Salt and Mortar

My work constructs a culture that lives in the salt flats. I desire to understand; why people do what they do and I achieve this by capturing my own experiences through; every day life and translating them into a visual representation on the salt flats. I choose; to paint these people in their context because they are not limited to one culture or time.; My oil paintings are about translating a myth or motivation into a human form for people to strive to understand.; I paint figures with no clothes or specific hairstyles to provide a sense of timelessness. I want people to be able to associate with the paintings no matter the culture or time it was viewed. I strive to portray something that is universal to humanity regardless of era. Body language has the greatest importance to my paintings. The poses are stiff and abnormal so that the viewer creates a feeling of uneasiness. At the same time they create a sense of interest, which draws the viewer closer in order to gain a better understanding. Everything is painted in the image for a reason and supports the issue that is represented.

SALT AND MORTAR By Douglas McGarren Flack A final project paper submitted to the faculty of the University of Utah in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of ... Master of Fine Arts Department of Art and Art History The University of Utah May 2008 Copyright © Douglas McGarren Flack 2008 All Rights Reserved THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS SUPERVISORYCOMMITTEEAPPROVAL of a final project paper submitted by D. McGarren Flack This final paper has been read by each member of the following supervisory committee and by majority vote has been found to be satisfactory. THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH COLLEGE OF Fl NE ARTS FINAL READING APPROVAL I have read the final project paper of ----'DO=<.>- . ...,_M...,c'""G""'a.,.._rr...,e"""n,_Fl.......,,a""ck""'-----in its final form and have found that (I) its format, citations, and bibliographic style are consistent and acceptable; (2) its illustrative materials including figures, tables, and charts are in place; and (3) the final manuscript is satisfactory to the Supervisory Committee and is ready for submission to the Graduate School. Roger D. Wilson Date Chair, Supervisory Comrniuee Approved for the Major Department Elizabelb A. Peterson Chair Approved for the Graduate Council ABSTRACT My work constructs a culture that lives in the salt flats. I desire to understand why people do what they do and I achieve this by capturing my own experiences through every day life and translating them into a visual representation on the salt flats. I choose to paint these people in their context because they are not limited to one culture or time. My oil paintings are about translating a myth or motivation into a human form for people to strive to understand. I paint figures with no clothes or specific hairstyles to provide a sense of timelessness. I want people to be able to associate with the paintings no matter the culture or time it was viewed. I strive to portray something that is universal to humanity regardless of era. Body language has the greatest importance to my paintings. The poses are stiff and abnormal so that the viewer creates a feeling of uneasiness. At the same time they create a sense of interest, which draws the viewer closer in order to gain a better understanding. Everything is painted in the image for a reason and supports the issue that is represented. I would like to thank my wife Lisa for her amazing support and love in my chosen profession as an artist, my mother for her positive outlook and always willing to help, my sister Nicole for her last minute help with setting up the show, and John Erickson for getting me into the MF A Program and the great conversations. I am thankful for my two boys Ashton and Chance for bringing a smile to my face. Most of all I would like to thank my deceased father who taught me to work hard and live life to its fullest. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................... LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................. SALT AND MORTAR ........................ ,................................................ FIGURES .......................................................................................... SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................ .iv vii 1-16 18 .23 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1, Mimetic Nature ......................................................................................................... 5 2, 3 Oracles ................................................................................................................... 6 3, Manna Man ............................................................................................................... 8 4, Manna Woman .......................................................................................................... 8 5, Cyrenaic Restraint. .................................................................................................. I0 6, photo oflocation of bricks ...................................................................................... 14 7, Installation view with salt and paintings ................................................................. 16 8, Brick paintings and Brick installation ..................................................................... 17 9, 2/3rds Brick ............................................................................................................. 18 10, Cancerous Brick ..................................................................................................... 19 11, Ideal Brick .............................................................................................................. 20 12, Mortar Brick ........................................................................................................... 21 13, With Age ................................................................................................................ 22 Art is a visual communication and I want to communicate to all people with representational figurative oil paintings. I have always been drawn to representational figurative art. I am drawn towards the figure because I have always been interested in people, their actions, reactions, psychology, and physiology. Art, being a visual way to communicate gives me the opportunity to make statements about society through body language and facial expressions. We read and categorize people on a daily basis. Some people might get uncomfortable with talking to a person not knowing why. Physically, the other person might be closed off by folding their arms and crossing their legs. Discomfort is a result that is experienced within the conversation. I want to use body language and facial expressions to state personal experiences so that everyone will understand what is stated. The difficulty in communicating with everyone is that each individual has a unique perception of class distinction and cultural separation. With representational paintings most people take them at face value and dismiss any underlying meaning or message that might be present. The way an attractive middle-class woman is dressed in a painting and the context that she is in will give the viewer a great deal of information about what time and place is represented, but not necessarily convey the purpose of the painting. People would come to the conclusion that I am depicting women and how beautiful they are and not realize that an effort to communicate on a deeper level is being made. In order to communicate effectively to most people it is necessary to break free of the class system so prevalent in society. I say most people because some people will not be able to understand what I am trying to say even if I have everything pointed out, labeled, and over-simplified for them. 2 There are three major characteristics I needed to overcome in order to create a general visual communication. One characteristic that describes a certain time and place with a specific culture is hair style. Hair styles change every year in society and are an incredibly good indicator of a specific culture and time period. Clothes are another huge association to a specific time period and culture. The cut, color, and materials used for clothing will automatically be associated to a time or culture by the viewer. A third issue to overcome is location. I wanted to select a scene that would not be automatically associated with a specific time or place. Deserts and forests seem too much like a place that people hike or camp in. Cities are too contemporary and the buildings define a specific locale. In order to overcome the issue of hair I strived to create a style that would support the culture I am depicting without defining a certain time period. I was able to come up with two styles of hair with the male figures, shaved heads or nappy hair (because ... they live on the salt flats). The women have long hair with no specific style or the hair is just a form of its own. This would ensure that hairstyles are not a culturally distracting object. The issue of clothing was difficult to overcome. I attempted to design forty different styles that would fit with the culture I was creating. In the end I decided that the best way to remove any association to a specific clothing style would be to have the culture wear nothing. Each figure in my paintings is nude which associates them with a natural state of being, but not with a specific time period or culture. Because they are nude and their hair is natural people might think that these people are pre-civilized or 3 possibly a post apocalyptic culture. It is more important that people associate specifically with this "culture" rather than knowing which time period they are from. A neutral location for these scenes is necessary for the culture I have created. The location I chose was the Bonneville Salt Flats. The reason for this is that the only things people associate with the salt flats are races, car commercials, pioneers dying of thirst and ............. salt. The only thing that exists on the salt flats are brine, nothing else can live out there because of extreme temperatures and lack of growth. People by default don't associate anything culturally with the flats. It is a timeless landscape, a stage where I can build my own universal but fictional culture. By creating a culture that does live out there, I can create any type of existence where anything can happen or exist and my options are endless. The salt flats also amplify what I want to say because they are comprised of .... salt. It is important to note that almost unanimously salt is considered a symbol of purity and preservation. I want my paintings to be associated with these symbols because they are universal culturally, instead of being indicative of a single culture or time period. Salt also enhances flavor, if food is too bland we sprinkle on salt to give it an extra kick. The people represented on the salt flats are enhancing the flavor of humanity they are ...... the salt of the earth. They are simplified, raw, and timeless but when viewed in a context with each other the people symbolize multiple allegories. Each painting is telling a different story about morals or theory, the meanings in the paintings go deeper than what is revealed on the canvas. Multiple layers of meaning are represented in each image. Salt is white in nature and at times semi-transparent. In a large mass like the salt flats it has some reflective qualities that are subtle. The mass of salt reflects the sky so it 4 has a bluish tint which is mostly prevalent in the morning or evening when the sun is just skimming across the surface. It is as if the sky and ground are one plane and the only thing that divides the planes are the mountains in the distance. The landscape is a perfect surreal space to create a culture of people, the possibilities are endless because of lack of association. The paintings of the salt flats represent motivation: Why people do what they do. Humanity functions through motivation or lack of motivation. I have read multiple books on motivation and I have divided these types of motivation into three primary categories: rewards, fear, and love. A person working hard at his or her employment in order to gain recognition or status would fall in the rewards category. When a person is on their death bed and they repent so they can avoid going to hell would be a fear based motivation. When anonymous donations are given to help out in society or helping an old lady across the street, these would be considered mostly love based. Duty or respect, and curiosity are also other motivating factors. Each painting has some form of motivational representation, even though not all of the motivating factors are represented in the show. I have personally experienced each of the motivations represented in the exhibition. I was driving to school in August 2007 and saw a man standing by his cherry tree holding a cup of coffee. He was leaning to one side holding his cup of coffee out in one hand and angling his other hand upward. I couldn't tell what he was doing from my angle but when I looked back in my rear view mirror I could see that his tree was at the same angle his body was. I tried to understand why someone would look at their tree in such a way. Instead of thinking about it too much I decided to create a painting of what I 5 just experienced. The man and tree painting entitled "Mimetic Nature" (Figure 1) is a representation of my experience in August. Each object has a distinct meaning in each painting. Their purpose is as important as the figures on the salt flats. They provide the key to the activities that are performed and what the society needs. Figure 1, Mimetic Nature, 60x45 in. Oil on Linen 2008 Oracle comes from a Latin verb which means to speak. Traditionally a culture or group of people would consult Oracles when they were about to make a decision to go to war or what the future would bring. They were considered gods on earth or a mouth piece of God. The oracle was usually found living alone in a remote area far away from 6 the societies that sought them out so that they would not be tarnished by the culture and stay pure with God or whatever source granted them their powers. They were usually female, even thought some were male, because women were thought to be more in tune with what the higher powers wanted. The "3 Oracles" (Figure 2) painting represents the motivating factors of love and fear. Fear, because they are recluses and no longer accepted by their society. They are at the same time reverenced because of their connection with an unseen source and their love with that source. Their positions are fetal to represent their connection and influence with the source like a child in a womb is with their mother. The oracles backs are seen by the viewer to give the impression that not only are they recluses but also reverencing the spiritual and not man. The legs also form triangles which visually points up to the heavens, and in towards each other. Their heads are bowed in respect as if the viewer were consulting the Oracles and receiving their prediction. Figure 2, 3 Oracles, 88x136 in. Oil on Linen, 2008 7 The Oracles are each represented with a brick. The bricks are pointing upward to represent their connection with the source of inspiration. The bricks are also linking the sky with the ground which in turn links the spiritual with the physical. If a brick were to be laying flat that connection with the source would be lost with that oracle. Each oracle needs to be in tune with the source or else there would be a disagreement and a resolution to the problem or prediction would not be realized. In addition the bricks are not used in the same context that our culture would use them. The salt flat culture uses the brick as a representation to a specific person away from culture. The brick is rare and has become sacred to their culture, much like the oracles are to their society. The oracles stem from Greek mythology and were normally alone. By placing three oracles together Christian beliefs are also represented referring to the Trinity. I do not want people to assume that these were mythological paintings or specific religious paintings. They represent why we as humanity do what we do, it just so happens that religion is a large motivating factor in what we do as people. Initially the painting 'Manna Man' (Figure 3) was going to be of a man laying on the salt flats. The representation of manna needed to be more than of a single sex, so it became a diptych with a male and female figure, each in their own canvas and still performing the same action. The manna paintings explore the motivation of faith and reward. 8 Figure 3, Maooa Man, 36x72 io. Oil oo Lioeo, 2008 Manna was given to the Israelites when they were wandering in the desert after being freed from Egypt. It was nutrients given from God, each morning they would collect the manna (Bible) and make unleavened bread. There was enough in the morning for them to make 3 meals each day. Every day it was available for them to eat they just needed to put forth the effort to collect what was given. The Israelites showed their faith though their work in collecting the manna. It is this understanding of faith that made me create "Manna Man, Manna Woman" (Figure 4) Figure 4, Manna Woman, 36x72 io. Oil on Canvas, 2008 9 Generally speaking spirituality and intuition is used more by women than men. Through my experience a connection with God seems to be more prevalent with women as well as a desire to have that connection. This is why the woman's hands in Manna Woman are stretched out extending to the heavens, she wants that connection and unity. The Manna Man on the other hand is relaxing his arms on the salt flats with his hands open ready to receive, almost as if he were saying you give a little and I will give a little. The man and woman have their mouths open ready to receive the manna almost like a child in hopes of getting a rain drop in a storm. The mouth represents the personal acceptance to their relationship with divinity. The woman's mouth is relaxed and open at ease and accepting, in contrast the man's mouth is forced and rigid. They both have a relationship but their viewpoint of the relationship is completely different. The manna surrounds both the male and female but it is not touching either of them. They are not ~ting or touching the manna in any way. They want the manna to come to them in the way they want to receive it, the idea of having to pick it up off the ground has not occurred to them because they were so busy in wanting it their way. This is the problem with faith in the eyes of the faithless, it only comes in the way they want to see it, if it comes in any other way they will miss it because of the limitations they have placed on the outcome. A faithful person has faith that what they want will become manifest by going out to work and help make it manifest. "Cyrenaic Restraint" (Figure 5) was the first salt flat painting to be started. While working on the painting it was known as Hedonism. Traditionally hedonism was considered the supreme good. The ancient viewpoint was Epicureanism which was the pleasure of peace, tranquility, and the reduction of desire. A simple moderate life and holding off today's pleasures for tomorrows reward like that of heaven was to be hedonistic. Eventually hedonism moved to Socrates viewpoint known as Cyrenaicism which states that pleasure is the supreme good especially when referenced to mental pleasures. The theory also denied deferring immediate gratification for hopes of some reward in the future (Cyrenaics). Cyrenaicism is considered to be today's view of hedonism, someone that strives firstly for pleasure like nymphomaniacs, gluttons, and masochists. Figure 5, Cyrenaic Restraint, 66x96 in. Oil on Linen, 2008 The painting "Cyrenaic Restraint" represents both the Cyrenaicism and Epicureanism view points. The man in barbed wire is Cyrenaicism and the woman holding the staff is Epicureanism. The woman is bowed before the stick, not to worship it but to reverence the meaning. The stick is in present between all three existences, pointing up into the heavens, being held in the human temporary state, and pointing in the •. 11 ground representing hell or the underworld. She is in the middle of a circle representing her sacred personal space that no one can enter unless she allows them to. The man is more of the contemporary view of hedonism wrapped in barbed wire. It is not important how he got there, because we all get into predicaments. The more important question is how does he get out with no pain and the most pleasure? His choices are to stay in the wire and not move which could give a man a little bit of pain. He could get out and cause a lot of temporary pain but he would no longer be inflicted with the pain. The last possibility is that he likes the pain, he finds pleasure with the pain and he does not want to get out of his situation. The man represents the profane, the sinner, and the unholy. His desire is to get the most pleasure with little or no pain. Each figure in each painting does not touch each other. The purpose is to explain that we are all alone even in a society. No one can think our thoughts or be us for a day, we are alone. The paintings represent humanity as a whole and even though we all exist on this planet we are ultimately all alone. The only exception to this rule is the "3 Oracles", painting. The shadows are cast on one another focusing on the influence that each oracle has on the other. Even though we are all alone people are still influenced by others. We have heroes, good examples, and bad examples that influence our decisions each day. In the end it is the individual that makes the decision to act or react to a situation. The painting process of the salt flat images is simple but labor intensive. An outline from start to finish is explained to better understand how the images came about. Not all of the paintings were painted this way because once a certain look is figured out the need for preliminary studies are not needed. 12 The concepts are gained through personal experience. This experience is then translated into visual imagery conceived on the salt flats. A series of thumbnail sketches were drawn in the sketchbook to refine the idea. Then I set up a photo-shoot with nude models and took pictures of the same view of the sketches and continue to explore other avenues of viewpoint. I then edited the photos and superimposed them into the salt flat landscape shots to find the right proportions. After everything was altered to the right value, color, and perspective, I did a refined charcoal drawing to simplify shapes. A small scaled color painting was painted to a finish while the large canvas was being prepared with rabbit skin glue and oil primed Gesso then dried. When the large canvas was dry and ready to be painted on I did a large charcoal contour drawing to find the correct proportions for that size of canvas. Then I used a pallet knife and a quick dry white to create thick passages of paint and color. The paint was then dried for a month so that I could work thick or thin on the layer and limit cracking of paint. The second layer was usually pallet knife painted or thick brushwork was applied. A light glaze was then painted to tone down the value and increase saturation. At least two or three more layers were applied to the painting to redefine and refine the landscape and figures. Every painting was done in Oil because of its quality and possibility. The options are endless when it comes to color. Different methods provide different results and a wider range of color. These paintings as a whole have taken longer than nine months to paint because of the slow dry time of the oils. This problem was remedied by adding dryers to the paint so that I could paint more directly to get the look that I want in a 13 smaller time frame. Because these paintings are about humanity and what motivates us, I want them to be available to humanity for as long as possible. Initially I wanted all of the paintings to be life sized figures, I think it would have been appropriate had this Graduate experience taken one year more and I had big enough doors to fit them through. When a painting is life size it helps the viewer enter onto the same plane of existence the paintings are in. The viewer is consumed by the view that is before them, it demands attention and attraction. Because they are all figurative, people can relate to the scene because we are human. In contrast the figures look uncomfortable and give the viewer a sense of unease and aversion. I want people to find out why they are feeling the way they are and draw conclusions that will ultimately help them understand their own humanity. Smaller paintings would not allow this process to occur. Most people have related my work to Odd Nerdrum which I think is very flattering. He is a fantastic painter and image maker. Nerdrum's statement of his own art is based on his theory and definition of Kitsch; something the majority of people agree with as art like pre twentieth century paintings. He uses the same style and approach as the historical masters. He has created his own culture that is post apocalyptic and his color palette is very dark in value. He has also stated that his paintings are just paintings and nothing else should be read into his art. I differ from him in a couple of different ways. I use a high key palette with bright vibrant colors, all of my figures are nude for specific reasons, and most of his are clothed. Time period association is not important for my work, for all we know they could exist in our time out on the flats. I use both contemporary (preparing my images on a computer) and traditional methods (oil painting in an alla prima style and glazing technique) to achieve the end product. A different style 14 of painting might be needed in order to say something different. My paintings are making statement or creating questions about culture in general. He is a much better craftsman because he has had more time and experience. Because my paintings are so culturally different I am not able to escape peoples association of my art with Mr. Nerdrum's art. I amok with that thought because he is a great artist. The Bricks are simple and straight forward. Construction is prevalent on the east side of Salt Lake Valley. Where I live, my neighbors were tearing down part of their house and when I went over to see how things were moving, I saw a large pile of bricks (Figure 6). My mind was taken back east where I was able to go through the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. I saw picture of bodies and shoes piled high like they were a nuisance in life. The bricks were piled in the same way. I selected a small amount of bricks of different colors and shapes. I painted the bricks one at a time giving each brick the same importance as the next. The paintings are portraits of each brick bringing the importance to the brick and not the wall. Figure 6, photo of location of bricks 15 The bricks are painted mostly with a palette knife in multiple layers. The palette knife forces me to be more loose and colorful by not mixing too much. The paint has a great variety of color and grays to represent the brick as a whole. Each layer of paint is left to dry and a second and third layer is applied. Some of the paint that is not used is placed into the background to flatten the texture of the canvas and move the background further back. The foreground is then pushed forward because of the variety of textures ranging from raw canvas to thick globs of paint. The multiple layers of paint create an amazing texture that closely resembles the texture of the brick. To finish the painting I use a paint brush and work in glazes mostly in the background and subtly on the brick. The salt flat paintings are about their space and the motivation that exists in that space. In order for people to relate to these paintings I created an installation space for these pieces. Each painting has a sacred and a profane space. I consider each of the paintings, sketchbook, and the original bricks that I used as references for the paintings to be sacred. The sacred and profane was defined by salt being placed around the gallery, the space within the salt representing sacred space. There is a foot worth of salt that is in front of each painting and surrounding each pedestal containing the bricks, sketchbook, and guestbook so that the division is clear and concise (Figure 7). The paintings could have been hung alone, but I wanted people to experience the environment and not just the paintings. An installation is another way to bridge the gap between a nineteenth century art show and a contemporary art show. In my experience the majority of people love old paintings, they don't understand the concept of installation. My show is able to bridge the gap of understanding between people's traditional understanding of art and the art of today. 16 Every painting was placed center at sixty inches, just a little above the average height of hanging paintings. The only paintings that do not follow this outline is "Manna Man, Manna Woman Diptych". The paintings were placed below eyelevel so that when the viewer approaches the image they are looking down at the figures as if they were lying on the ground ready to receive their manna. The paintings at this height are only to help the gallery experience and the viewers association with the paintings. Figure 7, Installation view with salt and paintings Most gallery lighting is used to illuminate the whole space. I wanted the majority of the focus on each painting. Spot lighting was mostly used in the gallery space to draw focus away from the off white walls and onto the white salt flat paintings, bricks, and brick paintings. The brick references were placed in the gallery space, not to compete with the painting, but to show my translation from the brick to an image (Figure 8). The viewer is able to see the variety of colors represented in the painting to create the unified color of the brick. Untrained artists try to use one color to paint an object, but when the artist searches for colors they can find and paint the different colors they see. The viewer can 17 better understand what I see in a normal every day object and begin to understand what beauty lies in every object. In conclusion, the space provided for the paintings enhanced the visual experience. I felt that the paintings would be able to stand on their own, but I wanted the viewer to participate with the paintings instead of viewing the paintings as mere wall hangings. The installation provided a more contemporary feel with a traditional method of painting. Because people experience installations I want people to experience the salt flat and brick paintings, not just enjoy the art. The show brings a whole new visual experience because people live and exist outside of paintings. Figure 8, Brick paintings and Brick installation 18 Figure 9, 2/3rds Brick, l 6x20 in. Oil on Linen, 2007 19 Figure IO, Cancerous Brick, 12x16 in. Oil on Linen, 2007 20 Figure 11, Ideal Brick, 30x24 in. Oil on Linen, 2007 21 Figure 12, Mortar Brick, 36x24 in. Oil on Linen, 2007 22 Figure 13, With Age, 20x16 in. Oil on Linen, 2008 23 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Bible, King James Translation, Numbers, Chaper 11, verse 7-8 11 "Cyrenaics. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The University of Tennessee At Martin. 4 Nov. 2007 "The Cyrenaics and the Origin of Hedonism .." Hedonism.org. BLTC. 4 Nov. 2007