I went to a poetry reading called the Transparent Dinner  read by Anne Hains and art exhibit called Tidal Channels by Todd Erickson at the 440 Gallery in Park Slope, NY. I'm not really into poetry but I enjoyed listening and looking, I'll leave it at that.  As far as the art exhibit, Tidal Channels, I spent some time talking with the artist, Todd Erickson, an Environmental Artist, plus I took some pictures of Todd's work and the 440 Gallery.

The photos on the wall, sculptures on the floor and windows of the gallery are based on a particular topography of Fire Island.  The photos illustrate one day's journey around the a part of Fire Island by the artist, who is looking at nature.   Todd does not see himself as a photographer - the photos are taken to track is journey.   The photos move with the wind and are mounded slightly off the wall, by about an inch. While I don't have much experience with his type of work, I feel it celebrates nature and is sincere.  The goal, I think, is taking on larger, funded projects which include doing something with, or to, nature. You can get more information about Todd Erickson at his website, www.twerickson.com.  

I wrote two extensive posts in Webmetricsguru about Banksy's Buzz.

Banksy's art buzz and Angelina Jolie's 400K purchase Banksy's Demographics and Angelina Jolie's 400K Picnic purchase

I had no idea that when I wrote Painting an Elephant Pink - a live Elephant Pink, it was Banksy's work.

Did another painting at Brooklyn Artists Gym this afternoon - it balances out my life as a Web Analyst at IBM and puts me back in touch with what I feel I am, at the foundation of all of this, an artist.  My path is synthesis and seems to have come to me, or I realised it, only recently - but I was doing it all along.  I feel empthy when I look at work I can identify with, mostly paintings - it's as if I can feel an artist's feelings in paint - I probably had it all along did not know what to do with it, or what it was.

I did a drawing first, to warm up, as well as decide how I was going to approach the model; decided on the pyramidal theme, which sorta suggested it self, based on the composition and lighting.

Occured to me, as I painted (I see myself a channel, both in Web Analytics, Search Engine work and painting - I see no difference in the creative enegry or guidence I get based on intuition - I'm just learning to listen to it and not murder it, as I used to do). 

This is what came into my mind, it was the memory of a saying from Paul Cezanne, my favorite artist (but my sensability is much different than his - it took me many years to sort that out).  I can't find the actual quote but it goes something like this: "art is a way of organizing sensations".  

In that sense, I feel that's what I'm doing and I hope my work, while I was thinking of Matisse and Bonnard, does not look like anyone else.  In fact, that's what the model of this painting said to me as she photographed it - "does not look like anyone else's work she could think of". 

Why would it?...it's my own way of organizing sensation, and that's what painting has become for me.  I don't stop it, I don't murder it, I let it be, and go as far with my sensiblility as I can - and then I stop and walk away.  I spent between 2-3 hours on this nude model study.

One other thought, my own, has been in my mind a lot lately, as I do my work in one sitting these days (I can change back but right now, it suits me): "if you can't improve something by working on it more - it's better to leave it alone".   What I mean - I used to over paint my first impressions, over and over, trying to be something I was not, Cezanne, for example.  I did not trust that what I put down was good enough.  I murdered it, over and over, and after maybe 10 sittings, I had what I accomplish in one sitting today - except the work is much fresher.

 

 I don't see a point in working and working on something - if that work does not improve the end result.  I'd rather get it right the first time than go over it 10 times, blending this, blending that.   I gave up on that - I ended up with less, in many cases, than I started with....but just being in tune the first time.   Because I trust myself now...and did not then.

I did this Oil Pastel last night, during the Collective Becomings show that I reviewed, with a glass of red wine next to me.   I feel really good about just trusting myself, and letting work happen.  It's a struggle to "organize my sensations" and I'm just following my own intuition now.  I'm not following, or looking up to anyone else...been there, done that.

While the Collective Becomings show at the Brookly Artists Gym was not well attended (compared to the last show on Small Art Works that occured a couple of weeks ago) there were some good artists in the show - artists that are serious about their work.

"Artists: Marvalisa Coley, Lillian Feldman, Jack Johnson, Leah Keller- Transburg, Natalya Rolbin, Dmitriy Stadnitsky. Collective Becomings features six artists hailing from New York and Detroit: Marvalisa Coley, Lillian Feldman, Jack Johnson, Leah Keller-Transburg, Natalya Rolbin, and Dmitriy Stadnitsky. The diverse media in which they work, including mixed-media sculpture, paint, and digital imagery, matches the wide range of their voices spanning from gestural abstraction to emotional narrative to raw, graffiti energy. Whether scrawling text, painting in oil, or throwing enamel, these artists together present a richly layered, harmonious ensemble in a perpetual state of becoming."

I spoke to a couple of the artists and took photos of Leah Keller-Transburg's two screen paintings. Leah, who started out in Detroit, spent some years in Africa and now shows here in New York.

   

I think Leah has put some thought and work into how her works are presented and that carries though to her website, where work in this series (above) from 2006 are shown.  Based on her resume, she has the time, energy and means to persue an artists' career, as well as the talent.  Comparisons, it's easy to compare her work to calligraphy, to Jackson Pollock or to a rorschach test.   I would have liked to have seen some of Keller-Transburg's oils such as renaissance ii or the paintings in "Spirit, Dust and Fire that were shown at the Cafe de Troit last year, in Detroit.   I suppose it would be more interersting to know the Mozambique, New York, Detroit division of time spent and how that affects the work.

Here's a bio from her website: Leah Keller-Transburg. Since studying painting at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI, Keller-Transburg has exhibited in both New York and Detroit. Her work has been described as “a celebration of creation – both in terms of life and the artistic process” (www.thedetroiter.com). She is currently preparing for a solo exhibition entitled “Dancing the Line,” at the Pump House Regional Arts Center in La Crosse, WI (April ’07). Keller-Transburg divides her time between New York City and Mozambique. For more information, visit www.leahkellertransburg.com.

Natalya Rolbin also is showing in the Collective Becomings show  and is and illustrator and painter. I don't really see that much difference between illustration and painting - but there used to be.   I think the paintings in the show grew on me the more I looked at them and I'm always careful what I say to artists as they are putting their soul out for others to see and touch.   I think Natalya would be well served to combine her commerical art and illustration with her painting - make a painting about a brochure - or make a statement that's a brochure on canvas - smash though the conventional.   Of all her work, perhaps the Illustrations is the most satisfying visually.  I would challenge her to go beyond Illustration, yet not renounce it - sounds like a paradox but it's really not.

There appears to be a theme about Detroit - perhaps Natalya and Leah know each other from Detroit....I wonder if the other artists in the show are connected in some common way?

Perhaps the most intersting link on Natalya's website is to the Super Human Golf Club head covers - I really must research the market for this and write it up on Webmetricsguru.com - certainly it will be an interesting read!

If anything, what is most interesting to me, in this show, was not the art in it, but how the artists are connected to each other.