Body Of Work 1 & 2

As my post title indicates, my new show is titled The Body Speaks, and it is one in which I continue my fascination with the human figure and how we relate and respond to its myriad expressions. What began as a study of human relationships soon expanded into a look at out how our bodies have a language all of their own and how readily and instinctually we read and respond to each other’s gestures and postures. Below is a discussion of the works in the show.

The titles of two of the pieces in the show, Body of Work 1 – In Her Eyes and Body Of Work 2 – Mirror, Mirror, depict a collage of a body of work from two previous shows, ones in which I used images of the human body to communicate with my audience. The images moreover are laid out in a linear, foreshortened manner to allude to the way artworks are placed and viewed along a wall in a gallery. These two works, along with a third, entitled Puppet Master, which contains a multitude of prints hanging on strings from a bamboo crossbeam, illustrate the role of the artist as facilitator, with his ability to direct the viewer’s attention, influence his emotional response and generate a dialogue between people.

Several of the works in the show highlight the intensity and eloquence of the eyes and hands, our most expressive features.  A pair of faces contrasts the promise of youth with the sageness of maturity, yet expresses a fiery spirit and strength of character that defies age. Hands caressing a lover’s body speak of passion and tenderness. A woman grabs her hair enigmatically, a man’s heart is seen in his bruised face, and another’s reclining on a bed.

Close-ups of other body parts give us enigmatic glimpses into the human condition. Bare feet amongst rubble and broken glass express a forlorn vulnerability. A bared back morphing into a tree trunk while an outstretched arm touches a stone wall evokes a sense of connectedness, strength and inner harmony.

Images of people together, whether touching or apart, reflect the bonds and boundaries of their relationships. The closeness of friends, embrace of expectant parents, the mirrored movements of mother and child, a lover’s gaze – all speak volumes without words.

A number of works illustrate the dichotomy of the more impersonal, yet strangely intimate, world of social media and smart phones, wherein our connections have taken on an ephemeral and intangible quality that is redefining human interaction. Photographs and video are superseding direct interaction while taking on key roles in the development of our online personas and avatars. The works in this show, by their own nature as photopolymer gravure etchings based on photographic imagery, illustrate this vividly.

All in all, the works express a wide range of human emotion and experience that I hope resonates with and engages the viewer.  Whatever else the images may express, the connections made between model, photographer and viewer remain an underlining current in every work.

More images of the works in the show can be found here: (Click on slideshow for a larger view)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chiarina606/sets/72157626686287718/

A video of the show by Exhibit-V can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yshEkRpRQY

If you are in town please drop by and check out the artwork.

The show runs until June 9 at Collective Works Gallery, Victoria, BC, open Tues to Sun, 12-6pm

http://www.collectiveworks.ca/

Far Yet Forever Dear

It’s two days before my art show opens at Collective Works Gallery and I would normally be blogging a final post about the show about now, but tonight I want to bring your attention to another blog, an exceptionally thoughtful one by an exceptional man, Chris Al-Aswad. Chris was the creator of Escape Into Life, http://www.escapeintolife.com/  , an outstanding art site that brought an enormous wealth of beauty and inspiration to the online artistic community. It inspired me tremendously in my work and in my life. 

Chris passed away just recently at a tragically young age. His writings, a large library of them, are fortunately still here for us to peruse and savour. They can be found on his blog, The Blog of Innocence, here:   http://www.theblogofinnocence.com/ I encourage everyone to have a read and cherish the brilliant spirit behind the words.

My deepest condolences to his family and friends.

Mirror, Mirror invitation

One of the great joys of working as an artist is being able to be my own boss. I set my own hours, choose who I want to work with and what I want to do. For the most part what I choose to do is work to projects.

These projects invariably involve exhibiting my artwork so that I find myself working from exhibition to exhibition. I enjoy this for it helps me to focus on a body of work, allowing ideas and themes to develop and crystallize while challenging my ability to give the ideas form and life.

Oftentimes the themes build and grow from one show to the next, forming a progression of expression that is exciting and hopefully, helps me to develop my own unique voice.

My upcoming show, Mirror, Mirror, is such a progression, following up from my previous one, In Her Eyes. It continues the theme of personal journey through exploration of self as viewed through the mirror of others’ perceptions.

“Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror. “  Kahlil Gibran                                                     

The mirror, as reflective surface projects back onto the subject, but only what is being revealed to it. What remains hidden often reveals as much as what is shown. We see ourselves in the eyes and hearts of others but only as much as we are willing and able to give of ourselves. The more we give of ourselves, the fuller we are perceived and the more fully we are able to understand and accept ourselves. At the same time, the clarity of the mirror determines how truthfully the image is reproduced. The more open the mind and heart of the person, the greater will be the reality that is reflected back to you.

“You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.” George Bernard Shaw

As an artist my goal is to act as a mirror to our collective souls. This forces out the ‘exhibitionist’ in me in every sense of the word, a thrilling and daunting task. In the next few weeks I will be exhibiting my work in two shows.

First up is the Sooke Fine Arts Show, the annual juried, largest art show on Vancouver Island. I am thrilled and honoured to have had three pieces accepted into this show, one of which has garnered an Honorary Mention. The show takes place at the Sooke Leisure Park Arena and runs from July 24 to August 2, 2010. More info on the show can be found here: http://www.sookefinearts.com/

Those three works serve as a taste of the works in my own show, Mirror, Mirror, which opens the following Friday, July 30^th, at 7pm at the Collective Works Gallery in Fernwood, Victoria and runs until August 12^th, 2010. More info on the gallery can be found here: http://www.collectiveworks.ca/

I am very excited to present these artworks and welcome everyone to come and celebrate and ‘reflect on’ the show with me.

Will You Look In The Mirror?

Will You Look In The Mirror?

A simple request, yet how daunting it can be to face the truth that is reflected there. And how well do we see from the narrow field of our own perceptions?

Photo shoots are an exciting exercise in trust and surrender. Allowing yourself to go with the flow and trusting in your instincts can often yield surprising results and revelations.

The image captured in this photopolymer gravure etching was one of the last to be taken in a photo shoot that had me scrambling back and forth from the camera to a mirror as I attempted to capture some enigmatic double reflection shots. Working intuitively and almost blindly, I surreptitiously arrived at this composition that, upon first viewing, immediately struck a chord with me. I was captivated by the light, the expression on my face, the angle and prominence of the hand held mirror. Upon further ‘reflection’ I realized this image told a greater story than at first realized.

It struck me that whether it is the viewer or the woman in the mirror; neither is getting a full view of the person. The woman is half hidden from the viewer and is in shadow. The light from the window behind her shows her reflection more clearly to her in the little mirror but being so small it also only gives her a partial view. So both do not see the whole picture and what they see differs in scope and clarity.

So it becomes not only a choice of whether to look in the mirror but what mirror to look through.  Why does the woman choose to look at herself through the smaller mirror instead of looking up to see the larger reflection? Why is her robe open, yet she has placed herself in a corner, half hidden behind her own mirror? Is she playing a game with the viewer, tantalizing him with the promise of revelations? Do her surroundings have something to reveal as well?

Why do I find such enigmatic set-ups so fascinating? I suppose the easy answer is that I like to create works for the viewer to ponder and ‘reflect’ upon. Or perhaps I am playing my own game with my viewers.

This etching will be one of a series of prints that will include this little red mirror in an upcoming show I am pleased and excited to present, entitled Mirror, Mirror, opening on July 30th  at the Collective Works Gallery in Fernwood, Victoria.  Will you come take a look? Opening reception starts at 7pm. Show runs until August 12.

This song alone made the choice of Spiritual Machines worth it, although the concept behind the album was an intriguing one. Conceived as a response to the futuristic theories in Ray Kurzweil’s book, The Age of Spiritual Machines, the songs and lyrics are an affirmation of human spirituality, irreplaceable and worth fighting to retain.

Tonight I came across a shining example of that indomitable human spirit in the form of  Nick Vujicic, a man who you would think would benefit from such a melding of man and machine that Kurzweil predicts in our future, yet whose spirituality has found such a shining voice precisely because of the lack of such enhancements as seen here:

 http://lifeasahuman.com/2010/mind-spirit/inspirational/it-matters-how-you-finish/

This got me thinking about a song written by OLP’s lead singer, Raine Maida, for his solo project, The Hunters Lullaby, titled Yellow Brick Road, seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHdHSmAuk-k

and the print below, a monotype, which I titled No More Yellow Brick Road in response to his song.

No More Yellow Brick Road

The song takes a wistful look at the idealism, promise and simple beauty of youth and is a reminder to savour the moments of our lives. In my print, I reflect on the loss of this innocence and how with maturity comes the realization that our paths are not always clear, continuous or on solid ground.

The print, as with many of my abstract pieces, was begun with little preconceived ideas beyond a simple study in form and color. The wide yellow ‘paths’ were placed first, then the feint blue ones and finally the strong blacks were laid down. The piece was completed with some pastel work to add punches of color and a melding and defining of pathways. The ordering of these steps not only ended up having an uncanny similarity to our paths to maturity in life, but in the intuitive amalgamation of shapes and color to create a work of beauty I hope to express the joy in seeing the wonder and beauty of life as it is and not preconceived.

To paraphrase Raine Maida’s words to the audience last night, we are not machines and death gives meaning and beauty to life and so we must live it fully in the moment.

April Dream She Will

April dream I will

Of cool nights and warm kisses

Moonlight sings to me

The moon was full and beaming over the water last night as I looked out my window, and as thoughts of the month’s passing filled my mind I was reminded of the poem I had written, above, and the ensuing print that followed.

The poem was intended for a birthday calendar I made several years back but never made it into its pages for I didn’t have a suitable image to accompany it. When I made the print above I knew I had found its partner.

The print, a photopolymer gravure etching, began with this photograph, taken for and of me by Jonathan Dvorak.

After a ‘crop and shop’ I made the transparency that would be used to transfer the image onto a solar plate. I then inked the plate and transferred the final image onto printmaking paper with the use of an etching press. You can find more detailed info and a slideshow on the process here:  http://chiarina.com/page/glossary

I pulled two prints of the image, both times with colors to suggest a cool light in a darkened space. In both cases I wanted to highlight the quality of the light on the skin and clothing. By using a lot of black with just hints of other color I was able to create deep shadows and cool, nighttime color in the light areas. The second print is below.

April Dream She Will, 2

The tight cropping of the initial image takes the final print beyond a self portrait, drawing the viewer in to focus on the heart being laid open while introducing an element of mystery that creates a distance and stirs the imagination. Together with the light and shadows, it results in an intimate, seductive dreamscape that I believe captures the essence of the poem.

Both prints are available for purchase, e-mail chiarina@chiarina.com for pricing.

Pink

My mother’s past

Fades into my daughter’s future

They are my present

My daughter turns nineteen today. We are going to celebrate by taking her out for her first legal drink tonight. It is exciting to watch her take another step into adulthood and I am delighted that she is wanting to share this milestone with her mother. She is a beautiful, brave young woman, and I am privileged to observe and be a part of her ride through life, with all its ups and downs.

But in observing her ups I am sometimes forced into a down of my own. While she stands on the brink of a long life full of promise and dreams I find myself awash in a life filling up with memories and longings for things that were or might have been. Her passages bring home the passage of time as it moves inexorably forward and I can’t help but think “No, Mick, time is not on my side”.

How do you stave off this thief that is Time? You can try to keep him locked behind bars by ‘living in the moment’ with courage and enthusiasm, being ‘present’ to all that is around you. But how do you ignore him when he reaches his hands out from the bars, waving birthdays and benchmarks at you? You can turn your face away, but the wind he creates will blow stealthily from behind your neck, sending shivers of apprehension down your spine. Or you can unlock the bars and hug him to you. Take away his power for grief by embracing the beauty in change and the ephemeral.

My daughter turns nineteen today. We are going to have a drink together and toast the beauty in this life we are sharing and experiencing, each in our own way.

 Cause these words are my diary screaming out loud

 And I know that you’ll use them however you want to.”

                                                                       Anna Nalick

This past week I submitted a number of artworks to two shows, one a juried show in a prestigious gallery, the other an all inclusive community arts council show that would be awarding numerous prizes. At the same time, I am waiting to see whether I will be voted into a cooperative gallery that I am hoping to become a member of.  All this anticipation of my work being critiqued by others has made me realize what an integral part of many artists’ lives adjudication has become.

We submit our artwork to shows, galleries and collectives, hoping they will find our work to be worthy of acceptance and maybe even recognition, while bracing ourselves and developing our thick skin for the inevitable rejections that come our way. We do this in order to have our work seen and collected by a wider and more appreciative audience, having garnered esteem and credibility through these associations. I wonder, though, about what we lose in the process of trying to gain acceptance.

Submission implies compliance, a relinquishing of power and control. When we submit our work to the appraisal of others we are not only allowing them to make value judgments of our work but also giving them a measure of control over our careers and our progress as artists. We can all too easily become like Sleeping Beauty, waiting to be discovered by the prince who will make us successful ever after. A few rejections can leave us sleeping for an eternity while a bit of recognition may get us to the palace only to discover we have been brought there as scullery maid. With time and experience artists can learn to take back control and use the system of submission to our advantage, choosing carefully the associations we foster that will best promote our work. Where we show then becomes almost more important than what we show.

One of the pitfalls that the savvy submitter needs to guard against is the enticement of creating work to satisfy those we submit our artwork to. While knowing the criteria and preferences of our judges is invaluable in knowing whether our art will be well received, it should not result in a loss of creative integrity. Fortunately, the submission game is one with no clear rules or expected outcomes so the best strategy remains to use these opportunities for submission to create the very best work we are capable of while staying true to ourselves as an artist and a human being. By doing so everyone wins at the submission game.

photo by Jason Schultz

We are defined by our firsts. Some we anticipate: my first job; some we dread: first death in the family. Some happen very early: my first kiss, with a French boy! at the age of  ten; some take a while: my first art award many, many years later. Whatever they are and whenever they happen we arrive on the other side of them forever and fundamentally changed.

 My first solo art show in a gallery took over a year in the making and many before that in the dreaming. The preparations took on a fever pitch in the final weeks and it was with very mixed emotions that I dropped my babies off at the gallery two days prior to the opening night. But the work was done, all that I could get done, for nothing is ever as completely ready as you would like it to be, and all that remained was for the art to finally be seen.

 Opening night turned out to be a brilliant evening spent in the company of friends, family and a few new fans, all of whom had gathered to celebrate with me. To say I was overwhelmed by the turnout and congratulations would be an understatement! The evening passed all too quickly in a blur of happiness and excitement. Fortunately, I had some awesome friends who recorded the event with their cameras! Images from the evening can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42284018@N06/sets/72157623200117436/

 As special and exciting as the opening was, however, it has been the intensity of  the response to my work since the show’s opening, often from unexpected persons, that has given me the greatest joy and satisfaction. To be told my art was ‘poignant and beautiful’, ‘moving and incredibly fine art pieces with depth of meaning’, ‘brilliant’, ‘honest and soothing’, ‘courageous’, ‘stunning like a winter solace’, just blew me away. All artists hope that their work will resonate with people. To see it doing so on such a deep and personal level has been tremendously gratifying and encouraging, and it is a large part of what keeps me inspired to continue with it. Art for me has always been a form of communion with others, a way of both revealing my inner truths and reflecting what I perceive of this world. The challenge and excitement for me is to take it beyond a one way form of communication, and with these works, I think I have succeeded in doing that to a certain extent.

 On the practical side of things this show has been an exercise in self promotion, for there can be no communication unless the work is seen by others.  This blog has been a primary way of “getting the word out” and facilitating that two way communication that is so important to me and my work. So if you are reading this and are in the vicinity of the Martin Batchelor Gallery in Victoria, I invite you to see the show before it closes on February 4^th and let me know your impressions of the work. I’ve also posted a gallery of selected artworks from the show on my website here: http://chiarina.com/gallery/in_her_eyes_artshow/

 And so, two weeks after the opening, I find myself on the other side of my first solo art show. It is an achievement that fills me with new confidence and an experience that pushes me forward with new clarity and humility along my career and life paths. I know it has made me a better artist and, in the process, I hope a better person.

 I would like to give a heartfelt thanks to all who have made it out to the show and to all who have and continue to support my work. I would not be here without you.

Sure, I conceived and produced the 40 artworks that are in the show, but from the very beginning of this long labour my friends and family were instrumental in getting it off the ground. Whether it was to snap photos, listen to my musings, cheer as I produced the works or be their inspiration, they were there every step of the way, encouraging me to go forward and bring the work to completion. And they became my evangelists, proclaiming the good news to anyone who would pay attention! I most literally would not have been able to do this work without them.

I once read an article about how the story of artists who achieved acclaim later in life was invariably a love story, for their art, and usually stomachs, were often fed by loved ones close to them. I have yet to achieve any extraordinary acclaim for my art work but I am most definitely blessed to be living my own love story, one that is full of caring, giving people.

The photograph below is one I snapped during an emotion charged photoshoot at the Butter Church. I think it speaks a thousand words.

Terri and Jane

This Saturday night, I will be privileged to celebrate my artistic achievement with my friends and family. If you are in the vicinity of the Martin Batchelor Gallery in Victoria, please come and celebrate with me these extraordinary people whom I hold so dear.