Friday, January 26, 2007

Illustration Friday: Red...

Above: Seeing Red.

It's been a while since I've made anything for Illustration Friday, but I couldn't pass up this theme for the week.

I tend to recycle a lot of my older work to create new work. When I was making this piece, I ended up putting together three different pieces. All of them had the color red as their dominant color choice, and I think went well with one another visually. I like the process of cannibalizing former pieces, as it really changes the way in which the work is read. Individually, these collages and paintings mean something completely different. However, together, the meanings have been altered yet again.

Instead of attaching the parts with glue, I've bound them to each other by sewing them. Using green thread on one of the layers really makes the red pop out more, I think.

15 comments:

Emily said...

I love the stitches...interesting composition. Has an earthiness to the colors and imagery...strong

John Highstreet said...

Truly amazing, Very intense and gutsy, kudos.

Michelle Lana said...

Very cool!

Unknown said...

Pretty painting!!

Josy said...

Amazing! I love the way it seems random and abstract until you stare at it long enough to see the EYE and MOUTH pop out at you. It's staring at me! How long has it been doing that?

I'm also a fan of the thread. Man, I never use that stitch on my machine.

Lisa said...

Wonderful, subtle. I currently work mostly in textiles... in quilting. This has a quilt/not quilt quality that makes it really interesting. It could be taken as a commentary on historical 'women's work'! Thanks for posting.

kelly barton art + design said...

wow...really unique. i love the stitching. you have a true style!

Mike said...

Very interesting work. Is that a self portrait? It almost looks like you peering thru a bad situation. I think you have a foundation for a CSI NY episode.

studio lolo said...

Very nice. I like the take on "cannibalizing old works." It really makes them new then, doesn't it. Wonderful job...love the placement of things so the eye is central to the design.

Andrew Thornton said...

Mike, thanks for your comment. Yes, the eye and mouth are the remains of a quick self-portrait. Funny how if you have the hint of an arched eye-brow and bit of a big lip, and you've deducted one of the parts of the piece.

I've never seen CSI NY. I don't have a television. I do live in New York and will often times see the police conducting crime scene investigations. Sometimes, you find yourself doing your own investigations.

Andrew Thornton said...

Lisa, thank you also for your comments. When I started sewing the pieces, I had to really think of why I was doing it, so as to not just have a gimmick in my work. I think that most art is inherently about identity - each piece a key or way in which one can grow to understand the artist or the artist's times. My work most definitely addresses the question of what's "women's work" and if/should/could/would/might "men" do it. I hope it begs the question of, "What does it mean for the artist to appropriate this craft?"

More personally, I remember my mother, my grandmother and their friends and community members sitting around and sewing huge quilts. I was never allowed to help because I was a boy (my sisters helped though). I remember laying under a table and watching the motions of hands flying up and down over this plane of fabric and hearing them talk and laugh.

Anonymous said...

interesting work and technique; thought provoking

Anonymous said...

Love the organic forms here. It's just wonderful really - the stitching is perfect. Thank you for sharing.

VEromachado said...

it´s an interesting mix collage, but the man that i see between the images collage are you?

buep said...

Great composition!