Norman Courtney; clay molds; Len Casanova Athletic Center, U of O; 1991, norman@normancourtney.com, http://www.normancourtney.com/, The Oregon Arts Commission has ten Regional Arts Councils that provide delivery of art services and information. The Council for this location is: Lane Arts. You may view their website at http://www.lanearts.org/
Norman Courtney; detail; Len Casanova Athletic Center; Main Entrance; 1991, norman@normancourtney.com, http://www.normancourtney.com/, The Oregon Arts Commission has ten Regional Arts Councils that provide delivery of art services and information. The Council for this location is: Lane Arts. You may view their website at http://www.lanearts.org/
Two fish forms are presented along with a coiled snake form over the top of what appears to be collaged shreds of hand-written documents. The written text reads, " The two fishes are one not two and all three things are contained in them. Cook these together and they will become a vast ocean.", Pisces #2; 15.5 x 15.25 inches; mixed media; 1998, My recent works on paper are inspired by alchemical manuscripts. The alchemists documented their labors in enigmatic texts in which chemical procedures, cosmology and myths are woven together into fantastic allegories. Similarly in my paintings I use imagery of birds, beasts, plants and minerals as symbols of the process of transformation, As an artist I view alchemy as a metaphor for the creative process in which there is progressive transformation and refinement of materials, imagery and ultimately consciousness. In alchemy and art alike the creative imagination is the vital agent of change. The alchemists described their labors as an "art". Like the alchemist I attempt to use physical processes as a mirror of inner experience. The materials become "transmuted" from their initially inert state through creative and chaotic struggle into a new synthesis. In my painting I use physical processes of dissolution, evaporation, heat and gravity which remind me of the alchemist's use of the elements of water, air, fire and earth. Humor is an important element of my work. Likewise humor and paradox were not unknown to the alchemist. The texts abound with cryptic riddles meant to befuddle the literal-minded and catalyze intuitive insight. Hermes, the Greek god of wisdom, was the patron of alchemists and also the trickster who could lead his followers on a search to find "fools gold". Anyone who embarks on a potentially quixotic search to find the elixir of immortality should have plenty of humor and humility to sustain themselves! The homunculus, a human-like creature nurtured in a glass vessel was reputed to have been created in the alchemical laboratory. In the novel "Frankenstein" the renegade doctor studies the writings of Paracelsus, the swiss alchemist, before creating his monster. I see the homunculus as a metaphor for modem technology with all its wonders and potential horrors. The series of "Homunculus" sculptures which utilize remnants of household appliances and found objects explores this theme in a whimsical fashion. The alchemist searched for the "gold of the philosophers"-philosophical wisdom. In their pursuit of nature's secrets they combined scientific experimentation with a mystical quest for illumination. Their holistic view of the universe viewed matter and consciousness as a continuum, anticipating recent developments in physics. Alchemy is the ancestor of modem science; perhaps there is something that can be learned from its legacy? I am inspired artistically by the beauty of the texts and their insights into the mysteries of creation. Hopefully my own fanciful creations convey something of the spirit of that tradition. (Nez, 1998), http://www.augengallery.com/Artists/nez.html, The Oregon Arts Commission has ten Regional Arts Councils that provide delivery of art services and information. The Council for this location is Lane Arts. You may view their website at http://www.lanearts.org
A carved wooden mask with large darker wooden eyes. There is a large white circle on the mask's forehead, with a matching shade of white circles around the eyes. Rope-like braids line the perimeter of the face, with a beaded, beard-like appearance under the chin. Deer skin tassels with red beads hang from each side of the mask., One Night I Dreamed of a Dog…; Rick Bartow; Carved Wood and Mixed Media; 9 x 6 x 3.5 inches; '93; BarR93020814; (inv. 1404), The frailty of life on this planet and the need to recognize the interconnectedness of all species are common threads that weave through Bartow's work. His Yurok Indian heritage and his experiences in Vietnam are the source of these feelings and nurture his imagery. Crow/raven and a pantheon of other animals, including man, figure prominently in his work. He reanimates the ancient myths of Northwest peoples into his visual language. Once the symbol of rebirth and the spirit of all life, crow is a ghost-like figure in this monotype who knows "he" is no longer central to our lives. (OAC documentation, 1990). A Vietnam veteran and a Yurok tribal member, he addresses grief and fear in his work as means to dismantling them. His work is represented by Froelick Gallery and Stonington Gallery. (Data provided at http://www.npr.org/programs/talkingplants/features/2003/bartow/index.html. Reviewed on 04/09/07.), http://www.froelickgallery.com/Artist-Detail.cfm?ArtistsID=227, The Oregon Arts Commission has ten Regional Arts Councils that provide delivery of art services and information. The Council for this location is: Mid-Valley Arts. You may view their website at: http://www.oregonlink.com/arts/index.html
An abstract painting of what appears to be wave-like shapes wrapped around long rectangular shapes in various colors. The rectangular shapes extend out from the actual rectangular shape of the art piece in three different places. The perspective of the rectangular shapes, and the way they come off the page make the painting provide dimension., Zone of Middle Dimensions: Boxcar; George Green; 1991; 50 x 57 inches; A/C, (1996 press release from Oregon Economic Development Department, Salem, OR) George Green has, for the past twenty years, been a leader in the development of new forms of tromp l'oeil illusionism (painting with photographically realistic detail). Green has had over 50 national and international solo exhibitions and is represented in 44 museum collections including the Guggenheim Museum, the Chicago Art Institute, The Denver Art Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum, and the Detroit Institute of the Arts. He has been represented by the Meyerson Nowinski Gallery in Seattle, and the Louis K. Meisel Gallery in New York City. George Green was born in Portland, Oregon in 1943., http://www.bernarduccimeisel.com/artistImages.php?id_artist=8, The Oregon Arts Commission has ten Regional Arts Councils that provide delivery of art services and information. The Council for this location is: Mid-Valley Arts. You may view their website at: http://www.oregonlink.com/arts/index.html
This piece is one of four seasonally-related collagraph prints. Yellow and Orange textured paper with black dotted lines permeate the piece. One red triangle is on the left side along with a piece of pink on the left. In the middle on the left side is a black and white abstract image., Four Seasons Summer; # 1-5; 1991; 30x40 inches; collagraph print with mixed media; James B. Thompson, (1996) James Thompson was born in Chicago, Il. He attended Ripon College, receiving a BA in Art/Art History and MFA from Washington University, School of Fine Arts, St. Louis, MO. He taught at Ripon College, University of Alaska and has been a Professor of, The Oregon Arts Commission has ten Regional Arts Councils that provide delivery of art services and information. The Council for this location is: Mid-Valley Arts. You may view their website at: http://www.oregonlink.com/arts/index.html
Relief sculpture, fashioned from bronze, depicting various human figures, a door and a chair that illustrate a synthesis of both negative and positive space, of two and three dimensions, and of light and shadow. The interplay of light and dark created by the juxtaposition of two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes creates an illusion of discourse and discussion., 2006 YouTube interview with Montenegro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rJ_YcQeFi4, http://www.ernestmontenegro.com/, The Oregon Arts Commission has ten Regional Arts Councils that provide delivery of art services and information. The Council for this location is Lane Arts. You may view their website at http://www.lanearts.org
This view details an inscription that reads, "I never stole your heart. I never told a lie.", Bill Will; Archives, The Oregon Arts Commission has ten Regional Arts Councils that provide delivery of art services and information. The Council for this location is: Mid-Valley Arts. You may view their website at: http://www.oregonlink.com/arts/index.html
A mixed media art rendering of a cityscape photograph. Acrylic and colored pencil were used to create a sketchy look and to make it more abstract. This is the second of two images of the same artwork. In this piece, compared to the duplicate, the objects are more apparent and detailed., Cityscape #3; MaryAnn Johns; Photography; 11 x 14 inches, The Oregon Arts Commission has ten Regional Arts Councils that provide delivery of art services and information. The Council for this location is: Mid-Valley Arts. You may view their website at: http://www.oregonlink.com/arts/index.html
A view of four, square ceramic tiles set against a concrete wall and formed together to create a single tile mosaic. Painted on the tile is a stylized turtle, its shell embellished with linear and geometrical designs., Baba Wague Diakité is a West African artist; he was born in Bamako, Mali., ronnawague@juno.com, http://www.africancraft.com/artist.php?sid=42132141658580101321960056855383&id=wague&pg=portfolio, The Oregon Arts Commission has ten Regional Arts Councils that provide delivery of art services and information. The Council for this location is: Linn-Benton Arts. You may view their website at: http://www.artcentric.org/