Etruscan Relic(Exhibition - ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions)Jeanne Raffer Beck (USA)

Preamble
This blogspot contains posts of artworks that have featured in my curated international exhibition - ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions. For your convenience I have listed these posts below.
ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions (Marie-Therese Wisniowski - Curator's Talk)
Sequestration of CO₂ (Engaging New Visions) M-T. Wisniowski
Sacred Planet I (Engaging New Visions) J. Dunnewold
Under Pressure (Engaging New Visions) L.A. Beehler
lo Rising II & Giza (Engaging New Visions) R. Benson
Catch The Light 1 & 2 (Engaging New Visions) J. Schulze
Emerge (Engaging New Visions) J. Truckenbrod
Breathe Deeply (Engaging New Visions) C. Benn
Die Gedanken Sind Frei 3 & 4 (Engaging New Visions) C. Helmer
Black Birds I & II (Engaging New Visions) C. Holmes
Autumn Visions I & II (Engaging New Visions) J. Petruskeviciene
Razing/Raising Walls, Warsaw (Engaging New Visions) N. Starszakowna
Quite Alone Oasis… (Engaging New Visions) J. Urbiene
Nothing Is The Same I & II (Engaging New Visions) E. van Baarle
Discharge Thundercloud (Engaging New Visions) K. Kagajo
Shroud Of Ancient Echoes I & II (Engaging New Visions) S. Fell-McLean
Cane Toad Narrative (Engaging New Visions) H. Lancaster
Visionary and Eclipse (Engaging New Vision) J. Ryder
Untitled ArtWorks (Engaging New Vision) Tjariya (Nungalka) Stanley and Tjunkaya Tapaya
Treescape (Engaging New Vision) A. Trevillian

Introduction
Instalments of artists statements and a snapshot of their work in the exhibition will feature on a weekly basis.

The catalog of the exhibition is far more detailed in terms of opening addresses and artist’s biographies, curriculum vitae and statements etc. and moreover, is a holistic record of the exhibition itself.

Synopsis of Artwork:Etruscan Relic
A lifelong wordsmith, I combine fragments of found letters, diaries and journals from the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries with invented letter forms inspired by ancient texts. This juxtaposition invites a consideration of human cultures over time. Like an archeological site, these fragments can be excavated but do not always fit together; some questions about the past remain forever hidden or undecipherable.

After spending well over two decades as a professional writer, these past twelve years working as a visual artist have given me new perspectives on words and text. Discovering old, handwritten letters and diaries holds a strong personal connection as well; journaling has been a longstanding practice for me. Old diaries and journals differ greatly in vocabulary and structure from contemporary writing, even though they were written over the past 150 years. Yet it is the calligraphic form of these writers’ penmanship that fascinates me more than the content. Even the existence of such documents seems poignant, since handwritten correspondence has virtually disappeared from contemporary culture.

In addition to searching for handwritten works, ancient scripts and Asian calligraphy have also inspired my appreciation for the visual nature of written words. Language evolves and alters; each alphabet represents an entire culture and epoch. Even when these ancient scripts cannot be translated, the beauty and mystery contained in the patterns and forms still engage the imagination.

Some of the pieces in my current language series have map-like elements suggesting exploration or charting the boundaries of a territory. Others respond to the conceptual idea of pages – words, ideas and stories contained within books. When we speak a language, the cadence and intonations of the human voice convey as much meaning as the words. Responding to that idea, the writings on these surfaces evoke spoken sounds through the rhythm, spacing and pressure of the marks.

Each piece in this series in some way deconstructs the linear structure of text and incorporates invented letterforms that become their own visual language. Working through the ideas for each piece excavates new associations for the next – an evolution, which like language, is ever changing in the contexts of human culture and personal experience.

Techniques
Silkscreened, monoprinted, handpainted with dyes and textile paints on silk broadcloth.
Size: 99 cm (width) x 300 cm (length).

(a) Etruscan Relics at Fairfield City Museum and Gallery, New South Wales (second artwork from left - see future and earlier posts for all other artworks).
Photograph courtesy Cedric Boudjema, Director,Fairfield City Museum and Gallery.

(b) Etruscan Relics at Orange Regional Art Gallery, New South Wales (right artwork, left artwork by Laura Beehler - see earlier post).
Photograph courtesy Marie-Therese Wisniowski.

(c) Etruscan Relics at Redcliffe City Art Gallery, Queensland (third artwork from left, see future and earlier posts for all other artworks).
Photograph courtesy Karen Tyler, Director,Redcliffe City Art Gallery.
Photography by Al Sim.

(d) Etruscan Relic - full view.

(e) Etruscan Relic - detailed view.

(f) Etruscan Relic - detailed view.

lo Rising II & Giza(Exhibition - ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions)Regina Benson (USA)

Preamble
This blogspot contains posts of artworks that have featured in my curated international exhibition - ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions. For your convenience I have listed these posts below.
ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions (Marie-Therese Wisniowski - Curator's Talk)
Sequestration of CO₂ (Engaging New Visions) M-T. Wisniowski
Sacred Planet I (Engaging New Visions) J. Dunnewold
Under Pressure (Engaging New Visions) L.A. Beehler
Etruscan Relic (Engaging New Vision) J. Raffer Beck
Catch The Light 1 & 2 (Engaging New Visions) J. Schulze
Emerge (Engaging New Visions) J. Truckenbrod
Breathe Deeply (Engaging New Visions) C. Benn
Die Gedanken Sind Frei 3 & 4 (Engaging New Visions) C. Helmer
Black Birds I & II (Engaging New Visions) C. Holmes
Autumn Visions I & II (Engaging New Visions) J. Petruskeviciene
Razing/Raising Walls, Warsaw (Engaging New Visions) N. Starszakowna
Quite Alone Oasis… (Engaging New Visions) J. Urbiene
Nothing Is The Same I & II (Engaging New Visions) E. van Baarle
Discharge Thundercloud (Engaging New Visions) K. Kagajo
Shroud Of Ancient Echoes I & II (Engaging New Visions) S. Fell-McLean
Cane Toad Narrative (Engaging New Visions) H. Lancaster
Visionary and Eclipse (Engaging New Vision) J. Ryder
Untitled ArtWorks (Engaging New Vision) Tjariya (Nungalka) Stanley and Tjunkaya Tapaya
Treescape (Engaging New Vision) A. Trevillian

Introduction
Instalments of artist statements and a snapshot of their work in the exhibition will feature on a weekly basis.

The catalog of the exhibition is far more detailed in terms of opening addresses and artist’s biographies, curriculum vitae and statements etc. and moreover, is a holistic record of the exhibition itself.

(a) lo Rising II and Giza at Orange Regional Art Gallery, New South Wales (far left artwork is lo Rising II, left artwork is Giza, artworks on right by Susan Fell McLean (see future post).
Photograph courtesy Alan Sisley, Director, Orange Regional Art Gallery.

(b) lo Rising II at Redcliffe City Art Gallery, Queensland (last two artworks on the right - see future posts for all other artworks).
Photograph courtesy Karen Tyler, Director, Redcliffe City Art Gallery.
Photography by Al Sim.

Synopsis of Artwork: lo Rising II
My work is informed by momentary visceral connections made, somewhere between heart and mind, when experiencing the environment around me.  Wether looking through a microscope, telescope or my camera lens, I marvel at the repetitive patterns and designs of our universe, whether underwater amongst distant reefs, in my Colorado mountains, or above the Mid-East desserts. In remembering those moments, I reframe, exaggerate, comment and, sometimes, analyze; always attempting to marry my artistic vision with the creative process itself.

I’m a fan of the Hubble Space Telescope, and the many images from the Voyager spacecraft before that – along with the many scientific inquiries that have been set off about our celestial family. Since Galileo first identified IO, this Jupiter moon played its own role in that heretical Copernican solar system and showed that everything did not revolve around the Earth.

Io is one of the most exotic places in the solar system. It is the most volcanic body known, with lava flows, lava lakes, and giant calderas covering its sulfurous landscape. Io orbits closer to Jupiter’s cloud tops than the moon does to Earth. This places Io within an intense radiation belt that bathes this moon with energetic electrons and protons.

This work represents my imaginings of Io through the swirling gases as it orbits around Jupiter. I created this work by first painting soy wax in ascending patterns on black rayon cloth; then laying the entire cloth out on a snow field. To infer the energy and gaseous torrents, I repeatedly sprayed hot discharge solution over the surface. The hot liquid I sprayed mixed with the melting snow from beneath and created it’s own mysterious flow on the cloth’s surface.  It is within this dichotomy of hot and cold, that Io Rising II

Techniques
Black rayon discharged on snow with soy wax resist and burned.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 300 cm (length).

(c) lo Rising II - full view.

(d) lo Rising II - detailed view.

Synopsis of Artwork: Giza
The remains of things -  language, buildings, plants, human life – provides me much opportunity to reflect on what my life is made of and what place we and our trappings might have in the universal scheme. Among the many forms of mark-making, rust marks recall that presence for me - both physically and metaphorically.

The Valley of Giza, with its Third and Fourth Dynasty pyramids, is a marvel of ancient architectural prowess. Dedicated to the anticipated eternal memory of Egyptian kings, queens and high officials, these pyramids took years to build, with thousands of workers, and numerous innovations in construction materials. Archeological analysis of the structures has shed light on the interior supports, subterranean designs, and outer surfacing materials used in vein attempts to offset the effects of erosion. This massive complex of monuments includes the huge sculpture known today as the Great Sphinx and the monument known as the Great Pyramid of Giza, the only remaining monument of the “seven wonders of the ancient world”.

The Valley of Giza exits in one of the hottest places of our world, situated entirely in the Sahara Desert. The Khamsin winds, hot furious and dust-laden, annually blow through Giza, raising storms of sand that obscure visibility, make it near impossible to breathe without protection, and further erode these great monuments.

My work,Giza;is a reflection upon a storm-surrounded view of these pyramids and the concept of creating this work in a process and form that reflects upon their inevitable degradation.  Using found wire and sheet metal forms, I rusted silk organza over several periods; making ghostly remains engulfed by a driving sandstorm. It feels fitting to me to create a work about the remainder of Life’s artifacts using a process that employs one of the very chemical processes that render a remainder image. Another marriage of the message with the medium.

Techniques
Rusted with found wire, nails and scrap metal, resisted with soy wax, and burned on silk organza.
Size: 60 cm (width) x 300 cm (length).

(e) Giza - full view.

(f) Giza - detailed view.

Under PressureExhibition - ArtCloth: Engaging New VisionsLaura Ann Beehler (USA)

Preamble
This blogspot contains posts of artworks that have featured in my curated international exhibition - ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions. For your convenience I have listed these posts below.
ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions (Marie-Therese Wisniowski - Curator's Talk)
Sequestration of CO₂ (Engaging New Visions) M-T. Wisniowski
Sacred Planet I (Engaging New Visions) J. Dunnewold
lo Rising II & Giza (Engaging New Visions) R. Benson
Etruscan Relic (Engaging New Vision) J. Raffer Beck
Catch The Light 1 & 2 (Engaging New Visions) J. Schulze
Emerge (Engaging New Visions) J. Truckenbrod
Breathe Deeply (Engaging New Visions) C. Benn
Die Gedanken Sind Frei 3 & 4 (Engaging New Visions) C. Helmer
Black Birds I & II (Engaging New Visions) C. Holmes
Autumn Visions I & II (Engaging New Visions) J. Petruskeviciene
Razing/Raising Walls, Warsaw (Engaging New Visions) N. Starszakowna
Quite Alone Oasis… (Engaging New Visions) J. Urbiene
Nothing Is The Same I & II (Engaging New Visions) E. van Baarle
Discharge Thundercloud (Engaging New Visions) K. Kagajo
Shroud Of Ancient Echoes I & II (Engaging New Visions) S. Fell-McLean
Cane Toad Narrative (Engaging New Visions) H. Lancaster
Visionary and Eclipse (Engaging New Vision) J. Ryder
Untitled ArtWorks (Engaging New Vision) Tjariya (Nungalka) Stanley and Tjunkaya Tapaya
Treescape (Engaging New Vision) A. Trevillian

Introduction
Instalments of artist statements and a snapshot of their work in the exhibition will feature on a weekly basis.

The catalog of the exhibition is far more detailed in terms of opening addresses and artist’s biographies, curriculum vitae and statements etc. and moreover, is a holistic record of the exhibition itself.

Synopsis of Artwork: Under Pressure
A fleeting idea, a glimpse of color, a smell or perhaps the touch of an appealing surface will set my soul off on another journey across expanse of white fabric.

Under Pressure began as a distinct attraction to the rich warm bronze and cool blue color combination. My next piece was begging me to incorporate the colors that spoke so strongly to me. As the bronze and blue colors combined with serendipitous textures layered down the length of cloth, images of rock buried deep in the earth began to emerge. The cloth began speaking to me of waiting, of patience, of time. I explored directions the fabric could go, yet not feel any of the directions calling me, so I continued to wait. I studied the layers developing on the fabric. I saw similarities of the formation of this cloth to the formation of precious metal or priceless jewels.  Both depend on layers, time and pressure.  Layers are dependent on what comes before; yet push the previous layer down. Never destroying the prior layers, but needing them for support. Only under pressure do precious metal and jewels develop. Time. Patience.  Pressure. The creation of my fabrics is so similar! As I waited with the pressure of deadlines looming, images of gold veins, cracks and fissures came to mind. It was the direction the fabric was calling me to take.

So with Life - time and patience are needed to permit layers to build, pressure is needed to produce the desired results. View Under Pressure in the literal sense, but also figuratively. Precious results take time and patience.  We depend on layers of learning, time to digest the lessons and the pressure of life in general, in order to create these precious results.

Techniques
Deconstructed silk screen, painting with thickened dyes, dye wash, mark making with pen, burning, gold leafing on silk broadcloth.
Size: 81 cm (width) x 300 cm (length).

(a) Under Pressure at Fairfield City Museum and Gallery, New South Wales (left artwork, and right artwork by Jeanne Raffer Beck - see future post).
Photograph courtesy Cedric Boudjema, Director, Fairfield City Museum and Gallery.

(b) Under Pressure at Orange regional Art Gallery, New South Wales; (left artwork, and right artwork by Jeanne Raffer Beck - see future post).
Photograph courtesy Marie-Therese Wisniowski.

(c) Under Pressure at Redcliffe City Art Gallery, Queensland (fourth artwork from left, see future posts for all other artworks).
Photograph courtesy Karen Tyler, Director, Redcliffe City Art Gallery.
Photography by Al Sim.

(d) Under Pressure - full view.

(e) Under Pressure - detailed view

Sacred Planet I: The Myth of Human Superiority(Exhibition - ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions)Jane Dunnewold (USA)

Preamble
This blogspot contains posts of artworks that have featured in my curated international exhibition - ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions. For your convenience I have listed these posts below.
ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions (Marie-Therese Wisniowski - Curator's Talk)
Sequestration of CO₂ (Engaging New Visions) M-T. Wisniowski
Under Pressure (Engaging New Visions) L.A. Beehler
lo Rising II & Giza (Engaging New Visions) R. Benson
Etruscan Relic (Engaging New Vision) J. Raffer Beck
Catch The Light 1 & 2 (Engaging New Visions) J. Schulze
Emerge (Engaging New Visions) J. Truckenbrod
Breathe Deeply (Engaging New Visions) C. Benn
Die Gedanken Sind Frei 3 & 4 (Engaging New Visions) C. Helmer
Black Birds I & II (Engaging New Visions) C. Holmes
Autumn Visions I & II (Engaging New Visions) J. Petruskeviciene
Razing/Raising Walls, Warsaw (Engaging New Visions) N. Starszakowna
Quite Alone Oasis… (Engaging New Visions) J. Urbiene
Nothing Is The Same I & II (Engaging New Visions) E. van Baarle
Discharge Thundercloud (Engaging New Visions) K. Kagajo
Shroud Of Ancient Echoes I & II (Engaging New Visions) S. Fell-McLean
Cane Toad Narrative (Engaging New Visions) H. Lancaster
Visionary and Eclipse (Engaging New Vision) J. Ryder
Untitled ArtWorks (Engaging New Vision) Tjariya (Nungalka) Stanley and Tjunkaya Tapaya
Treescape (Engaging New Vision) A. Trevillian

Introduction
Instalments of artist statements and a snapshot of their work in the exhibition will feature on a weekly basis.

The catalog of the exhibition is far more detailed in terms of opening addresses and artist’s biographies, curriculum vitae and statements etc. and moreover, is a holistic record of the exhibition itself.

Synopsis - Sacred Planet I: The Myth of Human Superiority
The Sacred Planet Series was inspired by a set of photographs taken in the Perth Natural History Museum. The reflections from the glass cases lent an eerie quality to the pictures, as if the inhabitants of the cases were literally vanishing into thin air.

Additional manipulation and digital printing generates intricate designs where, ironically enough, the subjects are again easily lost in the elaborate, overall patterning. In order to sustain the planet, we must soon acknowledge the sacred balance between what is seen and unseen, what is close-up and what is far away.

Living creatures contribute to this sacred balance and must not be permitted to vanish from our global home.

Techniques
Digital printing on cotton from an original photograph. Mixed Media: sand, felt, and burn out chemical.
Size: 112 cm (width) x 294 cm (length).

(a) Sacred Planet I: The Myth of Human Superiority (Jane Dunnewold) - right artwork.
Orange Regional Art Gallery, NSW, Australia.

(b) Sacred Planet I: The Myth of Human Superiority (Jane Dunnewold) - left artwork.
Redcliffe City Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia.
Photograph courtesy of Karen Tyler (Director). Photography by Al Sim.

(c) Sacred Planet I: The Myth of Human Superiority (Jane Dunnewold).

(d) A detail view of a panel of - Sacred Planet I: The Myth of Human Superiority (Jane Dunnewold).

(e) A close detail view of a section of - Sacred Planet I: The Myth of Human Superiority (Jane Dunnewold).