Sonja Judkins
ART106.006
Julia Lambright
4/20/2016
Out of the massive volume of artists contained within the drawing center viewing program, a few caught my eye. My favorite mediums tend to be digital painting and design and watercolor. I tried to branch out for this assignment and get a good sampling of art using different mediums, themes, and styles than I am used to. My favorites still tend to fit my old patterns, but in this observation I saw many interesting pieces.
Five I Admired:
Davide Zucco
Liar
ink pen, water colors, oil on paper
2010
29 " x 21 "
Burning colors trying to turn my blood black
ink pen, pencil color, oil color on paper
2010
30 " x 22 "
While I do not fully understand all of Davide's work I admire the dark, abstract nature of it all. Probably my favorite genre of art, writing, movies is the story of existential dread. The creepy imagery and detached horror of the subjects found in his works appeal to that part of myself that is constantly anxious. It's a cleansing of sorts to see representations of my own fears in such symbolic and gorgeously articulated pieces.
Chancellor Page
Thanatos Tongue Depressor 3
Ink
2011
24" x 18"
Forget
Mixed media
2007
60" x 40"
Chancellor is another artist using the abstract and more conceptual to depict dark themes and anxieties. Page has stated their work represents losing oneself whether it be to drugs, grief, or even meditation. I really appreciate this concept as I have my own problems with self identity. I feel like I lose myself in these works the same way the people in have lost themselves to the surrounding chaos.
Maya Gatewood
White Hole
Graphite on Paper
2004
30" x 37"
Hanging Bubbles with Sheres
NuPastel on Paper
2006
26" x 40"
Maya's drawings are extremely nebulous and aesthetic over directly conceptual. She has written in her artist statement that her focus is the vortex, a concept I adore. I have always been fascinated by massive astronomical objects be they stars or black holes and I can feel such enormity in these works. The eye is instantly draw into the darkness just like the pull of the objects they represent. Though I typically prefer art with defined figures, I greatly enjoyed the feeling of smallness before such daunting and yet peaceful objects. A single human being is nothing up against a vortex.
Amber Kempthorn
Sorrow
pastel, graphite, ink, collage
2011
44 " x 30 "
Untitled (Triptych) Panel 3
pastel, graphite, ink, collage
2009
30" x 22 1/2"
I absolutely adore the wide open spaces and fantastical themes of Amber's pieces. They capture my imagination and make me long to dive into the worlds she creates. Her use of color is also extraordinary and exiting without being to busy or distracting from the figures.
Aquiles Hadjis
Baobab (seen from the corridor)
Sumi and Shellac Indian Ink on Paper
2004
0 " x 0 "
Sotakun
Ballpen, graphite, fudepen and Ink on Paper
2009
0" x 0"
Aquiles' drawings draw on feelings of loneliness and insomnia. The figures are alone in the setting created for him and the emptiness of the spaces around them draw these feelings into the realm of real experience. Many nights spent laying alone in bed or wondering around an empty apartment, these scenarios play out easily and fully upon viewing of this work and have had a profound affect on myself. I can relate to the emotions behind these works and so feel a personal connection to their creator.
Five I Didn't Understand:
Holly Boruck
5-13-13 Stravinsky's Riot
Ink, watercolor, color pencil on paper
2013
9 " x 12 "
Her art is simply to abstract for me. I can admire the dark themes but it is at the same time too graphic and not grounded well enough for me to get more than vague impressions of ideas from her pieces.
Hector "Greg" Rubio
Blood Knot Archery Target
fabric, yarn, thread, graphite, acrylic
2008
58 " x 48 "
Hector's work is also entirely too aesthetic for me. I can't discern any of the meaning behind his designs and don't find them particularly visually appealing. Pain is the only thing I can read from multiple pieces pierced with arrows, but past that I'm at a loss.
Francesca Gagliardi
Make-up
Tempera on indian paper
2006
10,6’" x 10,6’"
While Gagliardi's paintings are very colorful and well composed, I can find no emotional or objective meaning in her collection. Like I said, the design is fairly well done, I just need to get an emotion from an artist to really enjoy their work.
David Leggett
300
Color Pencil, Ink, and Acrylic on Paper
2011
12 " x 9 "
Yet another case of not understanding the emotional themes. His work is definitely ripe with them, but as he caters to the black experience and has stated in multiple pieces that it is to culturally black people his references apply I am an outsider. This is not to say I can't appreciate his skill or some of the messages he is trying to portray, I just have no personal experience to relate to his work.
Lorna Leedy
everything I can think of to fill this page
pen & ink
2008
10" x 10"
Her works are too cartoonish and not emotive enough for me. I get nothing from viewing them other mild curiosity to understand their organization but no real feeling or concepts have formed in my mind to make sense of them.
Favorite Artist:
Drew Bechmeyer
slope
oil, ink, acrylic on wood
2009
18" x 24"
10 abstract shapes on a shelf, on a dresser, in front of a window
acrylic, charcoal, crayon on paper
2010
40" x 30"
i was nothing good, but now i'm everything.
ink, pastel, markers, colored pencils on paper
2008
50" x 40"
Drew's pieces draw me into his chaotic and often lonely dreamscapes. Each one seems to represent a moment or memory filtered through either the insanity of an overactive dreamer or an LSD trip. The original feeling and basic details stay the same, but both the visual understanding of the situation and the environment around core of the memory are either heavily distorted or completely lost. I feel something with each of his pieces, like I have been given a window into a moment of someone else's life and the emotions and thoughts they had in that moment have been displayed across their vision.I think I may have found not only a favorite artist for this project but a new all time favorite.
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