Opening My Eyes

“Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak.”

John Berger, Ways of Seeing, Penguin Books (New York, 1972).

Nice outing on Saturday to see the Tom Wesselmann display “Beyond Pop Art” at the Denver Art Museum. It was my second gander at it, this one with my friend Deanna and the former one with my friend Diana. Although their names are almost the same, their interests and insights are extremely different. The contrast reminded me of John Berger’s book Ways of Seeing , a book I read many years ago when learning how to see objects and their surroundings in drawing. Berger asserted, “Today we see the art of the past as nobody saw it before. We actually perceive it in a different way” (p. 16). That is even true in the time between my two trips to the museum. The context in which I viewed it changed.

Two weeks ago while seeing the show with Dianne, I found my attention going to the large picture of what was there to be seen. Dianne had received her art education by living in Paris with artists and eventually working in a gallery there hanging art shows. While her education was not formal, it was intense, and she has a remarkable eye and memory. The immersion method prepared her to make design and historic connections with other artists—especially impressionists and pop artists. She opened my eyes to perspectives I’d surely have missed had I viewed the show alone. Having been a clothing model, she also was very interested in Wesselmann’s treatment of the female form. We talked a lot about all these ideas and insights.

Yesterday with Deanna, I took quite a different look at the retrospective, one related to her interests. Her technical questions informed by studio training pushed me to look at how the artist attached his canvasses to his frames, how he approached gluing on his collage (for instance, did he first paint and then glue? she asked), and the relationship between his drawn and constructed studies with the eventual finished artworks. Reviewing the display from these differing points of view opened my eyes and left me with a flood of new images and ideas, and a deeper appreciation at what the artist had accomplished.

But don’t take my word for it. Get to the display before it closes September 14. See it for yourself.

Today I thank John Berger, Dianne, and Deanna for my continuing perception of the world of art and the world as art and art subject. Thanks, thanks, thanks. Thanks to DAM, too.

Denver, 2014

Kiddos

Artist Trading Cards, the latest ones, inspired by
circles and triangles and that turned into birds!
Phillip Hoyle

I noticed the boy peeking in the door off the patio between the gallery and a restaurant. His family was next door eating, but he just couldn’t keep still. He stepped into the gallery to see if there were toys he’d want to shop for, but saw only artwork. He left and apparently didn’t encourage his parents to take him to our displays.

I was keeping shop at Colorado Mountain Art Gallery in Georgetown, Colorado, the co-op gallery where I show some of my paintings and once a month keep shop. I wondered if the boy would bring his parents. He didn’t, but others did! They, children with an interest in art, make the time I spend there seem even more interesting than the occasional sale of paintings, jewelry, or other artworks. That day last week, three other kids did bring in the adults they were accompanying. 

The first was a ten-year-old girl who brought her grandmother. Her eye swept the first gallery, a display of single pieces of artwork from almost all the artists who show there. She seemed interested and her eye fell on a wooden game with marbles made by one of the artists who makes interesting furniture from old skis, snowboards, snow shoes, and other mountain cabin items. She wondered how to play it and when I demonstrated talked her grandmother to play it with her. Grandma won! 

Then she saw the jewelry and wanted to try on some. Both of the pieces she most liked, due to their cost, seemed more like Christmas presents than souvenirs from a summer trip. Her grandmother must have agreed since there was no move to purchase either item. Still the girl liked the artwork and showed me a couple of pieces she especially appreciated. Grandpa came in when they were ready to leave and seemed happy they hadn't done any Christmas shopping.

The second child was a very young boy who was looking wide-eyed at photographs and paintings. I said, “My name is Phillip; what’s yours.” He hesitated and then told me his name. I said I was pleased he was looking at the art and asked if he did artwork himself. He nodded yes and then added, “I’m four,” holding up his fingers to show me. I smiled at his mother and encouraged the family to take their time. Then I asked him what kinds of art he most enjoyed making. His mom said he seemed to like everything he tried. I encouraged him to keep up the good work!

The third child that day was an eleven-year-old boy who entered the gallery with confidence and darting eyes as if he were trying to take in everything there all at once. When I asked him about his art, he said he liked to draw. His mom told me he draws constantly and really likes to make cartoon characters. He agreed and told me of his favorites. His mom added that he also did other artwork in an art class he attends in addition to school. I told him he reminded me of my son and one of my grandsons, both of whom are artists.

Other people enriched my day, but my tiny investment with these three children made the day seem most important. I love that in the gallery I get to foster young artists with my attention and conversation. It feels like an extension of all the work I did in arts programming for youngsters. Their interest inspires me and urges my continuing adventures in an art world full of designs, products, procedures, experiments, and artists, young and old.

Denver, 2014

Time to Print

I’ve had a lino-block in my studio for some months, one I made an image for and carved, but all my experiments didn’t work out right. I couldn’t print from it to my satisfaction. Mid-week I decided to do something about it and got out my knives, gouges, other equipment, printing inks, brayers, and medium-size baren. I was going to rework the block and get busy. I wanted to use if for a card to send one of my grandsons for his birthday.

I really liked the design, one inspired by a Ute petroglyph out in western Colorado along the Gunnison River. I’ve seen drawings of the original and photographs but have never encountered it on the cliff wall where it shares space with a couple of other impressive carvings. I looked at it, tried it one more time with a different ink, but still decided it need more strength, the kind that comes from contrast. The original is a work that one anthropologist described as new-style given that the chipping that creates it simply removes the outer layer of weathered rock to create the design. In contrast to what he called old-style, the artist did not make deep gouges into the surface but seemed contented with the color contrast. So I figured it might work better if I were to remove the lino right around the figure itself and finish it with a border. Parts of the figure would interrupt the border. 

I set to work, selecting a medium large gouge and taking care not to let my fingers get in the way of the sharp instrument should it slip. Oh it did slip a few times, but mostly I was safe and am pleased I didn’t end up with bandages like sometimes I’ve done this work. I brushed off the waste into the trash and wiped the block with a damp cloth. Then I gathered a few pieces of paper to make some proofs and see what I had got. I like what I did and used the rest of the ink to print another block I made years ago. What ink was left on the surface where I rolled it out I drew into and lifted another print from that, an abstract I may mess more for a mixed media piece. I try not to waste any product.

And along the way I found I wanted to hang a few small prints at the Colorado Mountain Art Gallery in Georgetown. Guess I’ll have to work quickly since I work up in the hills this Tuesday. 

Denver, 2014

Going to the Fair

Denverites for the fourth consecutive year can go to the County Fair. I went a day early riding on the 0 and 48 busses to the National Stock Show Complex to set up an interactive Artist Trading Cards booth, a place where folk of all ages can sit for a spell and make their own miniature art pieces. The booth was located in the Fine Arts section along with its Blue Ribbon Art Show, an annual feature of the Fair, and about twenty booths of artists and art cooperatives. And the ATC booth sits next to a candy vendor and close to a stage where movies are shown, a spelling bee is held, and contests like texting for speed is held. Hard to beat that for a place to be inspired.

And the fair has many marks of the rural county fairs common to American tradition. Folk bring homemade crafts, cooking and canning, produce from their gardens, small animals and much more for judging. Ribbons are awarded the best, and I wonder if there are gardeners, cooks, and bakers who have won blue ribbons all four years. 

On Thursday I also helped hang the ATC submissions in the art show. It looked good. Hope you got to see it.

Anyway I went back to the fair the next day with friends to experience it in a different way, to look at booths, to spin wheels hoping for a prize, to study arts and crafts, to watch dogs run their courses. The feelings were good. I felt quite happy to be there with a long-time friend, her artist sister, her sister’s son, and their mother and grandmother. 

I was planning to make ATC cards with my friends but we ran out of time probably due to extra stops to watch the flea circus, listen to singers, watch a video, talk with artists, and otherwise enjoy the event! Plan to go there next summer!

Fun, fun at the fair!

Denver, 2014