Thousand Yard Stare: 2011

In this second blog, I'll be analyzing work by two artists; Echo Eggebrecht and Dexter Dalwood. Both Eggebrecht and Dalwood's work is hugely influential to my own practice through their different uses of Image, Process, and Concept.

Echo Eggebrecht

Born 1977, New York.
She received her BFA at the School of Art Institute of Chicago in 2000.
Received MFA at Hunter College in 2006.
IMAGE - Eggebrecht creates empty landscapes and spaces, similar to the construction I provide in my work.

Echo Eggebrecht "Snake in the Grass"

PROCESS - Eggebrecht also works on multiple (7) paintings simultaneously, allowing her to build strong color relationships. I hope to employ this technique in order to help spread my effort more evenly. She also notes that she browses Google for images, but also builds 3-dimensional models to aid with creating the proper vision, instead of laboring over "pulling" the space out of a 2-dimensional image.

Echo Eggebrecht "Building a Desert"

CONCEPT - Eggebrecht's work is viewed sometimes as a narrative. Her presentation of textual images directly correlates to her activity of reading. Her paintings capture a quiet moment in time, while my paintings also capture a moment of time, both eerie and unsettling.

Echo Eggebrecht "Bright Blessed Days, Dark Sacred Nights"

Dexter Dalwood

Born 1960, England.
He received his BA from Central Saint Martins School of Art, London in 1985.
Then received his MFA from the Royal College of Art, London in 1990.
IMAGE - Dalwood is also an artist who constructs spaces, specifically interiors of fictional (and non-fictional) scenes where violence has occurred. This is slightly similar to my work in that it depicts a space that is meant to carry a heavy, dreary mood.

Dexter Dalwood "Sunny Von Bulow"

PROCESS - Dalwood likes to construct his paintings thoroughly with paper collage. His intention is to work with the paper as much as possible to avoid over-working the actual painting surface. I also found that working with a constructed version of my painting allowed me to make those initial "mistakes" without feeling discouraged.

Dexter Dalwood "McCarthy's List"

CONCEPT - Dalwood's goal in most of his pieces is to re-create what he believes a space may have been in a historical sense. For example, in "Room 100, Chelsea Hotel" a disheveled bed is seen inside a gloomy hotel room. This is where he imagined Nancy Spungen's violent death by her famous boyfriend Sid Vicious. While the history behind the image is real, the actual space is not. I differ in that I use somewhat real spaces (architecture) and transform them into something creepy or uncomfortable through the use of slight distortion and color.

Dexter Dalwood "Room 100, Chelsea Hotel"

first of all, i will be posting some images of my studies soon, i just have a scanner that is not functioning properly, but it will be fixed.

so, to begin. completing the studies was not a difficult task for me, all i did was start sketching things outside, people that interested me. at the beginning, i did not have an idea of my theme for the semester's work, but through my sketches i was able to develop an idea. i basically came to a theme of loneliness/isolation, but without the use of any figures. i knew i wanted my work to look more contemporary, so that would be another important element. after creating a specific study (number 19, i believe) i immediately felt like everything had come together (photo coming soon, i promise); it had the loneliness, the contemporary vibe, and the interesting perspective i was looking for.

some questions i developed along the way:
-how is the actual paint language going to help with the idea of loneliness?
-is it possible to keep an isolated and lonely mood while utilizing bright colors?
-do i want the viewer to feel slightly uncomfortable while viewing my work, and if so, how will i accomplish that?
-what aesthetics can i apply to my work that will make it appear contemporary? what does "contemporary" look like?

i've been looking at various artists for guidance. Edward Hopper has been very influential in terms of his use of light and space to create a sense of isolation.