Two New Small Studies

"Speed of Stopping", Acrylic on Paper, 11x15"

"Awash", Acrylic on Paper, 11x15"

Trilliums

If you are reading this in Indiana, right now is the perfect time of year to take a stroll in the woods. The trilliums are in full bloom and are blanketing the forest floors. I took these photos a couple of days ago in Shoaff Park:


seen here: Dutchman's Breeches (on the left) and a Trillium on the right. The Marsh Marigolds are really beautiful right now and if you're lucky you may even spot a Jack-in-the-Pulpit. Check here for a list of Spring-time Indiana wildflowers. Go ahead and download one of these two images and change your desktop background for Spring.

At Home

I come from a family of artists, and this weekend I was able to remember with friends and family my Grandma and her artistic endeavors, world travels, and great appreciation for beauty in the the world around her. Currently showing at the Sauder Visual Arts Center at Bluffton College -the "Sauder Family Artists" exhibition includes works from the siblings Kathryn Sauder Moore (my Grandma), Carlton Sauder , and Carolyn Sauder Rich. The opening reception for the art exhibit is May 3, 2008 from 1-2:30 pm - it will be up through May 11th.

Kathryn Sauder Moore
circa 1954

I feel very fortunate to come from a family with such a wealth of creativity. I especially loved this particular piece she did:

Kathryn Sauder Moore, "At Home in Grabill", Oil on Canvas, circa 1950s

Kathryn Sauder Moore, "At Home in Grabill" (detail), Oil on Canvas, circa 1950s

The Sauder home in Grabill, Indiana from around the 1930s.

Kathryn Moore
1932-2008
Rest in Peace Grandma.

Ads/Art

It seems that advertising has once again taken from contemporary art:

Frozen pie
Lamb pie
Seafood pie

Above -the Ukrainian Psyho studio ads made for "Madagascar" travel agency. The slogan of the agency was "Madagascar - a piece of the world" I found this on Notcot, found it on Meignorant. I immediately thought of the work of Josh Keyes when I saw these ads...

Josh Keyes, "Lurk", 2006, 12"x12", acrylic on birch panelJosh Keyes, "Overflow #1", 36"x48", acrylic on canvas, 2007Josh Keyes, "Goliath", 18"x24", acrylic on panel, 2007

Gabriel Liston's "Sky Patch" Series

2" x 2.5" oil on sealed book with thread loop
2" x 2.5" oil on sealed book with thread loop
2" x 2.5" oil on sealed book with thread loop

These diminutive works are by the very talented and kind Portland-based artist Gabriel Liston. I recently received a beautiful little painted postcard from him. His works are fascinating- take a moment and check out his site. I especially love these little sky patches he has been working on recently. Gabriel shows at Denver's own Plus Gallery. He says of the "Sky Patches" that after they are prepared for oil paint, they "turned into whatever sky is passing by". In related news, you can also find Gabriel at the Cloud Appreciation Society. That sounds like a society I should be a part of...actually - shouldn't everyone?

JH Engström

Photos by JH Engström. His statement on the series read;

"Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport has allways been a special place to me.
At the age of ten I moved to Paris with my parents. The move created a very intense relationship to the city of Paris but also to the Charles de Gaulle airport and airports in general. .
The airport was the first contact with the world outside my native region in Sweden.

For this photogrphic project I spent three weeks in this particular zone, isolating my self in an airpirt hotel, and spending the days in and between the terminals.

With fiction, poetry and mystery I observed the airport. Raising questions on its social, urban and architectural dimensions.

The airport becomes a new place to observe identities and the history of relations.

It was extraordinairy to be given the permision to photograph in such a restricted high security area

JH Engström April 2006"

Something to Think About

In a recent interview with Pitchfork, Geoff Barrow of Portishead was asked about the new album- which comes out a full decade since their last album. Pitchfork asks:

• Pitchfork: "Machine Gun" is certainly an uncompromising comeback single.
• GB: When you come back you don't want to tickle people under the chin-- you know what I mean?

I love that response. Of course, they were discussing music - but thinking about it in visual art terms is still very relevant. Here's the track they are talking about;

Hiatus

Classic Indiana picture of my brother in the corn fields. Photo by Orianna Abels.

Here's the song of the day. I will be gone for the next few days - I'm going to try some auto-posting (a new blogger feature) in my absence.

Accompaniment

I was researching the work of Giulio Aristide Sartorio - a painter I remembered from a trip to Italy some years ago, when I came across a series of war paintings of his that are fantastic. I paired excerpts form the series with aesthetically similar paintings or painters. I'm not meaning to imply one painter looked at the other painter, but it is always interesting to me to see similarities between artists. Unfortunately, the page on which I found these works by Sartorio is written in Italian so I do not translated titles - the series is from 1917-1918.

Giulio Aristide Sartorio, "Attacco aereo di Venezia" ("Air Attack of Venice"), 1917-1918
"Buildings Lancaster", 1930, by Charles Demuth (Source: Wiki Commons), Oil on board, 24 x 20 in
Giulio Aristide Sartorio, "Bombardamento di Quota" ("Bombing of Quota"), 1917-1918
George Bellows, "A Morning Snow: Hudson River", 1910 (Source: Wiki Commons)

Giulio Aristide Sartorio, "L'isola di Fagarè" ("The Island of Fagare"?), 1917-1918James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Harmony in blue and silver: Trouville (1865)
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Giulio Aristide Sartorio,"Gli Austriaci ripassano il Piave" (The Australians Crossing the Piave"), 1917-1918 Frederic Remington (American, 1861–1909), "The Scout: Friends or Foes", 1902–5,
Oil on canvas; 27 x 40 in. from the Met Museum

translations by the talented Patti Hallock

Yeasayer and the Boyle Family

Yeasayer @ Wexner Center, Columbus, OH - photo by Cassie Lewis

Yeasayer @ Wexner Center, Columbus, OH - photo by Cassie Lewis
Yeasayer @ Wexner Center, Columbus, OH - photo by Cassie Lewis

I saw the band Yeasayer play with Man Man at the Bluebird here in Denver last night. They were great - and the addition of a vj (video dj) really added to their set and aesthetic. The projections over the band were mesmerizing. Here's a video from the above pictured show in Columbus to give you a better idea of how these images moved and what it sounded like;



video by tsnydermtg

Aesthetically, there are obviously 60s psychedelia influences - which reminded me of a fascinating Scottish group of artists called the Boyle Family. According to an article on thecenterofattention.org,

"their projection pieces crystallized into three major works: Son et Lumière for Earth, Air, Fire and Water (1966), which presented physical and chemical reactions including evaporation, corrosion, combustion and effervescence; Son et Lumière for Insects, Reptiles and Water Creatures which showed living creatures of the air, earth and water greatly enlarged; and Son et Lumière for Bodily Fluids and Functions, which presented fluids such as blood, tears, vomit and sperm"

The artists collective went on to do the projections at a psychedelic club called UFO to the music of Soft Machine and other acts -including Jimi Hendrix. They are probably better known for their Earth Pieces (which are another topic all together), but clearly the influence of psychedelic projections has had a lasting effect on music and performance.

Boyle Family - Burning SlideMark Boyle and Joan Hill performing Bodily Fluids and Functions 1966
Mark Boyle and Joan Hill performing Bodily Fluids and Functions 1966

A picture of New Jersey...

I heart Photograph blog has just released their exhibition catalog for "Is it possible to make a photograph of new jersey regardless of where you are in the world?" available for download here. The page with artists names beginning with "R" (pictured below) features the work of my good friend Ryan Helsel. Congrats Ryan.

Ryan Helsel, "Untitled 10"

page from "Is it possible to make a photograph of New Jersey regardless of where you are in the world?" exhibition catalog

From the Archives

I've been going through old disks from old computers, and came across several works that I haven't thought about in a while...Here's a couple pieces from the archives that I did during my undergrad studies: (with figures!?!)

Nathan Abels, "Anne Marie", Acrylic and Enamel on Canvas, 48x48", 2002
"To, From, Into" Lithograph on Paper, 16x20" 2001

Upcoming Exhibition Postcards

The postcards have been ordered. If you would like to receive one - leave a comment or email me and I'll put you on the mailing list...

Nasreen Mohamedi

Nasreen Mohamedi, (Untitled), Black and White Photograph, 1981 10.4x14"

Nasreen Mohamedi, (Untitled), Black and White Photograph, 1981 9.2x11.6"

"Nourished by Change"

"Nourished by Change" by Scott Silvey
Dimensions:variable; Medium:steel, suitcases, soil.

His statement about the work reads, "Images of stability and transition are fused into one environment highlighting the restorative power of curiosity."

I am attracted to this installation piece of Silvey's work in particular because it appeals to my affection for the Indiana/Mid-West landscape. I ran across his work on a post about his new paintings. In a recent interview with myartspaceblog, the artist said "I am currently working on a series of paintings called 'Civic Remedies.' The pieces imagine Tokyo as a city devoid of it’s former human inhabitants. All that remains are their skeletal homes and symbols of their consumption." In some ways it is an expansion on themes proposed in "Nourished by Change" - those of contrasts between stability and transformation.Scott Silvey, "Violets" - he writes, "As a result of mass and unabated consumption the city has become ill. Giant herbs have returned to this sepctral urban environment to restore it to health."
Dimensions:53cm X 45.5cm; Medium:acrylic/carbon on panel.

In this sense, his work relates to that of Josh Keyes who is also depicting a world without human presence and the environmental effects that proposes. In the recent works by Josh Keyes, he focuses on the remaining fauna in a environment without human inhabitants, whereas Silvey tends to emphasize the flora that might remain in empty cities.

Josh Keyes, "Reclamation", Acrylic on Panel, 18x24", recently showing at Denver's own Limited Addiction gallery

A book from last year by Alan Weisman, called "The World Without Us" also covers this topic - describing the natural processes that may take place if human kind were to vanish. It is an interesting concept that has even influenced Hollywood productions like Will Smith's recent "I am Legend"photo of the set for "I am Legend" by CorvusCrx