Making a House a Home Student Exhibition

Making a House a Home was a Sacramento State student exhibition that ran in the Witt Gallery from February 8 - 11, 2016.  The exhibition featured the work of artist Helen Grandy.  Fifteen works appeared in the show, ranging from approximately letter-size paintings to ones larger in scale, all of them united by Grandy's choice of color, expressive brushstrokes, and tactile quality of the applied paint.  Upon entering the Witt Gallery, the viewer is met by the smallest paintings in the show on the left wall.  Each of these five pieces is oil on paper mounted in framed glass, and they appear to be a sampling or preview of the larger works or paintings that are placed in the more interior spaces of the gallery.  The presentation of the five has a meticulous, delicate, and fragile quality to it, perhaps due to the glass framing. 

The presentation of the five complements the whole atmosphere and quality of the show as suggested by the show's title, Making a House a Home.  Upon reading the title of the show, one of my first impressions of the paintings was that they were "homey," personal, and intimate.  The colors of each of the paintings (including the framed ones, which somehow seem like both an offset and a part of the show) suggest an outdoor garden, with their rainbow of pinks, blues, greens, violets, and oranges, just to name a few.  The colors are evocative of those found in flowers, vegetables, and other plant-life (one of the 11" x 11" oil on panel pieces, titled Something about Beets, appears to give a nod to the beet-like red-violet that is included in several of the paintings).  Darker shades and tones further convey an impressionistic appearance of a garden with shifting light and shaded areas.  This is one of the qualities of the paintings that stood out to me; there is no figuration within the framework of the painting, yet each is very expressive and conveys a homelike feeling and even a suggestion of outdoor scenery.  

Another interesting feature of Grandy's work, especially with the large-scale paintings, is the use of impasto, which is a technique where paint is applied thickly and has an almost frosting-like appearance.  With the impasto, it felt like I knew the actual texture of the paint, simply by looking at it.  These paintings, like most if not all, have an interesting quality where if the viewer stands back, the viewer is greeted by a large-scale scene.  However, if the viewer walks closer to the painting, it seems to take on another life (almost like it is a separate work) with an up-close view of the brushwork.  The dual experience of standing up-close and farther back from the paintings was like that of viewing a garden.  From far away, one sees the entire panoramic view of the garden.  However, once one walks closer and actually steps within the garden, he or she might look down or around and see the smaller parts of the scene, such as the individual flowers or plant life that were invisible from far away.  The gestural brushwork and choice of color, are two prominent formal qualities of Grandy's paintings, and together, they help convey a complex and personal representation of what makes a house a home.

 Making a House a Home show title.

 Helen Grandy, each of five paintings, Untitled, oil on canvas, 2015.  These were on the left wall upon entering the front of the Witt Gallery.

 

 Grandy, each of five paintings, 11" x 11" oil on panel.

 Grandy, one of the large-scale oil paintings.

Pump Up the Volume! Exhibition

Pump Up the Volume! is an exhibition at Sacramento State that is showing in the Robert Else Gallery from January 27 - February 26, 2016.  The two artists featured are Jane Dickson and Joe Lewis.  Dickson is based in New York, and Lewis is currently a professor at UC Irvine.  Their artwork in this show is unified by the theme of hip hop and other themes connected with this culture.

Dickson's paintings all have a personal, intimate feel to them.  Much of her work focuses on everyday people and subjects.  During the artists' talk in Kadema Hall on January 27th, Dickson described her fear of certain places or things as being the inspiration for many of her paintings.  For example, during the 1970s in New York, she said she was afraid of and intimidated by places like night clubs and peep shows, so she chose to depict places like these in her art.  In Pump Up the Volume!, Dickson's paintings are focused on portraiture instead of nightlife and specific environments.  For example, several of her painted portraits dot the wall with the show title, and each portrays a unique individual (or a couple in one, a dog in another).  The placement of the oval-shaped paintings and the fact that they are interspersed throughout the gallery seem to add a playfulness that complements the upbeat quality of the graffitied show title and hip hop culture as a whole.

The oval shape of Dickson's portraits is also evocative of "traditional" portraiture during the mid-nineteenth century to early twentieth century, such as cut-out silhouettes and photographic vignettes, which were often displayed in oval frames.  Dickson's choice to use an oval shape and a black and white palette seems to connect her artwork with that of an earlier era in American history, but this could also be her original take (even a "face lift") on a frame shape that is often associated with "classic" portraiture as she uses contemporary subject matter and sitters.  Some of the sitters' poses are non-traditional as well, such as the people break dancing in the B-Boy Head Spin portraits next to Lewis's The Message.  As a whole, these portraits use a "traditional" oval shape as a vehicle, while revolutionizing it in a sense by depicting and celebrating youth culture, hip hop culture, and the everyday within its frame.

Lewis's artwork also explores the different parts of hip hop culture, while adhering less to portraiture like Dickson's paintings.  In The Message, no people or figures are to be found in what looks like a partially demolished, run-down block.  Two of the buildings in the foreground still stand, their exteriors covered in boomboxes that cry out in tandem.  The boomboxes on the left building scream in a speech bubble, "It's like a jungle SOMETIMES it makes me wonder," while the ones on the right building yell out, "How I keep from going UNDER."  The presence of speech bubbles indicates that this is actually an inhabited low-income neighborhood.  Lewis's career as an artist was up and coming in the 1970s, and during this decade, New York was rampant with crime, political corruption, racial tension, and other societal problems.  Run-down neighborhoods like the one shown in The Message would have been a common sight, and the image in the artwork, whether or not it is from the 1970s, still has relevance today as these types of neighborhoods continue to exist.  The speech bubbles of the two buildings attests to the overall hardship of living in this sort of environment, and their exclamations, while sounding sarcastic and jaded, also have an edge of optimism.  Today, such neighborhoods and their inhabitants are often ignored, but the shouted words in Lewis's artwork emphatically make the presence of the block and the people living there known.

Another work of Lewis's, Jails, Institutions, or Life - Your Choice also addresses the hardships of low-income neighborhoods.  The printed panels and lit-up sneaker are a bit enigmatic, but the title indicates that the artwork is focused on the power of choice and that one's position to be in a jail or institution or "to have life" is controlled by the decisions he or she makes. Three of the panels show what looks like a fence or jail bars.  One of the "jail" panels shows a hand holding some object; the other two seem to have a clearer message as one has a judge's gavel, while the other shows a pistol.  The ones with the gavel and pistol imply that people do not wind up in jail by chance; the choice is theirs.  The panel with the hypodermic needle and wine bottle sends a similar message, where it is an individual's choice to use drugs or become an alcoholic.  A mysterious object is shown on the corner panel next to the one with the gavel.  The remaining three panels show two buildings and a tree-like glass fracture.  The broken glass and the stark color and line quality of the building panels further add to the downtrodden and serious tone of the artwork.  The buildings might symbolize both a house and an institution, creating a connection between the two.  A glimmer of hope is shown in the form of the lit-up shoe in the foreground that is placed in front of all of panels.  Lewis's inclusion of a shoe suggests an overarching desire to run away from the broken lifestyle that the panels represent, but its brightness and central position also underscore an element of choice, as it seems to wait for the wearer to choose which route his or her life will take.

One last artwork by Lewis is The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (English, Spanish, Russian, Modern Chinese According to Google Translation).  In this piece, Lewis presents an austere, black panel with the title's words, "the revolution will not be televised," in one column, which is repeated in Spanish, Russian, and Chinese, like the title suggests, in the other columns.  "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" was a popular slogan used by the Black Power movements of the 1960s and later influenced music culture (Gil Scott-Heron's song and poem, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" (1970) is a notable example) and hip hop culture.  The slogan criticized the ability and willingness of television and media to support the Civil Rights Movement, and it upheld the idea that those wanted the revolution to happen had to make it happen.

The title also seems to both command and resign itself to these words, alluding perhaps to the revolution of hip hop culture.  If hip hop is being referred to, then the title speaks the truth, as "underground" cultures like hip hop are rarely televised and have to be self-supported by the people who are part of the culture.  After learning about Fashion Moda, an alternative space for artists in the Bronx during the 1970s, I see a connection between it and this artwork.  Notably, Fashion Moda had its facade painted with graffiti.  This graffiti contained "Fashion Moda" in not only English but also Spanish, Russian, and Chinese.  Overall, Fashion Moda and The Revolution Will Not Be Televised not only refer to and promote the international impact and appeal of hip hop culture but also speak to the fact that much of the culture's livelihood and support comes from its own members.

Show title for Pump Up the Volume!

Joe Lewis, The Message, Epson UltraChrome K3 ink on Hahnemühle paper, Edition of (center), and Jane Dickson, B-Boy Head Spin paintings that show people break dancing (clockwise from top left, B-Boy Head Spin 5, 1, 3, and 2).

 

Lewis, Jails, Institutions, or Life - Your Choice, cast glass, LEDs, and dye sublimation prints on polyester, Francis Spitta FJS Designs and Elizabeth Cote, Urban Glass, 2015.

 Lewis, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (English, Spanish, Russian, Modern Chinese According to Google Translation), Epson UltraChrome K3 ink on Hahnemühle paper, Edition of 3, 2015.

Pump Up the Volume! Artists' Lecture

Pump Up the Volume! is an exhibition in the Robert Else Gallery at Sacramento State that showcases the artwork of New York artists Jane Dickson and Joe Lewis.  The show began on January 27, 2016 and runs until February 26, 2016.  The artists gave their lecture on the opening day, from around 7:30 - 8:30pm.  Pump Up the Volume! centers upon various themes that are united by the international culture of hip hop.  Dickson and Lewis were coming up in the art world during the late 1970s, which was a difficult time for the whole city, especially the Bronx, where Dickson and Lewis were based out of and lived during this time.  During the 1960s and 1970s, New York was plagued by many crises, including social and racial tensions, economic decline, political corruption, and deterioration of the city as a whole.  The presentation given by Dickson and Lewis not only centered upon their artwork but also the art scene and art world of 1970s New York.

Many artists during the 1970s had to support and rely on one another for showcasing their artwork.  Dickson referred to the dominance of the "white cube," which describes how formal museum and gallery spaces included a disproportionate number of white, middle- to upper-class artists.  Dickson and Lewis addressed this reality by taking part in a special space they and fellow artists created called Fashion Moda.  Fashion Moda was open for practically any artist who wanted to show his or her work but could not gain the support of formal institutions.  Fashion Moda was an inclusive space, as suggested by the building's facade with its name in four languages, English, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian.  Most of the artists were part of this underground, hip hop, youth culture.  Perhaps Dickson's City Maze of 1980 best represents the hip hop youth culture of Fashion Moda.   

City Maze was a public project within the Fashion Moda building that catered to the youth of the Bronx.  Its goal was to get youth off of the streets and out of trouble by allowing them to draw, paint, and make art and graffiti on cardboard walls that Dickson had set up.  Graffiti was another important part of Fashion Moda (as also evidenced by the building's facade).  One of Fashion Moda's accomplishments was that it brought graffiti into the realm of "high art."

Aside from the actual space of Fashion Moda, Dickson and Lewis also described their own work and the work of their fellow artists.  Dickson described how she liked to use unconventional materials in her art.  She elaborated on how the basis for the content within her work is fear, things that she fears.  What I also found interesting within the lecture was how much these artists had to rely on one another for financial, emotional, social, etc. support.  Dickson and Lewis described how one of their group shows included many artists who did not even know each other but still participated because there was no other way for their artwork to be shown.  It was very interesting to not only learn about Dickson's and Lewis's own work and backgrounds but also about how all of these different artists came together in this alternative space in order to have their voices heard in the art world, which is a dynamic that exists to this day for artists.

 

 Joe Lewis and Jane Dickson during the beginning of their lecture.

 

Jane Dickson explains one of her art installations in New York, which used a bathroom as the space (left slide).  Potted plants were placed on the floor, while an image of the World Trade Center towers (shown in closer view on the right slide) covered one of the walls.

 

The facade of Fashion Moda.

A video created by Jane Dickson that shows her City Maze.