The Transformative Pop of Color

November 28, 2019 in Art, Contemporary art, DC artist, Painters, female artists

There is more than meets the eye to experimenting with color. For painters, it is a skill that takes trial and error, practice, observation, and precision. Barbara Januszkiewicz, a Washington, DC area artist is no stranger to honing this skill.

As a leading voice of the DC area creative arts, Januszkiewicz discovered that her way of communicating with her audience is through the boldness of color fields. It all started when she worked as an independent filmmaker who wanted to film artists from the Washington Color School, an art movement focusing on abstract expressionism that developed from 1950s to the 1970s in the DC area.

Januszkiewicz explains, “There are three people who have influenced me most in my creative process: R. Buckminster Full, Matthew Shipp, and Paul Reed. In my early 20s, I met R. Buckminster Full who encouraged me to think about impact, influences, and humanity. Matthew Shipp, in my opinion the MOST brilliant free jazz piano player living today, continues to influence me in the areas of freedom, creativity, and maintaining a unique voice. And, finally, painter Paul Reed from the Washington Color School movement demonstrated to me that as we age although we can expect expertise, it is important to keep a humble head and a healthy sense of curiosity.”

As a "colorist" (i.e., an artist who portrays color as the root of their work from which everything else stems), she has discovered a great deal of knowledge about how each color interacts with another, how they can change the visual perception of space, and how these relationships impact the underlying flow within the work itself. As Januszkiewicz puts it, “it’s like a game of chess.”

When you look at Januszkiewicz’s work, you immediately notice the way colors play with your visual field. It’s not just about the connectivity of color and emotion, but more so about the way the color fields transform before our eyes, causing an individualised reaction. There is fluidity to the work, where acrylics are transformed to act like watercolors that not only have vibrancy and cohesion from one blend to the next, but also a movement that builds from a soft place.

Januszkiewicz explains her creative process, “I named [my paintings] all after songs, I title it to find the painting again, untitled, it’s hard to find the work later. Art is improvising and gives the freedom of not being restrained. I’m treating acrylics like a watery watercolor. I warm up on the paper. I warm up trying to help me open up to really get me into the creative practice. [This practice] engages my whole being into how you make decisions on what to create and to get rid of that moment of being scared, then anything is possible. That helps me break down that barrier, that helps me practice my zen.”

The color fields take a life of their own, as if they’re ethereal living creatures in constant state of transformation. The beauty of Januszkiewicz’s work is that you can make something out of what you see from any angle. Your eye can lead you to form any concept or shape from what you see thanks to abstraction and the breathable white spaces in between. It’s almost like the shades in each painting taking over slowly but surely in a form of metamorphosis.

For more about the artist, check out her website, and to learn more about Metro Micro Gallery, her local art community initiative, click here.

Today’s poem is inspired by Barbara’s affinity for soft beauty through her sheer, multicolored layers:

She Walks in Beauty

BY LORD BYRON (GEORGE GORDON)

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,

Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress,

Or softly lightens o’er her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express,

How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below,

A heart whose love is innocent!

The Light that Sparks the Beholder’s Eye

May 02, 2019 in Art, Contemporary art, DC artist, Photography

Photography gives us a chance to gain a new perspective on life, and in Steven Marks’ case the viewers of his work connect with that reality through a psychological lens. The vivacity of his snapshots has the ability to grab your attention immediately, but there’s something that calls for your introspection about the elements being portrayed in each photo.

The Washington D.C. based photographer is an example of how life-changing experiences are no obstacle for finding one’s true artistic vision. Marks started taking photographs professionally during 1978 in Chicago. While his career began in communications and journalism, it was working with established photographers that led him towards opportunity in a medium he didn’t initially intend to pursue.

He explains, “I came under the tutelage of several fine commercial and art photographers who helped me find my way, the most important of which were Nathan Lerner and Barbara Crane. Although I learned a lot from Crane, Lerner was the far more important model. He printed his famous Maxwell Street photos at The Darkroom, and was one of the first teachers hired by Arthur Siegel at the Institute of Design [in Chicago].”

What makes Steven’s story extraordinary was his ability to succeed as a photographer over time despite medical complications, which damaged his vision in both eyes during the mid 80s. But when central vision was restored in his left eye in 2012, he continued to pursue photography in a newfound way by fine-tuning his style to make up for two lost decades. Two of his current projects, Memory Traces and The Edge of Vision, center on human experience and psychological emotions. The photographs include bold colors accompanied by striking distortion, light work, abstraction, and shadows. All these elements expose the human relationship with the unseen surroundings during transient moments.

“While my right serves only to provide peripheral vision - a third of my visual field is blurry when both eyes are open - the brain is able to correct…During the intervening years, colors were dull and insipid, but when my sight was restored, I was struck by the vividness and beauty of the colorful world, and I suspect some time will pass before I return to black-and-white photography, if ever,” he says.

Vision is what guides us forward figuratively and physically, and Marks has used his inner vision as a guide within a bigger purpose for what he will present in his work. Psychologically, we can view photography as a symbol for connectivity to a reality that can include people, places, things or feelings. Marks focuses on life on pause in an otherworldly manner. His work makes us forget about the concept of time in order to capture the essence of a feeling – one that tends to be heightened with eye-catching colors hovering around in a dreamlike state.

Though his photographs capture people, the focus remains on the physical surroundings and how these affect our emotional perception. The colors seem to engulf the individuals who play a secondary role to the feeling being revealed through the photograph. It is also thanks to the blurred lines that the viewers are able to capture the moment and generate a psychological response to the visuals instead of focusing solely on specific elements.

He explains, “My new pictures were far more psychological than my old, and the effects of the physiological changes, combined with my studies in 20th century art and modernism, have led me to my two current projects: Memory Traces and Edge of Vision. Both can be characterized by their increasing abstraction and emphasis on camera-work, by which I mean my investigations in the potential for using the camera as a means of investigating deep psychological and emotional truths and my personal expressionistic perception of the world.”

Marks’ photographs show that there’s something more to the bright colors being presented. What the visuals evoke within us beyond the aesthetic beauty is what stays in our minds. That’s what makes us human, our attachment to real life memories and how they make us feel. While the past is gone, it is the emotions that pull us back to those moments that over time become embedded in our lives as part of who we are.

For more on the artist’s work, visit his site. All photos courtesy of Steven Marks.

Today’s poem is inspired by Steven’s ability to portray another world within our surroundings in his photographs:

A Dream Within a Dream

BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow —

You are not wrong, who deem

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone?

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

Grains of the golden sand —

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep — while I weep!

O God! Can I not grasp

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?

Social Truth Will Set You Free

February 21, 2019 in Art, Contemporary art, DC artist, Collage

They say experiences have the power to shape our lives. Yet many times, it’s not simply the experience or what we may witness, but the people involved who become an essential part of the memories we carry with us.

For Maryland-based artist Melvin Nesbitt, sharing stories from his actual experiences through his work are at the core of his artistic evolution. Nesbitt’s more recent work since 2017 is in the form of a more personal theme in the form of elaborate collages resembling paintings. These portray recollections of growing up as a young boy in the Tobias Hartwell Courts projects in Spartanburg, South Carolina, which he refers to as “Tobe.”

Social influence is a strong platform for art expression, and the environments in which we grow up can surely influence our worldview. In Nesbitt’s work you’ll find scenes of a reality highlighting the vibrancy of life through daily moments and the joys of being a child growing up there while soaking it all in – the sights, the sounds, the people, the quirks, the community feel.

“There are so many great stories to tell about [Tobe] and some tragic ones as well…when you consider the setting (America, the South, government housing), social commentary is unavoidable. I've only scratched the surface so far,” he says.

Nesbitt’s newer technique now has a focus on exploring what works best for his current visions, evolving his craft from oil paintings to collage making. “This is also when I started using wood panels as surfaces because it allowed me to do a lot of layers, rip stuff up, etc., just a much more durable surface,” Nesbitt explains. In his work, the usage of shapely imagery is beautifully connected through the pops of color to truly catch the artwork’s story in one glance, which keeps you looking closely at every detail. There is a softness and harshness in the texture that evoke the feeling he’s trying to capture in each piece.

These pieces exude of curious feelings frozen in time, yet ones that remain present today showing the ongoing struggle for many families of color who face social/economical difficulties and injustice. The artist explains, “Our government's lack of empathy towards impoverished children both infuriates and inspires me to try to tell the stories I remember of Tobe.”

Nesbitt’s artwork causes the viewer to ponder about environment and how regardless of where we may come from, we can always make our own future based on our own choices and internal growth. The past will always be there as a reminder of the lessons learned and the steps we’ve taken to get where we are. “I'm more confident that I can address important issues in my art with the honesty and integrity the people involved deserve,” he says.

These pieces represent the beauty found in the genuineness of life, one that isn’t a bit pretentious and makes the best out of each present moment.

All images courtesy of Melvin Nesbitt. View more of his work here!