My
recent paintings are altered translations of photographic
imagery culled from various mass media
publications collected over the years. Rough and finished
drawings are carefully rendered from a chosen
photograph. To enhance and clarify an image I often
draw from live models and objects as well. If needed,
photographs of the same are taken for later reference.
Next, slides of the found photographs, drawings, and
models are projected onto the studio wall to determine
an agreeable scale (usually much larger than life).
Finally, a number of canvases are constructed to begin
painting variations of a single image. Before
finishing the first painting of a series, two or three
other variations are started and worked on intermittently.
This process seems to help resolve difficult passages
and to lengthen the viewing time needed to complete
a painting. The content of this exhibition focuses
on kitchen activities and culinary objects.
When I work from a black
and white photograph, a color or color system needs
to be decided upon. This is
usually suggested by the content or possibly contradictory
choices that redirect the mood of the image. For
example, the act of kneading dough would best be done
in a bright, fluorescent light. However, when this
ritual is painted in deep blue-purple, as if lit by
the moon, questions arise. By skewing the original
context it
allows the viewer to search for an aesthetic value
and social relevance beyond the intended communication
of the source subject matter. Whatever the altercation,
surrealism and sentimentality are not allowed in the
house.
Through the reordering
of genre scene subject matter, the paintings are presented
in a somewhat
incongruent manner that is intended to stimulate,
assault, amuse, and otherwise pose problems of
contemplation.
Douglas Bond
January 05, 2000
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