Balanced values

Balance and asymmetry...breaking the centrality of religious works...how much space on the right is necessary to counter-balance the activity and figure on the left? And that sharp contrast edge created by the dark jacket against the white wall...how much gray is needed to counter that weight/volume?

Mapplethorpe shows us how much in the amazing portrait, not only a visually appealing piece, but an image that captures Andy Warhol as a artist and man of extremes...the obsession with fame and attention juxtaposed next to his social awkwardness...needing something so badly, but unable to see it fully realized.

Relective organism

The mirrored surface of the Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor, is neither black nor white, but absorbs, distorts and reflects the world around it...this piece is really impressive in scale and conceptualization...I am originally from Chicago and have gone back to see it again and again...I cannot get enough of its flowing shape.

The original form was to show the welds in a grid like form, later, it was thought that grinding and buffing out the lines would be more impressive...this was most definitely the case in my opinion! It remove the internal contrast between surface geometry and an external organic shape...The surface now takes on the geometries of the buildings and skyscrapers of the Magnificent Mile...A clean and simple design that is truly a masterpiece.

Silhouettes in tension

Kara Walker does not mix words...bringing the past into the present, the pain of a reality that seems so far away...but was only right around the last corner...She uses the physical space in such a interesting way...the negative space around the silhouettes is unique and reinforces the tension between the slave owner and the enslaved.

This installation is a unique view into her works...the way the door breaks up the hay cart, being carried by a women with child, the abuse...things are out of kilter...the house in the upper right, off kilter and the hobo falling from the sky...it is not only the arrangement, but how the figures flow across the wall in a lyrical way.

Simply books

Contrasting values and rhythmical linear forms running vertical and horizontal...dark, striated organic shapes floating over the geometries...the variations of sizes in the smaller vertical forms also create contrast and interest...

The large organic dark shape is the central focus, visually we are grouping the three similar shapes and finally combining with the upper right hand corner that follows the lines of the top of the book-like forms, merging and flowing off of the picture plane...a great piece by Frank Magnotta.

Twice inked

The decorative qualities...the contemporary feel...breaking the circular plane ever so slightly...framed by concentric black lines...the balance between the two faces and all the lines, text and small shapes wrapped around legs, arms, thighs and chests...

Mike Giant's well drawn, clean forms flow around the circular shape, like a record spinning around a turntable, his work hearkens back to a different time, they often cry for that time...his drawings would make great woodcuts, such beautiful line quality.

The odd in three

Split into three sections, Tom Long explores the relationship between three distinct spaces...how will these separate elements/environments fit together? This is the exploration that the artist is looking to achieve...A natural, mountain scene sandwiched between two geometric, decorative forms...not only in contrast but also in color, cool blues and pattern make up the totemic, vertical tower on the top of the mountain and the blue optical, horizontal shape grounding the mountain, visually.

This theme carries on in other works, he plays with the format to create an odd whole out of familiar parts...they are graphically executed, realistic interplay between tight patterns and modeled landscapes...a modern take on eastern influences.

The pretty vessel

The Reliquary has been great influence on my object making...the context is used and amended through out my career...There is something macabre about the idea of bones and body parts being housed in an elaborate container...they also feed nicely into my obsession with decorative arts...the skill needed to make these are amazing...they are certainly beautiful pieces of jewelry...so the context becomes a vehicle to create familiarity and comfort...the jeweled surfaces and decorative elements draw the viewer in and the details hold them in place...I like to take it to a deeper level and enhance the overall work by changes in the form and concept...moving the pretty into areas more sinister, building on the macabre true nature of these vessels...the viewer is paralyzed by the containers sparkle and forced to deal with what is really inside...the house is burning, but we are too enthralled by the pretty flames to leave...