Navigating the interior
Date
1995
Authors
Grimm, Lauren, author
Dietemann, David L., advisor
Lundberg, Thomas R., committee member
Leyendecker, Liston E., committee member
Erskine, Nanci, committee member
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Abstract
I am interested in the polarity of life, the yin and yang of existence. Without the continual tension between these forces, I believe life would not exist. We need both in order to find balance in our lives. I utilize the interior as the basis for my subject matter, in part, because of its intrinsic, dichotomous nature. On the one hand, interiors are womblike in nature as their walls enclose us and protect us from the rain and cold. Interiors allow for the intense interaction and intimacy experienced between humans. However, the walls of the interior often becoming confining. They limit our view, our senses, and our ability to interact with nature. At times, the walls of the interior restrain our human essence which longs to be free and wild. As I experience the process of painting these interiors, I have discovered that the interior also serves as a cogent metaphor for self. In other words, I am not concerned with the task of replicating an interior. Instead, my challenge lies in demonstrating how an interior feels. These interiors become a manifestation of self, my subconscious. The paradoxes of the interior are strengthened through the elements of polarity and balance which are so imperative to the formal qualities of the work. I purposefully create and at times deny believable space within the interior. My experiences are translated into the language of paint by juxtaposing the elements of: color temperature and intensity; inactive and active brushstroke; ambiguous light and direct light; and opaque paint with translucent glazes. The collage materials used, often include richly patterned pieces of fabric and/or paper. These materials are used to evoke not only a memory of place and/or time, but also on a formal level, to push the tension between the flat, two dimensional space and the suggested depth of the three-dimensional space. As these interiors emerge on the canvas, I begin to see and feel places which are familiar, yet at the same time distant and quirky. Through the process of painting, I begin to experience a feeling of deja vu in which the memory of a particular fabric, combined with the emotive qualities of color and paint transport me to a new reality. These paintings rejoice in the intrinsic nature of experience, that cannot be easily defined or proven.
Description
Rights Access
Subject
Painting, American -- 21st century
Fabric pictures