For this week’s AYB Advanced Studio session on zoom, teaching artist, Reg Lewis lead students through the creation of the multilayered concept of the palimpsest (something having usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface) as inspired by the work of Julie Mehretu.
Reg expertly describes the artwork created in the session: “Meridith submitted two works that reveal the process before and after. The first palimpsest featured a still life in charcoal that was later erased out in a pattern of concentric circles. The faint traces leave almost a haunted remembrance of objects long since disappeared. Meridith’s self-portrait submission was updated as the canvas was covered with water to mute the colors and give the piece a matured, lived-in density that carries a deeper emotional impact than the initial rendering. Ultimately, both final pieces are strengthened as elements are erased and obscured.
Meridith McNeal, Palimpsest (before and after, l & ll)
Marilyn’s submission also reveals the process before and after as we see the initial quartet of trees seemingly stripped and bereft of vitality. The added development feature short brush strokes of vibrantly composed colors that create layers that awaken the trees and the grass concealing the roots bringing the entire scene into full life. The added dimension of color also brings out the negative space in the center of the composition which features the serene touch of descending leaves.
Marilyn adds: “Being tasked by Reg to create a multilayered artwork, I used an old Art Yard line drawing of trees I had done. Recently I watched “Portrait Artist of the Year”, a documentary series, which followed artists through competitions in the UK in pursuit of the title and a prestigious commission. I was inspired by the work of Luis Morris, who produced spectacular portraits using beautiful colors applied with short strokes with a flat brush that magically produced a likeness of the model. So I embellished my trees with bright, autumn colors using a flat brush with acrylic paint on paper.”
Marilyn August, Palimpsest (before and after)
In Karla’s piece, an older set of small, detailed grids appear to be layered beneath a newer set of windows. An illusion of depth seems to suggest a passage of time while the organic vine structures add softness to the rigid structures dominating the piece. The visually impactful result is a scene full of contrast that seems to conceal something emotionally complex or dense. Overall, something new definitely seems to be covering something old as we are given but a glimpse through a pensive portal.
Lila’s piece features seven self-portraits or different phases of her personality and energy which to me resemble the seven visible phases of the moon. The black and grey tones of the portrait lay over top of streaks, strips, and splashes of bright color creating sharp contrast. The seven phases combine to make one gorgeous portrait set in a celestial atmosphere.
Ed’s piece features bold red letters in protest or as a precursor to some recalibration by using the immortal words of Roberto Duran to make the statement, “No Mas.” The translation makes it clear that Ed no longer wishes to fight the difficult technical problems presented by his previous career commitment. As the diagram suggests, Ed has had the kitchen sink thrown at him - on more occasions than he’d probably like to recount and just as he covers the initial image with something new, he wishes his mind takes cue.
Ed writes about his piece NO MAS: “Since leaving my day job as a project manager, I've been clearing my head of the details and minutia of renovation work to concentrate full time on painting, drawing, and writing. It has been a stressful transition so far. However, I completed eighteen new paintings this year, so am moving in the right direction.”
Jacob transforms two sets of notes pertaining to classroom instruction and converts them into organic, impulsive playgrounds with images that conceal the more rigid structures and obligations he is tasked to manage and secure. Similar to Ed’s work, Jacob’s piece seems to serve as a rebellion against the more rigid nature of job description/mandatory work.
Jacob Rath, Palimpsest (l & ll)
Adji uses repetition of the Japanese concept “kintsugi” which means the art of repairing broken pottery. This process of renewal renders the new piece more beautiful than before the break which corresponds to the portrait in profile that has also been restored; the bold lines crossing the face suggesting the damage the subject has endured, yet the serenity of the features speak of healing that may be a result of self-care, nurturing, and acceptance. Either way, the piece serves as a powerful statement of self-awareness and resilience.
Ajula’s artwork suggests the shadow work of a profound artist and poet who dares to reveal secrets and depths through image and language. It is a powerful marriage between the theme of literacy and the concept of the palimpsest as the viewer can anticipate a complex portrait captured on the pages behind this book cover - or so my imagination interprets. It is a powerful piece of artwork that draws attention to the layers constituting the experience of the artist.
Carolyn uses her name as the initial motif which is then partially obscured by the mosaic-like layers to create an intense tapestry of sorts. To me, the final product dresses up the name which although lost and made less within the wonderful explosion of color, somehow transforms the name to something more. This piece carries a visceral beauty that lingers as a pattern in mind long after viewing.
Travis’ “love letter to Haiti” is most appropriate as he fills the canvas with a lush tropical garden - the variations of green creating a color wealth and texture that is complemented with a graceful line marking that transitions from black until ending with an attractive blue flourish. The result is a warm portrait that transports the original grey page to an intimate piece of paradise we yearn to indulge. The artwork is a most lovely expression of love.”
Reg simply covered his original best laid plans with colorful letters that represent his authentic approach to classroom instruction. The original layer represented strategies he wished to impose at the beginning of the school year until he remembered that only through his authentic self could he honestly lead others. In other words, he covered his public mask with his true persona. Smiling “All-ways” is one of his keys.
Reg Lewis, Palimpsest l & ll
Overall, the concept of the palimpsest was extended and expanded by the participants as the interpretations were diverse as they were beautiful and striking. It was a “refreshing” session, indeed.
In her very first effort teaching a class, AYB Artist Assata Benoit presented The Other You for AYB Advanced Studio in person at BWAC.
Assata’s well developed lesson plan set us on the path for a wonderful session! I was particularly impressed with Assata’s commitment to exploring and expanding her ideas. She nudged the lesson into a fascinating and compelling session for all who attended, with superb visual examples such as Artemisia Gentileschi and literary inspiration such as Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Assata summarizes the session: “This week’s lesson, “The Other You”, was spawned out of my own emotion more than anything else.
I often feel that I’m perceived as one side of my personality rather than all sides at the same time. Whether I’m feeling silly and only being seen as serious, or feeling sensitive and being seen as aloof, I always wish that I could explain that there’s more to me than what I decide to show.
Originally the lesson was aimed to have the artists display their “shadow” or “villain” self. i.e. Spiderman vs. venom or Jekyll vs. Hyde. As the weeks progressed, the art I made was much more cheerful than what the prompt called for. Gratefully, Meridith also suggested that I express the fluidity of subject, and the class had a much more lighthearted take.
AYB Advanced Studio artists at work. Assata was in charge of music this week.
While I gave students the freedom to move as far on the spectrum as necessary, most, including myself stayed on the positive aspects. I appreciated how every artist was able to express themselves so candidly while still having a physically emotional reaction from the rest of the class.
Note the concentration as folks worked.
Personally, this lesson showed that if you put your soul into a piece, another person will connect. No matter how “complete” the artist considers it to be, the emotion behind it will speak clearly.”
Brianna, Gem and Asiana (Nana) went with a mixed media, text based approach. The content of their work resonated with the group.
Brianna expounds upon her piece during critique, and Brianna Abdullah, The Other Me
Several artists included figures or partial figures in their works.
Adji’s use of mirror image reminded us of Tenniel’s engraving of Alice headed into the looking glass in "Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There" by Lewis Carroll!
Adji Kebe, The Other Me and Sir John Tenniel, "Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There" 1872
Like that next radical step by Alice, Jahdaka, broke through the picture place literally in her layered mixed media piece. Chace, also working three-dimensionally, brought his painting piece out of the picture place with an added sculptural element
Chaela explored the many instances of other selves and the "blooming" she experiences as a mother.
Speaking of mothers, we were overjoyed to meet Abriels mother Jean, who joined us for the session. Jean’s deeply personal meditative piece underscored the creative environment in which Abriel was raised!
Abriel’s drawing delighted us all. I thought the elongated figures were a bit Mondrian-esque. However, I think Gem was more to the point when she noticed a comparison in an ad for an upcoming show by Kenny Scharf!.
Abriel (bob) Gardner, The Other Me and Kenny Scharf ad (photo by Gem Mercado)
Ed sheds additional light on the ideas behind his drawing My PLAN "B". “One of my early ambitions was to become a musician. However, while studying abroad in England, I came to see my real talent was in visual art. I decided then to concentrate fully on painting and drawing, and sold my guitar to buy art supplies.
Fast-forward fifty-two years: I know I have been blessed to have survived and thrived as an artist, but sometimes wonder what I would do if ever went blind. This picture shows me returning to music, if that fate ever befalls me.”
What We Are Reading
Evelyn Beliveau raves: “I am once again asking everyone to read Eros the Bittersweet (Princeton University Press, 1986) by Anne Carson. Insightful and nuanced take on the shape of desire in the mind. Based on close analysis of ancient poets, her conclusions are startlingly relevant, at least to me!” I agree whole heartedly with Evelyn!
Louise Erdrich’s latest novel The Sentence (Harper, 2021) is a ghost story set mainly in an independent book store in a Minneapolis 2019-2020. The characters are very well developed and captured my interest. One of my favorite elements is that the main character, Tookie, a formerly incarcerated Ojibwe woman who works at the bookstore provides us with an extensive reading list. When I (Meridith) knew the reference, it would clarify the nuance of the story. When I did not know the book, I looked them up with interest.
Do you know the phrase “in the weeds”? The Cambridge Dictionary defines as “with so much work that you are finding it difficult to deal with something.” My friend, fellow avid reader, artist Brece Honeycutt used that idiom to describe a section of Monet The Restless Vision by Jackie Wulschläger (Knopf, 2024). As the author tells us, there is precious little written primary source from or on Monet. At every turn, it feels like the author is back out in those weeds trying to make a point which may or may not be true. I (Meridith) love Monet’s painting and wish I had enjoyed this book more.
Shaking off my Monet book torpor, I (Meridith, again) moved on to Still Life With Remorse, by the oh-so-talented Maira Kalman (Harper Collins, 2022). Personal poetic narratives wrapped around and adjacent to Kalman’s gorgeous paintings resonate on so many levels. There was a really nice piece about Kalman, and this work in the NY Times yesterday. (click the link to read)
As the night was early and my NY Public Library app blinked that a book which has languished on my waiting list for ever was available, I began reading Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey by Isabel Fonseca (Random House, 1995). Mid way through the first chapter I started to wonder if it was ghost written by Maira Kalman! Written with the same idiosyncratic zeal, historical tales woven with personal histories and peppered with intriguing names which seem hard to pronounce, crowned with that ability to throw in a zinger at the end of a paragraph that makes me laugh out loud! It was hard to put it down this morning and get to work on this recap.
Dennis contributes a review of a book I too enthusiastically recommend!
“In the late '90's, my friend and neighbor Roz Schlansky gave me a copy of 'The God of Small Things'. (Random House, 1997). She told me it was her favorite book of all time. Knowing that she was a prolific reader (and in her late 70's at that time), she'd read A LOT of books and claiming one to be her favorite was amazing to hear. I read it and loved it. Roz and I would spend many Sunday mornings (she'd come in for coffee and to watch CBS Sunday Morning for years and years!) discussing the book - including the bits we did NOT like about it.
It's quite a dramatic story (fiction based on some true events) by author Arundhati Roy - mostly about childhood experiences and how events in our lives, however small ('small things'), shape our behavior and give us joy and happiness (which we might not realize until older age) or sometimes destroy our lives. Much revolves around laws in India in the 60's and class systems and their effects on people's lives but mostly about family experiences.
It's beautifully composed - sometimes even sing-song-y - and also at times tedious to follow. Lots of family members; lots of unusual names. I almost wanted to draw a family tree and keep it available while reading. I remember when books had related maps inside the front and back covers - I wish the book designers put an illustrated family tree in my edition. Many smart (and sometimes amusing) references - one of my favorites is the writer’s term for fraternal twins (two of the main characters): TWO EGG TWINS.
Roz passed away just about this time last year at age 100 years and 5 months. I took the book off the shelf to re-read and remind myself of small things that gave me joy - like Sunday morning coffee time with Roz. I took it with me to Greece - but a travel companion finished her book (she only brought one???) on the 8 hour flight from NY to Athens so I gave her my copy of The God of Small Things to read (aside from airport bookshops, not overly easy to find books in English in Greece). She returned it recently and I am nearly finished re-reading it. I can hear Roz's commentaries as I read.”
Other Art News
AYB Artist TJ Edgar is taking a ASL class at Spelman College. She recently completed an assignment to include a sign in a work of art! I love this assignment, and I think it would be a great one for this Year of Literacy! Here is TJ’s Owl.
Getting close to finished, AYB Artist Ardelia (Dede) Lovelace, shares her painting in progress.
AYB Artist Vera Brown shares early progress her latest artwork A Demonstration of Love, which she is painting in acrylic on 24x36” canvas. I will post an update when Vera completes the painting!
In response to the infuriating news in recent “art” auctions, AYB Artist Shellorne Smith created this painting.
Senior Editor Hakim Bishara writes in this morning’s edition of Hyperallergic: “It’s only fitting that the mundane banana was bought by a crypto bro who also conjured his fortune out of thin air. But the second the work became a personal investment asset, it lost any shred of irony it might have once possessed.”
AYB Artist Kyra Tippens Richan enthusiastically shares that her friend Lydia Maria Pfeffer solo exhibition a loving kind of dream is on view + Dinner Gallery, 242 w 22nd street, Chelsea NYC through January 18, 2025.
I (Meridith) am pleased to have my painting Magical Things From Recovery Kiss Kali on view in Small Works 2024 at Main Street Arts in Clifton, NY.
Meridith McNeal, Magical Things From Recovery Kiss Kali, 2023 and Small Works 2024, installation view
Ed Rath’s solo show Nirvana/Urbana will be on view Nov 26 – December 14, 2024 at M55 Gallery, 548 West 26th Street in Chelsea.
Tuesday Nov. 26, 6-8pm,AYB Advanced Studio will make a field trip for a private viewing next Tuesday, be sure to sign up to join us!
💗💜❤️♥️🩷💙💛🩵
P.S. If you have signed up for tomorrow’s (11/23) field trip to The Brooklyn Museum, we will meet in the lobby at 2:45pm.
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