Alcolea's Vision Turns Trash Into Treasure

AND THE A DVO C ATE Alcolea's vision turns trash into treasure

By Elsa Allen BANNER STAFF

With a gentle touch, Ramon Alcolea pulls open the small panels on one of his wall sculptures, re- vealing what appears to be an intri- cate seascape complete with beach- side cottages and choppy waves crashing onto the shoreline. Upon closer observation, however, the painting within the sculpture turns out to be no more than a piece of wood, perhaps from an old boat or a piece of siding, paint chipping off in such a way that it creates the illu- sion of a portrait of the Province- town harbor. "Forall that is random is really not" says Alcolea, describing his methods and the process that he uses to create his capsulesof the bay"in Provincetown. "Youhave to eliminate parts and determine what people see"Alcolea uses his dis- cerning eye to scour the beaches and town dumps for cast-off scraps that he will convert into materials for his mixed-media pieces. With careful inspection, Alcolea finds art in what others may pass off as weather-beaten debris, using what is already there to create a picture of

Alcolea's new pnmarily wood assemblage with mixedme- dia, will be on display at both the Musselman Gallery and the Provincetown Public Library during Photo Elsa Allen November. He has created a series RamonAlcolea, holding his dog Lucky, lives surrounded by his art. of interactive pieces that beg for a viewer to move the parts and reveal claims that his work occupies all of collage, "findingthe right things about art to go into one. By show- School of Art and Design in New hidden landscapes and clips of poet- his time. When he is not busy con- for the right uses:' Although it may ing his work at the library, he says Yorkin 1985. Four years later, de- ry that lie hidden behind hinged structing a new piece or searching look like a mess to the uneducated, he can reach a larger audience, and ciding that he needed a change from doors. His heart series makes cre- for new materials, he is updating untrained eye, his piles are simply perhaps encourage them to go to city life, he came to Provincetown. ative use out of the "lazy Susan" his extensive portfolios and re- the beginnings of his art. the gallery as well. Since then he has shown locally mechanism, placing spinning hearts sume, adding show after show to "Thepieces will eventually find "There'snothing to be afraid of each year, making dedicated rounds against backdrops of driftwood and his already epic list of accomplish- each other," he says. "Ilove the with art,"he says. "It'svery impor- of the galleries in town, as well as ornamental details taken from dis- ments. whole concept of art and art mak- tant for artto be public and accessi- galleries in Boston, New York,Cali- carded furniture. The result is a co- "Ilike to try to keep as active as ing. ble." fornia and Hawaii. He has also re- hesive piece that looks as though all possible;' he says. "Art is the choice I have Alcolea obviously enjoys get- ceived several fellowships, residen- of the pieces were meant to come This year alone Alcolea has made," says Alcolea. "I have ting people involved with his art. cies, grants and awards, including a together, that their previous uses been featured in eight shows and reaped the rewards, and I've suf- Unlikemany artists; his pieces en- grant from the Pollock-Krasner was granted a residency at the Vir- courage the viewer to touch the ma- ginia Center for the Creative Arts. terials and explore their details. His small apartment, overlooking "Peoplelove to open and close Commercial Street, brims with all the panels; they love to see what's things art. Art books cover the cof- written, how it relates to them as fee table, paintings by various local the Viewer."Alcolea has accumulat- artists hang on the walls or sit in ed a collection of poetry, from writ- racks waiting for their tum in the ers such as Emily Dickinson, rotation. Alcolea manages his col- William Carlos Williams and Mark "Provincetown Notes #5''ftatures a lection like his own personal Doty, and keeps snippets on hand to "Aovincetown Notes #1"opens and swinging arm with attached heart. gallery, changing the wall hangings include in his pieces. every so often so he gets an oppor- is transformed "Ilike to find writing that's right Foundation. His work is currently "ProvincetownNotes #1" closed up. tunity to appreciate each individual fered the consequences." for the piece," he says. When he represented locally by the School- were of no consequence and they piece. His work table drowns in Alcolea seems to be reaping the finds a particular line of text, Al- house Center for Art and Design. were intended to be used for art. All pieces of wood, bits of metal and rewards of his art at the present colea will engrave it on the back of The show at the Musselman of his pieces are crafted with the ut- odds and ends, and more materials time, and he wants to make sure a copper heart that swings from the Gallery, 397 Commercial St., opens most attention paid to their con- wait in piles on his deck. that the general public is given the sculpture on hinges. on Friday with a reception from 7 to struction as well as their aesthetic. "It'sdangerous to walk up my chance to reap the rewards that art Alcolea has lived in Provincetown 9 p.m. and will run through Nov. 20 Alcolea is a craftsman as much as stairs,"jokes Alcolea. has to offer as well. This is the sec- town for 11 years. Like many other For further information on this show he is an artist, focusing on the car- A dissected sofa sits next to the ond time that Alcolea has inten- local artists, his studio is also his contact 487-9954. pentry that holds all of his pieces in front door, surrounded by heaps of tionally scheduled a gallery show home, where he lives with his small The show at the Provincetown place as well as what they look like scrap metal and wood. Clearly, he to coincide with a show at the li- dog, Lucky. He was born in Seville, Public Library, 330Commercial St., when they are complete. fmds inspiration in the things that brary. He feels that many people Spain, and came to the United runs through Nov. 30For further in- His dedication to his art has be- others no longer want. He de- are intimidated by galleries, afraid States when he was 15. He received formation on this show contact 487- come a way of life for Alcolea, who scribes his work as somewhat of a that they do not know enough a degree in sculpture from Parsons 3981. At home here, Sculptor RamonAlcolea recentwoik "InsideMyLittleRed Alcoleashows CherryHeart." - his heart PbotDs poetry," Alcolea says. "I'veused By Sue Harrison Mark Doty's poetry on some and BANNER STAFF also used his words in my pastels. The writing is carved into the wood culptor Ramon Alcolea's or terra cotta although the written recent shows have been segments are broken down from Sfull of intriguing minimal- their original passages." ist pieces, sweeping abstract shapes Onone recent piece, "InsideMy with ridged edges that call out to be Little Red Haired Cherry Heart,"a touched, but his upcoming show heart shape made of joined pieces will show a different part of the of wood is mounted on a lazy susan artist's inspiration, his heart. Alcolea base which allows it to hang at any is opening in a group show on Fri- angle on the wall. Words weave day at the Schoolhouse Center, 494 around like snakes and the piece has Commercial St. to be rotated or even picked up and Born and raised in the south of looked at underneath to get the full Spain, Alcolea came to the States at text. 12. He studied art at the Corcoran "In some work I've used the School of Fine Arts in Washington, heart or a box as one given and D.C.and received a BFA from Par- gone from there,"he says. "Some- sons School of Design in 1985. times you can't tell that it started Minimalist sculptor Ronald Bladen from there. The hearts move, the made him his protegeand assistant writing moves, it becomes narra- and Bladen's influence can still be tive. You have to interact with it to seen in Alcolea's work. Despite his get the whole message. Some of the strong training in the minimalist message is even behind the heart." S continuedtowork The heart hape, he saay , m in pnnts and pastel drawing and has especially effective at getting an im- done work with representational el- mediate response from viewers. ements. "It'sa beautiful shape that ex- Alcolea made the move from presses many subjects," he says. New York to Provincetown in 1989. "And it has a direct connection He had been visiting here and when with the viewer. No one asks what it he decided to leave the city, he says, means. It just activates a connection this was his obvious choice. between the art, the artist and the "It'ssmall enough to be livable yiewer." and yet there are lots of artists, peo- His process begins with found ple to talk to and a lot of activity."he objects and a written selection says. ''This is a great center point which he then begins to combine Perhaps part of his change where an artist can spread from, live with no preconceived idea as to comes from being in Provincetown. and work here but still be close to what the finished piece will be. "Mywhole surroundings are my Boston and New York." 'The past few years in the minimal- art store, the dump, the beach,"he While he still is represented by ist work I had to be very exact, like says. Likewith 'Little Heart,' it the Emerging Collector Gallery in building a small house," he says. was almost finished and I went to New York, Alcolea has made the "Thisis the exact opposite," But drop some stuff off at the dump and Schoolhouse Center his Province- having a more random creation there it was, a little rusted metal town base. He has also shown this process doesn't mean that the heart, I took it horne, it fit perfectly:' past year at the Fine Arts Work Cen- pieces are put together with less Alcolea has been recognized re- ter, Provincetown Art Association construction standards than his larg- peatedly for his work and has re- and Museum and the Musselman er sculpture. "With my love of ceived a number of fellowships and Gallery. At his Schoolhouse Center craftsmanship, these are gonna last residencies beginning with one for show this week, his pastels on paper forever,"he says. "Theyare not go- Skowhegan in 1984. Since then, and recent assemblages using the ing to fall apart when you touch he's also had residencies at Cum- heart as the central figure will be them." mington Community for the Arts, featured. And although his heart work the Blue Mountain Center, the Rag- "Forabout four years I've been may be new to some, he has used dale Foundation and the Virginia working with hearts in wood and the image before. In fact, at one Center for Creative Arts. He was terra cotta that include writing and time he says he used to be intro- just notified that the VirginiaCenter duced as Ramon of the has awarded him his seventh fel- Heart. lowship. In mid March he will head You could say he's re- for the Blue Ridge Mountains for turning to something near his three weeks at the Center. and dear to him, that he's "Fora month almost I will have taking a break from the the freedom to wake up every day severity of minirnalism or and only think about my art," he that he is opening up to says. "Everyonethere, everyone in the viewer in new ways. the kitchen, in the office, is there to You'd probably be right make your time possible. For 30 on all counts. He just days, the only reason to live, to notes that his current work wake up, is to make art. And every- is "Awonderful series, the one around you, that's what they The heart motifalso features prominently in The rusted heart in the center ofhis "Little right thing for the right do" Alcolea's pastels. Heart"piece was a serendipitous dump find. time." RAMONS. ALCO APM " november2000 . T .... MUSSELMAN,.[!.- GAL- LLERERy l \ 1 379A COMMERCIAL STREET NH/\1 YO ;

FRID:=~VEMBER 3. 7-9 PM~·

WRITTEN WORD" NOVEMBER 2000 PROVINCETOWN PUB LIC LIBRARY ( . 7 330COMMERCIAL STREET PROVINCETOWN, MA 02657 508 487-3981 1 HEAlchemists retreatL of Ramon Alcolea

BY JANE CIABATTARI

hen he was a young boy in Puerto de Santa Maria on the Bay of Cadiz in Wsouthern Spain, Ramon Alcolea lived with his grandparents, his widowed aunt Adele, his cousin Julio Cesarand his older brother Silverio on the second floor over the post office, where his grandfather was postmaster. After hours, he and Silverio would head downstairs to play. "Spain in the 1960s was like Spain in the 1930s," Alcolea says. "Franco had frozen us." The post office was an old-fashioned operation. The machinery-the hand-crafted brass postal scale with its set of shining metal weights, the pulleys and cranking mechanisms that would rotate and send the packages and envelopes with their hidden messages into the canvas mailbags for deliv- ery-fascinated Alcolea, establishing an imagina- tive template for the sort of mechanical symme- try, geometric balance, and simplicity that are the _-essence of minimalism. Alcolea's fondness for text, which he often incorporates into his sculptures and drawings, can be traced as far back as siesta time in his boyhood, when he would rummage through the books in his grandfather's study. The first book he remem- bers reading was an illustrated edition of Goethe's Faust, about the magician who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for immortality.In his early teens he began to sculpt in plasticine and clay and copy drawings from his grandfather's art books- Poussin and Ingres, the classics, as well as Rubens

WILLIAMHAMLIN and Titian. "They were so beautiful, so astonish- ing, I wanted more," he recalls. "The only way I could figure out to manage that was to do it my- without the handles, a vase available and recog- be suggesting that life lingers in the objects we self." nizable from numerous 20th-century shelter maga- create. Or in the imprints we leave behind, as in Alcolea moved to Washington, D.C. in 1973, zines, and yet the vase as revealed in Hamlin's his piece My Unmade Bed, a stunning composi- when his mother was remarried, to an American. weaving takes on a poetic timelessness. Rendered tion of pale blues, grays, and whites, a cluster of He attended the Corcoran School of Art there, then sea-green by the flora outside the window against sheets and comforters rendered so billowy and transferred to the Parsons School of Design in New which it is photographed, the vase nearly becomes plush by Hamlin's artful weaving as to connote York, where he received his B.F.A. in 1985. He had bas-relief, an almost tangible example of Egyptian upholstered clouds upon which any one of us been singled out for a fellowship to the Skowhegan blue-glazed faience, thanks to the consequences might be more than content to slip away. At the School of Painting and Sculpture, the first of a se- of distortion, and Hamlin's careful weaving. While same time, however, the almost negligible imprint ries of honors that now include grants from the down in the lower left corner-could it be?-a of human figures within the sheets implies a kind Pollock-Krasner Foundation and residencies at the window pull silhouetted in black masquerades as of loss or absence, and we are left to contemplate Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Blue Moun- a miniature bust of Nefertiti. But wait, the refer- just what it is that REMAINSwhen our bodies do tain, Ragdale, and Cummington ences are not only Egyptian, for there is also the not. At Parsons he apprenticed to the minimalist sheer lacy curtain draped behind the vase, and with Much like Vermeer's virtuoso depictions of sculptor Ron Bladen, who encouraged his techni- it the shadow of a thousand overdecorated Victo- timeless moments, Hamlin's luminous photo- cal rigor and discipline. He so thoroughly mastered rian rooms. graphic weavings suggest that a good portion of the form that when a retrospective of Bladen's Much of this is subliminal, perhaps uninten- life is found in contemplation of details that qui- work was exhibited in Germany in 1998, 10 years tional, for as Hamlin remarks, the stimulus for his etly surround us. after Bladen's death, and at P.S. 1 in 1999, Alcolea work is "the joy of seeing, and how we see the reconstructed many of the pieces from scratch. world is not all at once but in separate glances built M.A. THOMPSON's most recettt book is During his early years in the United States, up over time." Hamlin's work is a testament to Wolfchild. He is a Ph.D. in American Studies wlto Alcolea turned frequently to the Spanish poet the joy of sun-splattered interiors where rays of lives and writes itt Manhattan and South Beach. Federico Garcia Lorca for text to incorporate into light play across inanimate objects, thereby imbu- his work. In a series called "Language of Exile" ing them with life. Given the infrequency of human figures appearing in his work, Hamlin might PROVINCETOWN ARTS 2001 • PAG E 87 (1990), completed the year after he moved to Alcolea combs the shoreline at Herring Cove Provinceownhe carved hearts of terra cotta, with and Race Point and scouts between the tide pools English text on the outside of the heart, Spanish at Hatch's Harbor for driftwood. He especially text hidden in secret openings inside the heart. prizes sections of seaworthy wood left after big "I was going through a period of adjustment storms. "When you cut it, you can smell the sea into living in America without longing constantly air from tl1e salt mingled with the actual wood," to go back to Spain," he says. "The pieces helped he says. He visits the Provincetown recycling sta- me work through it and eventually be able to say, tion regularly, sifting through piles of metal, grates, 'This is my home, this is who I am,' and to be- old metal trays, pieces of chairs, hunks of wood come comfortable living in this culture." More re- paneling, frames and sides of houses from as far cently, he has used text from Euripides' Medea, back as the early 1800s. Emily Dickinson, Reynolds Price, and Mark Doty, His centerpiece of his series is "The Alchemist's the Provincetown poet. Love Letter," a heart carved from found wood, In his latest series, "Love Letters," to be shown outlined in red beads, and mounted upon a sym- this summer at the Schoolhouse Center in metrical icon-like structure of found wood with Provincetown, Alcolea combines clean severe form side panels. A piece of fishing lead representing with a baroquefondness for the basic iconogra- the alchemist's prima materia is anchored at the phy of the heart. ''The heart can mean anything bottom right. An umbilical copper pipe, the type from love to hate to indifference," he says. Some- used in the alchemical process of transforming base times his hearts are so literal that they can be iden- metal into gold, connects with a wooden knob tified only as something else, the equivalent of a painted gold and a golden blossom that sits at the MARIE COSINDAS votive offering left upon an altar by a wounded top of the heart-the sought after transforming lover seeking healing. power that is love. the Charles River r'n Cambrr'dge, Dr. Howar1 ''The narrative is in the materials, "Alcolea in- _. sists. ''The change into gold represents the act of- Edgerton produced his amazing stroboscopic pho the birth of love, the lead and copper, the futility tographs beginning in 1933 and was later joined by Gyorgy Kepes, the influential author of Lan o f it. Like any good story, there is more than one guage of Vision, who produced Bauhaus-inspire' interpretation." photograms and other photographic light experi ments. Minor White, the famed teacher and pub JANE CIABAITARJ is a New York-based writer and lisher of Atmture joined MIT's faculty in 1965. H Contributi11g Editor to Parade Magazine. Her short contributed a more consciously spiritual approacl story collection, Stealing the Fire, is forthcoming in to the practice of photography. As he wrote in Ap Spring 2002. erture in 1970, he was enamored of the camera' ability not only to record but also to metamorphos•

RAMON ALCOLEA its subject. With his more science-oriented col leagues a powerful blend of aesthetics and scienc• The heart is associated with the Catholic im- Photography was born at one of the world's great creative insti agery of his boyhood. At Jesuit school in Spain he tutions. In nearby Providence at the Rhode Islanc attended mass daily, twice on Tuesdays. Religious in Boston: 1955-1985 School of Design, faculty members Harry Callahar statues surrounded him-the Virgin Mary with the and Aaron Siskind, both arriving to the area fron heart outside the body pierced by daggers made a Edited by Rachel Rose~tfield Lafo a~td Gillia11 Nagler the Institute of Design (formerly the Chicago Bau particularly strong impression. His individual wall haus), shared some of these same visual concern pieces are intended to read as a whole series, like DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park of high definition and rigorous, refined image~ the orderly and sorrowful Stations of the Cross- with the MIT faculty. The strong tradition of stree " all in the same space and moment in time and is handsome hardcover catalogue, with 70 photography and documentary work exemplifiec the energy and devotion," he says. ''This is not olor and black and white reproductions, was by Jules Aarons among many others, includin1 random arrangement. It has a beginning, middle published last fall on the occasion of the ex- family and personal documents, was a counter and end; the pieces flow into each other and are hibition "Photography in Boston: 1955-1985" at point to the particularly scientific or aestheticall~ linked. That is where the narrative comes into it." the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in conscious work of Edgerton and White. The first piece incorporates sections of a love Lincoln, Massachusetts. It is sure to become a ba- The Polaroid Corporation included artists a: letter, with interactive sections that open, close, sic reference for those studying the development consultants in the continuing development of it and move around, allowing the viewer to read the of photography in the United States from its rela- instant-picture technology. It provided photogra text. "As I made more in the series, they became tive obscurity at mid-century to its primacy in re- phers as diverse as Ansel Adams, Marie Cosindas more and more austere," Alcolea says. "My ten- cent times. Essays authored by Kim Sichel and Elsa Dorfman, and Mark Morrisroe with camera: dency is to eliminate side panels. That has always Rachel Rosenfield Lafo survey the Boston photog- and film as well as access to its extraordinary 20 been my pull back and forth, my baroque inner raphy world during this period. A. D. Coleman by-24-inch large-format cameras. The beautiful anc tendencies are always underlined with my thoroughly examines the critical writing on art romantic color Polaroids of Marie Cosindas quick!) minimalist training. In this series of the last two photography in Boston, and Arno Ralph Minneken became famous and brought instant photograph) years I feel I'm starting to blend the two. The love discusses the lasting influence of the Polaroid Cor- into the contemporary art world as a viable me letters are kin to each other. You'll see some of the poration in Cambridge, with its photographic tech- dium. Polaroid director Eelco Wolf was responsible pieces obviously come from the same origin." A nology and an unprecedented program of direct for enticing other photographers of internationa speckled greenish gray piece of wood shows up in support to individual photographers. reputation such as Helmut Newton and Josef Sudel many of the pieces, as does the same bit of drift- In a fine essay titled "Science and Mysticism" to work with Polaroid cameras, thereby extend wood and a handsome section of wood paneling. Kim Sichel describes an important matrix of edu- ing the influence of this Cambridge-based tech • f ' • , -- / jb Alcolea shows in benefit for library Ramon Alcolea is showing These works ;yere previously small mixed-media pieces at the on display as part of a larger ex- Provincetown Public Library, hibition at Bentley College in 330 Commercial St, through Waltham, Mass. and were par- the end of the year. Proceeds tially funded ,by a grant from from the sales of his pieces will the Local Massachusetts Cultur- be split with the library. al Council. JUNE8, 2000 PROVINCETOWN BANNER 31 Alcolea's new work is in the pink Film Fest volunteers needed In an effort to make the Sec- so that they will be able to work By Sue Harrison ond Annual Provincetown Film various events in shifts, allowing BANNER STAFF Festival an even bigger success them an opportunity to enjoy the than the first, festival organizers events themselves. When gamon Alcolea loaded are seeking dedicated, hard- Wright will transform the fire- up his van with found wood and working and fun-loving volun- house next to Town Hall into a headed for his fellowship at the Vir- teers to petform a variety of tasks volunteer center. Volunteers will ginia Center for the Creative Arts preceding the festival and at fes- also be asked to attend one of last December, he had no idea that tival events. three training sessions in which a piece of pink wall paneling Volunteers will get an oppor- they will be given information re- tucked in with the driftwood and tunity to view the workings of garding festival events and construction debris would turn out the festival from behind the venues, as well as learning some to be the centralinspiration for a scenes while working with a di- basic emergency procedures. new series of work, but it did. The verse group of people. They will "They are representatives of resulting artwork, Five New Wood also receive a benefits package the· festival," says Wright, who Wall Pieces, will be on display at ''Be That As It May," wood wall assemblage Ramon Aleolea. that provides opportunities to has learned through his experi- the Musselman Gallery, 379A by view the films and attend the fes- ences in theater the importance of Commercial St. The show opens This winter at his fellowship in cut the paneling. tival VIP parties and events. having well-trained staff because from 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Virginia a whole new type of work "I went to Home Depot and Volunteer coordinator Hills- "anything can happen · at any hangs through June 12. began to emerge. From his van-load bought pink paint just to do the man Wright is extremely pleased time." Alcolea has a long history of of wood from the beach and dump, edges," he says. "But then, I had this with the number of people who Wright encourages interested working with found objects. Last he pulled out the faded pink wall can of pink paint in my workshop. It have volimteered so far, many re- individuals to sign up early so year he made the transition from ar- paneling and used it in what he calls [the color] turned out to be a very turning from last year, and hopes they can benefit from the training chitectural shapes to more narrative an aerial view of a landscape. (The unifying force. It can stand on its that won;! will spread to ·others. sessions and be well organized by pieces with his first heart series. piece has been sold and will not ap- ·own against wood that's been rav- Wright already has over 100 festival time. That series worked around the heart pear in this show.) When he had fin- aged oy man and by time." people signed up to perform If you are interested in work- motif and some pieces included a ished the construction, he was both- Still, he says, like any unusual or tasksranging from manual labor ing either behind the scenes or written narrative. ered by the raw edges where he had repeating element, the artist must be to public·relations. He hopes to with the public for the festival, careful not to overuse a color for the be able to get enough volunteers call Hillsman Wright at 487-8384. sake of itself instead of as an element in a larger context. "It's such a simple thing but so dangerous;' he says of Virginia Center for the Arts for al- where you left off a few hours be- the possibility of becoming caught up lowing him the time and space to fore. It's an elimination of extrane- in one aspect of his work. If that hap- work. Fellowships, whether season- ous information so you can be at- pens, it ceases to work as a whole and long or just a couple of weeks, give tuned only to the working materials becomes cutesy, he says. the artist a new way to focus and re- in front of you." He used the pink paint to accent juvenate. Alcolea is also working on a new certain of the sections of his new "It's about continuous energy heart series called "Love Letters" work and succeeds in having it be- without the breaks of everyday life,"· that will be shown later this season come an important but not overpow- he says. "There is nobody calling at the Schoolhouse Center. He's also ering aspect of the pieces. you. There are no phones. You wake doing a smaller set of pieces he calls He wants to give credit to the up, go to the studio and hook up "Love Notes."