Artist Lecture: SMP Presentations I

Focusing the openings of presentations around the journey of the artist from childhood to today, Kelton, Mary, Lane, and Montse each presented St. Mary’s Projects working with abstract projections of their concepts. Lane took us through the growth of her relationship with the woods, expressing herself through abstract painting. This was then followed by Montse and her manipulations of paint on canvas and paper to create her narratives and convey her experiences. Continuing in narration, Mary asked us to see human emotions and relations portrayed through candle and match. Presentations were then concluded by Kelton, exposing us to new takes on photography, as he developed his understanding of the medium for the first time.
Out of the work displayed, I felt most connected to the works of Lane. Viewing her slide show allowed us to see where she had began her love of nature and how she incorporated it into her art, working with the space she has in the gallery to recreate perspectives of the outdoors. Her work in the gallery showed a move towards abstraction, blending the colors of the trees together to give a feeling of the rush through the brush, passing out of reality and into the thoughts and connections she experiences in nature. Her work uses a variety of values and hues with natural tones. The first of the pieces is 12 feet in length and envelopes you as you walk along its facing. Overwhelming when standing in front of it, taking the viewer through a sort of journey, transcending through the woods and entering the mind to take a new perspective on a familiar subject. The second is a series of longer, vertical panels arranged separated from one another and combining a wider range of hues and textures. When asked by an audience member if she had made theses parts to be hung in a specific order, Lane informed viewers that she had created each separate from the other and then, once entering her space, rearranged them to fit her impressions of the room. She hopes that viewers will see their own experiences in these panels.
After listening to the presentation by Lane my speculations of the meanings of the pieces were confirmed. She had been experiencing the local woods in a similar way that I recently have and thus I saw my most fond moments in her works. Although they are moments of enjoyments of friends, they are overall moments of personal reflection and escape from the anxieties of the college environment. Discussing Taoism in her presentations and the thoughts of meditation, I feel that Lane may be using the environment of her subject as a way of meditation and relaxation, releasing from the ties of her societal world and spending time to reflect on nature and inner needs. This process is confirmed by the stylistic choice to portray the shapes around her in their abstraction. If these trees had been made to seem exactly as she had seen them, in realist textures and forms, they would have lost their sense of drift into thought. A realistic approach would have also stripped the images of their intimacy, taking this private space of personal comfort away from the artist and exposing her safety to the public. The abstraction acts as a shield, keeping the thoughts in the foreground and allowing both the painting and the subject to remain intimate. This painting creates a sense of physical motion and escape into the natural environment, the abstraction and flow of the mind that is elevated by the surroundings, and a protection and expression of an intimate space for both the artist and potentially viewers.
Through both sets of presentations viewers may see the growth of the artist as a journey of life choices and personal reflection. This exhibit challenged us to look beyond what is shown and connect with what is expressed or felt from each piece. From seeing the St. Mary’s Art Presentations of 2010, I have gained a sense of terror for the work to be done, yet security in the year to come, ready to develop beyond where I comfortably rest.