Artist Lecture: Mark Iwinsky

The artist presented in the lecture, Mark Iwinsky, is a multidisciplinary artist who presented works focused around the concept of time and the past images of our world in relation to the present. The artist presented works done in the form of prints, in nature work, and photographs connecting past images with the present day.
Iwinsky explained that his work was inspired by the wonders of the original woods of the New World and examining the old giants of today, or at least what remains. He described the former landscape, with large American Chestnuts, the Redwoods of the east coast and the canopy that used to exist. Wandering into the woods, the artist brings his paints and paper and creates prints of the rings of the stumps left behind. The prints pick up the cuts made by the chain saws that took the old giants down. Although you could see the rings and how old and beautiful it was, it was all tainted by the displayed connection to the ending of its life and the greed of expansion. He also created impressions of the stumps and their characteristics of times effects made out of paper. Taking back the beauty of what was lost, Mark Iwinsky would cover the cut surface with gold leaf, leaving behind a glow in the middle of the forest. I enjoyed his approach to cover specific stumps with the gold leaf, as it leaves quite the impression on others who may find it in the future. Stumbling upon something such as this in the woods may cause one to stop and think about what was once there that we, the human race, must take responsibility for removing. He also compelled this thought process by taking photos of older images of the trees while they are still standing and overlapping them with either similarly oriented remains or the landscape of today.
The artist also created another series finding older photos of various landscapes and cityscapes and then holding them in the forefront, on glass plates, of image locations today. These also held a strong presence in the mind, creating ties between traditions of our past and the development today. Seeing these images not only points thought to the development from the past to today, but also to the progression that will occur between now and the future.
The work of this artist points the viewers mind to connections between the past and the present, critiquing the development of civilization and its effects on the nature that was here before us. Often we develop in order to meet the growing needs of our population and the growth of technology, etc without thinking of its effects on other areas of world. The work of Mark Iwinsky is highlighting some of the major areas we, as the human population, have affected and forces one to think what might be done in the future. I really enjoyed the work of the artist. This is a topic that I have always found uch interest in, being known as a tree hugger and often wishing that more of the ancient east coast forests were still here. The way Iwinsky chooses to highlight this message is both simplistic and powerful. The improvement that I would note would be only to include photos that better highlight the works. Out of the lectures I have seen at this school, this artist has been one of my preferred, displaying nature and this developing world as it once was and causes thoughts of what may be.