Some Things Considered: William Benson

Transcription

1 Some Things Considered: The Creativity of Hands and Feet Curated by William Benson On display at the Tompkins County Public Library October December 30, 2010 Opening Reception Gallery Opening Night Friday, November 5, :00 8:00 PM BorgWarner Community Room

2 Featured Artists William Benson Pamela Drix Rebecca L. Godin Fernando Llosa Tim Merrick Suzanne Onodera Kim Schrag

3 Curator s Statement Hands and feet - for art students studying painting, drawing and sculpture up until the mid 20th century, these were formidable obstacles of anatomical creation. It is said that to be considered for working under the great sculptor, Rodin, the prospective student needed to submit a clay foot. Most of this anxiety for artists is now in the distant past but I wanted to take a fresh look at the two parts of our body that give us the means for exploring our chosen mediums. The work in this show is from a small group of my friends that chose to tackle this theme but in a vast variety of forms. The criteria was fairly open ended - almost, but not quite, to the point of abstraction. Our feet are our mobility - taking the artist to sites of discovery or simply pacing the studio. Our hands put in form the ideas we wish to generate. Bipedal and opposing thumbs - here is, on a modest scale, how twenty digits form beautiful work. William Benson

4 William Benson Artist s Statement This show is a culmination of many aspects of an artists life brought down to basics: how our hands and our feet have led us on this path which offers very little financial reward and yet pulls us forward in self discovery and perhaps (in the best of all worlds) into a communication with others that literally defies rational analysis. think of the most basic use of our hands in making a picture, real or abstract - finger painting. To that end, everything I know about art, I learned in kindergarten. Enjoy the show. Some Things Considered oil on canvas, 1997 $2, Foral Avenue, Ithaca, NY 14850, inlet361@gmail.com

5 Pamela Drix Artist s Statement My work concerns the land--the seasons, natural processes, animals, flora, and vegetation, and the impact of human activity. I am interested in how landscape records moments in time. In some cases the landscape retains scars, or in other cases no visible record can be seen. Certain spots are sacred, because of its specific beauty, or it is made remarkable for other reasons. My work, whether in print or in pastel, is often spontaneous, responsive to the moment, and relies on an intuitive response to the landscape, whether immediately experienced or remembered. The Earth Remembers Series focuses on the role of historic memory and how our activities impact the sense of place. Unique historic events, whether of the Holocaust or the devastation of the Native American way of life during the Revolutionary War, provide points of reference to begin understanding our role as gatekeepers and stewards of the land. Through my travels and research I find what is left behind a record often missing key elements, but which nonetheless reveals profound truths. The earth inherits the results of our activities, for good or bad. This series of prints questions and reveals some of the impact of our actions, and hopefully helps begin a dialog about how we might create a better world for everyone. In terms of the historic record, the importance of the complex of buildings that constitute the Auschwitz concentration campand its sister site

6 Birkenau, is indisputable. As humanity marches onward more than fifty years into our present history, these sites serve as evidence of a profoundly unique moment in time one that is the most difficult to understand. As I stood on the grounds of Birkenau, camera in hand, I looked around in all four directions, trying to open my heart and take in the silence, and to quietly pray. The presence of my family, and especially of my two sons, filled me with love and appreciation. As we quietly experienced the profundity of the moment, I looked down at our feet. I imagined others standing in them, touching this same ground. We could have been them. They could have been us. Like them, we will leave only a trace of our existence, but we all have trod on the same ground. The earth will remember. Remembering Birkenau: Severin Remembering Birkenau: Julian Remembering Birkenau: Nathaniel Remembering Birkenau: Pamela 3515 School St, Valois, NY Drix@htva.net

7 Rebecca L. Godin Artist s Statement Time outdoors, travel and archaeology influence and inspire me. I often exhibit in and curate thematic, multimedia or feminist shows. My goal as an artist/teacher is to enhance the skills, creativity and invention that expand every area of our lives. The Upper Room Mixed Media $

8 Fernando Llosa Artist s Statement Fernando Llosa is a professional artist living and working in Trumansburg, New York. Painting, assemblage, photography, writing and book making constitute his main activities. By Virtue of Love, Nothing and All Pen and ink on Arches paper under glass Movement at the Heart of Matter; Emptiness at the Heart of Movement Oil on board, linen lined mat, cherry frame. Fiat Lux Oil on masonite, oak frame with silk lined trim Ceiling Painting Oil on masonite floated in a linen lined cherry shadowbox. ferllosa@unboundart.com

9 Tim Merrick Artist s Statement In the past three years my work has developed away from using literary and historical references, for early Italian Renascence frescos to being inspired by landscape as diverse as the city of Venice Italy, the landscape of my home town of Ithaca, NY, the rural countryside of northern Vermont and the Maine coast of Schoodic Peninsula, ME. The landscape for me is a starting point to exploring the emotional states of body and mind. The work, hard ground etchings, has started off being representational and rater formal, but over time the as I have become more assured of my intent the work reaches deeper in to a more emotional state. River I The Red Mill Etching on paper Etching on paper $ $ River II Etching on paper $ Cascadilla Street, Ithaca, NY artworks@twcny.rr.com

10 Suzanne Onodera Artist s Statement Onodera s paintings explore her fascination with nature and atmosphere. Her work resides in US and European private and public collections and is represented by Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA., Lanoue Fine Art, Boston, MA., Costello-Childs, Scottsdale, AZ., Tang Gallery, Bisbee, AZ. Artist in Resident: OR, VT, ME and NY. She attended the School of the Art Institute, Chicago and is a graduate of California College of the Arts, CA., BFA Painting, Cloud Studies Watercolor and graphite on Fabriano Paper $250 3 Thumbnail Sketches For paintings, 2010 Watercolor and graphite on Fabriano Paper $250 suzanne@sonodera.com

11 Kim Schrag Statement In writing a biographical statement, it seems that most activities and relationships must be excluded and only a few key experiences or achievements should be noted. After fifty three years I am losing my ability to say what may be the most important or interesting aspects of my life or if a life can even be divided into parts. I think that Art must be a reflection of the experiences and observations that we have of the life that we live. That said, I'm not sure that anyone would know by looking at my artwork, that I live in Trumansburg, or that I have lived in the Ithaca area since 1981 when I came to attend Cornell. They might not know that I live with Fernando Llosa and that I am grateful for the rich, searching conversations about Life that we engage in, and that I have a daughter who is also an artist. They might not know that I love to be in the garden just standing and looking at what is growing, listening to the birds and insects. They might not know that I love a big open sky and the hard rock bed beside the creek. When they do look at my paintings I think they will see that I love color and texture and form. I hope they will spend enough time looking at my images to see how many paths there are to travel visually and that there may be many relationships that are not obvious at first glance. Mind Over Matter Acrylic on Paper The Meeting of Hearts and Minds Embossed Paper Staying Afloat Acrylic on Paper Communication Embossed Paper

12 Some Things Considered Curated by William Benson Is made possible by grant funding to the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation from the Brooks Family Foundation and the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County