Hey guys! these are four oil paintings that i finished for this group show my shop had at this little gallery down the street for the month of January. They're all oil paint with a thick glaze on plywood cut down (thanks hampshire woodshop!) and sanded smooth and they're about the size of a normal human hand or so. really fun to sort of take stuff from div iii and push it further and into a new direction (as i can see with the other posts on here too). take care!_micah
Wow Micah. I really like these. They instantly remind me of ancient Mesopotamian art or something from that region. I was in the Met the other day looking at the old statues and figurines. Its interesting that you got that effect from painting cheap little plastic toy.
ReplyDeleteThe bottom one is lapis lazuli, the next is malachite, and the third is coppery.
ReplyDeleteWOW micah, just WOW. It's taken me so long to post because I'm having a hard time getting past being in awe of their complete perfection. My GOD, haven't you gone insane from all that exact cutting? I guess I should know what to expect after your horse painting, but I still I can't imagine planning out the images in entirety before actually cutting down the wood. They're proportionally sound and pop incredibly well.
ReplyDeleteI like what Rami said about them mirror-ing ancient art. It's interesting how idol-like the objects become when you dedicate so much time to them. They're like precious gems to collect-not for the subject matter, but for the flawless execution and the artist's dedication. You've given them so much value.
I'm interested in your color choices. I love the blue in the last one. It's everything I'd want in a plastic toy. The green is really vivid in the third one, too. Their whimsical nature makes me think like a little kid in a toyshop: "which one should I pick, green or blue?"
But for being bright, fake, plastic toys, the second one seems subdued. It almost resembles a precious metal, and like Rami said, looks coppery. Instead of being bold and garish like a bright red plastic toy would be, it has more weight like it's made of something more precious. I'm curious about the implications of this choice. Maybe you could take it further and create a series of plastic toys that have the appearance of being cast in gold or silver and encrusted with tiny rubies. But that's only if you'd want to play with the notion of value in that way. Perhaps its too much in the direction of damien hirst's diamond skull. I'd love to hear your goals for these pieces, and see how they relate to what you were thinking about in your div iii.
I think the pastel but neon-like reflections add a playful twist to the serious execution of the pieces. I wouldn't expect to find light blue or burnt orange on a yellow toy, and the pink on the green comes as a surprise. And to totally contradict my statement about precious metals, the colors on the coppery one even remind me of decorations on an easter egg, with its face like an easter bunny. In contrast to your skulls and baby-doll heads, this one seems genuinely happy. The thing separating it from being about a happy bunny in a easter basket is the illusion that it's a fake, plastic toy portraying something happy. This element removes us from the playful purpose of the toy, and adds the question, "now why did he choose to paint that?" I think this painting is more curious than work that's purely about capturing the illusion of 3d objects, because not only are you successfully creating that illusion, but you're also adding the element of expression by decorating the figurine. If you focus on this, I wonder what direction it would take you. Maybe your art would become something between your representational paintings and your expressive and iconic tatoos.
If you want to use hints of color to create the illusion of space, I think they're most successful in the last one. They're less obvious, and the subtlety enhances the 3d illusion. The pink tones and tints in the shadows seem to be a reflection of the wall, and the yellowish tints in the highlights also seem to reflect the wall nicely. I like how they blend into the blue tints and shades, and I love all the different tones you get out of the blue! In the first one, I think the burnt orange in the arm and forehead of the toy really adds to the illusion of space and reflection. Did you have that color wall in mind when you made these? It's uncanny!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sold on the illusion of light with the pinks, light blues, and light green-ish yellow in the first three, but I could see them as being heighten symbols of reflected light, and I appreciate that.
Also, since I'm a sucker for bright colors, I'd love to see the first one in a more golden-yellow colorworld that screams that this is a plastic toy. What if you made it without white, like Levni used to suggest. It might be a fun challenge, and I'm sure the colors would become way more saturated. But it all depends on the goal of the work.
I'm confused! At first I thought they were rectangular 2-D paintings, and the difference in texture between the object and background was blowing my mind! Upon closer inspection I realize that the objects are mounted on a wall...(right?) In that case, what brightly painted walls you've found! These would be so different on a white wall.
ReplyDeleteHow did you hang them together? I'm wondering because the light is hitting the objects in different places, and in places they seem to be reflecting each other. Did you orient them around the same light source?
You are enviably detail oriented, I don't know how you have the patience!!
There is something a little unnerving about these little toys... i love it. A little too cute and cuddly. I agree with Rami about a merging of contemporary kitch/plastic with ancient idols.
In looking, I also think of humans strange relationship with toys.. the desire to personify inanimate objects, make them 'cute', plump and fluffy.