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Figurative Expressionism, Abstract Art.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONISM/ 'Figurative Constructs' by Eric Whollem, 1984/ Contemporary Mixed Media Art
Figurative Constructs
1984
by Eric Whollem
mixed media on paper
Collection of the artist
4 1/2" x 3"
COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST
FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONISM
The work above, entitled 'Figurative Constructs,' incorporates
pictographic elements from prehistoric rock art. Some might
compare this work to that of children's art. Many modern artists,
such as Paul Klee and Joan Miro attempted to idealize the art of
children and transmute it into contemporary design.
The works of avant garde artists, such as the Danish artist, Asger
Jorn, are recalled by the approaches I have taken here.
Other artists, such as Jean Dubuffet, championed the art of lunatics;
he developed what is now referred to as Art Brut. Earlier in the days
of Cubism, Matisse and other artists who idealized Van Gogh,
produced the Fauvist movement~the term 'fauve' meaning 'wild
beast.'
These are just a few of the undercurrents of style that culminated in
twentieth century art. In our time artists have reached to the furthest
extremities of human expression.
It is probably too soon to evaluate the art of the twenty-first century.
No doubt the process of distilling the approaches of the twentieth
century will continue. The lure of novelty will always be counter-
balanced by a return to classical formulations. It's a tale of
transmutation.
NOTE ON THIS PAINTING
The work above, as an example of 'figurative expressionism,' relates
to the West Coast School of Figurative Expressionism, in which I
personally was schooled, having studied under Elmer Bischoff at
U.C. Berkeley in the early 1970's.
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See Wikipedia's article on AMERICAN FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONISM:
More of my posts on FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONISM can be accessed here:
Figurative Abstractions by Eric Whollem
My online GALLERY of ABSTRACT ART may be seen on these posts:
Whimsical Abstractions by Eric Whollem
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Thursday, May 26, 2011
FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION/ 'The Dream Bear' by Eric Whollem/ MEDICINE ANIMALS OF THE CONCOW MAIDU INDIANS/ A pictographic abstraction based on preshistoric California rock art
The Dream Bear
1984
by Eric Whollem
mixed media on paper
Colllection of the artist
6 1/16" x 4 1/2"
COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST
DREAM MAGIC
This painting presents the image of a bear in a pictographic
style, based on prehistoric California petroglyphs, which
often were rendered in gridlike formats as seen above. The
paleolithic rock art of Europe sometimes incorporated such
geometric diagrams; but they have been overshadowed in the
public eye by the figurative naturalism of the hunting scenes
which are so famous today.
European artists such as Klee and Miro took it upon themselves
to adapt the geometricizing abstractions of their paleolithic
European heritage to their modern artistic productions. Similarly
my own art has drawn upon the prehistoric arts of California.
THE BEAR
When I lived at Black Earth Village in Feather Falls, California,
an old Concow Maidu village site, I used to have dreams of
a small black bear. Bears are considered very sacred by the
Maidu.
Concow Maidu concepts in my art. A recent video.
The black bear is the medicine animal of the healer.
Also the black bear is celebrated each year in a special
interfamily dance in Janesville, California, not far from the
Nevada border. There a roundhouse is located on traditional dance
lands on the edge of the sage and juniper covered desert areas of the
high Sierra.
I once journied to the Janesville roundhouse with Adrian Smith,
at the time head dancer at the Bear Dance. Such lead dancers
are called 'Bear.'
Concow Maidu Culture in the Art of Eric Whollem.
________________
Readers interested in my posts that deal with the culture of the CONCOW MAIDU should see:
More of my FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTIONS may be accessed here:
More about MEDICINE ANIMALS may be found on these posts:
See my posts on DREAMING:
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Wednesday, May 25, 2011
CONTEMPORARY ART/ 'House of the Crow' by Eric Whollem, 1984/ NOTES ON THE PSYCHOPOMP/ A Pictographic Abstraction/ Mixed media drawing on paper
House of the Crow
1984
by Eric Whollem
mixed media on paper
Collection of the artist
4 1/4' x 3 1/2"
COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
HOUSE OF THE CROW
My friend, Doug Mallory, had a pet crow, which he
named 'Ka.' Of course, 'ka' is the ancient Egyptian
word for guardian spirit. Ka's favorite food was cheese.
And he would swoop through the air to snatch any
cheese that any unsuspecting person might happen to
be eating. He was tame enough to let loose in the garden;
as he liked to spend the night in his large cage under
the pecan tree.
This colored drawing is a 'portrait' of Ka.
THE PSYCHOPOMP
The crow features among Medicine Animals as
a psychopomp, or conductor to the otherworld. The
crow can warn of looming dangers.
The crow has featured in world folklore as the bird
of the Valkyries of Scandinavia, and as a manifestation
of Morrigan, the Sea Queen of Celtic lore.
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See more of my ABSTRACT ART on this link:
Whimsical Abstractions by Eric Whollem
Read more about the PSYCHOPOMP on Wikipedia:
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Figurative abstraction, figurative expressionism.
Friday, May 20, 2011
FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONISM/ 'The Divine Expression' by Eric Whollem, 1984/ A mixed media work on paper/ A geometric abstraction based on Native American petroglyphs
The Divine Expression
1984
by Eric Whollem
mixed media on paper
Collection of the artist
5 7/16" x 4 1/4"
COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST
Rock Art: Inspiration for Modern Art
The above work is styled on the rock art of the
Native Americans. This type of art has been my
interest for many years. I was lucky enough to
have found a copy of Heizer's book, 'The Prehistoric
Rock Art of California,' many years ago. This book
I highly recommend to all students of art.
THE WEST COAST SCHOOL OF FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONISM
See my recent post with 'Notes on the West Coast
School of Figurative Expressionism,' for information
on my association to major artists within this tradition.
Figurative Expressionism has a number of major schools:
that of New York and that of the West Coast, or the
California Bay Area are the best known.
Elmer Bischoff, of the U.C.Berkeley art department, a leading
member of the West Coast Figurative Expressionists, was my
teacher.
There also have been figurative expressionists in Chicago and
Boston. See the Wikipedia link below for a fuller story.
COMMENTS ON THE ROLE OF FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONISM IN MODERN ART
Some critics idealize Abstract Expressionism and regard Figurative
Expressionism as somehow an indication of 'decline.' This is a matter
of opinion, of course. We cannot freeze time and live in the 1950's
forever.
Abstract Expressionism was one of the first major accomplishments of
modern American art and put American art 'on the map' for the first time
in international art. Such accomplishments are historically significant.
But art is always changing. There will always be those who utilize
anthropomorphic elements in their art; and perhaps there will always be
nonobjective art.
Opinions change as well as styles in art and culture.
_________________
Those interested in my posts about PICTOGRAPHS AND PETROGLYPHS should see this link:
A video about my pictographic abstractions.
More of my ABSTRACT ART may be seen here:
Figurative Abstractions.
This link will take you to WIKIPEDIA's article on Figurative Expressionism
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Wednesday, May 18, 2011
EARLY WORKS FROM CHICO/ 'The Splendor of Chapman' by Eric Whollem, 1975/ Earth pigments, casein and watercolor on paper/ A Pictographic Abstraction/ CONTEMPORARY ART
The Splendor of Chapman
1975
by Eric Whollem
mixed media on paper
6 3/16" x 4 3/8"
Collection of the artist
COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST
Memories of Chico, California
Back in the 1970's I lived off and on in Chico, which is the
cultural hub of Butte County, California. I used to enjoy the
little cafes in town, especially the ones with open mike, such as
Nellies' and Aunt Martha's on 3rd Avenue. I put a few of my poems
to music in those days, and accompanied myself on the dulcimer, taking
a try at musical performance art.
Canadian jazz singer, Cheryl Hodge, went so far as getting me a spot
on local Chico community TV, playing my dulcimer.
POETRY IN CHICO
I used to read my poetry at the poetry events in the Student Union
at the Chico State Univertsity. In later years I briefly belonged to
the Chico Poetry Group. There I would share my poetry with poets
that included Chico's always controversial 'street poetess,' Jessica
Strock.
THE CHICO ART SCENE
I had a few exhibits of my paintings in Chico, at venues such as
the Moorehead Gallery and various cafes such as Nimshew Station.
One of the paintings exhibited at Nimshew Station was entitled,
'Root Angel,' a large visionary acrylic painting on panel, which was
later sold in Berkeley to Jose Arguelles, the well-known author, whose
writings deal with anthropology and metaphysics. Arguelles, a teacher
at the San Francisco Art Institute, was also the creator of the first
Whole Earth Festival in Davis.
In the 1980's I exhibited my sculptures and paintings at Art, Etc. in
an event that incorporated a video installation of my experimental
animation. I set up two monitors that played simultaneously side by side,
showing abstract animation art with atonal music. The sound from the
two monitors, each showing different tapes, created an overdubbing of
auditory material. Some of the animation shown was 'The Wilcox
Tapes,' fractal collage animation that utilized mixed media paints
on paper cut-outs set on moving plexiglas panels, videotaped using
negative feedback and unusual camera angles. Russ Dunn, a popular
underground playwrite, was my mentor in videography.
Mr. Dunn's plays, such as 'Lullabyes of Eye-gypt,' and 'Car Hops in
Bondage,' a rollicking spoof, were enthusiastically received by the
Chico audience back in the 1970's.
In the 1990's, prompted by Marycarol Dean, a fixture on the Chico
comedy stage, I exhibited some of my ceramic wallpieces at 1078
Gallery in downtown Chico.
CHAPMANTOWN
This painting is a small work dedicated to Chapmantown, a
suburb of Chico where I lived for a while in a little house on
Little Chico Creek. Depicted is my own fantasy portrait of the
original Mr. Chapman.
Chapmantown is referenced in a blues song by Howlin' Wolf, where
he describes himself arriving into town looking for an old girlfriend.
She has moved away. He sits on the curb and drinks a bottle of wine.
This painting is a mixed media work that incorporates earth
and casein glue and watercolor. I began gathering natural
earths in 1973 to make paint.
_________________
See more about my EARTH PAINTS on these links:
Posts about my ABSTRACT ART may be found here:
http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/abstract%20art
Whimsical Abstractions Video.
Those interested in JOSE ARGUELLES may enjoy this link:
http://www.13moon.com/Votan-bio.htm
A biographical article about Arguelles may also be found on Wikipedia.
CHERYL HODGE'S main website may be found on this link:
http://www.jazzboulevard.com/
Whimsical Abstractions Video.
Those interested in JOSE ARGUELLES may enjoy this link:
http://www.13moon.com/Votan-bio.htm
A biographical article about Arguelles may also be found on Wikipedia.
CHERYL HODGE'S main website may be found on this link:
http://www.jazzboulevard.com/
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Sunday, May 15, 2011
EARLY WORKS FROM FEATHER FALLS/ 'Sprite' by Eric Whollem, 1972/ mixed media on paper/ A Figurative Abstraction
Sprite
1972
by Eric Whollem
mixed media on paper
4 5/8" x 7 1/4"
An Early Work by Eric Whollem
This image was painted in Feather Falls, California, in the
summer of 1972. It was one of a series of watercolors that
I painted at Black Earth Village. My Concow Maidu Indian
friend, Robert Steidl, had invited a number of his high school
friends to stay for the summer in the little house next door
to his aged grandfather, Bob Jackson.
Bob Jack, as he was called, used to sit out under the walnut
tree, where friends and neighbors would come to call. He
amazed us young fellows, insofar as he believed the world
was flat. He had been born in the village site that used to
exist on the trail into Feather Falls proper.
Feather Falls is the second highest waterfall in the continental
United States. The trail head was only two miles or so up the
road from Black Earth Village. The swimming holes and
camping sites on Fall River are quite wonderful.
This ancient village site was imbued with magical energy.
An old Model A Ford sat in the front yard. Old Victrolas
with stacks of old time music were still present in the
houses at that time. We indulged ourselves in our youthful
follies, among which was trying to brew beer from scratch.
Our experiment was not a success, as the bottles blew up
when opened.
There was a huge garden that encompassed the few houses
that remained at Black Earth Village. Huge quantities of
vegetables and fruit were had by all.
This painting, 'The Sprite,' represents the spirit of the garden.
_________________
See more of my ABSTRACT ART on this link:
More of my EARLY WORKS can be found on this link:
See more of my posts about FEATHER FALLS here:
My posts about the MAIDU INDIANS can be accessed here:
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Saturday, May 7, 2011
FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION/ 'Visitation' by Eric Whollem/ Mixed media on paper/ CONTEMPORARY GODDESS ART
Visitation
1999
Eric Whollem
mixed media on paper
Collection of the artist
14" x 11"
COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST
VISITATION
The figure on the left hand side of this work is the artist's
interpretation of the Goddess. The kneeling figure on the
right hand side is a supplicant to the Divinity.
My ceramic sculpture from the 1980's and 1990's frequently
treats the Goddess theme. This work is a carryover from my
three dimensional art.
This mixed media work was created through use of layered
parafin resist, worked with a palette knife. . . in conjunction
with gouache paint. Color from Sanford's artist crayons, which
are sticks of hard polymer emulsion, are also utilized in this work,
which was painted on thick, hot press watercolor paper with
neutral pH.
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Readers interested in viewing more of my FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTIONS should see these links:
Video of figurative abstractions.
Those interested in my posts on the GODDESS concept may want to see:
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