June 2017

ON SUBWAY WALLS

Like …AND TENEMENT HALLS, ON SUBWAY WALLS is a colored paper collage which draws from the Simon and Garfunkel song The Sounds of Silence. While the materials and palette in both pieces are essentially the same (heavy paper/ thin cardboard – cut from advertising and packaging materials), changing the background from white to black and eliminating internal “negative space” darkens the tone and sets the piece underground. In the song, the phrase “on the subway walls” precedes “and tenement halls”, but for me, in doing the collages, the initial working image was of a cityscape and the subway developed as a companion piece. Matted and framed to 12” x 16”.

…AND TENEMENT HALLS

The title for my colored paper collage, …AND TENEMENT HALLS, comes from part of an iconic line in the Simon and Garfunkel song The Sounds of Silence; although my choice of palette is probably a more colorful and upbeat presentation than an accurate one. There is little point in having artistic license if you can’t abuse it now and then. Matted and framed to 12” x 16”.

DARK MOON RISING

DARK MOON RISING is a 21” x 21” wall hanging consisting of 26 hand built and smoke fired stoneware tiles. The tiles were smoke fired over a 28 hour period using a mixture of hard and soft wood chips as the firing medium. The title, DARK MOON RISING, reflects my first reaction to the piece after it was completed

AN AMERICAN FACE #3

AN AMERICAN FACE #3, a hand inked and hand pulled collographic monoprint, continues the experiment of using hand woven paper as printing surface that I started with DANCE OF THE PENGUINS: SOLO # 11. It is part of a series of images designed specifically for hand woven paper, attempting to combine the angles and features of the human face with the textural aspects of the woven paper and a layered application of ink. Matted and framed to 18” x 14”.

John Fansmith

Artist