abstract newsletter, issue 19

8/7/2019 Abstract Newsletter, Issue 19

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Issue 19April 7, 2011

Abstract Expressionism: ElizabethNeel (1975 - )

In an interview that I read with Neel,the author describes the interior of herstudio: Tacked to the wall arefascinating and repellant images: apile of decomposing dogs, an MRI of askeleton inside its mummy casing.

Neel said that she likes to get in thereand tangle things up...bring them tothe edge of collapse. I want to feelanxiety about whether or not it's apainting.

Her interest in nature and in death isprevalent in her work.

She was heavily influenced by an

event in her childhood: the discoveryof a massacre in the chicken coop.One of the chickens was partiallyconsumed, revealing its reproductivesystem. She traced the stages of life,beginning with a yoke and ending withan egg all preserved in the momentof death. She says, life, and nature

underneath it, is a baroque,mysterious thing that hangsprecariously on a framework of elegantreason.

Neel searches the internet for

anonymous images, the kind that aredifficult to look at accidents,violence, decay. Whatever provokesuneasiness in her becomes somethingshe wants to work with. She oftencombines several different andunrelated images and makes sketchesfrom them. This may be the case, buther paintings are not planned out.They change as she paints them.Brushstrokes suggest alterations andmight send her back to look for otherimages to work from, where apainting's orientation may alsochange. From the article, I discoveredthat the subject matter of many of herpaintings is decomposition; the wayshe approaches her activity as apainter, for all the build up anddensity, amounts to a kind of de-composition, and the way that shearticulates her process is nearlyforensic.

The titles of Neel's paintings canconvey a sense of dread, punishment,and terror, and no more so than whenthey are read sequentially. Forexample, Condemned, Chained,Strung Up, Sacrificed, TornDown. Prompted by the titles, theseotherwise abstract paintings revealtheir animalistic/ritualistic contents,which have been slowly, yetgraphically rendered, and remind usthat the canvas is a skin, that pigmentcomes from the Earth and is related tobodily fluids (her reds are oftenbloody and her whites fleshy), andthat the paintbrush is, after all, partequine.


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Featured Artist: PeterDunckelmann (1942 - )

I met Peter Dunckelmann onFacebook, but I cannot remember howwe made the initial connection. I thinkit was via another artist.

Dunckelmann studied two semestersof art/photography but he claims hefound no freedom of expression.Without formal training in art orgraphic design, he taught himself, sohe tends to not have any rules tobreak and no 'standard manual' in mymind. I am not influenced by ideas of what art or graphic design should be.

For quite some time Dunckelmann hadbeen embracing digital technology, beit photo-montage or collage.

Some of Dunckelmann's favoriteartists include Kurt Schwitters, Edward

Hopper, Hannah Arendt, MarianneBreslauer, and Martin Munkacsi. He isinspired by his surroundings. He getsinspiration walking through town, andtakes photographs. He sees pictureseverywhere, an old fence, shadows,and everyday things. People often askhim: "What are you photographing?".When he points it out, they often say,"That's no picture." He uses post-production to best render the images,whether it is black and white or color.Which one he uses depends mainly onthe subject matter. In his opinion,most pictures improve in black andwhite when compared with a colorversion. I agree that for some subjectmatter, black and white does lend aparticular mood you can't create withcolor.

Driven by a fascination for abstractpatterns, Dunckelmann experimentswith distorted brightly colored forms,which he assembles with deliberate

crudeness. He also finds inspirationthrough experimenting, which fostersthe creation of new forms. As heexplores, he learns to value theprocess and value the learning hegains from it. Digital technology allowshim to create images the way healways wanted to. The realizationprocess takes place while he's goingcrazy trying to put all the piecestogether. When this process goes tooslowly, he sometimes collects all therelevant pieces and reuses them.Closing his eyes, he listens tobeautiful, mesmerizing music, and itgives him assistance in finding theright color. He claims that the finishedimages don't represent somethingconcrete, per se . He is constantlylooking for creatively interestingcompositions combining a collection of


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shapes, colors, and texture.

Dunckelmann has had two shows inMelbourne. He feels he got cheatedby amateurish gallery owners with noreal care for art or the artist anddecided to be my own manager. Thetraditional gallery system is dying andthanks to the internet one is able tocreate a web site, maintaining anonline presence in order to beindependent of commercial galleries,to have my freedom. After tax, profitis entirely ones own, no expenses likerent for gallery space, etc. I am

grateful to experience the boundlesspossibilities of the internet; to be ableto make the acquaintance with artistsdistributing their work and ideaseverywhere via the web.

Dunckelmann can be found on theinternet .

What Ive Been Up to Lately:

I've been doing a fair amount of painting, and have been pleased withthe results. I have also had somesuccess selling paintings at the

restaurant; mostly small ones and 24x 30s. Here are a few:

Storm, 24 x 30.

Sunset II, 12 x 12.
http://www.artmajeur.com/capricorniahttp://www.artmajeur.com/capricornia


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Blue Moon, 12 x 12.

I've decided to take a break fromusing texture in my paintings. I wantto work on an even canvas, and applythe paint more thinly. This will notonly benefit me practically, by usingless paint, but it will allow for bettertransitioning between colors.

There is an art show this month thatwould have been nice to participate in,but I chose to spend the money on aused camera. There will be otheropportunities. Delores designed, andhad built, a display which will go underthe tent she also got for me. It willlook very professional, but takes sometime to assemble. It will be easier toassemble than the other display wehad, however; that one was made of chicken wire and wood and didn't fit

together very well. The otherdisadvantage is that it is a little heavyand requires use of a drill bit toassemble.

Poem of the Month:

I am burping sushiRevisiting my foodThat was shared on the floorWith my one and only

And the stinky oneThe dog, that isGulp it downAnd dont cherishGive the taste buds a quick checkBefore its all gutsAnd no gloryRiding homeWorse for wearAnd then follow w the animalWith bag of plasticScooping up remainsOf ginger, peasAnd whatever elseShe sneaks in when I am not lookingNow staring at yet another screenLooking for informationAnswersWanting to callBut sitting on my hands insteadHope you are restfulAnd thinking of meWith a smile

October 2004

Quote of the Month:

The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.- Michelangelo

Celeste J. Heerycjh @cjhfineart.com www.cjhfineart.com
http://c/Users/Celeste/Desktop/Art%20Newsletter/[email protected]://c/Users/Celeste/Desktop/Art%20Newsletter/[email protected]://www.cjhabstracts.com/http://c/Users/Celeste/Desktop/Art%20Newsletter/[email protected]://www.cjhabstracts.com/

abstract newsletter, issue 19

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