Got Methane?

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on November 26, 2011 at 4:51pm

Curator’s Comment:

 

 

I really enjoy this work for its formal properties, as well as articulated content. Interesting, it has a stylization that’s akin to super-realism, but quite distant from the other works you’ve posted on the site. The crumbling urban environment is a beautiful aesthetic foil to the large, pristine animal.  A fish out of water, the subject’s rendered with the upmost care- the subtle undulations in her soft fur echo the gray modulations on the building’s facade.   In fact, the organic qualities of her form and spotted coat only find visual solace in the curvilinear holes of the building’s exposed mortar.  I also see a photographically-inspired flatness to the painting.  The blue-gray shadows break in a similar pattern across the walls and ground.  But I don’t believe this is an exercise in photorealism, as the handling of the environment intentionally assists in the alienation of the hapless cow.  The angular shadows, ladder and vertical stacking of the red bricks on the left all direct the viewer to her bowed head and humped back.  It’s hard for me to separate my reading of the work from your short description.  While I may not have understood the gravity of the relationship between industry and cattle at the first viewing, I do sense a problematic association with an isolated head of cattle, apart from her herd, in a slowly collapsing infrastructure.  What is only slightly harder to reconcile is the imagery you have developed without any overt evidence of environmental conscious.  While in your works entirety, I can contextualize your celebration of beauty and nostalgia (classic cars, etc.) with an awareness and concern for global stewardship, I also see two distinct approaches.  Luckily, they’re both served by your skilled handling of subject and composition. 

And I keep coming back to them. 

Thanks for sharing this work.