This series of works by Byrony M Quinn is probably called Eyjafjallajokull because they gleaned inspiration from Iceland’s latest exploding magma source. The influence is minute in these black and white collaged works, but one can gather some presence of smoke clouds. Add some pixely noise, and these pieces are surprisingly easy to get lost in.
Textiles are amongst the most wasteful items human beings consume on a regular basis, so why not turn ugly secondhand clothing into art? Derick Melander does it. Stacks of textiles are oriented by color to create neat vertical columns that practically paintings when viewed from afar, complete with drips and all.
This one’s a bit different, as it was created using vinyl stickers that were collaged onto this bin.
It often seems that something is lost when street artists show in gallery settings, but this Irvine Contemporary show from Brooklyn based street artist Gaia is a welcome example of a successful transition from canvas-as-wall to canvas-on-wall.
Tonight’s Fremont Art Walk is definitely something to look forward to. If you find yourselves out and about around then, you’ll see there are some pretty astounding works.
@ (710 N 34th St., Seattle)
This multi-disciplinary artist creates wonderful sculptures by melting down and reforming everyday plastic objects. “At the very core of my research is a desire to create a harmony between the reality of my urban existence and my own personal ideology,” says Blackwell.
@ Ballroom (456 N 36th St., Seattle)
After taking photographs of mundane images, Smith slices them apart and ressembles them on large-scale vellum works. Small details overlooked by most people are what makes Smith’s works work. His new pieces seem to stitch together photographs like a fine weave.
@ Caffe Vita (4301 Fremont Ave. N, Seattle)
Combining instincts with academic training, Resur paints large, striking portraits that draw one to the appealing imperfections of human features.
@ Fremont Abbey Arts Center (4272 Fremont Ave. N) accompanied by live musicians Diagram of Suburban Chaos, Logic Probe, and Mt. VJ Lindell Alderman. Afterparty ($5-$7 donation) starts at 8pm and features the music of Candysound and The Low Hums.
I’m a little less interested in saying what I have to say about Craig van den Bosch’s floating worlds of collage, because he says it all in a must more interesting way. Check it:
My current work speaks to the manipulation of the human mind through persuasive, capitalistic imagery and text: Commercial Technological Persuasive Capitalism Coexistence. Pushed against the fine molecules that contain our cortex, is an incessant barrage of media catchwords and phrases. These tools of capitalistic propaganda beat like ocean waves against our psyche, finding crevices within which to invade. These forces shape almost everyone in a similar manner, like landscape being shaped by nature. We are formed through many methods: products, rules, religion, technology, and advertising. These distractions can divert us from thinking about meaningful issues within the world and our immediate lives. This is not a unique proclamation and very few people transcend this diversion, myself included. Media is the kingpin distracter.
Commercials have proven their effectiveness in altering our perception of the self and the world. The power of suggestion they provide is strong. What do we really want? There are people who use suggestion to cure themselves of cancer, to create mob psychology, empower a people for revolution, war or peace. The power of the conscious mind is great. I question the future of our conscious development. Where is this push for advancement, propelled by mass suggestion, taking us?
This media induced need / quest for more has us subjecting our bodies and minds to possibly adverse methods of augmentation. From collagen injections to plastic surgery, we are ready to embrace these alterations to both our physical and cerebral faculties. Teetering on the cusp of exponential technological expansion, integrated with the cortex, we have an obligation to ask ourselves, “Are we ready?” I believe the body will become less vital once the human consciousness is fully utilized through technological enhancements. The failings of the body and slow intake of knowledge will be enhanced. I do not believe these “advancements” will quell our distractions. Nor do I believe that our society will become exempt from distracting ourselves from answering the most sincere questions of existence regardless of what form we embody in the future. In leaving the body behind, we may however answer some of our questions concerning faith and the human soul. Many religions have made this their central goal, a communion with a spirit or oneness. Some believe they can obtain this state through natural means. I believe that technology may prematurely propel us to this state without the efforts and discipline involved in traditional methods. Technology will become a sanctioned drug, if it has not already.
With her newest series, The Babe In The Target coming on display at Augen Gallery (716 NW Davis, Portland, Oregon) this June, Eva Lake uses photo montages and collage to explore the role of strong women in not only society, but history. Targets, circles, and women are recurring images throughout the series, but there is a surprising amount of diversity despite those constants.
Check out her artist statement:
“By the time I was thirteen, I was firmly entrenched in the worldwide craze of ‘nostalgia’ – especially anything to do with the beautiful and complex women of Hollywood and the fashion industry. At the same time I was brought up by a woman artist who loved cosmetics and glamour. All of these things fed into my idea of what a woman artist’s life was like – she makes objects but she’s also the object. The conversation is as much about her, her body, how she looks and how sexy she is – as it is her work.
A high school friend introduced me to Pop and Interview when I was a freshman in high school (1970). Eventually I learned about Jasper Johns and the target. This friend would also take me to the Ashland Police Rifle Range, where we would steal the shooting practice targets. From then on, throughout 40 years of making montages, the target continued to resurface in my work. Now I am doing what was in the back of my mind from nearly the start – focusing completely on both “The Babe” and the target.
I am also maintaining a conversation with art history, citing artists like Delacroix, Fontana, Riley, Davis, Warhol, Hamilton, Gene Davis and John Chamberlain, as well as ‘art throughout the ages.’ The goddess of ancient art history collides with our modern day version. And the back-story of these individual women is important - their power and their very public story, their status as complex objects of adoration as they live through tragedy and triumph. Their power lies in the fact that they were not just beautiful but were also people who worked for every dime and newsflash.
Eva Lake
2010
Canadienne Pierre-Paul Pariseau (who may have the most French name ever) is a mixed media artist whose works have been featured in many publications and other works of print media. But unlike other artists who might have surrealistic collage art, Pariseau’s style is different; it’s not modern, but it’s a far stretch from vintage. His style takes the elements of both to create images that almost look like clip art at times — but in a surprisingly good way, since the results have an aesthetic that other artists aren’t pursuing at all. Pariseau’s works make it seem that like he has experienced technology through its growth process and has slowly adapted his style along with it.
Linder, AKA Linder Sterling, is quite an accomplished lady. The UK musician (influential in the Manchester punk and post-punk scene), fine artist, and performance artist has her hands in all types of pies — or in this case, cakes. Her first solo show at Sorcha Dallas in Glasgow, Scotland uses “dirtied” female forms as its centerpiece.
In Sorcha’s press release of the show, Linder says:
“Instead of continuing with my life-drawing classes, I had drawn the semi-naked women in men’s pornographic magazines. This was as much a political act as driven by curiosity. Pornography had its own debased codes, and my intention was to understand them. Not to ‘borrow’ them, and never to collude with them. But to understand them seemed and seems important.”
The collages, which feature racey women with oddly-positioned moist cakes and flowers, certainly have a juicy sense of humor to them. They’re equally sexy as they are off-kilter.
Also featured in the show are installations, mixed media pieces, and drawings. Fascinating and tongue-in-cheek funny, the show runs until May 22nd, 2010.
Brooklyn collage artist Jasmine Golestaneh has some truly mystically confounding works. But she creates them all with charm; you might not know the story or the mindset behind them, but that doesn’t make them any less legitimate.
I should also mention that Golestaneh was formerly in the awesome band, Sea Sick, and is now playing with Queen Of Quartz.
