Remains
“Remains”, 1990-91
Burned canvas, wire, brass mounting band Variable dimensions Private Collection The Remains are a series of drawings and sculptures exploring organic forms and some traditional materials handled differently than is customary. After choosing to depart from the figural work, which I had been focused on during the prior ten years or so, it was freeing to focus more on materials themselves and let them guide the evolution of the form. As a jumping off point for the work, I had been looking at naturally occurring biomorphic shapes, such as twisted tree limbs, as well as looking at manmade shapes with organic suggestions, such as Styrofoam “beans” used for packing. While these shapes hint at figures or body parts, that is not an overt reference. I created papier-maché works during and after graduate school, which entailed cutting or tearing strip after strip of paper, dipping it in glue and then draping or molding those around a structure to create a surface. The Remains were created using the same techniques, using cut of torn canvas, paper and glue, but left the representational aspect aside. The drawings required some sort of coloration to enrich the forms. Rather than apply drawing charcoal, pastel or paint to give a sense of a weathered surface, I began experimenting with a burning tool to allow the paper to become its own charcoal. All the darker portions of the drawings and of the sculptures is a result of a slow and painstaking process involving a focused propane torch to singe the paper or canvas. The burn-through effects are just that—allowing the flame to penetrate to the deeper layer or substrate. Like traditional drawing, the burnt darkening suggests three-dimensional modeling, depth, and in the case of the burn-throughs, shadow or a void. |
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