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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: being
human
Show Dates: July19-August 8, 2002 A new six-person show being held at the The Art Alliance of Monmouth County Gallery, in Red Bank, NJ explores the nature of what it is to be human through a variety of artistic media. Over 40 new pieces from these artists will be on display. Titled being human: artistic interpretations of the nature of human beings, the show is being held for three weeks in July and August. Born from the chaos of Sept. 11th, the show's vision is based on Red Bank artist Jeffrey Clapp's feeling that no matter what happens, at the heart of it all, we are all human beings. "I wanted to paint very intimate close-ups of people worldwide to show that we are all the same, and conversely to prove that our differences are what makes us beautiful," says Clapp. "My paintings allow you to stare directly into the eyes of each person so that you can see yourself in them as well." He is joined by five extremely talented local artists, Dimitrios Bastas, David Bergeland, Emilienne, Michael Reeps, and Marc Steiner. Between them they have depicted the human being in almost every artistic form possible from watercolor to oil paintings, photography to pastels, and sculpture to multimedia installations. Join us for
this exciting exhibition in Red Bank, NJ. A Q&A with the Artists–Quotes and Notables Jeffrey
Clapp What inspires you? I am a visual person and always look for inspiration in people I meet, places I travel and things I see. Travel really gets my blood going though. I always strive to be a keen observer while traveling and really immerse myself in the places I visit. Africa and China have been the most inspirational thus far. Lately my focus has turned to people. Sept 11th really shook things up for me as an American, as an artist and as a human being. I realized I needed to make a difference in this world for myself and for others, and could do so through my talents as an artist. My art now focuses on the beauty and awe of all people, what I see in them and it strives to reveal our similarities rather than focus on our differences. I think differences are important and make us beautiful but too often they become the focus of hatred, jealousy and fear. It is our natural instinct to like other people and our natural fears that split us. When you can hold your fear solidly at your side and not let it control your feelings and actions you open yourself up to the magnificence that is being human. You transcend race, color, creed and all other cultural differences and open yourself up to the overpowering beauty of the human soul. This is what inspires me most. What is your favorite medium? My favorite medium is watercolor. I am passionate about color, vibrant color, as I feel it totally sets the mood for a piece and nothing does it better for me than watercolor. Watercolor shows depth and transparency like no other medium and I find out something new about the way it works every time I set about painting. Sometimes it is controlled but often it just runs amuck, like an unpredictable child, I love that. It has never become routine for me and challenges me in ways no other medium I have worked with does. Who are your favorite artists? My favorite artists are Rembrandt, Degas, Van Gogh, Francis Bacon, Michelangelo and Dali, to name a few. I especially love Rembrandt. He had a unique way of placing paint on the canvas that when you stand back from the painting the image is a beautiful portrait or scene but when you stand up much closer the painting disintegrates into dabs of color and smears of value. I like to refer to this as the "talent of illusion" where the artist allows the power of the human eye to create or finish the intended image. I love to work in this way on many of my pieces. How long have you been creating and what or who inspired you to start? I have been creating since I was eating crayons as a child, tens of boxes according to my mother. Never much for reading I have always been a visual person and communicate best my deepest thoughts and feelings through my art. My wife would dare to differ saying I am a great writer so I won't argue with her on that but my passion is definitely the brush and canvas. What inspired me to start, hard to say. Both my parents and my younger sister are very talented though not professional artists. I have been creating art for as long as one can remember and I hope to pass from this life with a brush in hand. Art is so freeing and creates a working environment free of outside influences, judgements and needs. I am fully self-expressed and yet vulnerable when I am creating, that's why I love it so much. One of my dreams is to bring art into younger kids lives. I know that it has made ALL the difference for me in mine. Whether through teaching directly or through some other program I look forward to working with kids and exploring with them all the wonder and joy that art can provide for their lives and others around them. Michael
Reeps What is your favorite medium? My favorite mediums are graphic design, drawing, painting, photography, computer generated images and "found" objects. I tend to assemble my work more than produce it in the traditional sense, although not always. Who are your favorite artists? I greatly admire the works of Rembrandt, Andrew Wyeth, Jeff Coons, Jasper Johns, Hannah Hock (Dada in general), Marcel Duchamp and the graphic design of David Carson. What inspires you? I don't make art very often at all anymore, and this show is an excellent opportunity for me to once again flex those muscles in my brain. As a commercial artist I produce compelling visual images and solve visual problems on a daily basis. However, that is only one half of the process of art making. The other half, choosing a subject matter and extracting what is important about it to you, is what I do not do as a commercial endeavor. It simply has no place in the business world, unfortunately. Being human, on the other hand, provides an endless stream of opportunity to experience and select "moments" that can become art. In the end I view art making as a process or production method by which is the artist1s feelings about just such a moment are delivered. More than anything else, the education I received has inspired me to make art in the way that I do. I went to school for graphic design at a fine arts college. On the surface, this may appear to have been a disservice. On the contrary, however, I feel that it opened my eyes to the fact that art making can be anything that the artist wants it to be: design, sculpture, architecture, glass blowing, metallurgy, painting, performance, etc. The only real distinction, albeit monumental, between commercial and fine art is: whose message is being delivered by the final piece? With the former, it is the client's message and it is almost always determined by money. The latter is more often than not a truer reflection of the artist and his or her feelings about the subject matter. Money, be it a commission, endowment or whatever, certainly can muddy this vision of true artistic expression. Properly trained, an artist should be able to navigate through both types of works and achieved the same end result: a creative expression that is unique to its producer. The audience can determine whether or not it is successful as art. Once a work of art is complete and shown to anyone, it no longer belongs to the artist anyway. I think that movements that call for radical shifts in the way that art is made and perceived should never be dismissed out of hand. Ideas such as David Carson1s "Print is Dead," abstract expressionism's rejection of traditional representational painting, and Warhol's Factory were all oversimplifications of art-making and many aspects of these movements have not withstood the test of time. However, the beliefs of the artists involved and the works created by these movements need to be woven into the rich tapestry that is human creativity. Dimitrios
Bastas What is your favorite medium? I prefer to work in drawing media such as graphite, pastels and such because I like the immediacy of it. I sometimes incorporate painting media into it but the heart of it must remain the drawing implement, which to my mind has the most direct connection to the soul of the artist1s ability and psyche. What inspires you? Though I've done quite a bit of work on commission, my own work is born of some other need entirely outside of monetary–a need to express thoughts that can't be released in any other manner. I don't draw for an audience, which probably affects the marketability of my work, but as I rarely show private work it doesn't much matter to me. I'm very uncomfortable displaying it in fact, an irony not lost on one who makes their living as a magazine creative director producing work for mass publication. Who are your favorite artists? While in school I developed a strong attraction to the work of Marcel Duchamp and Edgar Degas–Degas for his handling of drawing media and Duchamp for the intellect behind the work. When I was approached with the idea of doing a couple of pieces for this show, it seemed a natural for me. I don't do subjects that I can't relate to, so virtually all my work is figural and representational like both of those artists. Like Duchamp one of my favorite subjects is myself for that's a subject I feel most qualified to speak of. How long have you been creating and what or who inspired you to start? My history with art goes back as far as I can remember with my favorite toys being crayons and drawing paper. My eldest sister painted and encouraged my art while I was still very young. When she married and left the family home my other sister took over where she left off so I've always had strong family support for the craft. In fact if anything, my two elder sisters are really responsible for molding my artist's sensibilities from that very young age. I flirted with other possible careers as I grew up but I always found myself eventually returning to art. In my senior year in college I remember my counselor telling me that based on past experience it's estimated that less than 5% of our graduating class would still be involved in an art-related profession 10 years after graduation with that percentage declining to 1% after 20 years. With this summer, I celebrate my 23rd year as a professional artist. I'd say I've had a pretty successful run. Emilienne What is your favorite medium? In 1995 I was introduced to polymer clay, a flexible plastic sculpture medium that can be baked in a conventional oven. The clay can be blended or painted to create the desired hues and tones, and modeled, molded, chiseled, carved or sanded to create the desired form, shape or surface texture. I like polymer clay for its instant gratification properties. There is no long air-drying process, or firing process that can damage the work. The surface finishes and skin tones I can achieve with acrylic washes baked into the clay are more realistic than those achieved with porcelain. And the final product is durable, not fragile like porcelain or other earth clay-based sculptures. What inspires you? I choose to model the clay and create one-of-a-kind sculptures of characters inspired from my dreams and my imagination. I like to create ordinary people just being human in their expression. Who are your favorite artists? I love the Old Masters and the Pre-Raphaelites. For the past ten years my favorite sculptor has been Richard MacDonald, whose studio is in Monterey, California. The first time I walked into his studio, I cried–I was so overwhelmed by the life and realism created in his sculptures. How long have you been creating and what or who inspired you to start? When I was between 5 and 15 years old we moved ten times in ten years. My parents were concerned that we (myself and my brothers) not fall behind in our education, and they really were my best teachers. My father, a published poet and amateur historian, taught me about civics, literature and history (his favorite subjects). My love of history and classic literature spawned a love of lavish period costume. My mother, a painter, taught me about theater, art and music (her passions). My mother bought me my first art supplies when I was only 11. She took me to museums, and shared her collection of art books with me. From a young age, I combined what my mother taught me with studying books on my own, and began copying faces from paintings by my favorites artists. By the time I was 20 I was creating my own drawings and paintings of people from the theater of my own imagination. I received several commissions for portraits in pencil and ink. It wasn't until I was 30 that I began to experiment with clay and sculpture as a form of stress management. With the human face and form as my favored subject matter, I combined sculpture with costume design to give three dimensions to characters from history and literature. Eventually, my pieces were exhibited and sold as Reincarnations by Emilienne, at Pier 39 and Shreve & Co. in San Francisco, and at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California. Marc Steiner What is your favorite medium? Photography/image making/story telling Who are your favorite artists? Robert Frank, Eugene Smith, Walker Evans, Chris Rainer, Sebastiao Salgado, Babara Kruger, Ron Fricke, Norman Rockwell. What inspires you? Being able to share an experience I have when I encounter someone or thing, so that others can experience it and draw from it. That act of Sharing an Experience. To provide the mechanism for the world to see the daily transformation of people of various cultures through the eyes of the camera, through the voices of the indigenous and through the beauty of God's hand. Over the last few years, my photographic eye has widened. I have documented American iron workers, the backbone of industrial society. I gave cameras to children in the "Expanding My View Program," empowering them to share with the adults around them how they view the world. In India I observed an under-developed nation, its caste system and the struggles of non-profit leaders to champion the cause of the "untouchables," the lowest of the classes. Most recently in remote villages and cities of Africa, I photographed the work of contemporary African sculptors where the pride of each individual1s community was reflected in the sculptors1 work. These vast experiences taught me how profoundly related to people I am. I saw beauty in the simplicity of life. In the poor, I saw great wealth. Dave Bergeland What is your favorite medium? This one is hard to pin down. I started on "5mm, using Tri-X B&W film. To this day, watching a print appear in the developing tray still seems magical. But, after 20 years of being in the darkroom on an almost daily basis, I purchased a digital video camera and a computer fast enough to edit on. Then, about a year and a half ago, I got my first digital SLR and that was the last time I shot a roll of film. Editing still photos and video on the computer lets you see all of the images at the same time, and in the same form. I think this allows me to see every type on image on the same level, and it becomes logical to use them together. Who are your favorite artists? Sebastio Salgato, David & Peter Turnley How long have you been creating and what or who inspired you to start? I guess I have been shooting photos for as long as I can remember. And I really cannot see my life without a camera. Photography is something you can do your entire life, and take to any level at any time.
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