Paintings & Other Art 1990-2003

At the start of the 1990’s, I resumed my studies at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY in the Fine Arts Department with a major in Painting. There was some question of my eligibility because my Undergraduate Degree was Sculpture and studying New Forms and not Painting. Many of my paintings were large format, almost exclusively crayon and acrylic wash on enormous wood panels. Some of the faculty had doubts about my experience as a painter qualified to enter a Master’s Program in Painting.

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A lot had changed for me over the previous decade,  which was also highlighted by my efforts to care for my brother Paul, who passed away from AIDS in the Summer of 1987.  

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Art is never done in a vacuum and life always impacts an artist's work and this was no different for me. After my brother's passing and being witness to dozens of artists and friends impacted by the epidemic of AIDS, I was exhausted. I had lost my beloved loft on Berry Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and resumed life in Woodstock, NewYork. 

The entire world was changing rapidly in the 90's. We had the fall of the Soviet Union, the beginnings of the internet and computers, and towards the end of the 90’s cell phones.  All of this shaped my choices and my art work in the 90’s. I recall as we neared the 2000’s people were uncertain how computers and the clocks within would register the new year called the Y2K bug. In many ways it was all about technology, but it was also in my view the overarching changes world-wide and the ideas of multiculturalism. The world seemed smaller in some respects and we could reach across borders and develop relations with people that were once far off.  This all impacted my art as well.

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First, the value of a Master’s Degree in Fine Art. It took me two and half years to complete my master’s, and many might not know but it's a terminal degree. In other words, you don’t then go for a doctorate degree. Most master’s degrees are just one year or 32 credits; an MFA requires 64 credits, a thesis and graduate show. I thought perhaps I could teach in the future using my art experiences. 

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During graduate school I think one of the most influential classes that changed my life wasn't in my studio classes, but in a graduate class about Hendrik Ibsen taught by professor Rolf Fjelde, who I believe mentioned that his grandfather personally had known him. This class opened me up to the idea that an artist can use one's experiences and knowledge and incorporate it into the art making process. While this may seem not worth mentioning, I would develop and expand on this idea and that art wasn't always about “art for art's sake” (l’art pour l’art), which was drummed into me by my professors of art for years.  While I agree with the formal elements of art for art's sake, I began to see how studies and events in general could be picked up and used to make art and keep it interesting. So let me give an example. In my class studying Hendrik Ibsen, one of my projects with my professor's encouragement was to study the plays of Ibsen and the stage directions for his plays. I took those stage directions and translated it into linear lines on a drawing/painting and created a composition based on the stage direction. Later, I would use elements, particularly words, the study of language, elements of history, and motivational or inspirational ideas of history as the starting points in my art. 

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Another thing Professor Fjelde impressed upon me was the knowledge of the Bible; that the parables and stories in the Bible were inspirations for artists over centuries of art, and in order to understand much of European arts from literature to the plastic arts, an understanding of biblical references would enhance a better understanding of the art and the artists. I had embraced this idea and still have a Bible next to my bed, not for religious reasons but for a better  understanding of man's cultural advancement and maturity of thoughts over the years. So I would say, while I didn't recognize it at the time, I did grow to appreciate the education I received with Professor Rjelde.

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Other elements that shaped my art during the 90's was that I had the good fortune to design and build a studio in Woodstock, New York, which was about 20 feet wide and 60 feet long and 12 foot ceiling height.  So I was able to make some large paintings between 1990 and 1997 with many large wood panels as long as 8 to 10 feet long and 8 feet high. Again, my inspirations came from news and entertainment events; the study of language and its history and origin which still captures my interests today.

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Finally, on my website I made available a copy of my thesis and a selection of paintings in the MFA programs. My graduate show “Point Of Departure” and a thesis on using the process of appropriation in the plastic arts.  

 

 

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Well Enough  2003 47” x 35” collage and mixed media on canvas 

 

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MFA Exhibition 

Point of Departure 1992

 

Dina here you can install a link anchor or whatever you think is best to link my thesis statement here.

 

I am not going to go into detail about every painting included in my MFA  show called Point Of Departure. Instead just highlights the work and the process and materials used. Like most of my work below 2003 it was all documented by film photography and not digital. Of course it became so much easier later in the 21th century to photograph and document work. So my apologies in advance to the less than perfect resolution of my images below 2003. 

The main point I want to emphasize or highlight is the process and materials which is why I encourage reading the above link to my thesis. During the early 90s I had a great interest in the photographic process not so much as a photographic image and more as a tool to arrive at new mediums to say things through images retrieved from the TV and news media and incorporated into a larger project. One of the series of paintings I employ photocopies taken of the news and also form docu-dramas like Cops where I directly photograph images off the TV and incorporate them into painting. The first image I used was the famous photo of Rodney King being beaten by the LA police and another was from the TV series Cops which was popular and new in the early 90s.    

 

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