SPIRALS, VORTEXES, Through TIME

SPIRALS, VORTEXES, Through TIME

What are spirals and vortexes? Are they optical illusions? If so, then how do I define an optical illusion? An optical illusion is a noun. It is something that deceives by producing a false sense of reality.

If optical illusions of spirals and vortexes are illusions that trick the most keen observer by creating a warped sense of reality, what is reality? Some, would argue that reality is an illusion. If so, then I must define reality. Is reality a construct or a fabrication in the mind? What about time? Is time an illusion? Maybe people feel more comfortable accepting this question. Reality and time are difficult ideas to wrap my brain around. These concepts of time and reality are abstract, as are my artworks in this blog post.

In my early education, I can recall the idea that time was on a schedule and was linear. Time is anything but linear! However, I was young and in school in need of structure. Maybe that was all an illusion in that I needed that to understand my relationship with time as a construct for my reality.

Spirals and vortexes are recorded or drawn out in time. In other words, these designs or lines are vertical lines that are warped to give the illusion that time is no longer linear, but curved as in spirals and vortexes. What if time and reality are systems that are theories which are both linear and curved?
After all, theories are just theories until someone changes the facts of misperceptions. In the end, I would argue that both are human constructs that give us order out of the chaos that is life.
Therefore, I believe we decide to choose how to observe spirals and vortexes through time. Which one is an illusion?

Two Places at Once

This is my first artwork since my move to Seattle on November 3rd and November 21, 2014 is my first artistic expression. My thought process was the notion of memory in both the past tense and present tense. I wanted to capture the present as though it was fading out, while reminiscing over the past. Hints the title Two places at Once, time is relative we can not physically be at two places at once. However in our minds in the realm of imagination we can, and art allows for these kinds of instances to occur, by believing what we are perceiving to be true.

Artists Create and Are Manifestors of What they Objectively Desire

Artists Create & Are Manifestors of What they Objectively Desire....
Please ponder on this for a moment...
This is what I had wrote in a dream journal as I awoke from a dream the night before. This statement was on the title of a over sized book that appeared in my dream and it was the last thing I wrote down in my dream journal.

It never ceases to amaze me how clear the sub conscious mind is. There's a lot to mind that we don't fully know or yet alone understand. As an artist I find this very interesting, but back to my original thought, or the idea that's listed above ( Artists Create & Are Manifestors of What they Objectively Desire...) artists are creators and the prolific ones are always creating. Whether they create something recognizable or not is not the point, the point is they create from a zero point, that point is where everything begins. In other words create from nothing and turning it into something. The second part is are manifestors. To manifest is to bring into the existence of reality. What they objectively desire? Everyone has a desire for something, so it depends on how specific you want that desire to be as objectionable.

The artist uses material and changes its orientation function or purpose by reconfiguration or realignment for a new purpose and meaning of the essential material. As the artist uses a plethora of materials and chooses a specific material and changes its essential or basic properties by evocation; the materials new purpose provides meaning that's personal and of value to the artist.
Drawing is a way of seeing and relating to the world through understanding.
art,artist, image maker /creator, imagination, and image

Art without feeling is the practice of visually translating what is objectionably logical through the faculties of reason.

Is the practice of visual art strictly a way of communication that is between the viewer's eyes and cerebral cortex?

Visual art is a language that's understood by the eyes...

Visual art can do a lot.
evoke,provoke emotions
communicate ideas,thoughts,experiences,relations.
Is purely abstract art any more or less irrational than representational art?

REFLECTION OF RESOLUTION

As an artist, I have defined the work I do as nonobjective or abstract. The video title says it all, REFLECTION OF RESOLUTION. In this video piece, I have created an art work that may not need anymore further explanations...Right. Wrong, in this world we live in a world where we need to understand or have an understanding of everything in this world. This is definitely true in the art world where everything that is created and expressed is on a visual basis. In my opinion, the visual arts is the most misunderstood of all the other art forms. Why? Because it is an expression of the creator that is solely relied upon the visual world, and people need to be informed on how to see. Many people go through their lives and never stop to question what it is that they see, yet alone how it evokes an emotional response to what they are observing. My art video is simple and yet appears to be complex. Complex compositional y that is in the media in of itself. My intention in the title of this work, is to bring the viewer to question the nature of reflection, and the reflection of what. The reflection of the camera reflecting in on it self. There was some editing involved, as far as transitions and title were concerned. This brings up another issue in art. Should there be any editing in an artwork, as far as production and post production are concerned? I understand we live in a world where media is driven by post production and special effects which are at their prime.
In this recent video, I did not want to get too caught up in the post production aspect of the video. In fact I believe I have struck an equilibrium between the two; in that I have left some familiar or those not so familiar icons on the screen. By reminding the viewer that they're viewing an art work that happens to be a video, and not something that has been put into a production company's special effects software. When viewing the video art work, I wanted to bring the viewer, to find the visual tension between what draws them into the picture plane of abstraction and at the same have ques or icons that bring them back into the reality or nature of what the work is in of itself. Will we ever be able to see art for what it really and truly is? Art and artists have to compete with so much, over visual stimulation. Will media and media driven culture cancel artists and their works out? As artists seek to connect their viewers to question the nature of observation, and seeing the world through the eyes of their creations, there will always be a cultural necessity; for that's why I feel there will always be a place for the visual arts and artists.

My Megacities Opening at Haley-Henman

My opening at the Haley-Henman gallery was a smashing success! My mother is pictured between a couple of the images.
It features all new leniticular prints, which allow for multiple images and colors to be viewed in single piece. The show runs through November 27, 2010 . You have to really see the work in person in order to enjoy the full experience. I put together a full soundtrack for the opening, alluring the viewer and enhancing the experience of the works.

Please stay in touch with my website to see the video of the exhibition of the show.

John Pomara's Solo Show at Barry Whistler Gallery

John Pomara's current solo exhibition at Barry Whistler gallery was quite the spectacle.
This professor of art at UT Dallas' show is titled Arrival and Departure; in the show his work features oil enamel on aluminum and digital prints that are mounted on aluminum as well as some smaller prints that are framed. The exhibition lasts through February 27, 2010. This new body of work is very different from his previous show at Barry Whistler's Gallery in 2007.
That show titled Digital Dating in 2007, was an interesting body of work; for me it was more of a series that was dealing with urbanism and urban development. In other words, it was more about taking a risk by trying something new and different than in his previous work.

When I first came across John's work was in 2003/2004 at the Dallas Museum of Art's 100 year show. He had his painting placed adjacent to Jasper Johns' painting titled Device. I began following his work ever since. Within a couple of years he was awarded the Texas Legend award, and had a retrospective of his work of how his work has progressed over the years, at the Dallas Contemporary Gallery. In my opinion it is his work that focuses on the first inspired print screw ups that has made his art stand out from others of his generation of painters.

John's recent paintings are really quite subtle. The casual observer could easily miss their minimal beauty and nuance. However, in his digital prints they do just the opposite. In some ways or another the two different bodies of work are like North and South magnets. It is therefore a great Arrival and Departure for the artist and those that are supportive of his new direction.

I feel fortunate to know the artist and am happy to be his neighbor.

My Calendar for 2010

As a visual artist, I always find it challenging to put together artwork for the upcoming year on a calendar. It's simply a challenge because you want each month to be as gorgeous as the next, and hopefully annually as well. In previous years, making a calendar was a way to show my various works through different medias while focusing on the constant theme which is abstraction and illumination. Each year was a mixture of photography and digital.
This years 2010 calendar http://www.cafepress.com/clmartstore.75671458 was consistent in digital media and in the formulation of the nonobjective.
In my calendar, I have shown some new work that has stages or layers for some images I will possibly format into lenticular prints. Most of the calendar is set up to show you these individual images and how these pictures could be seen independently and beautifully on their own.

My Opening Last Night

Last night at my opening reception,
Rusty Scruby's business manager Hampton L. Burwick said this. "

Great work at the gallery. Thanks for contacting me and talking to me a bit last night. You were quite the popular guy!! Hope you had a good time and got lots of interest in your work."

The exhibition was great and was crowded before the official opening.

Lenticular Art

As an artist I have always been intrigued by art, technology and science. It is my belief that art and science speak the same language. Artists and scientists observe the world around them, and they both start with a hypothesis or problem by resolving it through different conclusions or results.
One of my newest explorations in this vein is lenticular imaging and technology. The basic lenticular technology has been around since the 1940's and has only improved over the years . I believe you want the viewer to be intrigued or moved by what you do. One way to achieve this effect is through lenticular imaging. This particular piece allows for a motion effect by the use of layers of the same image in multiple colors. For me, art is exploring the past, living in the moment, and utilizing the tools of the future.
My work will be for sale and on display at the Hayley Henman Art Gallery in Dallas, TX. The dates of the show will be from July 11, through September 12, 2009. Please come by and see my work.

500X DELINEATION SHOW

500X gallery had an opening on Saturday night on May 9 from 6-10pm. The title of the show is Delineation, the show will be up for 21 days. I am currently exhibiting and selling one of my drawings. The title of the show should give you an idea as to what you are expected to see, however it does not. The gallery has asked artists to submit a drawing or concepts that apply to the concepts of drawing. Therefore the exhibition featured more than just drawing, it also allowed for paintings, and a photograph.
Delineation is another word for drawing for those who are not familiar with art terminology. I guess that is part of the problem with terminology that applies to some contemporary artists of today. What constitutes a delineation? Is drawing with a pencil, charcoal, pen, etc the same as drawing with a brush, or film in a camera? The most obvious answer is no. Drawing is different from artist to artist and to some is rather debatable.
Could we say that almost anything could be construed as a drawing. For me drawing is making or leaving an intentional or unintentional mark on a flat or three dimensional surface, by freezing or documenting a permanent or impermanent mark.

Local Dallas Artist Rusty Scruby

Last week at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary (MAC), I attended an interesting film/talk by local Dallas artist Rusty Scruby. Rusty is represented by Pan American Art Projects here in Dallas. His work is really quite interesting in that his photographs, drawings, and paper works all have one underling continuity, which is mathematics. Rusty sees everything as a relationship of numbers and mathematical equations. A lot of his works remind me of logic puzzles and mind bending games. In his art talk, he mentioned a lot about the natural elements of the sky and water, which tells me he is interested in the idea of fluid dynamics. This makes sense because he is using his mind to calculate mathematical equations from his first interest of study which is aeronautical engineering.
Therefore, Rusty does not consider himself to be an artist, however, the way he composes each photograph re contextualizes the picture plane. He will make several hundred prints of the same image and weave them together, and change their overall percentage ever so slightly. His art looks as though you were seeing through the eyes of a Bee, in other words, a compound eye.
Many people feel that art and science are different from each other, but, in my view, they speak the same language. They just develop a different hypothesis or set of problems. Artists and scientists both utilize their eye as a tool to perceive the world around them by arriving at a conclusion or resolution that can be built upon with each project or experiment.
With an artist such as Rusty Scruby, we can learn how he observes the world through his perceptual experiences of mathematical rhythms that weave in and out of each other through the fabric of time.

In Memory of Artist Jeremy Blake

Has there ever been a moment that you admired a contemporary artist's work, and you later find out that they are no longer alive? Well, that has just recently happened to me. Around the year 2000, I saw this really interesting artist's work in the Whitney Biennial; his name was Jeremy Blake. His work was really beautiful and unique. I remember seeing this colorful, abstract anamorphic shapes colliding in and out of form; it was a new media piece. The video was very painterly, and, come to think of it, it was like looking at a Morris Louis painting that came to life. When I first saw his work, I thought how clever. What I remember is seeing this psychedelic video of colors morphing in and out of each other and the sound that was emitted was a film projector.
The last time I remember seeing his work was on the CREATIVE TIME screen in New York City's Time Square. that was a year or two after seeing his work at the Whitney Museum of American Art. After that, I hadn't seen his work in a long while.
Yesterday, I had done some research on the web and I found out that the artist lost his girlfriend; she apparently committed suicide and not to long afterwords so did he....
He died last year at the age of 36 years old. Why do people I admire a great deal for their talent,skill and fame decide to die. I guess three Whitney Biennial exhibitions and having multiple gallery exhibitions in New York and L.A. was not enough. If you're not grateful for what you have, you'll never be happy. Artists are fragile people and this artist will definitely be missed, and his work will be admired by many.

Future Plans for Pratt Institute

I recently spoke with one of my former art professors Jos Smith.
He had informed me that the President of Pratt Institute Dr. Tom Schutte,had pulled him aside and spoke of some of Pratt's future plans. Dr. Schutte, spoke about Pratt working in conjunction with Ringling Brother's and Barnum Baily Circus.
This would allow all the different majors to work and collaborate with the Circus.
For example the students can draw the animals and clowns as a part of their life drawing classes, the fashion design students can design costumes for the performers and the media arts students can learn about stage lighting and production work. My first idea was how funny would that be, but you know the more I think about it the more infinite I see the possibilities. This kind of idea could really give Pratt's students, faculty, staff and it's alumni at a serious advantage. First of all we would be ahead of the game and each major would be even higher on the school ranking charts as far as reestablishing our global reputation as an Art and Design School.

Artists as Creators part 1

Artists are Creators and they usually create from their own experiences. The kind of Artists I am wanting to focus on are Visual. This is the realm of experience I speak from, this is not to exclude any of the other Arts. Because I think all the Arts essentially come from a common place of origin, that origin being what it means to be human.
Visual Artists are more often than not visual thinkers, that is they literally think visually and must utilize their eyes to see how something works in order to make sense of the world around them. Artists are image makers, and they utilize tools in conventional and unconventional ways. I believe Artists are not the only ones who are Creators, I think we all are whether we are conscious of it or not. Artists are just the ones who get most of the credit because of their compulsive need to fill the missing voids in their lives.