Artist Voice/Artist Choice is a program where Minnesota artists use ArtsConnectEd.org to connect their own work with the collections and resources of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Walker Art Center.
Barry McMahon lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife and five children. He is the Co-Founder of Deeper Arts and SymTell.
Barry works in a variety of media and his subject matter and stylistic approaches are just as varied and far-reaching. While not always immediately apparent, McMahon's personal journey is told through his work through translation, provocation and visualization, whether telling a story or simply sharing an observation. From abstract to illustrative, heartfelt to satirical, Barry's work is always a creation of passion, love and devotion.
http://www.mnartists.org/Barry_McMahon
When it comes to the work of Jaspar Johns, I believe, there is a certain sense of "getting it" that hs to happen to become a true admirer. What's really great about it is that "getting it" can be quite different from viewer to viewer. For me, it is a balance of careful consideration and painterliness. Even if Johns had never added other media to his creations, the paint would have been enough. In the case of "Cicada II", the color and pattern are beautiful alone, the strokes are controlled yet imperfect, the balance of which makes the work more appealling.
As one scans the piece in detail, the bits of newsprint emerge, bringing the viewer in deeper, exciting the imagination further. True genius.
A Fish a Wish and Miro
Will someone throw me a bone here? Okay, well it's part Jaspar Johns, part Rauschenberg and Miro, but the Barry is strong in this one too. The piece is reminiscent of Johns' encaustic work while employing the lighter fluid transfer method used by Rauschenberg. The treatment of the brushstrokes over the hidden newspaper in "Cicada II" is reflected here.
I saw the Miro sculpture while visiting Chicago. Being moved by the inclusion of a braille description along with a relief of the piece on its base, I included it in this drawing, the texture of which reminds me of braille.
A closer inspection of this piece reveals former first lady Jackie Kennedy looking up toward a dancing Marilyn Monroe.
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Rauschenberg, in my estimations, was foremost a compositional master. His sense of balance and movement informed each of his works in a way the was distinctive and engaging. This piece is exceptional not because of its contents alone but because of the arrangement of those contents visually. While a more interesting story unravels as one views the content up close, it is the composition that immediately makes the piece work.
I have placed this slide in this order because it is an excellent example of the use of found newsprint as a compositional building block which by its very nature brings an added dimension to the piece, whether the content of the text is analogous to the "storyline" of the work or not.
Artist: Robert Rauschenberg
Date: 1970
Medium: Prints, Edition Prints/Proofs
Size: each of 26 40 x 40 inches
Institution: Walker Art Center
Accession #: 2000.401.1-.26
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This piece is directly inspired by both Rauschenberg and Johns and derivative of Dine.
Compositionally, the piece is evocative of the walk, past the buildings, down the city streets to the grocery. Contextually the ads summon up thoughts of sustenance on a budget. I remember wondering if those few cents might better serve me in my pocket! The reckless yet controlled sketchiness of the lines, both drawn and painted reveal the excitement of the prospects of a cheap meal.
I have placed this slide between Rauschenberg and Dine to illustrate how both are influential (as contemporaries) in its creation while neither are being copied. The painterly play and assemblage are at once reflexive of the styles and approaches of each while remaining unique to my own hand.
In fact, "Mixed Fryer Parts" precedes "The Hearts Called Minneapolis and St. Paul" chronologically.
Mixed media on paper. Newspaper, ink, lighter fluid transfer, paint, coins and pencil on paper.
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Jim Dine has an expressive yet controlled hand. I started drawing with attention to varied line weight in high school but really didn't understand why I was doing it until college. Tom Hilty, one of my drawing professors had beautiful line weight variations in his drawings, it was almost a signature of his work. He immediately recognized that I approached drawing from a similar ilk and actually remarked that people would probably think I was copying his style but he knew better.
So, back to Dine. When I was first exposed to the work of Jim Dine I immediately loved it. His washes, brushstrokes and application sensibilities were instantly familiar and engaging to me. While he was a well established artist already, I was just in college. As I am putting this collection together, I am now looking back nearly thirty years and see that, in fact, stylistically we were contemporaries. I was stunned when I realized that the two works I am comparing were completed at nearly the same time and that mine was actually completed before that of Dine. I'm not sure why, but that's sort of exciting to me.
I am now nearly fifty years old (next year) and am only now beginning to piece together the threads which are woven into the fabric of my artistic being. My college professors told me many things, some of which I acknowledged immediately and others which I dismissed as the words of old folks who "just plain didn't get it", only to realize in more recent years that it was perhaps myself who "didn't get it". What is truly validating about "getting it" all over again is that "it" is the essence of being an artist and no matter what point you find yourself at in your development as an artist "being there" fully is the only thing that matters. Get it?
Back to the work, the washes, choice of medium and applique items in this piece are brilliant. The depth both visually and narratively is rich engaging and provacative. Ultimately, there are those who would view this work and say "Oh look, they're hearts!", and for them, that would be enough, while others will take the time to journey deeper and for them the work is only the beginning of a much more compelling story.
Artist: Jim Dine
Date: 1984
Medium: Drawings and Watercolors, Unique Works on Paper, Mixed media
Size: installed 49 x 75.5 x inches
Institution: Walker Art Center
Accession #: 1984.21.1-.2
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Oh Jaspar, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...Red...Yellow...Blue...
To say that "Land's End" is the only work by Jaspar Johns to influence the creation of "Run" would be absolutely incorrect. The point most needed to be made in this comparison is that there is never only one work which informs my decision as an artist regarding how I will create, imbellish or complete a piece. In fact, I can't say that "Land's End" directly influenced "Run" at all because, quite frankly, I haven't memorized any works of art in particular to the extent that I could tell you about them in detail, not even my own. However, they deeply influence me at the core of my aesthetic. Honestly, I can't go to a museum or gallery and look at all of the work for any great length of time. I get overloaded. I can be, and have been, with a single work for an extended period of time. It is during that time that a true understanding and heartfelt connection can occur.
"Land's End" captures a certain element of Johns' work that informs my approach to the creation of work on many levels, the compositional considerations, balance of spontaneity vs. structure and enlistment of the commonplace (in this case the stencils) are critical influences reflected in many of my creations.
While it may not be obvios at first glance, "Run" recalls Duchamp's "Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2", the motion of Leer's hand (far left) and the sweeping grassy leaves were drawn with "Nude" in mind. The hand in the foreground (blue) is directly influenced by Johns' use of hands and forearms in multiple works as is the choice to draw a parallel between this work and Johns with the compass shapes and scales of measurement within the map.
Artist: Jasper Johns
Date: 1978
Medium: Prints, Edition Prints/Proofs
Size: sheet 42.125 x 29.75 inches
Institution: Walker Art Center
Accession #: 1988.289
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The war in Iraq is tragic by any standards from any perspective. Many will continue to argue the necessity of this war forever. Quite simply, was is not necessary ever. The human condition and the state of society make war apparently necessary to those who perceive it as such. I know that the beliefs and biases which create those perceptions must be changed or eliminated entirely in order to avoid war in totality. Regardless of what I know, none can argue that the loss of innocent lives is never wanted. Not only are the innocent men and women lost but so too are the children. What is truly unnecessary is the relentless need of society to subject the youth to military service. Often, the ranks of the militia are populated by mere children themselves.
"Iraq the Children" points the guns directly at the children. It places the children into uniforms. It turns innocent children's drawings into representations of horror and death. The map represents borders, mankind's need for ownership. At what cost?
This piece shares an aesthetic with the work of Johns and Rauschenberg not only compositionally but also in its use of materials, blending what is drawn or painted and what is "found".
Mixed media combine on board.
Pen, marker, prints, fabric and maps and drawing on paper and child's drawing, mounted on cardboard mounted to stretcher bars.
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Again, composition.
This particular piece by Rauschenberg also demonstrates the transfer technique which I have employed in many of my works. While I am unsure of how this particular work was created, it was apparently done by using either the lighter fluid transfer method, then photograped, copied and silkscreened or the emulsion was applied for the screen in the same stroking motion one would use in a lighter fluid transfer. Under either circumstance, the visual effect is the same. The strokes cross through the mage which is revealed in detail even though the lines may be broken across the span of the image.
Fishin'
This piece utilizes the lighter fluid transfer technique employed by Rauschenberg in many drawings. In the early 1980s when I was working on pieces like this one, magazines were printed with a different kind of ink that transferred much better than those printed today. I am unsure whether this technique will be impossible with newer magazines but many thrift stores and antique shops still have perfect fodder for the technique.
The artist simply soaks the page in lighter fluid and lets it set for a minute or two, one can almost see the ink begin to loosen. At that moment, the artist must place the page image side down on the drawing paper surface and rub the magazine page from the back using a pencil or burnishing tool. i love the look of this technique.
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A true "combine".
Of the works in this set, this piece is most worthy of the label "combine" in the sense as it was defined by Rauschenberg. His assertion that the combination of the original aesthetic inherent to the found items, as perceived by the artist, with the arrangement and manipulation by the artist brings about new life and new meaning to the found items is clearly evident in "Peace Sign"
Even as the artist, I found myself laughing, struggling with and in several cases flinching at some of the conclusions I was drawing from the arrangement of certain items in this work.
I find this piece to be very powerful in its own right yet it is part of an installation. Combined with a free-standing sculpture, also made from recycled elements, entitled "Recycled Yogi" the pair represent a personal journey and a truly heartfelt hope. May we all find peace, personally and globally.
Mixed media combine on board.
Records, fabric, paint scraps, drawings, guitar strap, drawings, book covers, newspaper, t-shirt and other things on cardboard mounted to stretcher bars.
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