I thought I would start a new catogory to intersperse with my Altered book work, the Echostains paintings and the general musings. The criteria for this section is that it has to be art that I LOVE, and where possible, art that I have actually seen in the canvas.
this-is-a-body-tapies
It is the invisibility: what we can’t actually see, that give us the urge to communicate. ‘ I saw ‘This is a Body’ by the artist Antoni Tapies (b. 1923 Catalonia Spain) at the ‘Encounters’ exhibition in 2000. The image is exactly that: just part of a body or the outline of a body which has been scratched into a marble dusted layered surface that has been built up. But it is the way that the image has been carved into the surface: the deliberation of the artists hand that comes across, and the narrative that the body has with the surface, that communicated with me on an emotional level. The experience was like a wave – a sudden wave of empathy, understanding – reciprocal and felt between painting and viewer.
tapies_greyochre-1958
Note: ‘This is a Body’ is a photo taken from my dissertation ‘The Artist as Magician’. Nothing can do justice to seeing the real thing. I think this applies to any artwork, a reproduction will always be and look a reproduction.
Seth Apter introduced me to your sacred marks…the echostains are intriguing and gave me a pause to stop and recognize the continued beauty in the often over looked qualities and design elements of making a life as an artist. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart
Thanks Mary Helen for your lovely comment! You are right, beauty is everywhere. Sometimes we feel we have to do something with it, but it’s OK to let it be too – to just enjoy it. Lovely blog by the way! Lots of thoughfulness, great pics and beautiful layers in your works! Especially interesting to me is the thought process behind the work – just as important as the making, I think. I will keep nipping over to yours to have a look what you are up to!
Kind Regards
Lynda
merci. i stood before a collection on exhibit in a small museum in Ceret France, north of Spain, His paintings took my breath away. BRAVO! J’adore Tapies!
Thanks jeannette!you are right- His work has to be experienced to fully appreciate it, a mere image will not surfice. Thanks for your comment and visit- much appreciated!
I wanted to thank you for introducing me to this wonderful artist and for visiting my small post. I have an exhibit coming up real soon…too soon I think at times of self doubt. I am hoping to improve my reciprocity between the maker and the viewer…the empathy you have described here is invaluable…this is very difficult for me to articulate. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart
Echostains Blog 
Seth Apter introduced me to your sacred marks…the echostains are intriguing and gave me a pause to stop and recognize the continued beauty in the often over looked qualities and design elements of making a life as an artist. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart
Thanks Mary Helen for your lovely comment! You are right, beauty is everywhere. Sometimes we feel we have to do something with it, but it’s OK to let it be too – to just enjoy it. Lovely blog by the way! Lots of thoughfulness, great pics and beautiful layers in your works! Especially interesting to me is the thought process behind the work – just as important as the making, I think. I will keep nipping over to yours to have a look what you are up to!
Kind Regards
Lynda
i love antoni tàpies 🙂
He is indeed a legend. ‘This is a body’ made me cry when I saw it.
merci. i stood before a collection on exhibit in a small museum in Ceret France, north of Spain, His paintings took my breath away. BRAVO! J’adore Tapies!
Thanks jeannette!you are right- His work has to be experienced to fully appreciate it, a mere image will not surfice. Thanks for your comment and visit- much appreciated!
I wanted to thank you for introducing me to this wonderful artist and for visiting my small post. I have an exhibit coming up real soon…too soon I think at times of self doubt. I am hoping to improve my reciprocity between the maker and the viewer…the empathy you have described here is invaluable…this is very difficult for me to articulate. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart
Love Tapies for the reasons you mention Mary Helen. Good Luck with your exhibition and thanks for your comments ~appreciated 🙂