Pylon Update

 TEMPO - warm side   -  48" - 60" - 40"  -   TEMPO - cool side

For background on the painted boxes I call 'Pylons' check out this link for a few previous posts. And my website page featuring the whole series. The more recent post involves a freestanding set of three which I call 'Tempo' and feel are finally complete after several attempts to wind them up... you can imagine that a four sided painting (times three) can have a mind of it's own which keeps offering up new ways of expression. Sometimes you just have to be firm, put a final coat on it and sign the darn things!

Anne Truitt installation

I've mentioned before that this is not an original thought... we all know there is no such thing, but in my search to at least find an expression that doesn't follow a well worn path, and also isn't totally bizarre, these long, skinny boxes serve a purpose. The artist Anne Truitt made her mark with this type of structure/sculpture way before I thought of it... and in a large NYC gallery they really look spectacular! I know my slightly off-road path isn't going to carry me that far but it's fun to imagine. Anyway, I can't be that minimal, no matter how I try... and that's were the real class is, IMHO.

FRAGMENTS, GARNET and GOLD - 48" - wall pieces  - texture buildup process

Usually, my pylons are wall hung in sets of two or three... though created as sets, often are sold separately. My most recent pair were wall pieces and I decided to use bits and pieces of textured paper and cloth to build up the painting surface. This really took control of the options left to me so after many applications (necessary in my process anyway) I went with a rather simple glazing, allowing the texture to be the main focus. They received the ultimate compliment before I made it home from the gallery the next day ;)

I've order more boxes from my in-house carpenter... this series may evolve... not sure how, but it's not over yet.

About Those Pylons...

On and off for the last 5-6 years I've been working with a series I call Pylons... long, narrow, wall hung boxes in sets of two or three, often in varying lengths. I don't recall what prompted the series but basically it was simply a matter of applying my same painting techniques to a different type of support. I noticed that sometimes my galleries would display them free standing but since the backs were open with hanging wire, placing them was problematic.

So... I asked my fabricator (that would be J.) to build a set of three that would stand alone, not be hung. The problem to either solve or ignore was how would I stabilize these forms so they would stay upright and not tip over and cause havoc! One thought was small additions to the lower sides to broaden the base just a bit... this is still a thought in progress as you can see, it's still subject to tipping. Geeze... !


So... I took them to Alabama Art Colony, not only to work on but to pick the brains of both artist peers and mentors. Consequently, I came away overloaded with ideas... if I followed through on all, I could field quite a large show of nothing but pylons! Once home, I found my equilibrium and I realized I would need to follow my own lead, let these suggestions gel for awhile and then proceed with what feels right. They could be called close to finished, I'm not displeased but at the same time, not satisfied that the are all they can be. Here is a detail of the bases... I haven't made good photos and don't know if I will... not just yet anyway.

On another note, I've happened upon an artist I had not known of before... Anne Truitt, a relativly unknown minimalist of the DC Color Painters (Kenneth Noland, etc) who worked primarily on this same type of structure... would love to see the exhibit of her work which is being shown now at the Hirshorn in DC! She's not only a fine artist but kept journals (now published) detailing her career which began after marriage and children... a bunch of us would connect with that!

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