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Show Lisa Corine van Knch Department of Art and Art History ATTENTION/ A TENSION Lisa Corine von Koch (Maureen O'Hara Ure) Department of Art and Art History I am very grateful for the UROP funding, which enabled me to devote a great deal of time and energy in my studio, and to produce a series of large scale, mixed-media paintings. I have addressed the relationship between the work of art and the viewer, utilizing my experience as a scenic artist at the Pioneer Memorial Theatre in combination with my own artistic style. The paintings are large, and define the space in the same way that theatrical backdrops do. My intention is to create an environment of an abstract nature, which, unlike the backdrops, does not indicate a specific time, place, or reality. Displaying the works in my studio, a laboratory in an abandoned hospital, enhances the effect. Instead of pinpointing the viewer into a subjective location, I invite he or she into an objective, and potentially disorienting position. My paintings are primarily executed with acrylic and latex paint, but I have been experimenting with alternative medias, such as Sumi inks, oils, gels, and polyurethane. In addition, I have incorporated textural elements of burlap, nylon, muslin, wallpaper, and vacuum-formed plastic molds. Many of these materials have been collected from the theatrical sets after they are torn down. The resulting paintings challenge the idea of the two-dimensional picture plane, and are pushing out into the sculptural realm. The imagery is derived from ideas and forms that are meaningful to me, and indecipherable to the viewer. However, the common element between my personal paintings and the scenery that I paint is the ability to evoke a mood and generate an emotional response in the viewer who is immersed in my created environment. |