Let’s start with looking at artwork with deep blacks, sprinkled with white star-like shapes. When looking at the work, you want to touch it, to run your hand over the unfamiliar surface, the texture looks inviting. The unusual materials that the artist selected to work with, stretched rubber and tar, were materials that he had available in his studio or found around his Buffalo neighborhood. The manipulation of the rubber is unique, and the sewn stitching is unusual yet absolutely beautiful. At a closer look, the white stitching reminds me of cherry blossoms bursting open. A delicate image made with a material that’s difficult to manipulate. It must have been a captivating experience to watch the artist sew the thin strips of rubber, he probably didn’t use a sewing needle like we use to mend, I wonder what he did use?
Let’s have a conversation. If you had a sheet of black dense rubber, how would you manipulate it? Would you try to cut or sew into it? How would you create the delicate look the artist made with his sewn strips?
You are looking at a red square on a piece of hand-made paper. A thoughtful artwork. The red was painted with clean crisp lines, measured to fit, the color selected. But what is intriguing is the materials used to paint the red and the white, the artist used oils and wax. The surface is gentle yet bold, you might want to look closely to see the wax but it is hard to see, it looks like it's mixed in the paint. When observing the artwork, you might see the red first but the paper is really interesting. The texture is vertical, like a soft tree bark texture and the edges of the paper are deckle, rough, and untrimmed.
Let’s have a conversation. What materials would you consider using to make this artwork? Lipstick for the red? Would you make the hand-made paper with small twigs in the pulp to give it more texture?
This artist is known for using unusual materials in her artwork. In this work, she used pigmented wax and spray paint. Yes, another artist uses wax, but instead of oil, she is using spray paint. I usually think of graffiti artists, not an artist who uses spray paint to capture a surface of polka dots swimming around an airy atmospheric, moody, surface. Not only are her materials used in a new way but the paper she selected is called yupo. It’s a thicker durable paper that is slick and very slippery. Not many artists can use yupo paper and achieve the results they desire because of the glossy surface.
Let’s have a conversation. The artist not only used spray paint on Yupo paper but created the artwork on a gigantic scale, 12 feet by 5 feet. If you had a surface that was that large what shapes, colors, and mood would you want to capture?
This artist is known as an architect, he has to be knowledgeable about numerous materials and how they function. For an additional source of income, he designed clear glass titles for a company, this allowed for the architect to be more of an artist, to have the opportunity to experiment with new ideas. The 4 by 4-inch glass titles were produced to be installed in groupings composed of up to 20 tiles that would create a pattern. This prism tile was designed based on a flower composition of circles and squares. Look closely, you can follow the bowed lines that create the intricate pattern. The tiles were made to be functional; they need to be produced in clear glass. They were set in upper window openings mostly in industrial buildings to redirect light into the interior which helped to open the space. He wasn’t using an unusual material to let light in but used the process to develop his knowledge of new building materials.
Let’s have a conversation. Creating a clear glass tile to let the light into a room is an interesting project. The tile design will be seen during the day and the evening with different light sources. Why don’t you design a 4 by 4-inch glass tile? Remember the titles are installed together in a grouping, so the design needs to work as a whole.