On Titles: Julia Schwartz

Julia Schwartz says 

For me, the title is often an integral part of the process of making a painting, and in those cases it works in a kind of associative-linking process: perhaps a phrase is repeated while I'm painting, or a song comes to me or I'm listening to a song and that title becomes the title.  I try not to name things head on, but somewhat elliptically (like the work itself).

Examples: Earlier this year, I was making paintings which I referred to as state-of-being paintings. I called one Dummkopf as a way to convey the experience of not thinking while painting, a not-thinking-painting, hence a Dumb-head:

Dummkopf, 2013 oil on board, 10x8 inches

I've also been working on another series of paintings and in that case they are not so much connected to specific states, but convey something like emotional "atmosphere." In that situation, I chose to number the works in a somewhat idiosyncratic way: 

1.9.31.11, 2013 oil on linen 20x16 inches

www.juliaschwartzart.com

Editor, artist interview series

Figure/Ground Communication™  

www.figureground.org

How do you title your paintings? Revisited with Karen Nielsen-Fried

One of my approaches to titles is inviting specific people into my studio.  An artist with insightful vision, Karen  Nielsen-Fried is one of my "go to peeps" for my own work.

Here is her take on titles:

One of the wondrous mysteries of painting, for me, is the not-knowing, the necessary journey without a map, the allowing of the unfolding and blossoming of inchoate ideas into the substance and content of the painting. As i work, words and phrases often play inside my head and intrude into my wordless process; they are phrases that arise as my conscious mind tries to make sense of the intuitive and nonverbal process. I sometime experience this as annoying and I refer to it as "Intrusive Title Syndrome". To quiet these interruptions I make lists of the titles as they occur to me. (I have more titles than i will ever have paintings to title). Sometimes a particular title that comes to me while working sticks for awhile and seems, indeed, to name the painting; to put into words the essence of what I am trying to get at with the painting. I put these "good" titles on pieces of tape and stick them to the back of the painting as i continue working. These titles most often change as the process continues, and sometimes when I finish a painting there are 4 or 5 pieces of tape on the back. Very often i will consider and reject them all and then I will sit and look at and commune with the painting, trying to gather it's spirit and convey it by means of a few words.

I am something of a word geek. I love reading dictionaries and thesaurus(es?), love listening to other languages being spoken, trying to hear patterns and bits of meaning. I am intrigued by the subtle nuanced meanings of words; I revere poets who can distill from and articulate with a few words and phrases some deeply-felt truth. And often it is words and phrases, lines of poetry, titles of books, snippets of conversation, that will fuel a painting. It is then my task-- through the process of painting-- to understand the hold these words have on me, and why they are of such import at that moment, why I am moved by them.  I want my titles to be this same kind of distillation of the essence of my paintings, while still allowing enough ambiguity for a viewer to be able to have their own experience of finding meaning in the work.

For All We Know

  Marginalia

 We Are Always Letting Go

How do you title your paintings? Revisited 2013

I was going through my blog the other day and found a post in 2009 about paintings and titles. I have decided to open up the conversation again. 

Here is artist Connie Goldman on her titles:

"My titles reflect my love of language. I like to learn about word derivations in particular.  I even took a couple of classes in college that were concerned with Latin and Greek influences in the English language.  If you peruse my journals there are some that consist mainly of lists of words, their definitions, and their derivations.  For awhile all my titles were reflective of both the content and the reductive nature of my work.  I used Latin bases such as "Concertare", "Metrum", "Loci", and "Reciprocus".
Since my work is almost always about the tension between stability and change, and since I find the meter and space in language and music to be fascinating I search the dictionary for words that are connected to these things.  I've used "Brook", "Treble", "eddy", and "Current" for bodies of work."  

Brook VI

Metrum

Phasis X

Treble V

Reciprocus

Lorrie Fredette

A few weeks ago I took a trip to see fellow artist and friend Lorrie Fredette's installation that was at the Garrison Art Center in Garrison, NY. Every time I see her installations I am struck by the dichotomy of her subject matter and the beauty of the work. The smell, the skin-like surface, the light, shadows and the various ways to view the work are continually intriguing. 

My installations and sculptures are inspired by environmental and medical news stories pulled from today's headlines as well as historical events. Source material so far has included the swine, avian and Spanish flu epidemics and the increased incidence of poison ivy with the growth of greenhouse gases. Once I've chosen an area of focus, I embark on a rigorous course of research and gather images, which I then alter, vet and reject through an elaborate system designed to completely subvert and distort any likeness to the original source. I am interested in this confluence of science and art, in methodology that thwarts my natural hand and in the contrast between "ugly" origins and sublime outcomes. The use of wax in its natural color as my primary medium is intentional -- the neutral palette emphasizes shape, the aroma can be intoxicating and the texture is one that invites touch -- all in support of my goal to lure viewers into an experience that they would certainly try to avoid had they encountered the original infection.

Implementation of Adaptation

Beeswax, tree resin, muslin, brass, nylon line, steel, wood

© 2013

6 feet 1 inches x 36 feet x 12 feet

suspended 40 inches above the floor

Exhibitions:

Garrison Art Center, Garrison, NY, IMPLEMENTATION OF ADAPTATION, curated by Carinda Swann, 2013

Painting the Light Within

                                           by John Thornton

Thanks to Brian Edmonds from Curating Contemporary for posting my upcoming show on his blog

Upcoming Exhibition: Lisa Pressman @ The Rosenfeld Gallery in Philadelphia

September 2, 2013 by brianedmonds | Categories: Exhibition
Lisa Pressman

September 8 – September 29, 2013

The Rosenfeld Gallery
113 Arch St.
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Ph: 215 922 1376
contact@therosenfeldgallery.comWed-Sat: 10 until 5
Sunday: Noon until 5

Unspoken  24 x  24 oil

Lisa Pressman creates paintings that draw from the place of “not knowing” and exploration. Her work reveals images that many people have lost sight of, images that communicate to a place deeper than words. The paintings invite a deep, visceral response that evolves over time; they have a life of their own.

Lisa has a BA in Art from Douglass College, Rutgers University and an MFA from Bard College. Her work is exhibited extensively throughout the U.S. and abroad, and is included in many public and private collections. “Inside Matters” is a solo show at Rosenfeld Gallery opening on September 8  th in Philadelphia in Pa . The show continues through September 29th.

This year her work has been exhibited in Nocturnes, curated by Virginia Fabbri Butera, Ph.D. Therese A. Maloney Art Gallery, College of Saint Elizabeth, Morristown, NJ; Shape Shifting, Susan Eley Fine Art, NYC, New York and  Microcosms at Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon. The work has been included in Swept Away: Translucence, Transparence, Transcendence In Contemporary Encaustic, The Cape Cod Museum of Art, Dennis, MA (curated by Michael Giaquinto); a Group Show at Western Carolina State University Museum, Cullowhee, NC. and also Red at the A Gallery in Provincetown, MA.

Pressman’s 2012 group exhibitions included: Wax is Hot, Amy Simon Gallery, Westport, CT; EW’12 Invitational Exhibition, R&F Handmade Paints, Kingston, NY; From Where I Stand, Rye Art Center, Rye, NY; and Confluence: Medium Meets Message, Morean Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL.  

Lisa lives and works in West Orange, NJ and currently is teaching locally and nationally.

About the work:
My work explores the place of “not knowing.” The process is an intuitive dialogue between the random and the deliberate that allows a relationship to develop between intent and accident. Each piece evolves as a play between translucent and opaque layers of paint, as I draw, layer, cover up, sand and scrape. The paintings take on a life of their own, revealing imagery that evokes a visceral response. 

This particular series unfolded in response to an image that emerged in the process of painting “The Deep.” The recognizable contours of a vessel led me to explore this form. The contents of the vessels remain hidden, imbuing them with a mysterious, suggestive potency, like the painting process itself.  

Lisa Pressman
www.lisapressman.net

Traces

Fossil 24 x 24 oil

The Bounty

Quiet Space 24 x24  oil

Night View 18 x18 oil

Mystery of Intellect 12 x 12 oil

Night VIsion 10 x 10 oil

A Studio Visit with : Brenda Goodman

I visited Brenda Goodman's studio a few weeks ago and saw these three new paintings. The only question I have is which lucky museum is going to invite her for the retrospective she so rightly deserves? 

Wild Thing-You Make My Heart Sing     50 x72    oil on wood     2013

Kickstart     56 x79    oil on canvas     2013

Jingle Jangle Morning     51 x 58      oil on wood    2013

Brenda also showed me these two paintings that she had just gotten back from collectors. I asked her to write a few words about them as they seem very connected to the new work.

The Cat 1970

"An old friend who I lost contact with many years ago got in touch with me and offered to return a cat painting I did in 1970. It was done 5 years out of art school. She was downsizing the amount of belongings she had. I remembered the painting and even though I hadn’t seen it in over 40 years my emotional connection to it never went a way. Now I have it in our living room and feel so happy to see it everyday."

Breakthrough 1985   
                           

"Two weeks after this event a collector called me and said he was looking for a new home (hopefully a museum) for a painting of mine he bought in 1985 from the Ed Thorp Gallery.   The painting is called “Breakthrough” and indeed it was when I painted it and though I didn’t want to sell it I so badly needed the money and had to let it go.  I said to him I would do anything to have that painting back. We settled on a price.  I bought my painting back and  am overjoyed." 

Here is Brenda's studio:

                                                   

                                                                                

There is a review of her work  here and here

Thanks Brenda for allowing me to visit and also sending me some better pictures!!