Art On The Grid

Monday, March 10, 2008

The first day of the workshop, instructor George James began with a lecture on design. This is just what I came for and I enjoy his intellectual approach. He talks about how your eyes’ perception takes in the three dimensional world. We artists then take that 3D perception and make is two dimensions when we put it on a “grid.” Grid is a metaphore for the 2D nature of the paper, the flatness of it. Many things in our in our environment, such as televisions, computers and even the projections in Times Square, are the “grid.”

While admonishing us to find the emotional connection to color, George notes that the human eye needs contrast—dark vs. light. Dark explains light; lights explain dark. This concept of exchange is key to the day.

I began a painting on Yupo paper with acrylic. The new surface gives lots of unexpected effects, some desirable, others less so. The image is from my trip to Beijing two years ago, when I visited the hudong, the old neighborhood of walled paths, behind which courtyards and residences were hidden. Here you see my start. Also, photos of George James' demonstration of "12 Angry Men" painting that he did in response to having seen the play several times recently. An example of art inspiring art.