Yeah I know ... Been a while since there'd been a chance for me to get out to the big Artist in Residence Barn at The Golden Foundation in New Berlin. Changing work schedule and family issues have made Thursdays difficult & the time needed to get out to gorgeous New Berlin NY hasn't been there. But I decided it was time to get wise about renewing my commitment to my own art. Reasoned a swift kick in the pants from seeing the work of world-class artists at the peak of their game would about do the trick, and this is the place to go. Boy was I right, or to quote Alfalfa "Aaand How."
Gallery exhibits are curated collections of art removed from the atmosphere in which they are created so why mess around with the results filtered through a curator's agenda. Just go see the stuff as it's been churned out, raw unadorned unframed warts and all. See which ideas work, glom onto the best of it and apply to thine own effors. Will need a kitchen strainer to sift through Max Bard's results, which probably should (and likely will) be the subject of a blog post all on its own. But one point of the AiR program is to contrast the methods of the artists selected to showcase what all can be done with Golden Artist Color's endless arsenal of paints, mediums, pigments and "stuff". Singling just one artist out would deny readers the culture shock of encountering the differing approaches, and they've never been quite as different as this group.
Be sure to use the Prior Posts menu to examine some of the other residency groups I've gotten swift kicks in the pants from, and to learn more about the Foundation and its residency program click here.
First up is Barbara Marx and while we did not have much chance to visit I was immediately enamored with her use of flattened cardboard boxes as painting surfaces. During the first year of my re-emergence from a long hiatus from visual art I drew on panels chopped from cereal boxes, kleenex boxes, Macaroni & Cheese boxes, and paper matchbook covers. Though I never flattened the boxes out themselves and was impressed by Barbara's bravery in allowing their forms to speak for themselves, spilling out across the wall in non-uniformed dimensions.
Potholders by Barbara Marks.
Barbara Marks
Barbara Marks
Barbara Marks
Barbara Marks, and I get landscape out of that.
Barbara Marks
Barbara Marks
Barbara Marks
Barbara Marks
Barbara Marks, and again landscape, or cityscape?
Barbara Marks
Melissa Dorn works with the idea of mops, and you had me at the very idea of making art with or about cleaning products. Should preface by noting that I worked for 20 years in a grocery store and had a fond attachment to assorted mops which played a role in certain work experiences. I did cleanups in Aisle 5, 8, 10, the beer cooler, you name it. Dry mop & wet mop, and the last seven years of working at the store I was a deli attendant. Mopped that floor every night, and the gals I worked with did their share of mopping as well.
Barbara's bio.
Barbara Marks ... I'd refer to her as the Formalist of the group, who was focused on producing works which espoused formalist sensibilities while drawing the viewer's eye in with subtle changes in surface textures & striking color contrasts. And while I groove on the Gender Politics end of her intentions I admired how the painting (or art making) was the focus rather then the politics.
Melissa Dorn, and this one made me think about that frayed loose mop end which would sort of worm along behind the rest of the mass. Wish I'd thought to get more individual pix of this group!
Melissa Dorn ... Butterfly Mop?
Melissa Dorn, and I believe the surfaces are a form of industrial felt padding. Not carpet samples, which was my first guess.
Melissa Dorn
Melissa Dorn
Melissa Dorn
Excellent.
Melissa Dorn
Now for Max ... I did instantly recognize that still images alone would not attest for the sheer magnitude of stuff which he had churned out during his monthlong stay in New Berlin so there's some video below, unedited as filmed & including a look at his outdoor sculptural creation.
Max Bard
Max Bard
Max Bard
Max Bard
Max Bard
Max Bard
Max Bard
Max Bard
Max Bard
Max Bard
Max Bard
Max Bard, and LOL.
Max Bard
Max Bard
Max Bard: My favorite of his ... things? from the display
Max Bard
Max Bard
Max Bard, and this time, WTF??
Max Bard
Max Bard
Max Bard, and I immediately recognized the thing at the bottom as the better part of a Hoth Rebel Base Playset by Kenner Toys from the early to mid 1980s. Pure genius.
... As seen in the video, if all that wasn't enough to keep Max busy for his month at the AiR barn he set loose in the woods with piles of more stuff, hammer & nails, some parachute cord, and a will to see them transformed.
Max Bard
Max Bard
Max Bard
I have two things to say about Max: He doesn't need a gallery show he needs a Tag Sale, and he looks like his art. That is commitment to a degree which I can only marvel at in awe. I also thought I had been "working with toys" in my own pursuits until I witnessed the above ... I've been taking pictures of toys and altering some of the printouts, as for me the toy forms are subjects where for Max they are surfaces. Both approaches are valid, though rest assured I won't be letting Mr. Bard and his buckets of paint anywhere near my nice antique Marx Toys playset pieces ;D Though if things go as I'm hoping we will get to get some his works in the Toys As Art exhibit I'm planning for The Tech Garden's gallery for June of 2020.
One more Open Studios session in October, go have a look & we'll see you there.
