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Artist Statement
Conceptual Evolution of my work I am in my black and white realistic period . My last paintings have only used black and the grays leading to white with much less abstraction. I was calling these paintings Townscapes but, that just doesn't seem right any longer. For right now they are my "Current Work". They are designed to change character as you view them from different distances. Real or at least quasi real from a distance to total abstractions on closer inspection. That part has not changed. I still want both the almost real from a distance and then the gradual change to the realization that it is also total hard edged abstraction at closer distances. Light and the absence of light are major components in the success of these abstract paintings of ordinary reality.
In my mental exploration of light and the
absence of light made by natural and man made structures, it seemed
logical to explore maximum contrasts with no color to influence the
viewer's eye. Instead, I am using contrast as my primary visual
composition tool. The following monologue, Layered abstractions of reality with a clock (evolution of a kinetic concept) attempts to define how I got to the Townscape series. My current Townscapes of "layered abstractions of reality with a clock" is as close as I get to all mind and meaning. I am trying to do paintings that become the focal point of their environment and change with distance and lighting to constantly intrigue and interest. Whether it be abstract slices of space in the Townscape Series, the interpretive abstractions of the Fall in Provence Series or the geometric abstracts of simple actions in the Five Series this approach has served me well. In 1988-92, I called this type of "layered abstractions of reality with a clock" painting concept that I am doing the Patmos series. Before that Vestiges or Island Vestiges . TOWNSCAPES has been my defining term since 2002. Another artist described it as contemporary digital cubism. The following is my attempt to explain the background to the idea, influences on my thinking, the idea (what I am doing), why, and a little on how. BACKGROUND My first introduction to the concept of serial vision. In 1967, while taking a course in Urban Design one of the required reading references was Townscapes by Gordon Cullen . Cullen described a way of looking at urban spaces he called “Serial Vision” which was illustrated with a series of strong drawings of the different views one has walking through a quality urban space that proved the value of many formal design principles. The map diagram tracing your path through an urban space combined with the sketches done from the path clearly illustrated why we remember those quality urban spaces. Not a single image but instead a moving or kinetic image memory. This book and in particular “serial vision” were extremely important to my development as an artist whether in the design of an urban space, a building, or a painting. I really do believe we see reality as a series of frozen images that helps us process the constant minute changes in our personal reality. MY INTRODUCTION TO KINETIC ART Between 1961 and 1967 I was fortunate enough to be a student of Dale McKinney, Professor of Art at Oklahoma State University. He was one of the most creative people that I have ever known and his own work in kinetic art was well ahead of its time. You could not define him as just a sculptor, a painter or an inventor. Dale McKinney was an ARTIST and TEACHER. He introduced me to formal color theory and showed me how important it can be when used properly. The use of complimentary color to cause an edge to vibrate or seem to move on the canvas as one very simple example. He also used to ask us to look for compositions in our surroundings. He stressed really focusing in on very small areas of our environment (two stones touching a twig kind of scale). Design and composition was possible even if cropping was your only tool was a good lesson to learn. He is my strongest artistic influence by far. An appreciation for kinetic art was only one of the things he taught me. In 1980, I was teaching a graduate design course at the School of Architecture at Oklahoma State University and asked Dale to help me devise a basic design project to stimulate their creativity. The product of the project was a short movie to illustrate the effects of projected images on a rotating white sculpture of their design. We used a clock motor to provide the rotation. Amazing things happened. Images seemed to clip in and out as the sculpture rotated and the films that resulted were definitely more than a sum of their parts. The project and the graduate student results proved the value of basic design theories and resulted in sophisticated films with images seeming to come forward and then retreat only to be eclipsed by other design elements. Basic design truly is wasted on youth. OTHER INFLUENCES I did not paint in any serious way between 1967-1985 as I concentrated on the art of architecture. I was both a practicing architect and a teacher at the architectural schools of the University of Illinois, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma State University. My personal design work in architectural practice might be best described as layered spaces with an implied ordering system organized around a strong concept or idea. Framing space and always being aware that people move through space were extremely important to me. Good architects sculpt space. The walls, etc. are just the tools one has to define the spatial sculpture. Again, I saw reality as a series of connected experiences. Good architects are also good business people, personable, etc. Architecture really is a business with all the paperwork and mundane grind that comes with the territory. The business side and the repetitive aspects of some architectural tasks led me to concentrate on teaching architectural design rather that architectural practice. Honestly, it was just more fun. Teaching architectural design allowed me to concentrate all of my energy on the creative aspects of design. I found that as a teacher juggling student designs and concepts in your head on a daily basis keeps your mind learning and open to new ideas. I learned a lot more about design and composition as a teacher than I ever learned in school or practice. I taught basic design, architectural design and design competition studios and was fortunate enough to be mentor for over 100 national and international student design competition winners, was awarded the 1997 ACSA Distinguished Professor, and the 1988 Outstanding Teacher for Oklahoma State University. Basic design for architects at the universities that I taught at are not that much different than a basic design course for artists. Good design starts with the abstract fundamentals of composition like figure-ground, geometry, order, proportion, rhythm, etc. Once again, I was fortunate to be able to teach with and learn from another great teacher. Robert Wright, a fellow Professor at both the University of Illinois and Oklahoma State University. He has got to be the most innovative teacher of basic design that has ever lived. The design projects he created are still copied and used at many other universities in the United States. One of the many things I learned from him was a genuine appreciation of Piet Mondrian. Grids and the strength of the 90 degree component as art not just structure. Also, the critical role figure-ground analysis plays in high quality compositions. He made me a better teacher and his influence has helped me become a better artist. He has been doing wonderful abstract collages using scraps of photographs for many years. What I do also appears as a collage of quasi real images. In fact, I try very hard to reinforce that thought to the viewer by stressing the division between different image depths. I have been more influenced by Bob than any other colleague. EVOLUTION OF A KINETIC CONCEPT There were many benefits to being a university professor. Not the least of which is time for your other creative interests. We got 3 months off each summer and a full semester every 7 years. In 1985, I spent 4 months traveling and drawing in Europe. This rekindled my interest in painting. I began to paint seriously upon my return. Jim Knight and I were renting a loft space downtown for our architectural studio/office (the Atelier). It was where I chose to paint. All my prior work had been done with oils. Because of the fumes connected with oils, I chose to use acrylics as a painting medium. First, I tried to use acrylics as I had used oils and did about 7 extremely loose abstract expressionist pieces. At the time, I felt that acrylics were ill suited to that kind of painting and decided to try to use acrylics in a hard edged totally opaque manner. I thought that was more appropriate for acrylics. Even though I have returned to painting hard edged and opaque, I don’t believe that any more. Layering works so well with acrylics you can do almost anything. Back to what I was painting. Hard edges made it easy for me to incorporate much of my experience as an architect and as an architectural educator. Light, layering and the resultant play of planned shadows was a major part of my architectural work. Geometry, proportion, order and concept. The FIRST 8 paintings explored the themes of different elements casting shadows and even began to incorporate images of architectural icons like the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately, I have no photographic record of the early paintings.
The following painting series are the JOURNEY TO MY CURRENT CONCEPT
VESTIGE Series. 1985-86 Part of my current idea originated with this early series. At the time, I was interested in challenging a viewer’s perception of a flat rectangle hanging on a wall. I still am. I wanted to make the viewer believe the surface was not flat. Instead, you were intended to see a series of articulated planes suspended in air and whose color and form were defined and articulated by the sun’s rays passing through filters before hitting the planes. This interaction between man and nature was explored via my mental three dimensional constructs viewed under an intense light source and through rectangular filters of varying opaque and color qualities. The operative word was mental for these constructs as their interactions existed only in my mind. The vestige painting are those afterimages. Articulated planes of different depth are still major elements in the implementation of the idea. Emphasis on light is definitely still part of the idea. These paintings should be classified as representational art. They represented what I was seeing in my mind. Their abstract qualities came from the nature of the subject matter.
ISLAND VESTIGE Series. 1987 Patmos and Santorini are two of the white islands of Greece. I thought it would be fun and challenging to recreate the ambiance and sense of place where most things are painted white using the minimal amount of realism. Where do you lose the sense of place? That edge or point was what I was trying to achieve. This transition between the Vestiges and Patmos Series was a group of paintings where different scaled images were mentally projected on articulated planes of different depths. The images were only visible in the shadows my carved planes cast on one another. The planes and grid reinforced the ninety degree geometry of the canvas. A whole rationale for proportion and rhythm independent of the images was developed. I am still doing that but with different ordering systems. Fragments of real images were introduced to give the viewer a puzzle to solve as well as generating paintings with visual depth and interest. Light created the color changes and only minimal architectural symbols and elements were required to capture the sense of place. My fascination with the subtle changes in warm and cold earth colors began with this series.
PATMOS Series. 1988-92 Vestiges plus Island Vestiges led to the Patmos Series. I decided to increase the importance of the image and downplay the visual strength of the abstract ordering of the various planes. No negative space. The planes of the Vestige and Island Vestige Series remained but, the definition of the planes would be done without the use of light and shadows. Scale of the image was to be the only perceptual tool I would use. I chose images with a strong sense of perspective to reinforce the depth of the painting and then enlarged the image as the planes receded. The idea worked even better than I hoped. All of the paintings were done based upon street scenes of the Island of Patmos, Greece with the exception of Rio Tera Secondo (Venice, Italy), Ghost of the Queen (Queen Mary, the cruise ship anchored in L.A.), and Windows (Santa Fe, New Mexico).
I changed direction in 1992 and did not return to the Vestige/Patmos/Townscape style until 2002. These other directions have also fueled my current work.
SANTA FE Series. 1992-98 My life and therefore, my work, has been divided into a series of seven year cycles based upon my association with academia. Looking back, you can see that pattern in the timing of major directional change in my work. Most of the changes were evolutionary in nature. I spent one half of 1992 living and studying the unique regional architecture and art found in and around Santa Fe, New Mexico that grew as a result of the mix between Native Americans, Spanish explorers and the artists attracted to the area. Strong relationships between wall, sky, and earth dictated a representational approach to capture the essence of this environment. I have always used layering or perspective to create the illusion of depth in my work. The evolution from Mondrian like geometrical based abstractions to hard edged realism with more and more glimpses of buildings and streets as abstractions of reality eventually led to a focus on architectural elements that reflected or diffused reality. I was intrigued by the stark quality of openings in massive simple walls. All of the interest and detail was in the window and way the sun played across the window elements in combination with the transparent and reflective qualities of glass. Photo realism of sorts?
1999-2001 were the Paper Years when I was settling into life in Southern France. I took these years as an opportunity to re explore my roots in Abstract Expression
FRENCH POSTCARD Series. 1999 Paintings on paper in abstract expression style done in the Summer of 1999 in Versailles, France.
TUSCAN LANDSCAPES. 1999 Paintings of the Tuscan landscape as abstraction and patterns done while staying at an estate outside of Siena, Italy in the Summer of 1999.
OKLAHOMA Series. 1999 Paintings on paper in abstract expression style done in the last semester I taught after making the decision to leave Stillwater, Oklahoma and move to France.
TRANSITION Series. 1999 Paintings on paper in abstract expression style done in the last days of my transition from Professor of Architecture at Oklahoma State University to artist living in Condorcet, France
VIOLES Series. 2000 Violes is a village in Provence we were living in when these abstract expression paintings of different thoughts were done.
EMOTION Series. 2000 Paintings in abstract expression style of different emotions and thoughts.
DREAM Series. 2000-01 The thread that bound this group of paintings together was their purpose. Seek and explore "THE" future direction. I was trying to identify the direction I wanted to concentrate my future upon. I explored alternatives within each direction until I felt I could see the potential of the idea. Then, IDEA, study alternatives, evaluate, IDEA, repeat again. I continued doing the Dream series until I felt that I had identified the most promising directions. I really feel like I found a lifetime's directions all worth exploring. I am still exploring some of the directions exposed in this series.
DREAM WINDOW Series. 2001 Dreams, particularly the day after, seem to be scenes from our imagination viewed from a great distance by a person almost like us. That filter becomes the window in my metaphor. Four dreams each viewed through the same window (frame and grid) became the basis for the Dream Window series.
WINDOW Series. 2001 This series explores the visual potential of a painting that hovers on the edge of becoming six paintings instead of just one. The visual tension or implied movement when you place the painting right on the line that separates one from multiples results in more kinetic and exciting compositions or at least, strong architectonic forms.
NINE SQUARE Series. 2001 The Nine Square series are paintings of my dreams of an alternate Earth where the real and tangible are thoughts, wishes, time, and dreams (what might have been and what can be). The square is the most challenging format of the rectangles to create dynamic and interesting compositions. By it's very nature, it is self centering and static. But, it is best suited to multiple orientations and the challenge of geometry is worth overcoming to facilitate the ease of rotation for the collector. This series is designed to be displayed in any orientation.
TERRE or EARTH Series. 2001-02 Each painting had its origins and first gesture in the shapes and colors of the Eygues River valley in the Baronnies Mountains east of Nyons. As the layers built up, meaning and content evolved and the origin receded until the imagery and content was 100% meaning.
EAU or WATER Series. 2001 In the summer, our entire house opens up and we essentially move outside. The days are warm and the nights cool. We take advantage of it and eat, sleep, party and work outside. The Eau (Water) series, while continuing my dreams of alternate worlds, has it's beginnings in blind contour drawings of our swimming pool.
REFLECTION Series. 2002 The paintings of the Reflection series are just that, reflections on life, the things around me and my expectations for the future. I deliberately kept my color palate small and created within the zone between two of the primary colors. Conceptual directions often come by setting specific limits and then abiding by them.
SUMMER SUN Series. 2002 This series was done in the sun and with the sun in mind. "How bright can I make a painting before it overloads the senses and the result is visual chaos?" These painting are my answers to my question. I can get pretty bright. Color theory is not just a phrase to throw around. Itten and Albers knew what they taught. Every now and then, all painters need to re-examine their roots and re-learn elements of design that are often taken for granted.
TWILIGHT Series. 2002 This series is a deliberate study of limits. What magic can happen in the last transition between light and dark?
FALL IN PROVENCE Series. 2002 This could just as easily be called CHANGE. Provence is slowly changing as it moves into the 21st Century. Traditional values still are present but the influx of more people and the development that comes with people are forcing a new geometry and pattern upon the land. This group of paintings is my interpretation of that change.
TOWNSCAPE Series. 2001-present The Townscapes series, by incorporating the elements of time and movement, illustrates the beauty and charm of the ordinary street scenes of the hill towns and villages that surround my studio. These kinetic images give the viewer a sense of "place". They are designed to change character as you view them from different distances. Real or at least quasi real from a distance to total abstractions on closer inspection. Light and the absence of light are major components in the success of these paintings. My paintings have varied between trying to be all heart to all mind with a little bit of heart always there. At the heart end, it is all about emotion, gesture, and attitude with the mind trying to throw in some tools to make it work. My current work of layered abstractions of reality with a clock is as close as I get to all mind and meaning. It is a strong conceptual approach. I am trying to do paintings that become the focal point of their environment and change with distance and lighting to constantly intrigue and interest. This is what I think that I am doing. The viewer may see a completely different rationale behind this painting concept. I welcome any thoughts you might have. Please write and tell me what you think.
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