Mediterranean culture gave us mythology, math and architecture. The architecture of classical temples still fires our imagination in our churches, libraries, train stations and shopping malls. The magnetic pull of spaces like Grand Central Station, New York’s Public Library or the Metropolitan Museum can be traced to ancient temples of Rome. Artists exercised their attraction to these spaces by decorating and describing them. Dutch artists of the 1600s used linear perspective and camera obscura technology to recreate the spell of the temples. Examples 1 and 2, by Houckeest and Emanuel de Witte illustrate the observation and rendering skills of those Dutch artists.
example.1. Houckeest,1638.
example 2. de Witte, 1669, oil on panel.
Contemporary artists’ affection for classical temple interiors challenges their interpretive skills. We are past imitating photographic appearances in paint. And, photographic appearances continue to be redefined by photographers’ imaginative use of software and the broadening capabilities of cameras as well as new insights in visual perception.
Example 3 takes us back to classical Italian architecture. Here is a composite photograph of a columned corridor in Vicenza and a church interior in Rome. Our brain unifies the evidence of two differing stories into one, two layered images become one visual hypothesis. Example 4 again uses classical forms as seen in the steel bridgework on Manhattan’s upper West Side. The arches inevitably suggest a classical temple. This image was built from photos layered with a painting of a similar subject.
example 3. Composite photo.
example 4. composite photos and painting.
My next examples derive from the interior of New York’s Metropolitan Museum. The milling crowds, the light diffusing from Fifth Avenue, the complex of columns, and testing possibilities for coloring the atmosphere to energize the space motivated this image (example 5,a composite photograph). Next, I prepared an unorthodox surface. I began with a landscape which no longer bore fruit for me. I over-painted this landscape with a silver metallic semi-translucent enamel (example 6). At first, I slathered on paint seeking another landscape but, felt an irrepressible urge to return to the imagery of the metropolitan museum. Example 7 shows you an early first step in this painting’s process. I discovered I could alligator the surface of the metallic enamel by selectively spraying it with turpentine. This example gives an idea of the textured surface. Example 8 presents the image as it now appears. I felt that notes of bright Vermillion placed in areas of a deep ultramarine blue snapped the picture into a more lively expression. I restrained my squeegee work in favor of brushwork.
example 5. step 1,the composite photograph.
example 6. step 2, The under-painting with silver enamel.
example 7. step 3 with clearer evidence of alligatored surface areas.
example 8. step 4 image as it now appears.
I have two more examples of my museum explorations. This next example again begins with a lay-in over a silver enameled substrate (example 9). The developed painting (example 10) relies on an ascending triangle for compositional structure. The triangle evolved from blurring figures exiting the museum into a unitary but, perforated mass. The triangle’s fragmentation is also interpenetrated by columns as I try to build a horizontal interrupting the ascending (peopled) triangle. The vermillion notes awaken and refresh our attention. Example 11 presents the motif in a grander scale. It’s 48×48.
example 9. initial lay-in, step 1.
example 10. image as it now appears, step 2.
example 11. a larger image of the same motif.
My invitation to you: If you live within commuting distance of the Silvermine School of Art in New Canaan, Ct. I invite you to register for my winter semester. Tuesdays continues with morning and afternoon classes. Wednesday afternoons I offer an experimental class (in terms of materials and techniques). Registration begins on December 10, 2014. Just call The Silvermine School of Art at 203 966 6668 ext 2 or fax in your registration. Classes begin Tuesday, January 13.
Fredric Neuwirth
The 12-8 issue of the New Yorker has an article about Hans Ulrich Obrist . Orbist is some sort of art curator and performance promoter . One of the artists that he admires is Etel Adnan. She is Lebanese and paints bold abstract landscapes. I looked at them on Google. The rendering of trees, sky, water, meadows is very flat but what is amazing to me is that your mind puts it together, gives it space. When you have a moment to look, let me know your thoughts. If you want a copy of the article I wiliness it to you.
Gail Ingis
David, your work is inspiring. Thank you for sharing the hows of creation in art. You are never at a loss for devising new ways.