Park painting...

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on December 5, 2012 at 1:26pm

Thanks for responding, David. There's always the wonder/concern that as a viewer our own agendas can over ride the artist's intent. (Like Maslow's rule that if your only tool is a hammer, every problem becomes a nail.) So much of the work I've seen lately addressing Multiculturalism is heavy handed.  Your handling of the subject is much more nuanced. Thank you for sharing it.

Kristen

Comment by David E. Dallison on December 4, 2012 at 12:41pm

Hi resident curator, you nailed it, i am fascinated by the imigrant experience, the sublte cultural details that differentiate each groups new reality as imigrants to america. i also consider these public spaces the backyard of america especially for the working classes. a place for release, connectivity with friends and family, play, and inadvertently rubbing shoulders with other cultures thus breaking down the barriers that so often seperate groups when they live in their home countries. The can of beer and slightly distant stare are all intended, but the lovely fact is that this guy is there with his family, not home watching tv, the children are happy and loved is what is significant to me. my parents immigrated from england in the 50,s and the power of family get togethers in my childhood were incalculable in positively shaping my life view. all that most imigrants have is family and friends. they entertain at home not in restaurants, they go to parks and backyards not private clubs... some may see this as a shortcomming, but it is the opposite. it is what keeps us all connected. if you go to my web site you will see that i travel the world going to the places these people are from and painting about those worlds. these paintings i do, address the point that life is joyous wherever you go. that imigrants bring wonderful things to this country and that other places are just as special and fulfilling as this wonderful country of ours. all of thes paintings i create on location en plein-air which in a sense makes me a character in the painting as i am an undenialbe presence of that scene. (how often do you see a painter in public doing his work) i inevitably have a crowd of 10 or 20 people standing around watching me paint. which i love as i get to step into  their lives in an unthreatening way and offer something memorable  and hopefully inspiring to them as they have for me.These paintings also become manifestations to the FACT i am welcomed every where i go on this planet www.davidedallison.com thanks for taking the time to look (sorry for the no doubt terrible spelling:))

Comment by Resident Curator on December 4, 2012 at 12:03pm

 Curator’s Comment:  

 

Park Painting Lake Shore, Chicago bears a canny resemblance to Seurat’s illustrious Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grand Jatte.  Both multi-figure genre paintings pack the picture plane in a formidable narrative of work and leisure, with elements of the encroaching business and economic (if not industrial) complex out off the horizon.  The precise realism in painting technique is controlled, but somewhat softened with rounded edges and smoother shadows atmospherically through the middle and background. Each figure is given a certain distinguishable character, but they don’t descend into caricature or stereotype. I’m particularly intrigued by the male figure at the forefront of the picture pane, who seems somewhat detached and lost in thought just as his close familial relations (they’re sharing a cooler seat) partakes in food and companionship.  While there isn’t much evidence of class distinction in the park dwellers, there is subtle inclusion of a ubiquitous taco vendor in the far left.  Similar pieces of the same location reveal unexceptional multicultural relationships. This could be a comment on shifting demographics, or simply part of the changing local scene.