CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Sublime Modularity A graduate project submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements For the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Art, Visual Arts By Curtis Taylor May 2017 i A graduate project of Curtis Taylor is approved: __________________________________________ ____________ Christian Tedeschi, M.F.A. Date __________________________________________ ____________ Lesley Krane, M.F.A. Date __________________________________________ ____________ Michelle Rozic, M.F.A., Chair Date California State University, Northridge ii Acknowledgements To Genevieve, All I have earned I owe to you. I could not have done this without your support. You have guided me through this process and kept me sane along the way. Thank you, my love. Evan, Sophie and Inès, Thank you for all your patience throughout this program. I can’t express how much your understanding has helped me complete this program. Thank you. Mom and Dad, You have always been there for me with encouragement and inspiration. The genetic material to keep me moving and creating is especially appreciated! Monica and Jerry, You have always supported me, even before I knew I wanted to go on this adventure! Michelle Rozic, Thank you for all your support, encouragement. Your expectations have raised the expectations I now hold for myself and made me a better artist. Lesley Krane, You have always been so welcoming and gracious with your support; especially that one time in review when you commented about the absence of my, then secret, abstract prints. Christian Tedeschi, Thank you for introducing me to Googie architecture; an important puzzle piece which opened a new understanding of myself and my art. Samantha Fields, You were instrumental in helping me realize the cyclical nature of my practice, and how all the pieces of my life have informed my work. Tim Forcum, Your encouragement and knowledge of the abstract world helped me become comfortable in my own skin. iii Table of Contents Signature Page ii Acknowledgments iii Abstract v Introduction: Preluded Modularity 1 Section One: Informed Modularity 2 Section Two: Procedural Modularity 6 Printmaking 12 Printmaking: Case Study 15 Painting 16 Painting: Case Study 18 Sculpture 21 Sculpture: Case Study 25 Section Three: Philosophical Modularity 28 Conclusion: Culminating Modularity 31 References/Bibliography 32 iv Abstract Sublime Modularity By Curtis Taylor Master of Fine Arts in Art, Visual Arts Formally, my work draws from Modernism and Minimalism by utilizing prefabricated industrial materials such as plywood, MDF, and spray paint. Informed by Mid-Century modern architecture and design, it also contrasts the austere formalism of hard-edge abstraction with the expressive, luminescent color fields of abstract expressionism. Overlapping stencils cut from prefabricated materials facilitates a modular, mark making process and allows me to establish a visual vocabulary that connects individual prints or paintings in a series. This method of creating enables me to freely react to previous marks, producing fluid, interconnected layers, and quickly compose without overthinking. v This technique exposes intriguing shape interactions that inspire hard-edge, abstract, wall hanging sculptures. These sculptures are integral components of the series as they echo line, shape, and color patterns contained within the prints and paintings. When included as part of the series and installed with the prints or paintings, they expand the conversation through repetition of color and shape. Because these wall sculptures are reproductions of the original collage pieces generated at the beginning of my creative process, they bring the system full circle. vi Introduction: Preluded Modularity “…the Beautiful in nature is connected with the form of the object, which consists in having boundaries, the Sublime is to be found in a formless object, so far as in it, or by occasion of it, boundlessness is represented” (I, Book 2 S23,)(Kant I. , 1790) I cannot describe the larger historical or philosophical influences on my practice without discussing the process. Additionally, I cannot describe the influences or the process without discussing the product. As such, it can only be expected that this abstract will serpentine throughout my philosophical and historical influences to create a more cohesive description of my work. Built around the concept of modularity, or the degree to which something can be separated and recombined, my practice is both constructive and deconstructive. Depending on the intended concept or content, I am comfortable starting with either method or even employing both methods at the same time. The intuitive deconstruction process is important because it produces compelling, non-referential shapes. I find these shapes compelling for their curvilinear and rectilinear properties that often meet at acute angles causing the viewer to follow the lines and focus on that point of intersection. These shapes, and the visual vocabulary they create, define my prints and paintings. Through the constructive phase, I rearrange these shapes to create a sublime tension between awkward compositions and soothing luminescent color palettes. 1 Section One: Informed Modularity I have always found great joy in creating. I believe that joy stems from bearing witness to the people I love most, embracing process every day and rejoicing in the completed product. Informed Modularity explores the genesis of my interest in process and materials. I spent a great deal of my childhood watching my father, a carpenter, move from the planning stages of many construction projects, through the framing stages to finished projects. Because of this, I have gleaned a certain amount of construction understanding from him, which has helped me ideate project designs. More importantly to my graduate project artwork, my interest in raw construction-grade materials and their inherent beauty is rooted in these experiences. While my father was busy building houses, my mother wrote craft columns, reviews and project instructions for magazines such as McCall’s and Crafts ‘n Things. Similarly, I watched her progress from start to finish on many projects. While attention to construction detail is incredibly important to my father, the nature of my mother’s work focuses on the aesthetic, finish details of any project. My interest in the “finish” was certainly developed during this time. My brother and I were surrounded by industrial and craft materials and tools from an early age. From time to time we would receive explicit, direct instruction for our projects, but my parents’ justifiable concern about two young boys using their tools limited their enthusiasm for such encouragement. Leftover construction grade materials usually inspired our creative process, and most of our projects were self-guided and 2 produced using relatively benign tools such as scissors, hammers, and drills. My comfort with these tools and materials from a young age is a major reason why my work resides on paper, wood panels or construction grade products. I view my works as a dichotomy between historically, gender exclusive activities; industrial craftwork is traditionally the domain of men, while domestic materials fall within that of women. Even though my parents practiced a post-war, traditional division of labor, their individual work was viewed as equal, and as such I place equal importance on both forms of work. I do not view them as mutually exclusive gender domains, and I am comfortable using each as needed throughout my practice. The paper craft (prints, bookbinding, etc.) are produced using domestic tools such as scissors, needles, thread, and cloth while my prints and sculptures are fabricated using industrial tools such as printing presses, table saws, wood planers, and miter saws. Time and place have also had a meaningful impact on my practice. The 1970s and 1980s were an awkward time in northeast South Dakota where I was born and raised. Caught between renovation eras, many small towns in this region were still influenced by Mid-Century Modern design and architecture. Drive-in restaurants with cantilever carports, drive-in theaters, and “outdated” Mid-Century Modern interior designs were part of my everyday life. The influence of these designs, ubiquitous with Mid-Century Modern shapes and color palettes, is evident in my two-dimensional and three- dimensional pieces. Travel is another major influence in my work. As a child, one of my favorite family vacation destinations was the Space Needle and Science Center in Seattle, Washington. Built for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and Expo, the exhibits and 3 architecture reflected the technological optimism and design aesthetics of the 1950s (University of Washington, n.d.). The clean, swooping, “futuristic” lines — a descendent of Googie Architecture (Friedlander, 2008) — intrigued me as did the trapezoidal and ovoid shapes that would blend together through open frame constructions. Family vacations in the Pacific Northwest also introduced me to Tlingit art. My fascination with the ovoid shape, one of the foundational design elements used throughout Tlingit iconography, was sparked during these visits. Saturday morning programming such as The Jetsons and Lost in Space have also had a large influence on my color palette and aesthetic choices. I was fascinated by these futuristic worlds, with their swooping architecture and ovoid shaped space vehicles. The influence of these vibrant color palettes and seemingly endless backgrounds