This painting is currently up for the remainder of the week at the Highwire Gallery in Philadelphia.
Sugarhouse Casino is a project slated to be built along the Delaware Riv er in Philadelphia, just north of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The site was a former Sugar Mill, producing the brand Jack Frost Sugar. The site has been empty of major structures for 10 years. There are many issues that surround this plan: from shady government deals, to real concerns about the future and economy of fishtown. Many people feel strongly about the issue and firmly choose a side. Frequently, arguments from the other side fall on deaf ears.
I painted the field where the casino will be built.
Much like the Nine Mile Run Restoration painting, this landscape is a highly politicized zone that is on the cusp of significant change, both in it's characteristics and it's relationship with the surrounding nature and culture.
The major urban bridge in the distance serves as an icon of this cusp of change, sitting quite incongruously in the distance--the only human structure in the landscape, taking you from here to there. In a certain sense, our own value systems are similar, supporting us as we move and change. Whatever those values are, they will change this space in the near future.
The ballot boxes are for people to vote whether they want the casino to be built, and why. One Box for yes, and one box for no. I peeked today, and it seems as if "No" is slightly edging out "Yes."
The gallery is 1 mile from the Casino site. I will report back with the official tally in 1 week when I pick up the painting.
This painting falls into the relationships to place category.
I suppose that's it for now... headed to work!
Dec 16, 2007
Dec 12, 2007
Nine Mile Run Restoration
Samantha says my work is all about relationships. I tend to agree.
Hawthorne (Hawthorne on Painting) speaks of painting as spots of color.
"The beauty of a picture results from the way spots of color are brought together."
This describes the mechanics of my painting. I simply put spots of color next to other spots, while pulling out the lights and pushing the darks. The relationships between those spots fool the eye into some representational image. Click on the image to see the larger versions... Below the image you will see a comment from a local photographer who has his own relationship with this space. He says "Hey now that looks familiar!"
The relationships between the spots and the actual scene represent my role as observer. I interpret this scene on a day where the stream flows through a completed restoration area of Nine Mile Run. There is mist in the air, the trees are dormant waiting for springtime.
Forgive the brainstorming - the writing will jump around as things pop up.
Relationships relevant to this painting:
Painting - There is a notion of voice behind the relationship of a painting and a painted subject. For much of the history of painting, it has been a visual voice of power. Rich people got portraits painted, in effect, to crystallize a public mythology about themselves. The church commissioned work much to the same ends. I chose to paint the restoration because it is damn exciting and deserves to have it story told in this format.
(Something to consider: what is the difference between photographing the site and painting it? There are tremendous amounts of beautiful photographs depicting the Nine Mile Run restoration. Photography usurped painting as a mode of crystallizing mythologies about power. What is the value of painting in this conversation? The best I can come up with at this time is the ability to convey a different temporal dimension than photography)
The method of paint application is loose and misty. It attempts to convey a very waterlogged scene. In a way, the largest relationship is about water and it's relationship to this space. Pittsburgh and it's relationship to water had unintended consequences. There is a rhythm to the application that strives to mimic the flow of water through that valley. Compositionally, this is one of the first times I used the high horizon line as a way of highlighting the actual terrain. The distortion that comes from that places the viewers feet almost directly below the bottom of the painting.... placing you in the scene. The dominant movement of the composition is the same line that the water follows.
The color and tone are silvery. Again, this speaks to the role of water in the over all landscape. On an overcast and wet day, the light echos off the water in a shimmery fashion.
The focal point of the painting is in the upper right corner, all lines lead there. A stream flows into the distance - a look toward the future.
I don't make any assertions that painting is about a chase for "truth."
To me, it is a highly symbolic practice that creates icons of ideas.
I do chase traditional notions of aesthetics and beauty (and perhaps the sublime).
I have yet to place people in landscapes I paint. My portraits have environments, but not landscapes.
Place -
The place is a section of the restored urban stream Nine Mile Run in Pittsburgh's Frick Park. Once notoriously foul, primarily because of an ill formed relationship with the people of the city, it is now going through a multi-million dollar restoration that is strives to heal that relationship. What was once unsightly is now becoming quite a sight/ site. The restoration is freshly done, right on the cusp of a new era of it's public space relationship.
Nature -
Over time, the landscape will grow into it's new form, becoming an asset to people, plants and animals. The banks of the stream are now currently lush with native plants and a texture of ecological health. A restored ecology, sparked by humans looking, caring, then acting, brings up interesting notions of participatory ecology. The legacy of the industrial mindset has been one of privilege. Our relationships to nature are ultimately formed locally. If we can understand the imprint of our actions, we ultimately will rejoin our nature/culture relationships into sensuous participation instead of analytical separation. I don't paint analytically. I would be too cold and philosophically incorrect.
People - more and more people are building a relationship with this site on a day to day basis. It is a major city park. As the site grows, the ecological health condition normalizes. And this is good! People will come to forget that Nine Mile Run was once unpleasant. They can interact with the landscape by walking through it, taking in the texture of health. The painting was given as a gift to a friend who says "I walk my dog there regularly!"
The painting is small, and serves as a quiet meditation on that space.
I am now wondering how much of this blog is about the space itself and how much is about the painting. The painting is commemorative, a celebration of all that is behind it. Again, can they be separated? I would venture to say no. If much of my work is about the relationships--the space and sum between two seperate things-- speaking about only 1 aspect would be incomplete.
Choice of subject seems more and more important. How these sites/ people relate to me is the personal expression. The larger context of each is where the potential for growth lies.
Hawthorne (Hawthorne on Painting) speaks of painting as spots of color.
"The beauty of a picture results from the way spots of color are brought together."
This describes the mechanics of my painting. I simply put spots of color next to other spots, while pulling out the lights and pushing the darks. The relationships between those spots fool the eye into some representational image. Click on the image to see the larger versions... Below the image you will see a comment from a local photographer who has his own relationship with this space. He says "Hey now that looks familiar!"
The relationships between the spots and the actual scene represent my role as observer. I interpret this scene on a day where the stream flows through a completed restoration area of Nine Mile Run. There is mist in the air, the trees are dormant waiting for springtime.
Forgive the brainstorming - the writing will jump around as things pop up.
Relationships relevant to this painting:
Painting - There is a notion of voice behind the relationship of a painting and a painted subject. For much of the history of painting, it has been a visual voice of power. Rich people got portraits painted, in effect, to crystallize a public mythology about themselves. The church commissioned work much to the same ends. I chose to paint the restoration because it is damn exciting and deserves to have it story told in this format.
(Something to consider: what is the difference between photographing the site and painting it? There are tremendous amounts of beautiful photographs depicting the Nine Mile Run restoration. Photography usurped painting as a mode of crystallizing mythologies about power. What is the value of painting in this conversation? The best I can come up with at this time is the ability to convey a different temporal dimension than photography)
The method of paint application is loose and misty. It attempts to convey a very waterlogged scene. In a way, the largest relationship is about water and it's relationship to this space. Pittsburgh and it's relationship to water had unintended consequences. There is a rhythm to the application that strives to mimic the flow of water through that valley. Compositionally, this is one of the first times I used the high horizon line as a way of highlighting the actual terrain. The distortion that comes from that places the viewers feet almost directly below the bottom of the painting.... placing you in the scene. The dominant movement of the composition is the same line that the water follows.
The color and tone are silvery. Again, this speaks to the role of water in the over all landscape. On an overcast and wet day, the light echos off the water in a shimmery fashion.
The focal point of the painting is in the upper right corner, all lines lead there. A stream flows into the distance - a look toward the future.
I don't make any assertions that painting is about a chase for "truth."
To me, it is a highly symbolic practice that creates icons of ideas.
I do chase traditional notions of aesthetics and beauty (and perhaps the sublime).
I have yet to place people in landscapes I paint. My portraits have environments, but not landscapes.
Place -
The place is a section of the restored urban stream Nine Mile Run in Pittsburgh's Frick Park. Once notoriously foul, primarily because of an ill formed relationship with the people of the city, it is now going through a multi-million dollar restoration that is strives to heal that relationship. What was once unsightly is now becoming quite a sight/ site. The restoration is freshly done, right on the cusp of a new era of it's public space relationship.
Nature -
Over time, the landscape will grow into it's new form, becoming an asset to people, plants and animals. The banks of the stream are now currently lush with native plants and a texture of ecological health. A restored ecology, sparked by humans looking, caring, then acting, brings up interesting notions of participatory ecology. The legacy of the industrial mindset has been one of privilege. Our relationships to nature are ultimately formed locally. If we can understand the imprint of our actions, we ultimately will rejoin our nature/culture relationships into sensuous participation instead of analytical separation. I don't paint analytically. I would be too cold and philosophically incorrect.
People - more and more people are building a relationship with this site on a day to day basis. It is a major city park. As the site grows, the ecological health condition normalizes. And this is good! People will come to forget that Nine Mile Run was once unpleasant. They can interact with the landscape by walking through it, taking in the texture of health. The painting was given as a gift to a friend who says "I walk my dog there regularly!"
The painting is small, and serves as a quiet meditation on that space.
I am now wondering how much of this blog is about the space itself and how much is about the painting. The painting is commemorative, a celebration of all that is behind it. Again, can they be separated? I would venture to say no. If much of my work is about the relationships--the space and sum between two seperate things-- speaking about only 1 aspect would be incomplete.
Choice of subject seems more and more important. How these sites/ people relate to me is the personal expression. The larger context of each is where the potential for growth lies.
Dec 9, 2007
It's 4:14. (Whey Fo Me)
So the blog writing did stall. Apologies for that! I did get lost, but thankfully it was in the studio. I fell out of contact for a little while I was painting a new picture for my first official show in Philadelphia. It was a group show (Sam hang too!) at the Highwire Gallery. The opening was fun! Turnout was decent. We didn't network as much as we should have, but had a grand time talking about the range of work that was there. My painting was called "Sugarhouse and the Divide" and had ballot boxes below it where people could vote on a contentious neighborhood issue. More on that soon! The night was punctuated with a couple glasses of Absynth and all in all was a much needed gallery crawl through the neighborhood.
So "It's 4:14 (Whey Fo Me)" is the next up for brainstorming.
Taking some of the themes from the previous blog post:
- form drawn up out of it's relationship to light,
- my role as an observer,
- context I place my practice in,
- specificity of place.
Again we have a singular subject, placed in it's environment. What is the environment? There is a candle in the lower right corner. The subject has a glass of some liquid while sitting in a curved booth. There is decorative woodwork in the background and a what looks like a picture frame in the upper left. Much of this suggests a bar of some kind, yet no other people are in the picture.
Marc, the subject of the painting, is wearing what looks like a jean jacket with a woolish collar. He has facial hair shaved into a goatee/ sideburn style. His eyes look slightly drunk, yet perhaps that effect is also achieved by the upturned eyebrows, which could lengthen the eyelids.
Marc's weight is placed on his right elbow. The arms are mostly crossed, except for the drink in his left hand which he holds with his thumb and forefinger. The direction of the torso follows the curve of the booth he is sitting in, suggesting that the current posture is temporary. A quiet pose, the inclusion of the glass, the lean toward the camera, the upturned eyebrows and direct eye contact with otherwise relaxed face all speak to an offered mythology. One that somebody who recently looked at this painting encapsulated quite succinctly with "Dude looks like he is in the Sopranos"
The painting has a lot of curves in it. The curve of the booth is the dominate line of the composition. The environment is mostly orange and reds and surrounds the figure. The figure, while mostly blue, reflects the orange light of the environment. The site and the figure are creating a particular feel that neither could quite do without the other. The particular feel occasionally is mobster tinged, and occasionally is drunk and out on the town.
The line of the wall paneling seems to be off in terms of traditional perspective. But I think this works to stall the viewers eye at Marc's eyes, which are looking directly back at you.
The second place of attention is the green in the upper right, which then moves down to the candle in the lower right.
I have to split to go to work now, but I hope to return to this to address
- form drawn up out of it's relationship to light,
- my role as an observer,
- context I place my practice in,
- specificity of place.
the light of the room— light as a definer, especially in light of painting. What else are definers? Politics of Space? Form gets drawn up out of it's relationship to "definers?" need a better word.
I help in the mythologizing of symbols. I also have a lifetime of history with Marc, a fact that further "defines" and/or sheds light on the form.
I looked at Alice Neel and John Currin while writing this. They have similarities in portraits as a singular subject, but they embrace any distortions. I have distortions in form, but don't directly play into them at this point.
I like the sound of this phrase and need to elaborate upon it. But this space appears to be coded as a bar with its attendant details and rules.... both defined by and defining what is done in it.
bye for now.
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