I am back to working on the subject of identity. This time, I have photographed portraits of 47 strangers, 23 men and 24 women, and hope to show the degree of visible variation between people of a certain place (I staked out a spot at a local community college). More to come on this.
Nikon N80 with Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G lens and Kodak T-Max 400 film, printed on Adorama-branded, variable contrast, fiber paper.
Working for the man much of this week so…..
Retrograde march down the halls of the past!
This is an oil painting I made of my dad Harry from the 20th century. (1998)
Portrait of Harry Bennett, 1998, oil on canvas, 20″ x 30″
Greens were eaten that hot day at the neighborhood bar in Carroll Gardens. She was amused that he had ordered a Greek Salad as the Japanese team brought honor to their distraught nation.
mixed media: graphite, pencil, goauche, benzyl alcohol ink, india ink
I’m interested in how the viewer digests, distills, deconstructs and then reconstructs a piece of art. The visual language an artist uses must rely on the understanding of that language by the viewer in order for the work to to be interpreted as art.
The first is a representational portrait of fellow blogger Toni Tiller, the second is an unfinished version, a work in progress with the intent of abstraction. The first uses marks that signify and symbolize very specific ideas, whereas the second uses a language that speaks more about material first and objective form second. What perception and perspective the audience carries in response to each piece is significant.
Tom Bennett
Toni Tiller A, 11/10, oil on board, 24′ x 24″
Toni Tiller B, 11/10, oil on board, 24″ x 24″
I made these a few years ago to see if I could do portraiture. The initial project ultimately took on a life of its own, and I ended up making 8-12 portraits (based on an original) that I then collaged together. 4 of those became a single piece:
“Cassandras” 8″ x 12″ each, Mixed Media on Paper
In hindsight it kind of looks like some glamor tinged 80s thing, which really wasn’t the point. The point is more about how all the different representations of the same thing may come together to appear cohesive, yet each collaged piece looks like a different girl, so adding extra information has decreased its function.
In the future, I need to do a piece like this where the various part are kept chaotic and don’t come around to resolving into an image.
Below are the 4 pieces in the group photo.
After the jump are the other 4 collages and the source drawings for them.
This week I’m posting 3 more or less unrelated pieces. I started the portrait last week with oil paint and a black oil medium with turpentine washes on a composite board treated with a gypsum-based hide-glue gesso, hand-made decades ago by my father. It’s a work in progress I’m posting as a documentation of a first “state”.
I’m including an abstract monotype that I printed with two separate images on the same paper, creating a layered print which provides a subtle depth that does not appear easy to find with a normal one-pass.
The other monotype is a loose portrait of the newest family member in fellow blogger Toni Tiller’s life.
Tom Bennett
WIP: Wiltonian in Progress, oil on board, 24″ x 24″
Indian Summer, monotype, 20′ x 16″
Lala, monotype, 16″ x 20″
Okay, so this post is going to be a total mash-up, and will probably come across completely convoluted. Just warning you; I am still pitching my current series to galleries, working a great deal, and not really painting/etc., so I am going to attempt to at least make this a little interesting, despite the utter lack of any “real” art to present.
Concluding this weekend, I have been photographing staff portraits at a neurologist’s practice, and attempting to concentrate on drawing each person’s personality out of every shot, which has been a rewarding process. The doctor is retiring and this is her going away present to her team. Anyway, here are two shots from the series:
(Double-click on the second pics to see more.)
Derry, Ireland after the jump–> Read more »
Oil on Canvas, 30″ x 40″.
It has been a long, looong time since I’ve really sat down and painted with oils. Today, I had quite a few hours to myself, so I decided to do just that. I have a few old pieces, that I was never happy with and that I have been contemplating painting over. In this case, I went about merely reworking the original (and I do have plans to come back and finish it before another year slips off into the abyss). Original after the jump–>
I was a little busy, but not quite as busy as Lauren. You may remember her from these three posts and as you can imagine she couldn’t stay that way forever. Last Tuesday was the big day and I had the honor of being invited to assist and document the arrival of their first child.
I am glad I took photographs because even though it all took a very long time, it passed quickly in a sort of semi-hallucinatory way. The walking, breathing, and focusing created a strange sort of group hypnosis with Lauren at the center as we moved around quietly tending to the needs of the moment, fresh air, hot water, back rubs, juice, fruit, cheese, and little jokes to keep her mood light. I’m not generally a person deeply attached to tradition for the sake of it, but I was moved by the sense of continuity and the history of women serving each other as hand maidens to the birthing process. I felt connected to something old and profound.
We welcomed Kalman George Pare Wallace into the world just as the light changed for the day.
More images of my friend Lauren, who is about to give birth any moment now. I really think she’s going to be a great mother. She’s smart and tireless and focused and kind. Not to me, but I’m a PITA. Pain in the ass.
Here are some really loose monotypes, each about 18″ x 12″. I’m not satisfied with the emotion these prints are evoking at this point, so I’ll keep working. I’ve been continuing with graphite and ink with color wash drawings, which you can check out after the jump.
LP 2, monotype
LP 1, monotype
For the drawings, click here:
My Grandma is a very cool lady, she’s pragmatic, has a wonderfully dry sense of humor, and an appreciation for the absurd. She can spend more time gossiping on the phone than a 14 year old girl and people love to tell her all their secrets, a gift I was lucky to inherit from her. She took a little tumble at the library the other day so I came out to New Mexico to lend a hand, which is really just a convenient excuse to come hang out with her for 2 weeks. I told her that her bruises looked like she’s wearing KISS make up and just to show you how cool she is she both knew who KISS was and asked me to take this photo.
I have a large family made up of incredibly complicated connections, biological, extended, adopted, etc. This is Siri, he fits into one of those categories. He recently made a big change to his appearance and we thought we would commemorate it with a photo, and the still falling fresh snow seemed like a suitable background.
I have completely mismanaged this past week and haven’t new work finished to post, so here are a few golden oldies from the last century. The first is a broad portrait of Charles Baudelaire I did as part of a series of sample editorial illustrations, as is the second: the author Aldous Huxley. The third is a piece inspired by the photography of Eadweard Muybridge.
A Version of Baudelaire as a Dandy, monotype, 14″ x 18″
Aldous Huxley, monotype, 12″ x 9″
Untitled Figure, monotype, 14″ x 8″
But what I like even less it the fact that I haven’t posted any new art work in 3 weeks. So for better or worse here it is.
This is a loose interpretation of my old (I won’t say how old) friend Kenny Kenny. He’s a style icon and a pillar of the New York night life scene, not to mention a completely lovely and hilarious person. He’s earned his icon status by working the door of every worthwhile party in the last (insert arbitrary number here) years, and being a door queen is a tough job that requires expertise at being charming and confident without arrogance, but also knowing when it’s ok to let the inner bitch off the leash. I definitely learned more than a thing or two watching him over the years. Plus, he still throws some of the best parties so if you find yourself in NYC on Sunday and fancy a little Berlin in the 20′s set to dance music go check him out.
My last attempt at making a monotype went ok, but obviously it isn’t a medium i’m used to, much less particularly fluent in. So in the spirit of the subject I had a little wine, put on my headphones and discoed my way through this one.
That is a cheap way to get untold numbers of philistines to buck up the blog viewership, eh? Huh?
yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, this is a recent oil painting I did with a limited palette and heavy paint application. I’m thinking of Frank again. That’s Frank Auerbach, a painter who has held a place in my consciousness for years. The short interview should be read and is instructive; I find myself sharing some of his thoughts: No strict and rigid method of beginning a work; the act of destroying and reworking.
This painting is an example of a piece reworked and reworked, then completely destroyed to give birth to something else. Anyway, heres to the model and here’s to Frank!
Oh, yeah, one more thing. The photograph is terrible, I apologize.
Tom Bennett
TT, 2009, oil on canvas, 30″ x 24″
I spent this whole holiday weekend alone, don’t feel bad, it was heaven as far as I was concerned. Nothing to do but fuss around the house, play with the cats, and watch a really fantastic marathon called The Genius Of Photography from the BBC. At one point they were talking about the working relationship between Edward Weston and Charis Wilson, with one commenter saying something to the effect of, “the camera becomes an equal sign, the person on one side of the camera equals the person on the other side of the camera.”
I’ve been unable to work on my current work this past week, so we’re going back in time; here’s a a monotype from a few years back, which was used as a sample for an illustration annual.
H.G.Wells, monotype, 16″ x 12″
If I could I’d make the title to this post sparkle and flash but alas, I can’t. So I’m left with just presenting this tribute as is:
I think this speaks for itself.
It’s alternative title is “Lionel Ritchie.”
Here’s the source drawing:
I’m going to post a self portrait shortly.
-JD
PS- thank you flickr for ceasing to suck.
Agora Gallery - the proud sponsor of the Chelsea International Fine Art Competition, which offers contemporary artists the opportunity to show their original art at one the most acclaimed juried art shows in Chelsea, New York’s art galleries district.
darteboard
jdhastings
ssstephg
Tom Bennett
Toni Tiller
Jason Gray
probrucer
laelia e. mitchell
