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Show object/image itself] and the concept of the "found object" (finding an object or image and, through presentation, "creating" a new thought about that object). Suddenly everything and anything had the potential to be art or part of an art work. IVlost of the artists in EXHIBITION 1990 freely combine different attitudes, approaches and media in their work and this freedom to try anything is an important characteristic of 20th century art. Artists working directly on paper with an emphasis on graphic media are Bob Granger, Frank Anthony Smith, David Dornan and Susan Beck. Granger, who recently left Utah for a teaching position in Idaho, works with abstracted but recognizable landforms that allow the viewer to walk in the landscape and in a "field" of geometry at the same time. The work of Smith and Dornan have much in common though the scenarios they create are quite different. Dornan is always grounding the viewer in familiar situations while Smith presents a scenario that rarely acknowledges the law of gravity. Both artists, however, contend that the "flying" brushstroke and the pencil "zip" have an equivalent "weight" to the perfectly rendered rock or jar. Entering Beck's studio, one is struck not by the similarities of her works but by their differences -here is a singer with several voices. Her subject matter runs the gamut with emphasis on "real life" situations. Beck's neighbor at the Guthrie artists' studios is Bonnie Sucec. Sucec is represented by her characteristic, dream-like gouache paintings on paper. This time the central character seems to be a part of the heavens (stars and crescent moons on a midnight-blue field) in the shape of a curtain, or piece of fabric, that changes shapes and situations from work to work. Artists working with mixed-media are David Anderson, Julie Connell, Doug Himes and Meredith Moench. Anderson, another Utah artist who has had to leave the state to work, might qualify for Plato's post of philosopher-artist. His works, or poetics, if you will, are cross-cultural and structurally sound with titles well worth pondering. Connell, yet another artist who has had to move to find professional opportunities, mixes an unusual combination of tapestries embedded in handmade paper. A recent graduate of Brigham Young University, Himes continues that tradition of mixing media, mixing levels of representation and mixing states of mind. He is an artist who dares the miniature and is most effective. An artist with a truly singular vision, Moench layers patterns of stenciled images on top of swirling color, each intersection an opportunity for individual action. Mark Peterson and Lucy Fairchild work in collage and construction. Peterson shows hand-painted, torn-paper collages which speak of Oriental sensibilities suspended in floating forms. Fairchild, on the other hand, constructs homages to Hindu saints. Her coloring and material (cardboard) suggest the transitory and detachment from the material pursuits of life. Although the Chinese are credited with the first wood block print around 200 B.C., this relief printing method did not arrive in the West until about A.D. 1400. In printing, artists work indirectly on paper, first making the image on wood, plate, stone or screen, then transferring the image to paper with a press or scraper. In the relief printing process, ink is applied to the raised areas of the block, paper is laid on top and then the combination is run through the press transferring the image to the paper. The intaglio method has several variations but in all cases the ink is rubbed into furrows engraved or etched into copper or zinc plates then printed. Lithography allows the artist to draw or paint with a greasy material on a stone or plate and the image is produced by the natural repulsion of water and grease. Silk screen is a stencil process and the image |
