads to another, then action, and then dialogue.

Viewfinder And A Painting By Anda Dubinskis

One task that stands out in my mind from high school art class and later college drawing class was making a viewfinder. We were assigned to cut a square out of the center of a piece of matboard. Thus, making a device to help one compose pictures. By using this window to frame a view one can get a sense of what should fit in a drawing and what should be left out (students are suppose to consider the edges of their pictures and the use of positive and negative space to their advantage).

I don't remember using the device much and I don't recall thinking it was very practical because there was no way to hit the pause button when one found a useful view. However, the idea behind the viewfinder did stick in my mind and it did make me aware of how vision involves constant movement and is unframed until we ascribe meaning to it.

Years later I wondered about other ways to find views, and I subsequently made a print that became a catalyst for finding views (see below). I mailed the print to artist friends for the purpose of collecting perspectives that could then be re-examined. I gave each artist a sample print and an extra copy. On the back of the extra copy the artist applied a view and returned the completed work to me.

Relief Print by Kip Deeds (Size: 6" x 4 1/4")

After receiving the cards back, I now have a collective view and examples of different ways people are viewers. Every other week I will post a result. Some artists spent hours laboring on there little card, others responded quickly, and some were never returned (this is also a kind of view). I am not disappointed about the printed viewfinders that went missing. After all, I am blessed to have two eyes and wonderful results on both rectangles and in other forms.

One of the first "views" that was returned to me in the mail was a painting by Anda Dubinskis. Anda exhibits work at Fleisher Ollman Gallery in Philadelphia and is the drawing coordinator at Drexel University.

Painting by Anda Dubinskis (Size: 4 1/4" x 6")

I was amazed by the image that had been returned to me. Not only does the painting have the wonderful movement of a sketch but the image seems rich in story. The figure, dressed better than that of a typical woodsman, appears swinging an ax. It is uncertain what the figure is striking at. The tree is curious because it is behind her. It is also painted in a manner that allows one to see through it (as if the tree is an illusion). All of these factors lead to a mysterious depiction and I can not help but feel empathy for this displaced character and what seems to be unresolved action.

A New Press and A Hunter Finds Her Target

I finally had a chance to go to Philadelphia (December 18th) and to see some artwork and socialize. I visited Rebekah Templeton Gallery and then went to the grand opening of the Second State Press. Jackie Hoving’s exhibit Crypsis was on view at Rebekah Templeton. The exhibit featured two large collaged wall pieces, several smaller collage works (in both the gallery and the back room), and a video on a pint-sized screen. With regard to the large work, one collage referred to gaps in the content of the other. Below is one wall of the gallery and the following image shows the adjacent wall.

Jackie Hoving, Hunter in Forest, paper, spray paint, acrylic, ink, 2010, 108 x 224.25 inches

Jackie Hoving, Forest in Hunter, paper, spray paint, acrylic, ink, 2010, 108 x 175 inches

Hunting themes dominate Hoving’s work whereby she uses camouflage and references finding one's target. I feel most art making involves hunting for images, content, meaning, or a look. However, the artist’s inspiration very rarely purposefully hides. Although art usually does not involve hunting for the kill, I still find art more illusive and for the most part more valuable than the hunters pelt. What is most compelling about this work is the effort to find a view amidst difficult circumstances whether that is about finding a target in a dense forest or about the ethical or cultural issues relating to a hunting culture. In a day and age when hunting is rarely a necessity for food and clothing, this exhibit shows how close hunting is related to ritual as well as to a fashion that is political, visual, and social. For more images and information visit the Rebekah Templeton website.

After leaving the gallery, I headed over to the Crane Arts Building to the opening of the Second State Press. This is a new nonprofit print center that allows artists to rent time in order to use the presses. The rates are rather modest if one has specific printing needs.

Above is an image of one of the lithographic presses. The picture was taken after the opening festivities. To me the press looks lonely, as if it is waiting for an artist to come along. I bought sixteen hours of press time. So, Mr. Lithopress I will see you this spring.

(This is the last post of 2010 and in many ways the hunting theme foreshadows my next post about viewfinders. I hope you will come back in January. Until then, happy new year.)

Lost and Found Part 2

This fall I received an email from Liz Ainslie. Liz is a friend and an artist living in New York City. Liz informed me that she was out with another friend of mine Maanik Singh Chauhan and they spotted one of my paintings in an antique store. Maanik saw the painting first and noted my signature on the back. I guess the painting was a bargain because Maanik bought it right away.

I could not fathom how Maanik and Liz could stumble upon my painting because I have made so few. Also, when Liz described the artwork to me I could not recollect it. I considered that Liz might be mistaken. I figured that what she had could be a print because I had made many like the image she described. Yet, Liz assured me that it was a painting. Still confused, I asked Liz to email me an image so I could verify it. Once I received the image, I recognized the painting (see below). It was made at the Millay Colony in 2003 and I donated it for an auction. Somehow the painting made it back into circulation.

Kip Deeds, Entering the Carousel, oil on canvas, 12" x 12", 2003

My friends finding this painting has been a fortuitous for several reasons: first, now I know the artwork is in good hands; second, this event has allowed me to converse with Liz and Maanik; third, now I have a great reason to highlight these wonderful artists' work.

Liz Ainslie, The Pieces XI, oil on wood, 24" x 18", 2010

When I am absorbed by Liz’s paintings I think of a kind of abstract depiction of home through shape, form, and color. I am reminded of the playfulness of Milton Avery and the sensitivity of color that Morandi brought to his paintings. One of Maanik's paintings, seen below, is humorous in part because of its title and also because Maanik is a Sikh. This is one of my favorite paintings; it mixes humor and seriousness in a way that causes rumination.

Maanik Singh Chauhan, Sikh and Tired, oil on panel

The chances of finding one of my paintings in a resell store and recognizing it seems slim. I feel that winning the lottery might be greater. Although the payout in this case may not be nearly as great, the power of art has once again brought people together.

Edgar Allan Poe

Nathan Oliveira, title page and print from the series To Edgar Allan Poe, 1971

Halloween is approaching, and it seems like a good time to investigate visual artists who were inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. Since I have been teaching in Baltimore this fall, Poe has been on my mind. Poe lived in Baltimore (he moved often) and is also buried there. Currently, there is an Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore that now keeps the memory of the writer alive.

Édouard Manet, Lithograph, published with the poem "The Raven",1875

After some online research, I found that the Baltimore Art Museum recently had an exhibit that featured artists inspired by Edgar Allan Poe (The University of Virginia also had a similar themed exhibit). Poe’s writing is now in the public domain and much of his writing can be found online. The website The Literature Network has a thorough collection of Poe’s writing (If you do not see the links to Poe’s stories and poems on this site, look for the column on the left as you scroll down).

Odilon Redon, The Eye Like a Strange Balloon Mounts Toward Infinity, Plate 1 in the Series For Edgar Allan Poe, Lithograph, 1882

Artists for generations have been attracted to Edgar Allan Poe’s imagination, depth, and vividness. It is these qualities that pierce through the macabre for which his best literary works are known. Some artist’s like Edouard Manet have made more literal illustrations of Poe’s writing. Manet made lithographs to illustrate Stephane Mallarme's French translation of "The Raven". Artists Odilon Redon and Nathan Oliveira have made suites of prints inspired by Poe. For artists like Edvard Munch much of their art work is ladened with a mood akin to Poe's writing.

Odilon Redon, After Reading Edgar Allan Poe, or: The Eye, Charcoal drawing, 1883

Life is ripe with paradox. For example, one cannot truly know the lighter side of life without feeling its darkness and despair. For all of Poe's focus on the darker side of life, he also understood its opposite. For example,“The Pit and the Pendulum” is relentlessly dark. However, it would not be memorable without the light at the end.

Edvard Munch, Angst, Oil on Canvas, 1894

(For further reading about Redon's connection with Poe see: Norbert Miller's essay, pages 58-67, in the book Odilon Redon: As in a Dream. Also see: Nathan Oliveira, by Peter Selz, pages 3, 78-80, and 154)

Lost and Found Part 1

Currently, I am taking digital design classes at Bucks County Community College. Numerous prints are hung in one of my classrooms below the library. After observing the various styles and techniques represented, I noticed a print that looked familiar and seemed to be part of a series. I had seen another print that looked very similar on another part of the campus. Upon closer inspection I realized that the print found in my classroom and the other print I had seen were made by Pamela DeLaura.

I met Pamela on a trip to Detroit. She is a Professor of Printmaking at Wayne State University in Detroit. I sent her an email to confirm it was her work. She was surprised because it turns out the work came from her time as a graduate student at Temple University. She was not sure how the work became a part of the college collection but was pleased to know it fell into good hands.

The print I witnessed (seen above with some glare on the glass) is an interior with writing visible as part of the printed image. The writing describes what she saw out of her window when she was a child.

Pamela's prints at Bucks County Community College seem to foreshadow her later work that depicts the form of a house filled with reminders and symbolic information. Below is an image of a more recent print by DeLuara that was included in a national print exhibit at Artlink in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Having lived for three years in the Midwest, I know that Artlink has been very active in support of contemporary art and printmaking. After doing a web search, I found that Artlink has a new website. This was a little confusing because I found Pamela’s work on what must have been their older site. Anyway, it is all good. What was lost has now been found.

Pamela Delaura, Intersections III, 2005

Science and Art

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is perhaps the artist most identified with science. The drawing above by Leonardo demonstrates his interest in proportion. Proportional study was critical to science during Leonardo's lifetime because a standard system of measurement did not exist. Systems of measurements often varied from city to city (See Fritjof Capra's excellent book The Science of Leonardo page 169).

Since the renaissance, technology has more often than not allowed artists and scientists to drift apart. There is still the need to illustrate, graph, and describe science with traditional artists tools. However, In the nineteenth and twentieth century a dramatic increase in scientific invention and information has ushered in an age of specialization where scientific understanding is no longer dependent on the artist's power to observe and record. Electron microscopes, x-rays, and cameras small enough to be inserted in the body are now allowing scientists, engineers, and doctors to see in enhanced ways.

Although most artists are not deeply engaged in science and most scientists don't have time to become full time artists, the two fields of study share many common aspects. For instance, both disciplines are likely to begin with studies or tests, comparison is key to both scientific and artistic analysis, perspective and observation remain critical, and finally imagination and creative thinking is essential to scientific and artistic development.

Art involves a study of life as it relates to the senses and intellect. So, we should see some connections between art and the techniques used for investigating our universe (scientific method). Art remains capable of presenting scientific findings in unique ways. Art can also provide a humanistic context for science that is capable of critiquing mankind's use of science.

Below are examples of art that describe, critique, and presents science in a variety of ways. What is art and what is science can often be hard to separate. Notably, my initial inspiration for this post was a contest and exhibit titled The Art of Science that students at Princeton University take part in annually. The contest challenges students, who study a range of subjects, to consider science as art and art as science.

National public Radio had a series called "Where Science Meets Art" and one example from this series involves science told through comics. The artwork above is by Leland Purvis and Jay Hosler.

GFP Bunny is a genetically engineered rabbit by Eduardo Kac (born 1962).

Based on study by Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia (1499/1500 - 1557) this illustration exhibits the relationship between geometric analysis, physics, and canon fire.

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) said "Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe." This image is from Galileo's Dialogues.

Dorothea Rockburne's (born 1932) work has also been inspired by a study of geometry. Above is her work: Pascal’s Provincial Letters, Oil on gessoed linen , Size 67" x 67" x 8", Date 1987.

Here are links to other serious artists inspired by science: Beauvais Lyons, Beverly Fishman, Vija Clemins also on Art 21, Walter De Maria, and Damien Hirst. (I hope to add more soon)