What is it about some works of art that allows them to stand the test of time? What is it exactly that make a work of art truly memorable and truly great? There are many beautiful works of art and many more that are surprising, innovative, and thought provoking, but of all the art produced in the world in any given year, very few pieces are exceptional. “Great” art manages to satisfy its viewers at a deeper level than the rest.
For the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of critiquing fine art in the Southwest from as far north as Taos to the southern town of Truth or Consequences. Today, I’ve chosen local artists that exemplifies the meaning of greatness in the categories of Narrative, Beauty, Realism, Form, Movement, Symbolism and Expression. The featured artists’ works have been looked at in an analytical way in order to assess what it is that makes each one so successful in its own field.
Narrative
Chris Meyer - Most of his work originates as photographs of rocks and similar natural forms. Meyer studies these images for patterns, then build collages out of various papers, symbols, and texts to emphasize the shapes, texture and mood of an individual photo. Adding assemblage elements – including sticks, stones, beads, bones, feathers, fibers, and metals – to add dimension: both to the physical work, as well as to its layers of meaning. When done, he leaves it to the viewer to play the roll of archaeologist, studying the resulting artifact for clues of when and where it came from, imagining what purpose it served for the unknown culture that created it.
Beauty
Raymond Wiger - His sculptures are both exquisite and mesmerizing. Wiger describes his sculpting process as follows, “Sculpting in wire mesh equally involves the use of the right and left halves of the brain; the creative and the analytical. Beginning with a square, rectangular, triangular or other polygonal piece of mesh, the transformation to figure occurs without the use of any tools but the hands – in essence, skin against skin.”
Realism
Tamara Coatsworth - Primarily inspired by nostalgic pop culture, Coatsworth precisely explores the iconic nature of everyday items. Observers are amazed at her attention-to-detail when it comes to skillfully utilizing a wide array of glass-making techniques including torch work, fusing, sandblasting, acid-etching, and elaborate enamels to create original artwork that lovingly replicates items such as movie-theater popcorn, a box of matches, or beautifully decorated cupcakes.
Form
Dorothy McDonough McGeorge - The subject of her work is often structures that reflect the character of a place. McGeorge is a firm believer in the use of Dynamic Symmetry in her compositions, using this classic way of dividing her canvases. Her goal through composition and color is to organize the picture place into segments which compel the viewer to share the whole of it through its parts.
Movement
Jonathan Wolfe, PhD - A fractal is a never-ending pattern which naturally demonstrates movement. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop. Driven by recursion, fractals are images of dynamic systems - the pictures of Chaos. Fractal patterns are very common in nature. For instance: trees, rivers, coastlines, mountains, clouds, seashells, and hurricanes. Wolfe’s fractal designs are unequivocally one-of-kind.
Symbolism
Matthew Lutz - His body of work is influenced by modern technology and street graffiti, using traditional oil painting techniques to depict human interaction in the digital age which explains why at least one or more subjects in each painting is holding a cell phone. In addition, Lutz especially admires the works of Pablo Picasso; elements like the elongated limbs, arresting colors, and mystical visages are evident in his painting "Tornado."
Expression
Janet Bothne - One of her most intriguing works, “The Daily Din,” is an acrylic & mixed media on canvas. With this painting, Bothne began layering paper scraps and vinyl letters into her work to examine marketing messages that pervade our culture. One day, instead of being annoyed by the latest pile of junk mail, she looked at it as a bottomless source of free art supplies. Bothne says, “These marketing messages are so ubiquitous, we digest them constantly without thinking, or even noticing, their demands for our attention.”
