Wednesday, November 3, 2010

EXPRESSIONISM ON THE DINING ROOM TABLE--OR, WHY MY REFRIGERATOR IS NAKED

My refrigerator is naked.  It normally sports the usual…reminders of events, clever thoughts, announcements of upcoming weddings, a list of things to buy.  The most prominent display is usually made up of the latest achievements by young family creatives.  I recently cleared the space in anticipation of new works to be done by artists in residence.

Then while I was making pies in the kitchen the unpredictable painters decided to change their medium from crayons and copy paper to poster paints and newsprint. 

I must apologize in advance for the condition of the pieces.  See, the art work had to be rolled up rather quickly and stashed because dinner was ready.  Then Thomas (the huge black cat) found the large spool of crunchy paper and attacked it; resulting in an addition of some distressed texture.

This first piece is called, “It Is Not My Turn to Clean the Fish Tank.”  It is a classic example of neo expressionism reminiscent of Mark Rothko.  The muted colors reflect the feelings of water, pond scum and adversity.

 This one is “Skating in Strawberry Jam.”  The dramatic reds give rise to the basic human emotions of delight and pleasure.  The sweeping brushwork communicates both gliding movement and adhesiveness.

 “Items Found Under the Sofa Cushions” conveys the artist’s distilled approach to a variety of organic sensations.   Tactile senses are represented as well as aroma and biological objects.

 
“A Witch Being Eaten By a Dragon While She Has the Key to the Treasure Chest in Her Pocket”   The artist’s use of contrasting,  yet sparse color and shape expresses the dramatic disparity of emotions as well as spontaneous yet confused response.

As stated earlier the art was produced in large scale on a roll of newsprint...too big to fit on the refrigerator door.  Thus my refrigerator door is, at the moment, unadorned.

11 comments:

TALON said...

A naked fridge? That's shocking! :) But I loved this artwork. I love Thomas's touch - there's something awesome about a cat's artistic touch on paper. Our black cat, Missy, is addicted to paper towel rolls - but thank heavens not while they're on the holder. Her greatest joy is finding someone doing some form of cleaning where she can stealthily attack the unsuspecting roll while it's briefly unattended. She lives for such moments. :)

I loved all the artwork, but especially enjoyed “A Witch Being Eaten By a Dragon While She Has the Key to the Treasure Chest in Her Pocket” - it shows true creative genius in the use of color and placement. It's inspired!

And please thank Lindsay for her kind comments on The Misfit Witch. I would love to read her stories! That was very sweet. Thank you. I would have emailed you, but I couldnt' find an email address here. Mine is on my sidebar near my profile info.

Carla said...

Wonderful work!
Our fridge is naked all the time. It's stainless steel.
I didn't know it wasn't magnetic until I tried to put up some artwork. :(

susan m hinckley said...

Thanks for what will surely be the most enjoyable moments of my day, Leenie.

Together, the art and commentary have elevated my usual ho-hum 12.75 minutes of blog/facebook/email ennui to the level of actual entertainment. Cheers!

Linda Sue said...

Exquisite, Love the artists "jam" period and the angst of the "not my turn" period. All within the "afternoon" period..."under the cushion" is very telling - that period of discovery and reward but also mystery. After the Witch being devoured work wasn't there a "nap" period that followed? Great works! Period!

DayPhoto said...

Oh! How I LOVED this post! It was most delightful and fun I've read today!

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

Just what I needed to cheer me up after an afternoon of nastiness at the dentist!!

Sarah said...

Brilliant! These impressed me and the commentaries really brought out the deeper meanings well! That last one is reminiscent of Japanese art I feel. Hope you have the sense to buy a bigger fridge soon so large scale work can adorn it!

Anairam said...

Hahaha! You will make a veritable art critic, Leenie. I would have given you an A if it were not for the fact that you forgot to use the terms "discourse" and "social relevance". (The art itself is A+!)

Elizabeth said...

Your art work stuns.
So much better than the *****
available in so many contemporary galleries.
"Skating in Strawberry Jam" is my favorite.

If you want to preserve the works of these young artists it might be worth buying good paper (providing the said artists are not TOO prolific!)
we often had off cuts of printing paper lying around.
Did you ever see a super book called "Why CAts Paint"? do try to look it up.
oxox

Kilauea Poetry said...

These are charming Leenie- I enjoyed the interpretation too!! Art at its best (ha ha)
Now you'll have to check out my naked clay video (lol)

conrad bo said...

Supercool paintings +++
Conrad Bo
The Superstroke Art Movement