A mixed media construction that organizes discarded materials within a black grid pattern., Fence; Francine Seders Gallery, Seattle, (206) 782-0355; 36-323; mixed media; 1995; unfr.: 51 x 51 in., http://www.sedersgallery.com/Artists/036/36-000.html, 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/
This view represents a detailed section of the mixed media construction, Fence 36-323, that organizes discarded materials within a black grid pattern., detail #1 Fence; Francine Seders Gallery, Seattle, (206) 782-0355; 36-323; fabric & mixed media; 1995, http://www.sedersgallery.com/Artists/036/36-000.html, 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/
An oil painting of a dark human figure playing a stringed instrument with a bow, riding a large horse with a red and green tussle hanging from each side of it's mouth. Behind the human figure is a large orange leopard-like cat with large teeth on top of the horse as well., Ile Goree; (54 x 72 inches); oil/canvas; 1997, “Most of my art, in some way or another, tries to answer the question, ‘Who am I?’” says Smith, looking at a particularly aggressive piece that he painted in 2006 called “The Lower 9th.” The large oil-on-canvas features a pastiche of what he calls “derogatory caricatures” (including Aunt Jemima and “black-face” characters) surrounded by images of forgotten souls swept away in Hurricane Katrina. “I’d hate to think that my history began with slavery,” says Smith. “To me, that is a lie. But the remnants still exist today, especially in the way we have been depicted in culture. This is what I try to explore in my work.” (excerpt from online biography at http://www.pnca.edu/exposure/stories/216/arvie-smith), 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/
A platinum printed photograph of a dark-haired doll with two braids against a black background. The doll is shirtless but is wering some sort of bottom material. One of the dolls arms extends out farther than the other., Pediophobia; 1996; platinum print; (13 x 10 inches); Inv. #58, http://www.seubertfineart.com/, 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/
This view represents a detailed section of the mixed media construction, Fence 36-323, that organizes discarded materials within a black grid pattern., detail #2 Fence; Francine Seders Gallery, Seattle, (206) 782-0355; 36-323, det. 2; fabric & mixed media; 1995, http://www.sedersgallery.com/Artists/036/36-000.html, 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/
A platinum printed photograph of the Holy Bible against a black background, with the spine of the book facing the viewer., Hagiophobia; 1996; platinum print; (13 x 10 inches); Inv. #50, http://www.seubertfineart.com/, 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/
A platinum printed photograph of a white rectangular clock against a black background. The clock has three letters on each of the four sides. The hour hand is pointing in between the 2 and 3; the minute hand between the 5 and six; and the second hand on the 6., Chronophobia; platinum print; (13 x 10 inches); 1996; Inv. #49, http://www.seubertfineart.com/, 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/
A dark platinum printed photograph of a ball of yarn against a black background. The end of the yarn extends out and loops a bit on the left side., Linonophobia; 1996; platinum print; (13 x 10 inches); Inv. #60, http://www.seubertfineart.com/, 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/
A mixed media art piece featuring three glass containers, one holding half of a moon, the middle one holding a man above a curled up snake, and the other one holding a sun. There are handwriten words in black ink at the top of the piece., Homunculus; 1997; mixed media on paper; (15 x 15 inches), 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: Linn-Benton Arts. You may view their website at: http://www.artcentric.org/
A print of three asian figures, which all seem to be female. Two of them are holding flowers in their hands while the other one is holding pictures or papers of some kind. They are all wearing long black robe-like clothing with white collars., Judgement; 1995; (36 x 48 inches); Color Intaglio, Relief & Chine Colle, Yuji Hiratsuka was born in Osaka, Japan. In 1985 he moved to the United States. He started teaching printmaking at Oregon State University in 1992. His graphic work has been exhibited in the United States, Europe and Asia and has received numerous awards in national and international competitions. Some of his works are exhibited in The British Museum, Tokyo Central Museum, Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the New York Public Library., http://www.houstonscustomframing.com/gallery_yuji.html, 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/