Sylvia Garland: Paintings & Montotypes at the Tucson Jewish Community Center (April 14-May 19, 2011)

"Betty's Garden" (monotype))

Local painter Sylvia Garland will be sharing the gallery with photographer Edlynne Stillman this month at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. This review will focus on the work of Sylvia Garland. 

Sylvia Garland has two bodies of work in this exhibit: oil paintings and monotypes.  She's got 12 oil paintings, and 10 monotypes, and they are hung in a straight row in the gallery, with the oil paintings lined up on one side of the wall, and the monotypes lined up on the other.


A monotype is a one-shot print that is similar to painting. The artist inks a plexiglass plate with sticky printing ink (which comes in a variety of colors), then draws or scratches into the surface (that is, "drawing"), and then putting a piece of paper over it an running it through a printing press, to produce a one-shot print; a print made from a painting of printer's ink. With the work she has here, Sylvia isn't content to simply create a straightforward monoprint. Rather, she adds various other materials, such as leaves, or bit of fabric, into order to introduce a realistic "natural" element, but also to add visual interest. In works such as "Betty's Garden", the Eucalyptus leaves, which she's inked with yellow ink, jump forward as the more hazy bands of color recede into the background.

 As far as colors go, Sylvia likes to stick the the basic primary and secondary colors. This is true for both her monotypes as well as her oil paintings. In many of her works, you'll find an object for every primary and secondary color. She seems to like there to be an equal balance between shapes colored red, yellow, blue, green, red, and purple.  Her work is strongest, I feel, when one of those colors predominates -- that is, where one color dominates the picture

"Interlude"

 One such picture is "Interlude", which is a monontype with some great drawing of abstracted figures involved in what looks like a dance or ceremony. The picture reminds me of cave painting, but Garland has some additional features, such as the impression of some grass-like matter in the center bottom portion of the picture. She's also collaged some interesting elements into this piece, such as shiny copper foil (on the figure in the far left of the picture), as well as having collaged tiny scraps of sheet music throughout the right side of this piece (impossible to see in this photo) Most of the monotypes in this exhibit have that "cave" quality. For me, this type of imagery is an homage to surrealism common in the 1940's or so. That's what I'm referring to when I say that Garlands work has a retro-surreal quality to it.

"Pieris' (oil on canvas)

Sylvia's oil paintings have a similar retro-surreal quality, although the subject matter is different. As she says in her artist's statement, she's inspired by plant shapes, and uses that as a point of departure for her artwork. Indeed, it's easy to recognize plant forms in her work. What I like about Sylvia's style though, is that here's an ambiguity about where and what her subject matter really is. Although she's initially inspired by plant forms, many of her oil paintings have the look of a neural network; they remind me of scientific illustrations of brain synapses. Other times, her work looks like the interior of a cave, with its stalactites and stalagmites, growing together from floor to ceiling. Sylvia may paint from Nature, but she does a lot of embellishing an improvising, which in turn gives her renditions of Nature a sort of otherworldly spaced out quality.

"Botanica"

One of my favorite pieces n this show is an oil painting called "Botanica". Sylvia Garland's work has a sort of nostalgic quality that makes me think back to science fiction and fantasy illustration of the '50's.  The subject matter is seed pods, and a ripe pomegranate bursting open with seeds.  It's got a kind of other worldly eroticization of plant life.   

Her monotypes more often than not include abstractions of the human figure, whereas her oil paintings (in this show) are almost exclusively about natural forms, especially seed pods.  I enjoy looking at her work. She's interested in forms and shapes, and working basic colors: the primaries and secondaries.  She has a real affinity for natural forms, and demonstrates this by adding bits of real plant-life to her monoprints, and also creating an invented surrealistic environment in her oil paintings.   She's got a good sense for creating interesting environments, that are ambiguous in size: are those plant forms in a dark cave? Or are they microscopic, akin to nerve cells in your brain? My guess is they're probably both: ripe,  abstracted forms,  that represent the varieties of all life forms.  Much of this work has a strange other-worldly quality to it, but once you take it all in, you can see that, as with the monoprint "Interlude", it's about the dance of Life.

Alfred Quiroz: new work at Davis Dominguez Gallery (April 20 - May 21, 2011)

close up of "La Raza Cozmika"

For the next month, from April 20 - May 21 (2011), Alfred Quiroz shares an exhibit with the recently deceased Luis Jimenez.  This review focuses on Quiroz' work; I'll revisit Jimenez's work in this show at another time.

In this exhibit, Quiroz has four portfolios of work: three more additions to his "American Presidents" series, some large "milagros" that were installation art at the Mexico/Arizona Border fence, Drawings about his experience as a professor at the UA Art Department, and finally, a few cartoons of Jesus and a veiled Muslim sharing a joke.

Right away, when surveying this work, you can see that Quiroz has no time for the advice to avoid talking about religion or politics, lest you offend somebody. Quiroz's work is designed to provoke and offend. In fact, some of his most powerful work has a pornographic quality to it; it just seems too hot to handle; forbidden.  Just by being in the presence of one of his history paintings, just by paying attention to his art, it feels that you're somehow implicated in some sort of  conspiracy.

He draws you into his paintings with a rich sense of color, huge scale, a "Looney Toons" drawing style, and the painting skills of Thomas Benton Hart (Harry Truman's favorite painter), but his subject matter is all about the sweep and tragedy of Colonial history.  His paintings are very well researched. He packs a lot of historical images into his work, and to fully appreciate the references he's making with his imagery,  you might need to do some background reading. His artwork presupposes that the audience is literate in history. (A reading list, or a bibliography might help!)

What you first see when you walk into the gallery are Quiroz's very large "milagros", or lucky charms, often used for healing.  But these aren't small charms that you wear as jewelry. No, these were large works made of brushed aluminum that were mounted on the Mexico side of the Arizona-Mexico border fence, for several years, as a public art project. Each piece is roughly the size on an arm-span.

"La Razon de Corazon" border fence milagro

All six of these milagros cover the entire south wall of the Davis-Dominquez gallery.  The titles are "La Lengue de Coyote" (which is the image of an angry-looking wolf); "Corriendo Recio" (image of a disembodied leg); "Brazo de Trabajo" (image of an arm holding a hoe); "Te Miro" (looks like a mardi gras mask), and "Mano por Centavo" (which shows an outstretched palm with a "cent" sign stamped into it).  Once you understand what you're looking at (border fence milagros) , you can Quiroz's approach to art is not simple to amuse, beautify, or entertain the work, to rather, to agitate it. I'm trying to imagine what it would be like for a Mexican family to arrive at the Arizona-Mexico border fence, to be greeted by these giant milagros. Quiroz isn't an artist who stays cloistered away in the studio or within academia (more work on that later in this article); rather, he gets out in the real world, and installs work that directly confronts the public.

(Prof. Quiroz clarifies via email: "La Lengua del Coyote" is a "coyote" with a forked tongue, a "coyote" being the individual  that crosses illegals across the border. The "mask"piece is an actual milagro image that I copied except I made the pupils larger as a way of saying "I saw you" in regard to the video surveillance on the border. The piece was photographed in the May 2007 Nat. Geographic Mag. The "Corriendo Recio" piece means "running fast" i.e. escaping across the border.")

 As you round the corner in the gallery, facing East, you're then confronted with three of Quiroz' latest history paintings in his "American Presidents" series. The biggest and most intricate ("The Mendacious Maniacal Magician") chronicles the presidency of George Bush and the War in Irag. This piece is so hot, that I really feel uncomfortable describing it (that's the "porn" quality I was referring to earlier). But I'll just say that the painting is large: about 6 ft high x 3 ft across, and it is acrylic painted on wood, cut out in the shape of a mushroom cloud. The composition quotes El Greco (??), placing "angels" (with bat wings) in the sky (with the faces of the Neo Cons), while George Bush is painted as a sorcerer.  Corporate logos of war contractors decorate the floor space of this picture, while American flags, and "yellow ribbon" icons decorate the background. There are many visual references to puns and nicknames.

(Prof. Quiroz clarifies via email: "The Bush piece is actually 49" across and it is oil on canvas and panel. The arrangement of the "cherubs" are from a Titian painting.")

This work falls into the tradition of history painting; The history painting is actually a very well-respected genre in art. Wikipedia writes this about the genre of history painting:  

"The history painting was traditionally regarded as the highest form of Western painting, occupying the most prestigious place in the hierarchy of genres, and considered the equivalent to the epic in literature"  


...However, Quiroz' use of cartoons, taboo subjects, and satire, place it more within the realm of underground comix (e.g. "Zap" or "Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers"); history painting rendered in the style of the underground comix of the 1960's.

Next to this piece, are two presidential portraits: one of George Washington as a black man (an obvious homage to Gilbert Stuart's classic painting of Washington), and the other of President Obama as a blonde-haired white man.  Personally, I find Quiroz's humor in this pair of portraits superb.

"George Washington"

"F Ulna I Wuz White"

The largest piece in this show, and the most sweeping in historical scope, is titled "La Raza Kozmika", which is mounted on the North wall of the gallery, and measures roughly 8 ft long x 4 ft high.

"La Raza Kozmika"

The composition of this piece is the design of a dollar bill. The character in the portrait section of the bill looks like a mix between the Spanish Conquistador (on the left-of-center side of the picture), and the African slave (on the right-of-center side of the picture). The figure in the center is black-by-a-half result of the union of these two cultures, looking like one of the characters from the old "Fat Albert" cartoon of yesteryear, and wearing a "Mr. Monopoly" hat (from the board game "Monopoly"). On each flank of this painting are images of Africans being killed by Europeans. On the left flank, there is a painting of a black woman, clutching a crucifix, while hanging by a noose affixed a to a cross. Underneath her, is a ribbon of text that says "Mexico 1554", while on the right, we see a black man in overalls hanging from a tree; a ribbon underneath his feet includes the text: "Florida 1938"; an Aztec woman at the bottom of the picture holds what looks like a corazon milagro in each hand, as if to suggest some sort of mystical continuity with the with the killing of Africans by Europeans, as the Europeans conquered the New World.

(Prof. Quiroz claifies via email:  "Raza Kozmika  depicts an image from the Codex Telleriano Remensis of the lynching of the leader of the slave rebellion in 1534 Mexico City. There was a tremendous earthquake and a comet was also in the sky on that day. it is not a female. The Aztecs and the African slaves had joined forces to oust the Spaniards, unfortuneately they did not have muskets. The central figure is Memin Pequin, a well known Mexican  African comic book character. In 2005 Mexico issued postage stamps to commemorate him. I copied his image with top hat, only I anglo-sized him. The Aztec woman offers her hearts to either the slave or the Spaniard. The piece is slightly over 5 ft. tall.")

Some of my favorite work in this show are Quiroz's smaller drawings about academic life at the University of Arizona. There are four framed pieces which are his notes from monthly faculty meetings. Quiroz's notes at these meetings are comic strip doodles....now framed and available for sale! Personally, I think that these are a bargain at $200 each (framed!)

Alfred Quiroz's faculty meeting notes: comix!

Another standout for me (in what I'll call Quiroz's "Office Politics" series) is his drawing of new Art Faculty members (portrayed as fascists) in a piece called " Projected SOA Faculty Uniforms.".

" Projected SOA Faculty Uniforms." by Alfred Quiroz (pencil & watercolor)

This piece just drips with bile.  The characters are identified as "Faculty, Fred", "Assistant Prof, Art Theorist", and "Assistant Prof, 2D Studies".  On the left of the picture are designs for faculty arm bands. Throughout this piece, are arrows pointing out salient details of the wardrobe of the New Order in the art department.  Judging from the content of the "office politics" work here, one gets the impression that life in the Art Department is fraught with just as much politics, intrigue, and conspiracy as areQuiroz's historical tableaus.

One thing that stands out after viewing this show is that Alfred Quiroz is a passionate educator. Years ago, when I was one of his painting students, he told the class that "your work has to be about something. You've got to be working on some kind of edge". There are many edges in this exhibit.

Check out this show! You'll be impressed by his painting technique, and by the physical construction of his paintings. You'll be provoked and maybe even pissed off by his political provocation. You'll be confused and amazed at his willingness to gore sacred cows. You'll confront some modern-day history paintings, maybe for the first time in your life. But you'll also realize that you've got an old-school painter in town with balls of steel (or is that abraided aluminum?) who's still willing to stand up and fight for his art. This is gutsy stuff. Going a Quiroz exhibit is what I imagine going to going to a bullfight is like: there's an underlying level of danger that lingers around this stuff.

Looking for hardcore attitude in artwork today? Looking for art that's about something? Looking for art that is brave? That will challenge you? That will irk you? That is done with skill that grows out a painterly tradition in art history? You've come to the right place.  Welcome to a master of the art of painted political broadside.

Jean Nerenberg's water media paintings at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Fine Art Gallery

painting by Jean Nerenberg

Local artist Jean Neremberg has some very nice colorful water media work at the Fine Art Gallery at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Unfortunately, the exhibit will be closed by the time you read this.  The gallery at the JCC is a great place to see art, mainly because of its huge skylight, and tall glass windows, which provide for ample natural light, which is what's needed to really appreciate her colorful paintings.

I can tell, just by looking at her paintings, that she works in a very exploratory and inquisitive way. It reminds me of the way I paint, so I can relate to her creative process here. It looks like she starts by laying down colors, shapes, and marks, and just seeing what it becomes, seeing what it reminds her of. Only later does she shape her initial marks  into recognizable subject matter.

The mountains in piece pictured above is made out of amorphous colors, shapes, and marks, without any regard for "reality", for this is a work of discovery and imagination. When you get your face right into this work, there is a lot of variety to really appreciate: from hard-edged shapes, to soft diffuse marks, to experiments with pattern....it's really a rich piece, and a real pleasure to look at.

In the piece above, she's restricted her palette to just a few colors (orange, blue, purple, and ochre), and that's enough for my tastes; any more colors, and the work would become too cluttered. For the most part, most of her work has very vibrant color matched against softer pastel colors, and she likes to work with color complements. Thus, you'll see blue and orange as the predominant colors in one painting, and magenta and olive green in another. Her use of color complements (that is, colors on opposite sides of the color wheel) give her paintings a vibrancy and a sense of excitement.

Here subject matter is also interesting. She has two kinds of subject matter here: amorphous landscapes, and geometric cosmic paintings.  The geometric cosmic paintings are have a lot of round shapes, which are arranged as if they are planets, while angles cut through the picture, chopping up the space, but also service as a organizational structure.   I find this work really interesting, and very well done.

painting by Jean Nerenberg

In her artist's statement, she writes: "ideas for paintings evolve as the paint flows on the paper or canvas.  Jean wants to capture the excitement of the creative process by working with the irregular and accidental properties of the medium, rather than glossing over or correcting them".

This is some of the strongest work I've seen at the JCC's art gallery in a long time.  I feel that her stronger pieces are those which have rich color and interesting shapes. I like how she's taken random shapes and splatters, and turned them into mountainscapes, and solar systems.  Nice work! A pleasure to look at!

"Borderlandia" at the Tucson Museum of Art

The "Borderlandia" exhibit, currently showing at the Tucson Museum of Art, is an awesome exhibit. The effect on the senses that that of an onslaught; a cultural overload. If kitsch-culture was a religion, then this show would be its temple. Like the churches of Europe, the art tells stories...multiple stories of cultural collision; of blood, pain, suffering, and the quest for gold, or at least all that glitters. And in this show, all that glitters may not be gold, and it actually more likely to be glass.

The artwork is a cross-cultural mish-mash. It is so cluttered, and riddled with glitz, color, texture, and advertising images, that the effect on the senses is overwhelming.  It's quite possible to get a headache at this show, the amount of visual material here is nauseating. It looks like what I normally associate with "post modern art" (that is, art that is made of found objects, appropriated images, and with an odd ahistorical quality)...but a large part of it is made of cast or blown glass.

Images from art history, from Spanish Colonial history, Mexican pop culture, Southern California hot rod culture, and American pop-culture are all thrown together into a cultural blender, and then organized around familiar shapes (e.g. the Aztec calendar wheel) and colors.

The imagery is crude, crass, glitzy, and very well done. The materials alone are outrageous: 3D hologram images with attached cartoon eye stickers, in fur-lined frames. It's got a delicious quality to it.  Does anyone here remember the ice-cream restaurant in the El Con Mall called "Farrell's"? Farrell's had an item on their menu called "The Boat", which was a large silver trough with about forty scoops of ice cream in it. Trying to look at everything in this exhibit, and to try to process it, is like attempting to eat "The Boat"; it's that visually rich.

A few of the pieces that stood out for me: "Killing the Inner Child": a glass Lucha Libre wrestler sculpture, with real inset glass eyes, holding a cheap plastic mirror; "E.R. For the Soul", which combines Leonardo's "Last Supper" (at the top of the picture) with a bowling alley at the  bottom, with attached glass "punk" figurines at the bottom of the picture, give a 3D effect to the viewer (with objects which are closer to you in the picture actually protruding out from the picture plane, and those that are further back in space remaining flat)

There is another "Last Supper" reference in the show, and that is a piece called "Cambia de Canal"/"Change of Channel"), which uses a five foot high silver colored menorah as the main foundation of the piece, atop with sits an old 15" black and white TV, covered in aluminum foil, and which is ON, and set to a station that has "snow"; a circular opening for the screen has an Aztec Calendar when drawn upon in Sharpie. Atop the TV, sits a glass cast of the Last Supper, but instead of faces, there are numbers, which references those old "who's who" key charts in those old cigarette ads from the '60's. At the base of the menorah are about 20 beer, wine, and booze bottles spray painted silver. What does it mean? Well...it looks like an electronic cross-cultural mishmash sculpture, made of art and artifacts both old and new, sacred and profane...and with a touch of glass. That description could be used to briefly summarize most all of the work in this exhibit.

I circled though "Borderlandia" three times. First, I made a quick pass through, then a second time spending longer periods of time around pieces that I especially liked, and finally, hanging out by the massive cathedral-like facade on the second level, where the effect of art nausea on me was particularly intense.

One observation that I had was that a lot of this work, especially the round flat work, reminded me of platters of food from Costco.  How apt!

All of this visual richness, its "yummy" quality, but also it's gross headache inducing quality, makes "Borderlandia" an amazing show. This is an exhibit that really can rival Disneyland in the way of visual thrills, but also the nausea that often accompanies too much cotton candy, and too many rides on the roller coasters. It's about time!