NEWS AND LINKS
Exhibitions:
A major exhibition of Norman's unique cameraless chemigrams, "Marks on Silver," tok place at the Martin Gallery, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA, June 1 - August 4, 2007. The exhibition included 32 images created over the past five years. A 16 page monograph was published in conjunction with this exhibition, including many of the images shown, and an essay and interview by Alexis L. Boylan, Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Tennessee. For copies of this monograph please contact the artist. They are available for a modest postage and handling fee of $10.
Norman's chemigrams were shown in the exhibition, "Deep Process" at the Open Lens Gallery of the Gershman Y, 401 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA in February, 2007.
They were allso on exhibition at eDavid Gallery, 535 Main Street, Bethlehem, May 18 - June 23, 2007,
A solo exhibition is scheduled for late spring of 2008 at Connexions Gallery in Easton, PA. Further information should be available soon.
Process Photography and Chemigrams:
Process photography is a term indicating that the materials and some processes of photography are all that are used to produce the artwork. Camera, film, and negative are not part of the creative loop, nor is a “mask” as is used to make photograms. Paper, light, and some technique to directly effect the photographic paper are all that are used.
Look for more information on my process and on Pierre Cordier, who invented and named the process in 1956 to be posted soon.
Two artists working in the field of process photography but not with chemigraphy are Wolfgang Tillmans (Art on Paper, May-June, 2001, Vol. 5, No. 5, page 60) and Marco Breuer (Art on Paper, Sept. – Oct. 2001, Vol. 6, No. 1, page 42). Their work is quite different from mine, but illustrates the breadth of spirit that can be expressed when photography is distilled to the minimum of material and equipment. There are no trees or barns, no "shots" of people, but there is art.
Inspirations:
As my work with chemigrams went beyond simply applying chemicals to the photographic paper, and evolved into being able to make marks on the paper that tell a story, I began to get more and more inspiration from painters and print makers. The abstract expressionists particularly resonated, as did oriental ink painting and calligraphy.
I spend much time with books in these areas. When I find a work I particularly relate to, I study it to see what makes it special for me, and, in turn, what does that element of the work mean for the direction I am going in my own mark making. Is there an essence to abstract that could be part of my art-making vocabulary? Of course, finding the books means spending many pleasant, dusty, hours browsing used bookstores for treasures.
“Chinese Brushwork in Calligraphy and Painting,” by Kwo Da-Wei (Dover Publications, 1981) unfolds for the reader the use of line and especially of space in the development of Chinese calligraphy and ink painting. It includes exquisite examples of each.
“Ink Painting” by Takaaki Matsushita, number 7 in the “Arts in Japan Series” (John Weatherhill, Inc., 1974) has examples of ink painting from the 12th to the 15th Centuries that presage the most modern of abstract painting in their gestural abstraction and sometimes minimalist approach to composition.
Another wonderful book of Japanese calligraphy and ink painting is “Song of the Brush: Japanese Paintings from the Sanso Collection” edited by Joseph Rosenfield (Seattle Art Museum, 1979). One comes away from this volume having seen a few perfect strokes of the ink pen produce work that does sing to the eyes.
Of Western artists, Brice Marden has incorporated calligraphic marks in some of his wonderful gestural ink pieces (“Brice Marden Drawings: The Whitney Museum of American Art Collection,” The Whitney Museum of American Art, 1998). His “Epitaph Paintings” (“Brice Marden Chinese Work,” Matthew Marks Gallery, 1997) began by his placing large scale calligraphic elements from Chinese epitaph stones on the canvas. Working from these borrowed elements on the canvas, he created entirely new works of art. Derived from the stones he studied in China, this work bridges ancient calligraphy and modern abstract expressionism in a very interesting way, thus providing food for thought for my own mark making.
Richard Serra’s strong prints (“Richard Serra Prints: Catalogue Raisonne,” Richard Serra and Richter Verlag Dusseldorf, 1999) reversed the usual composition of black marks placed on a white background. His massive black shapes with edges of white give a dark, moody quality to this work. I have begun to explore this avenue with a series of four chemigrams, “After R/S.”
The works of Jackson Pollock always bring me back to the power that emanates from the fusion of chance and control in art making. Using the control associated with previsualization along with the chance involved with gesture in creating a paint drip, a brush stroke, or a chemigram energizes and strengthens the work.
Gallery Visits:
Another source of inspiration and learning comes from visiting galleries, especially those crowded into Manhattan. I often spend a day visiting up to 60 galleries, some for a brief look in the door to see if the work resonates with me on that particular day, a rare few for a study of work that attracts me. On any day I will end up with notes on one or two paintings or prints, or more rarely photographs, that express elements of the artistic vocabulary I work with.
The day is made easier by several buildings that house a number of galleries each, and in which one can start on the top floor and walk down the steps a floor at a time. One of these is the Fuller Building at 41 East 57th Street. Elevate to the 14th floor, home of the Howard Greenberg Gallery of classic photography, (www.howardgreenberg.com) and enjoy an efficient hour visiting the galleries floor to floor. Make sure you visit the tiny but exquisite ancient oriental pieces at Mika Gallery on the 8th floor (www.mikagallery.com). In between you may just see the painting or print that makes your day worthwhile.
While in the neighborhood, cross 57th street to 32 East 57th Street. You can start at the Pace/Macgill Gallery on the 9th floor (www.pacemacgill.com) for classical camera images. Then elevate to the 3rd floor Pace/Prints Gallery (www.paceprints.com). Be sure to go to the back and look through the bins of prints and those in the hallways and side rooms. Then visit the 2nd floor Pace/Wildenstein Gallery (www.pacewildenstein.com) which has paintings and usually is the most exciting space of the three for me.
Across Fifth Avenue is a gallery building at 24 West 57th. The elevator is slow, but the trip usually worth the time. It was due to a lucky wandering into the Bill Hodges Gallery (www.billhodgesgallery.com) on the 6th floor of this building that I happened on a retrospective of the painting of Charles “Spinky” Alston. At the time I admired very much the effect achieved by some of Brice Marden’s techniques and had been trying to put them to work in my chemigram. Of the varied abstract and figurative paintings in the show, one oil on masonite piece from about 1960, “Untitled,” stood out and got me started on a series of five gestural chemigrams combining some of Marden’s techniques with my process. That chance encounter on one of my “gallery marathons” was very critical in helping me solve a creative problem with which I was wrestling.
Chelsea has its own set of street level galleries and several buildings worth the top to bottom run. One can walk between 10th Avenue and 11th Avenue from 19th street to 29th street and see dozens of exciting ground floor gallery spaces. Of the buildings, one of the more interesting is 529 West 20th Street with Hasted Hunt photographic gallery (www.artnet.com/gallery/424319090/hasted-hunt.html), Kim Foster Gallery (www.artnet.com/kfoster.html), Sara Tecchia Gallery (www.saratecchia.com) and other interesting exhibition spots to visit. Another is 535 West 22nd Street with Yancey Richardson, Julie Saul (www.saulgallery.com) and other very worthwhile galleries.
Although many galleries have moved to Chelsea or uptown from SOHO, several remain. Wooster Arts Space, 147 Wooster Street, and Peter Blum SOHO (which has recently been joined by Peter Blum Chelsea) (www.peterblumgallery.com) are excellent gallery spaces to see contemporary painting, sculpture and, sometimes, photography.
The galleries mentioned above are only a small sampling of the many excellent gallery spaces in New York City, including some uptown and in a new area developing in the lower east side. Explore with the free “Gallery Guide” in hand. It is available at most galleries and will help you get the most out of your visit.
In Santa Fe, NM, the Photo-Eye Gallery and bookstore (www.photoeye.com) has interesting exhibitions and an excellent online bookstore. While you are in Santa Fe, visit the EVO Gallery (www.evogallery.org) which has fine contemporary work, and find the tiny but gem-like Touching Stone Gallery (www.touchingstone.com) which has breathtaking contemporary ink painting and sculpture by Japanese artists.
In San Francisco, the Crown Point Press is a fascinating place to visit. Printmaking is the high art form there and the work on view is usually recently done by wonderful contemporary artists. The space is downtown, just south of Market Street, walking distance from Union Square. Online, visit their bookstore at www.crownpoint.com. A recent book I purchased from them, “The Art of Richard Tuttle,” was a signed copy, an unexpected treat.
Resources:
For a good view of current photography and what is being shown in galleries, “Photograph” has extensive exhibition listings as well as reviews of auctions, books about photography, and the “scene.” It is focused on New York City, but has listings of US and international exhibitions, (www.photography-guide.com).
“The PhotoReview” is a guide to New York City and Mid-Atlantic photography edited by Stephen Perloff. Stephen, besides publishing listings of exhibitions, of exhibition opportunities, and erudite articles on photography, is a facilitator of communication and camaraderie among photographers and gallery owners (www.photoreview.org).