FINAL PROJECT
acrylic on mylar with foam core
Detail 1
Detail 2 & 3
James Schlavin
Artist’s Statement
As an artist I see myself not as a creator but as an observer, analyst, and interpreter. I seek to see the world constantly in a deeper way, as an individual. By looking at the world in this way
I see the world more intentionally. I want to analyze the aspects that I find interesting, unique, and amazing so that I can understand what
intrigues me more deeply. Finally I interpret the world. By creating works that are unique I interpret the world through my eyes.
While this is assuredly not the only interpretation, I strive to make it true for myself as a person, and as
an artist.
At the start of this semester we completed a simple figure study. I began this the way I always work by
looking at the model, analyzing the proportions and trying to find what was special about that painting,
and in the end it turned out to be the colors that I saw as most important in the way they took over the
painting in a way that rarely happens in my work.
In my second painting I began using color to block out the figure. I challenged myself to leave distinct
blocks of color for as long as possible with that painting until the very end when I sculpted it just enough
to bring out the form. By doing this I allowed color to control my work from the very beginning so that I
could interpret it the way I wanted to as an artist.
In my self portrait I decided that color itself would define the entire project. I wanted to observe the
colors of my subject myself so that I could really look at how they interacted with one another.
Throughout the project the concept of interaction became less important while the idea of distillation
began to take over. At the end these competing ideas created the tension of identity in my piece that
made it a success in my mind.
For this piece I began by simply observing the models. After several sketches, the idea of using colors
again began to take over, so I decided to balance a study of figures with a study of color. By creating a
collection of thumbnails I was able to complete both an intensive study of facial structures while
continuing to look at color distillation in these figure studies.
Throughout this semester I have seen myself grow as an artist technically in how I look at the world
through each of these projects, especially in the way that color studies have become an important part
of how I work. Beyond that my conceptual creativity has also grown in the ways I have sought to
interpret my ongoing analysis of color in painting. Ultimately I hope to continue being an artist an
observer, analyst, and interpreter in every aspect of my life.
I can't believe you painted that many individual images...and made the frames. I was having a hard time with the 9 paintings that I did! I like that this project was influenced by your self-portrait. You set it up nicely. The different levels were a nice touch. Everything about your project seems so time consuming, sot it's impressive that you got it all done. Nice!
ReplyDeleteYou have such a huge talent with paint. I'm terribly impressed at the time and patience you took in order to create each one of these images. I love the choice in color palette and as with your self portrait you have to get up close to each image to really understand what it is and admire it. I have to be honest as I was looking at it from afar it looks like a lot of colorful dots placed on the wall but up close and personal you get to understand the identity of each thumbnail. Very impressive, I'm curious how long this took you to get all the pieces done and how you decided upon setting up your thumbnails.
ReplyDeleteColors are all we painters have at our disposal and i think you using a monotone for each square shows what palettes we truly have to work with when observing. It is quite hard to see many colors within one and i think your piece shows the separation within one form. I think something that would make this stronger if there weren't so many squares and they were more detailed and concentrated to complete a bigger picture.
ReplyDeleteI love that you displayed your figures on different levels. You make being able to find the cool to warms tones on a figure so easy! I think the face is the hardest part of a figure to recreate. I think that the way this work is displayed gives it a decorative element as well :). It would've been great if you incorporated a small detailed painting of each completed face, in the mix.
ReplyDeleteI really love the way this turned out, it is much bigger than I thought it would be which is nice because it has a good presence. It feels like a periodic table to me, all these different elements(heh get it) of the figures and you are the observer which finds these elements. I really enjoyed just walking around them and seeing all the different images you created. I agree with Lucia that perhaps experimenting with a more detailed face or perhaps even body would be interesting.
ReplyDeleteYour piece is an example of a truly artistic process. You had a concept, which you planned out and decided how you were going to do what you were going to do, and then you did it without compromising. I often find myself deviating from my original path, not because i encountered something new and interesting along the way, but simply because i don't have enough time or heart to finish what I started. Your dedication alone makes this piece successful. Of course, you nailed the formal aspects in the compositions of the slides and the overall composition, but i think a lot is to be said about your commitment to your work and how it relates to your great skill as an artist.
ReplyDeleteYour strengths as an artist are your technical and aesthetic abilities. You carefully consider composition, color and brush stroke. This project is a perfect example of your meticulous style. I think that this project is very sophisticated in it's presentation and execution. I like that you derived your form from Tetris. Very cool. I think you can improve upon the project by furthering the emphasis on color exploration. You placed your project behind a white wall. I think that this devalued your work because it is so tiny. I wish either the clear screens could have been behind a different color or the entire piece be placed behind something different than white.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good adaptation of your previous project work, and much like Amanda's work, going to a small scale with the figurative work was successful for you. I know your ability to render something on the technical side is pretty solid, I am glad to see you work on a piece with a stronger concept than figurative focus. I would like to see them placed more precisely, because of the nature of your clean work and also the evenness with which each painting was made it doesn't look intentional when they are just slightly off kilter, even by just a little.
ReplyDeleteThis was one of my favorite ideas because of how much you must have grown as a figure painter and painter in general from these little studies. You got a large amount created, and managed to delicatly diliberate between the different colors in the face. I especially liked the black one for some reason. They really show your attention to detail. I like how you arranged them as well it allows the eye to move around easily without it being overwhellming or chaotic. I think the analysis of the figure that you approached would be very helpful and almost vital for anyone doing figurative studies, especially of the flesh. Very well done!
ReplyDeletereally cool concept and execution was on point. I also think the presentation was nice and made my brain hurt. the sketches you worked with in class were also really cool. my only complaint is that I didn't get to watch you do your rad figures in oil or acrylic which I think you could have nailed too.
ReplyDeletethe concept is great and the execution is very impressive for the amount of time we had to complete it. i really like that youve started to experiment with this process! your project was both a painting and installation and i like that!
ReplyDelete