My Earliest Abstract Work of Art

I recently came across this abstract art project from my elementary school days. It was created by lining a shirt box with a piece of paper, tossing in a marble or small rubber ball, and some blobs of paint. The magic is made by closing the lid on the box, and with a few random shakes of the box, the ball rolls around through the paint. When you remove the lid, there is a surprise work of contemporary art on paper. I always loved this painting. It's my very own Jackson Pollock- style work of modern art.

9/11 in Works of Art

These paintings were created in the days following 9/11 in NYC. Having just moved to Greenpoint (Brooklyn) from lower Manhattan where my apartment was located just under the shadow of the World Trade Center, I was extremely fortunate to now be living out of that immediate area. Even so, everything about this catastrophic event permeated every corner of the city; the feeling of helplessness and loss, bewilderment and fear; and the acrid smell in the air that lingered for weeks. Below, is my painting, Unfinished Business to relay the feelings of disorder and confusion in a new world as a population that was under attack, and this was far from over. America had finally woke from its sleepy oblivion.

I created this piece above, Talk of Towers, after seeing the fire in the South Tower on my way to work in Chelsea that perfect September morning, and subsequently witnessing the fall of both. I often use paper ephemera as a background before I start painting. In this case, I used subway maps with some routes and stations that would be forever changed. The WTC was marked with a red dot which can be seen through certain areas of translucence in the paint. With my usual cell “language” I have developed throughout my recent work, I modified it with a star to mark some of the central nuclei to convey the rise in patriotism felt everywhere. When you look at the piece as a whole, you can make out the faint division of three columns; on either end, the two Towers, and the ghost-like negative space centered in between.

Looking Back at the Art of Swoon

Williamsburg, Brooklyn (2004)

I moved to Greenpoint in 2000 when it still very much a Polish neighborhood and in many places, an industrial wasteland; not the fancy, hip and cool place it has now become. Often feeling uninspired in my own painting and in need of some air and a long walk, I would head out from within the confines of my apartment with my camera to explore. In the adjacent neighborhood of Williamsburg, I had a few favorite spots that I knew would keep changing when it came to street art. They would get "hit" all the time by many artists, and I could always get some good shots. I liked to see what had changed since the last time I ventured beyond the four walls. This activity of walking and taking pictures and interacting with the art of the streets inspired me. In many ways, it saved me from the boredom of my new surroundings. I felt like I was visiting a museum and returned to my new home renewed with vigor and ready to paint.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn (2002)

Amidst the simple bubble letter graffiti "throw ups", I started to recognize the work of Swoon (Caledonia Curry) around the neighborhood. Immensely talented, her pieces consisted of intricately cut paper of life-sized figures depicting regular neighborhood folk. With a feminine touch, they were launched onto abandoned walls with wheatpaste. Sometimes the pieces were rendered with sketchy lines. Other times, they were simple paper silhouettes; the negative space giving the work its stark contrast with whatever background was chosen. The paper would eventually discolor, transform, peel, and fade away which is always part of the game. Art of this ilk is temporary.  

Williamsburg, Brooklyn (2005)

I always kept an eye out for the immediately recognizable pieces by Swoon, and have followed her work over the years. I later learned that she was a fairly recent graduate from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn (like myself). I still wonder what her professors had to say then about her work during those dreadful class critiques, and what they would think of her doing her paste-up work on the street in the dead of night. After all, the practice of street art is still very much a man's game. 

Williamsburg Brooklyn, (2006)

In 2010, I headed to Braddock, PA for a road trip. I heard a lot about this once-thriving rust-belt town becoming an area that was being revitalized by artists, galleries, new business, and urban farming. It was a haven for artists and entrepreneurial types fed-up with big-city prices who were starting over in this industrial steel town that was now virtually forgotten. When I arrived, I was delighted to see that lots of recognizable street artists had altered the urban decay of Braddock's streets with murals. Swoon was among them, and she continues to be involved with the area's transformation.

 Braddock, PA (2010)

Braddock, PA (2010)

Braddock, PA (2010)

Braddock, PA (2010)

Braddock, PA (2010)

Braddock, PA (2010)

Braddock, PA (2010)

Today, a major show by Swoon, Submerged Motherlands, opens at the Brooklyn Museum. I bet those professors from Pratt would be impressed. Jealous even. You can bet that I'll be checking out that show soon. More photos of Swoon's work will surely be here. Stay tuned.

Ice Queen, Scope Art Fair 2014

Slate Gallery, Brooklyn (2010)

Slate Gallery, Brooklyn (2010)

Brooklyn Waterfront Shelter Sculpture, East River State Park Installation (2010)

Larger-than-life Ice Queen, Downtown Brooklyn Flatbush area (2013)

Small Print, Scope Art Fair (2010)

Bushwick, Brooklyn (with Stikman) (2009)

Williamsburg, Brooklyn (2005)

Braddock, PA (2010)

Etsy Summer Sale - Starts Today!

Liberating the Rebel - Interview with Martha Rich

After a brief hiatus for most of January, I thought I'd start off this new year with an interview with one of my favorite artists. I discovered the work of Martha Rich a few years ago through the 20 x 200 affordable art website. Immediately, I fell in love with her two prints of a painted piece of cake with some ambiguous yet suggestive text bubbles floating around the main image giving a hint at the title - Chocolate Electric and Stay Icy (and now a third entitled, Yes Please). Something about the bright color and sugary absurdity of those pieces appealed to me. When I did a little cyber-stalking to find more of her paintings, I was delighted with her overall aesthetic and color sense. I knew I wanted to be surrounded by her work in my home.

Martha happens to live and work in my hometown area of Philadelphia. I visit South Jersey often, so this past fall, I made a stop at Martha's studio to see her latest pieces and ask her some questions.

Martha's artist statement is unusual, not the run-of-the-mill autobiography. It is fractured and seemingly senseless at first glance. It reads like a disjointed novel or haiku, all the while offering a deeply personal and poetic glimpse into the life of an artist with an inability to describe the grasp of the creative process. "My art is driven by the stored moments not by logic. It is my own language and sometimes I don't understand it." Every artist faces so much pressure with the start of a new masterpiece. She likens this moment with an existence inside the corporate cubicle. "There's something terrifying about a blank page." (Working in a cubicle terrifies me too.) Be prepared to enjoy the insights on some colorful and fun paintings!

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-How long have you been painting? When did you know that you wanted to be an artist and pursue art? 

I have been painting since going to Art Center College of Design (in Pasadena), and I have always been doing artsy stuff since I was a kid, but I didn't know I could be an "artist" until the Clayton Brothers told me I could.

-I was initially drawn to your paintings because of your sense of color (and because I like food imagery). There also appears to be an underlying commentary on femininity. Would you agree with that? Can you explain more about where this comes from?  

I don't intentionally make a commentary on femininity, but maybe I do because I happen to be female and therefore that is what I know and therefore it comes out in my paintings.

-Why are you drawn to painting food and desserts?  

You have to ask?! It started when I found a 70s cookbook about cakes at an estate sale.

- What is your work about, and how do you describe your art overall? It definitely appears to have a sense of humor.

I think the majority of my work is about the absurdity of life and trying to deal with it. I do not know how anyone can go through life without a sense of humor. I would crumble if I couldn't laugh at it. I went through a Frederick's of Hollywood obsession a while ago. I wish they would do catalogs like that again.

-Can you briefly describe your artistic progression over the years? How did you get to where you are now?  

I had a creative semi-hippie mom who showed me how to macrame, batik, develop photos, tumble rocks, quilt, make glasses from old beer bottles and more. During the elementary years, I wrote and illustrated my own magazine called "Ye Olde Continental Times." In high school, I was an art major. Then I went to college where they squashed it out of me; spent the next 15 years trying to be a normal-suburban-picket-fence- pantyhose-marriage-kids-corporate-job person. Then divorce led me to taking a class with the Clayton Brothers at Art Center College of Design and that was the changing moment in my life. I have been an "real" artist ever since. Not so brief.

-What’s a Freedom Wig?  

It was a wig style in a Frederick's of Hollywood catalog- kind of a big fluffy afro. I think I latched onto wigs from those ads and the fact that my mother went through cancer when I was a kid and had to wear a wig. I figured that out later. I am out of the wig stage for now.

-In your studio, I saw a series made from the New York Times Magazine. What is the story behind those? 

I hate a blank white piece of paper. It is so hard to put down that first mark. I subscribe to the Sunday New York Times and had a whole pile of the magazines and papers waiting for recycling. One day while working, I had leftover paint on my palette. I hate wasting paint, so I picked up one of the magazines and started painting over the text. I liked it, so I kept doing it and it became my sketchbook. There is no pressure to be perfect in my sketchbooks; a crisp white page calls for perfection. I need a place to fail and make a mess and this is where I do it.

-Aside from the New York Times project – what other projects have you taken on? I started making 100 pieces of art for $100 so people could still by original art and not have to be a "one percenter" to do it.

-You mentioned that people have to watch what they say around you or it might end up in one of your pieces. Can you elaborate? 

I love to eavesdrop which is much easier in a city like Philadelphia versus Los Angeles. I carry a book around and write the crazy stuff I hear then when I make my mind map paintings, I go through the book for the best phrases and curate them into the paintings.

-Who or what is your work influenced by? Do you have any particular favorite artists? My work is influenced by life.  

My favorite artists fluctuate, but I would say Margaret Kilgallen is one who is consistently in my mind. Also Georganne Deen. She is amazing. But I am more influenced by my friends and studio mates than big famous  arteests. Esther Pearl Watson and Mark Todd, The Clayton Brothers, Jason Holley, Aaron Smith, Matt Curtius, Gina Triplett, Keith Warren Greiman are more of my favorites.

-What is your favorite piece of all time that you’ve created and why? 

The Loretta Lynn portrait I did for an independent study with Christian Clayton in art school. It was motorized and was a turning point for me artistically.

-Are there any outside activities that have influenced or become part of your work at all? 

I don't think so. Art is my outside activity. Inside and outside.

-Do you listen to music (if so, what?) or do you have any particular rituals as part of working in your studio? 

I do not listen to music. I listen to the Real Housewives of Anything. I like to listen to talking that I don't really have to pay attention to. I usually have to clean before I start a painting. Organize my brains.

-Where do you like to go for inspiration or find sanctuary? (A favorite museum, your own work space, or out in the woods, a wig shop, a bra store, etc.)  

I like to go to museums. Any museum will do. But it is not a really a "thing" I do a lot. I go through museums like the wind. I am not a lingerer. I get art fatigue really quickly. I think I am more inspired by just living. I don't often look for sanctuary because I think my life is already a sanctuary. Well maybe I find sanctuary in my friends and family or at a really good restaurant.

- What is your artistic future? Do you have any specific projects or exhibitions coming up in 2013? 

I have no idea what my artistic future is except I hope I am still doing art in the future. I have a show in April 2013 with Keith Warren Greiman at Space 1026 Gallery in Philly. That is what I am focused on right now. I was also in the annual Post-It show at Giant Robot this past December in LA. I actually got to go there this year! I was looking forward to that a bunch.

-Where can we find more of your work? 

At any of these websites: martharich.com, martharichartprojects.bigcartel.com, or 100for100.bigcartel.com

Or just come to the studio!