Collagraph Prints, 3 Variations on a Theme

The work addresses the issue of a disconnect from nature, essentially remaking the natural world in our own image, taming it and subjecting it to the strict modern grid. The bear has been completely removed from its element and placed in an environment in which even organic objects are scripted and alienated. The background grid represents the bars of a cage, but also the rigid rubric of Euclidean city planning. Even the color palette serves to disassociate the natural objects from the earthtones they usually evoke. The third large piece gives the impression of footsteps imprinted in soft earth, but around the edges begins to glow with a nearly neon aura, further separating the natural and man-made.

I think that if the elements from the "Vinita Voogd method" collages were applied to the larger prints, the architectural lines found in the collage would further contrast the organic shapes. The overall appearence is very illustrative and playful in a kind of fairy tale way. The foreground is whimsical but the background is austere, as if trying to reconcile the world of childhood with the world of adulthood. In one world, the bear is not yet ferocious, but a kind of imaginary friend, gentle and intrigued by umbrellas. It is enclosed in the quilted dream bubble of youth, but faces an encounter with a more severe environment in the future. Its enclosure is pressed on every side, even invaded by a more dangerous looking shape, but it still holds against the outside.

The public symbolism of blue makes me perceive the bear as a male, although the overall composition is not distinctively masculine. This symbolism and the other themes addressed makes me think of the work of Mike Kelley, where the world of childhood and the pathetic was confronted with the depravity of adulthood.

Original Copy - Printmaking Exhibition

Just a bit hard to fathom a print room with wall to wall carpeting...Kinko's with Charles Brand Presses! Clean hands! Ah, the wonders of Photoshop.

So, here's the poster & directions for my upcoming exhibition @ Cypress College. The opening on Thursday 2/23, from 6 - 8 PM, promises to be well...a youthful blast. Chris Natrop will be screenprinting his work on T-Shirts, DJ Neil Schield from Origami Vinyl will be spinning discs, & it will be catered. I doubt that Neil Schield will be playing any of my Bollywood favs ("Tunak, Tunak Tunak"; "Ha La La La"; or "Pappu Can't Dance") but a gal can wish upon a Bhangra star!

While I'm representing the woodcut end of things, Wayne Kimball's incredible tour de force lithographic color prints will also be on display. Chris Natrop's holding down the screenprinting court & Zoltan Janvary's intaglio prints cover that medium. At least 2 of us should be about, along with curator Carleton Christie. Rumor has it that Wayne might be there?

Happy Belated Valentine's Day & year of the Black H20 dragon (my year)!

(I'm now on twitter @ RoxSexauer, should you wish to follow my terse 140 character posts).

RS

Hope to see at least a few folks "in the house"...as they say.

Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California

Pacific Standard Time brings us Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California, an exhibition dedicated to the growth and rise of printmaking from the 1950’s on. While there are many forerunners involved, Proof pays homage to June Wayne, American printmaker and founder of the Tamarind Lithography Workshop. Tamarind is recognized for establishing a renaissance in printmaking and the graphic arts amongst the 20^th century American avant-garde. Wayne hoped to create a pool of master artisan printers in the United States who would legitimize all forms of printmaking as valuable approaches to art making. Proof is a powerful reminder of the impact works on paper truly possess. Printmaking may often be seen as a traditionalist art form but it has only begun to breach the surface of contemporary art.

Proof highlights contemporary printmaking artists but also illustrates the didactic principles of process deeply rooted in printmaking. Tamarind in particular is noted for its emphasis of the workshop institution with an artist and printer training program, as well as educational outreach that emphasized the nature of printed work. It insisted the advantages of collaboration: a trained printer did the printing, while the artist was responsible for the creative impulse. Although this approach if often used, Stanley William Hayter of Atelier 17, NYC, will blur the boundaries when he begins teaching artists how to print their own work. These dichotomies will remain consistent in printmaking even into the present, where we see print workshops like Gemini G.E.L or Crown Point Press producing works by Ed Ruscha, Richard Serra and John Baldessari.

It is delightfully shocking to observe the then controversial lithograph from Bruce Conner titled Cancellation, 1969. In this lithograph, the artist wanted to edition a “cancelled” stone. In printmaking, once a matrix has been cancelled it is not to be printed again. Ironically, when Conner was met with opposition from the master printer at Tamarind, June Wayne stepped in an argued that she was amused by the concept and that the stone was to be editioned regardless. She believed in Conner’s vision in pushing printmaking to a conceptual level: the context of the art became the idea, thus, the print became concept.

Proof embodies the sophistication and grandeur of the graphic arts. There is something to be said for the presence this exhibition fronts. Sink your jaws into velvety aquatints or visceral mark making. For any print enthusiast who wants to rekindle their love for works on paper: this is an exhibition not to be missed. Proof will be on exhibit at the Norton Simon Museum until April 2, 2012.

By: Lindsay Buchman

"Dwelling," Nancy Chiu exhibition in Santa Ana

Nancy Chiu's drawing titled: "Grudge," will be shown at CSU Fullerton's Grand Central Art Center, 125 North Broadway, Santa Ana, CA

The opening is this Saturday, October (already?) 1st, from 7 - 10 PM. The show will run until 10/30/11.

Here's a quote regarding the exhibition from Nancy, who's a former CSULB Illustration grad student. "Dwelling is my latest project, exploring the haunting persistence of one's longing and desire. It consists mostly of graphite drawings and watercolor paintings on various sizes of paper."

Hammer Projects, Grunwald Collection - A Review by Allison Peairs

Every Now. And Again. (Hammer Projects: Linn Meyers); Linn Meyers; Ink drawing on wall; May 7 - November 6, 2011.

Linn Meyers’ Every Now. And Again. is an installation in the Lobby of the Hammer Museum at UCLA that is on view from May 7, 2011 until November 6, 2011. Meyers' work is a brilliant example of the transformative power of line. Meyers’ work is essentially the compulsive manipulation of line through meticulous and almost rhythmic repetition into an enormous organic composition vibrating with near tangents that give the illusion of mathematical precision. On massive aubergine and navy blue blocked walls, the lines that make up the meat of the piece are drawn with pale yellow opaque ink. The shift in temperature from the warm yellow line work to the cool dark background contributes to the reverberating and almost glimmering quality of the entire work.

No World (from An Unpeopled Land in Uncharted Waters); Kara Walker; Etching with aquatint, sugar-lift, spit-bite, and drypoint; 2010.

Kara Walker’s etching, No World. (from An Unpeopled Land in Uncharted Waters), is a poetic allusion to trans-Atlantic slave trade. The piece is monochromatic and depicts two large black hands reaching from the ocean depths holding a schooner in their fingertips. The orientation of the hands gives a playful feeling to print, regardless of its dark disturbing undertones. A dark strip of sky, which emphasizes a ‘here’ vs. ‘there’ quality, bisects the composition while unifying element between the two sections of space is the dark ocean connecting them. These qualities lend to the almost mythological quality that horrifying chunk of American history has taken on in the midst of the country’s conception.

Preference: Between Meyer’s linear wall drawing and Walker’s illustrative etching, it’s difficult to choose a favorite considering how dissimilar they are to one another. I have personal preferences for each piece for different reasons that are incomparable- however in terms of concept I favor Meyer’s work. I find the idea of bringing art back to its most fundamental element (line) and generating a massive undulating composition exhilarating. Viewing the work has an almost meditative quality to it, satiating an unconscious suppressed desire for repetition.

Masters of Illusion: Jewish Magicians of the Golden Age

Immediately prior to the start of the Fall semester I ventured off on the dread 405 to the Skirball Cultural Center to see the blockbuster "Harry Houdini" exhibition. It was paired with a sister exhibition titled: "Masters of Illusion - Jewish Magicians of the Golden Age". Apparently, the "Golden Age" refers to the years 1875 - 1948, when feats of amazing legerdemain were performed live in front of an appreciative audience. After 1948, the mesmerizing was done via the little one-eyed god of the living room.

Good times! At the latter, I was utterly & completely taken with a

child-sized mechanical man named "Antonio Diavolo," created by the French magician Robert Houdin in the 1800's. As you may have guessed from the similarity in his adopted moniker, Houdin was Houdini's hero. Antonio was completely restored in 1986, & besides being an incredibly beautiful object, he can perform the most amazing feats of acrobatics (including going "hands-off") on his trapeze bar. Quite the clockwork toy. Should you go, make certain to take the time to watch the short video that shows him in action.

Sadly, the Houdini portion of the exhibition has moved on to other venues. Happily, the "Masters of Illusion" portion with all of its splendid & large lithographic posters & playbills (hence the printmaking/graphic design connection) will remain in place until 1/8/2012. Located at 2701 North Sepulveda Blvd., parking is always free. There's a docent led tour of the exhibition every Tuesday - Sunday that starts at 2:30 PM. Don't forget, this "mini-Getty" is free to the public on Thursdays.

Jamie Sweetman: Layered

In addition to teaching classes in anatomy & bio-medical illustration at CSULB, Jamie Sweetman is also busy having an exhibition of that appears to be mainly drawings, perhaps layered (hence the title) on Dura-Lar. Of course, the title also refers to the more metaphysical aspects of the work, as novelist D.N. Stuefloten wrote: "Jamie Sweetman's roots & vines make me think of ganglia...my synapses start clicking away in recognition."

The exhibition, at Whittier College's Greenleaf Gallery, runs until 10/7. The address is: 13406 Philadelphia Street, Whittier, CA ( boyhood home of Richard Nixon). The gallery is open Monday-Friday, 9:30 - 5:00 PM & the phone # to call for further info is - 562/907-4200.