Homage to Matisse Cut-Outs @Tate Modern
New Directions and Experimentation
Art is a gift, not a given. Sometimes, we don't know its genesis. Other times, we are unaware of where it may take us. In 2013 - 2014, extra challenges disabled studio time. Then, some light appeared through a dark tunnel. Via spontaneous dabbles with less familiar, but portable, media (such as used for cut-outs), I was able to contemplate alternative processes and possibilities.
As will be noted from images shared for 2014, and going forward, even if time is lost, impact can still be made, inspiration incubated and retrieved. Working smaller and out of studio with different lens (literally), limitations led to ideas and seeds for opportunity. Wide open to going with the flow, as 2014 turned into 2015, three new categories were validated for inclusion on the Artwork section of this site: Illustration, Mixed Media, and Photography.
Cut-Outs à la Matisse (Mixed Media)
When I haven’t created art for a while, I seem to thirst to do it. Sometimes, visiting an interesting exhibit will suffice. Other times, that is not enough. Such was the case with the Tate Modern’s Matisse Cut-Outs’ exhibit (that ran April - September, 2014). I was so taken with what I saw, I bought the children’s art supplies that mirrored the show in the gift store immediately afterwards, then spent two days creating my own cut-outs, color by color. Materials were elementary (simple markers and colored card), and there was a bit of a struggle to manipulate them. End product(s) might look like “child art,” but much was learned along the way. What emerged gave me pause for thought: spontaneous, it wasn’t belabored but idea triggering and gratifying.
Since each image includes words as well as images, what is written speaks for itself. The colors that name each piece are the ones that were included in the marker and card packages. The order of creation(s) is the order in which the markers were displayed in their box:
“Blank” (number 12) was added by me to make the series feel more complete. Also poetry was integral and simultaneous to the cut-outs’ creation. Not just a few words here or there, but cohesive themed threads