Arts Night at the Pavilion…
Just thought I’d share this original piece from Dakota Requiem that will be available for purchase at Arts Night 2012 at The Washington Pavilion of Arts & Sciences in Sioux Falls. The show itself runs through late February into the beginning of May, and admission to their Visual Arts Center is free, I’ll share more in the coming weeks, until then, sit back and enjoy the show…
Hello Aberdeen…
I found my way to Aberdeen today, which amounts to a 6 hr day trip for the love of art and the thrill of the show.
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‘Dakota Requiem’ can now be found at the Wein Gallery at Presentation College for about the next 6 weeks, through mid-December.
Brookings, I hardly knew you….
I came across this image a few weeks back from one of my last showings, which was posted by my friends at the Brookings Arts Council, anyhow, it looks great!
I’ll be bringing these works from ‘Dakota Requiem’ to Aberdeen next month for one last time as a collective whole, after that, I’ll only be bringing bits and parts around, as the body will be broken into a few different galleries and collections over the winter. I’ve had a good run with these, and I’m glad to have been able to share them with all of you, and thanks to the South Dakota Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts for providing the funding to make them a reality.
Mark that date…
Looks like we have an official reception date in Brookings for my upcoming exhibition w/David Graham at the Community Cultural Center. The exhibition runs from August 30th – September 17th, and is open to the public, anyhow, check it out!
Thursday, September 15th
5:30-7pm
Brookings Community Cultural Center
Brookings, South Dakota.
Bringing the ‘A’ Game…
This is not for the ‘B’ team.
There are no reserves. No excuses. No honorable mentions.
Go Big or Go Home.
Welcome to the big show that is Artists of the Plains. First, the venue, the Holiday Inn City Centre:
Next, the layout, where the artists make camp:
That’s some good company to hang around with for the weekend, and let’s hope they got the memo about the ‘A’ game too.
Going to Pierre..
Looks like I’ll be sending a digital version of my work, and the actual version of me to Pierre in a few weeks for a virtual gallery at the ever-popular Governor’s Awards in the Arts.
A little backround, the Governor’s Awards in the Arts are organized by the South Dakota Arts Council and South Dakotans for the Arts, and are held every two years, recognizing the best of our fine state, and with a keynote by the Governor addressing the State of the Arts.
Nice, huh?
Now, back to the virtual gallery. Organized by noted artist, and a guy who likes the pun too, George Prisbe, Kaleidoscope will feature some of the best our state has to offer. Actually, the best our state has to offer in regards to emerging, mature artists under the age of 35, or something like that anyhow. I was just glad to be recognized and then being asked to take part, well, that makes it better.
I’ll be headed out on February 16th to Pierre, first time there, and I’ll be sure to bring a few pictures back for all of you to see.
And yes Dennis, you’ll have your opportunity to meet me, as I know that will make your night…
Postcards coming to a Salon near you…
I’ll be heading towards the Eastbank Gallery Postcard Salon this November, down in Sioux Falls. Each of these fine cards is available for $30 each, with half of the proceeds to benefit Eastbank and the other my back pocket. A reception will be held on November 5th at Eastbank, and the cards will be on display throughout the month.
Anyhow, Eastbank is making an incredible contribution to the region, and that’s great to see happen. In fact, Steve Larson now calls Eastbank home, and that’s just fantastic for us all.
Each work measures 4 x 6 inches, and is completed on a quality tonal paper with colored pencil. Enjoy!
It’s all about the details…
Yes, it’s about those details, and the skill too, or at least the appearance of ability. Perhaps its better to state the obvious as follows: These images show paint up close, and often that makes me look better than what I appear to be from a distance.
Now for the paint!
If you’d like to see lots more of these, feel free to friend me on facebook, www.facebook.com/eastofegan, as I’m not vain enough to make you fan me. (yet)
Next too, but not at The Pavilion…
It’s the first time out for Requiem, and it’s not where you’d expect…
That’s right good friends of ‘Karma’, I’m currently showing ‘Dakota Requiem’ at First Congregational Church in Sioux Falls, which as the headline suggests is ‘Next too, but not at The Pavilion’. Not everything has to be at The Pavilion after all, there is actually art, great art, outside those walls, and that’s refreshing to know. (and be a small part of too)
Anyhow, I owe many thanks to Rodger Ellingson for providing this incredible opportunity to show, as well as to First Congregational for supporting the arts, and the artists too. What a cool venue, and in the heart of the vibrant downtown district at that, I’m thrilled to have a home for the next several weeks. (and be able to share this work with all of you)
So, feel free to join me on Wednesday, November 10th, from 6-8 pm, for an artist reception at First Congregational, with a brief talk at 6, with light refreshments and some moderately good art to follow. (I’ll have to work on that artist talking part, I seem to never have anything ‘smart’ to say, huh?)
Fresh from the Gallery…
Here’s a few fresh glimpses of my new work, ‘Dakota Requiem’, live and uncut. Enjoy!
Something like mauve…
Let’s go with ‘Mauve’ today, as here’s a few fresh works from ‘Dakota Requiem’ that were completed for ‘Paint the Night PINK 2010′ a benefit for the Avera Cancer Institute of Sioux Falls. In fact, 50% of the sale proceeds will go to directly benefit their continued efforts, so it’s a really good cause to support, local artists and the search for a cure, and if you support us with a purchase, it’s a win/win/win.
Each work measures 10×30, oil on canvas, and for those in retail, markets for $250 each. (It’s a good cause afterall)
The third annual ‘Paint the Night PINK 2010′ will be held October 22, in Sioux Falls, at Perspective, Inc. Check back for more about this in the coming weeks, and until then, let’s go ‘mauve’.
It’s a statement…
As an artist, at least that’s what I tend to pass myself as, we have the often difficult challenge to actually talk about the very work in which we create. Now that tends to horrify most, as how do you capture the visual into the written form, we’re painters, not poets, right? When was the last time you heard anything life-changing from the jaws of a painter, as we have the responsibility to command the visual first, after all, that’s the goal of this pursuit.
I’m reminded of a past expression a man from Missouri once shared, “I’m from the show me state, don’t tell me, show me” which was often followed by a chain of expletives better left out of this fine outstanding blog. This statement applies best to the actual creation of work, the forms, the colors, the getting it out of the head part that leaves to those late at night wanderings. What it doesn’t do is make the product stand, the actual work itself, as the need to communicate your honest and truthful intentions is often the best justification for your work, and the best singular way to do just that is to write it all down.
Really, it’s not all that bad, but it’s honestly a task not to pass over lightly too, and it some respects it defines a professional artist from another sunday afternoon amateur. Yes, that might be a bit harsh, but actually, if you can’t find the words to at least describe your work, or start the conversation about your work, then this art thing might not be for you. At the very least, we have the responsibility to step out from the shadows, share a few thoughts, give a little direction, express our narrative even, and then exit stage left.
‘Dakota Requiem – Works from the Extinction Layer’
I have worked over this past year to visually capture and explore first-hand a unique geological signature, the lasting remnants of a major extinction event, which can be found within the Badlands of Western South Dakota.
The result of a series of meteor impacts, dating to at least 65.5 million years ago, this relatively thin band of darkened and iridium-enriched earth, often referred to as the KT Boundary, pierces the Dakota landscape. Defining the end of the Cretaceous period and the beginning of the modern Cenozoic era, this event essentially marked a definitive shift of life, and the dynamic end of the era of non-avian dinosaurs.
These collective works are first and foremost introspective, rather than simply representative of a place or an event. Yet, it is my intent that these abstracted forms draw from the landscape itself, and the visual identity of the fossilized life and energy captured within the earth.
Throughout these works, I have strived to bring both a sense of vibrancy and harmony, transcended against the immediacy and strain of this event itself, while capturing the geological moment transfixed in time.
It is my intention that these assembled works will continue to redefine the possibilities, the visual language, and overall awareness of the Dakota landscape.
Chris Francis (that’s me) is a recipient of a 2010-11 South Dakota Arts Council Artist Project Grant Award. South Dakota Arts Council support is provided with funds from the State of South Dakota, through the Department of Tourism and State Development, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
In the dark of the night…
I’ve made a habit of late-night studio sessions, as those early morning hours have always held a grasp on my senses. Perhaps it’s the lack of sleep, which in its own right leads to a lack of inhibitions, and thus, a sense of clarity, or at least the feeling of acceptance of the inevitable. Regardless of the logic, I find myself drawn to the darkness, and it’s pull has never seemed stronger, and that’s a good demon to have in your corner afterall, when you’re looking to make something happen on canvas.
Last month I posted several initial images of my current work, ‘Dakota Requiem, Works from the Extinction Layer’. They just didn’t seem finished, more so, they seemed distant to me, and that’s not a good direction to be headed with a new body in the works. So, I went back to the shadows for a bit, hence the darkness, late at night mindset, to look for a fresh way out. Not only that, but to try to make a way out from the sameness, as the plain half-spun feel of these works bothered me, more so, they nearly sunk the prospects of the entire project.
Now, I feel that these assembled pieces have a greater sense of belonging, a stronger visual directive, and coherent language too. It’s an ongoing process, and as I continue to work in the coming months, it’s my intent that the work will develop into new and unforeseen directions, at least that is the hope, and what makes me stay awake at night.
I’ve labeled these as ‘Works from Series One’, I have a tendency to avoid individual titles, they often seem to forced, rather, I’m drawn towards the collective body, hence the simplified titles. We’ll call them as they are, 1, 2, 3, and go from there, it’s like pages in a great novel, Series One is just the first chapter to ‘Dakota Requiem’. I hear it’s a real page turner too!
Anyhow, as so far as the technical, these works measure 30×40 inches, on a 1 3/8 stretched 10 oz canvas. Be sure to take notice of the heavy impasto, the introduction of several new tones and colors, and look for the unexpected too. (ignore those messy spots too, they’re fresh from the easel afterall)
First works of Dakota Requiem…
Here’s the first few works from ‘Dakota Requiem’, a small part of ‘Series One’, as things have started to come together, at least this past weekend.
These works measure 30×40, on a stretched canvas, 1 3/8 deep, with a deep brown primer too. I’ve used so-called ‘Artists Paintstiks’, which I tend to call ‘Oil-Sticks’, which is a mixture of wax and oil, which dries in a quick 2-3 days, as opposed to a not-so-quick 12-18 months, and thus makes things easier to live with. (as the smell and toxicity of traditional oil painting can cause some issues in the home-life)
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be going into factory mode, otherwise known as the time in which I’ll crank out as many fresh works as I can. You gotta act when things work right, or at least when you think they do, we can but try!
I’ll be bringing some fresh canvas and Oil-Sticks to DrawnTown this Friday, at the Eastbank Block Party (8th & Railroad Center), starting at 6pm in Sioux Falls. We’ll see how it goes, working in oil on the road could be a challenge, but I’d like to cause a little trouble, and besides, who else is willing to try this? (look for the messy hands, and be sure to shake, it’s only polite after all) (Image Correction- New images uploaded, now that’s color!)
Geeking about the KT Boundary
I’ll be exploring the KT Boundary first-hand within the next few weeks, thanks to an Artist Project Grant from the South Dakota Arts Council, which I received this past year.
As I prepare for this forthcoming body of work, I wanted to take a moment to clarify a few of the basic principles and theories of the KT Boundary.
Let start with a general definition:
From the Merriam-Websters Online Dictionary http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/k-t%20boundary
: the transition between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods of geologic time characterized by a mass extinction of many forms of life including the dinosaurs; also : a geologic stratum marking this boundary
Let’s review the KT Boundary time-frame and the Alvarez Impact hypothesis:
From wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%E2%80%93T_boundary
The K–T boundary is a geological signature, usually a thin band, dated to (65.5 ± 0.3) Ma (megaannum, or million years ago).[1] K is the traditional abbreviation for the Cretaceous period, and T is the abbreviation for the Tertiary period. The boundary marks the end of the Mesozoic era and the beginning of the Cenozoic era, and is associated with the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event, a mass extinction.[2] With “Tertiary” being discouraged as a formal time or rock unit by the International Commission on Stratigraphy, the K–T extinction event is now called the Cretaceous–Paleogene (or K–Pg) event by many researchers.[3]
Alvarez impact hypothesis Main article: Alvarez hypothesis
In 1980, a team of researchers consisting of Nobel prize-winning physicist Luis Alvarez, his son, geologist Walter Alvarez, and chemists Frank Asaro and Helen Michels discovered that sedimentary layers found all over the world at the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary contain a concentration of iridium many times greater than normal (30 times background in Italy and 160 times at Stevns[4]). Iridium is extremely rare in the earth’s crust because it is a siderophile, and therefore most of it travelled with iron as it sank into the earth’s core during planetary differentiation. As iridium remains abundant in most asteroids and comets, the Alvarez team suggested that an asteroid struck the earth at the time of the K–T boundary.[5] There were other earlier speculations on the possibility of an impact event, but no evidence had been uncovered at that time.[6]
The evidence for the Alvarez impact theory is supported by chondritic meteorites and asteroids which have an iridium concentration of ~455 parts per billion,[7] much higher than ~0.3 parts per billion typical of the Earth’s crust.[5] Chromium isotopic anomalies found in Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary sediments are similar to those of an asteroid or a comet composed of carbonaceous chondrites. Shocked quartz granules and tektite glass spherules, indicative of an impact event, are also common in the K–T boundary, especially in deposits from around the Caribbean. All of these constituents are embedded in a layer of clay, which the Alvarez team interpreted as the debris spread all over the world by the impact.[5]
Using estimates of the total amount of iridium in the K–T layer, and assuming that the asteroid contained the normal percentage of iridium found in chondrites, the Alvarez team went on to calculate the size of the asteroid. The answer was about 10 km (6.2 mi) in diameter, about the size of Manhattan.[5] Such a large impact would have had approximately the energy of 100 trillion tons of TNT, or about 2 million times greater than the most powerful thermonuclear bomb ever tested.
The obvious consequence of an impact would be a dust cloud which would block sunlight and inhibit photosynthesis for a few years. This would account for the extinction of plants and phytoplankton and of organisms dependent on them (including predatory animals as well as herbivores). However, small creatures whose food chains were based on detritus might have still had a reasonable chance of survival. It is estimated that sulfuric acid aerosols were injected into the stratosphere, leading to a 10–20% reduction in sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface. It would have taken at least ten years for those aerosols to dissipate.[8][9]
Global firestorms may have resulted as incendiary fragments from the blast fell back to Earth. Analyses of fluid inclusions in ancient amber suggest that the oxygen content of the atmosphere was very high (30–35%) during the late Cretaceous. This high O2 level would have supported intense combustion. The level of atmospheric O2 plummeted in the early Tertiary Period. If widespread fires occurred, they would have increased the CO2 content of the atmosphere and caused a temporary greenhouse effect once the dust cloud settled, and this would have exterminated the most vulnerable survivors of the “long winter”.[8]
The impact may also have produced acid rain, depending on what type of rock the asteroid struck. However, recent research suggests this effect was relatively minor. Chemical buffers would have limited the changes, and the survival of animals vulnerable to acid rain effects (such as frogs) indicates that this was not a major contributor to extinction. Impact theories can only explain very rapid extinctions, since the dust clouds and possible sulphuric aerosols would wash out of the atmosphere in a fairly short time—possibly under ten years.[10]
// //
(From Wikipedia)
Check back in the coming weeks for some notes about the Chicxulub Crater, which is regarded as the primary meteor impact behind the KT Boundary.
K-T, looking for a way out…
Here’s a few fresh sketches from last night’s DrawnTown 12, as I continue to experiment with this new forthcoming body of work, the still untitled ‘Work from the Extinction Layer’.
I’ll be headed west towards the Badlands later this summer, as I’ve recently received a South Dakota Arts Council Artist Project Grant, to create a new body of work centered around my explorations of the K-T Boundary.
I’m headed towards the K-T Boundry…
I’ll be headed towards the west this coming year, in pursuit of my newest body of work, as I’ve just received notice that I’ll be a recipient of a project grant from the South Dakota Arts Council!
I’ll be working over the next few weeks preparing for my research field-trip to the Badlands of South Dakota and beyond, in pursuit of a few layers of iridium-enriched earth, known as the K-T Boundry. I’ll be exploring this layer of earth first-hand, and creating an entire fresh body of work, which be a real challenge for sure, but I’m thrilled with the prospects all around.
Check out the earlier proposal, and be sure to follow along here on eastofegan.com, this will be a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to make the most out of this incredible opportunity!
Extra Bonus: Here’s a link to a SDPB program, Nature Adventures, about the K-T Boundry, enjoy!
Overview of my new work…
I’ve been working over the past several months developing a new body of work, roughly entitled ‘Work from the Extinction Layer’ or maybe ‘KT Boundary’ even. Anyhow, I’ve included the overview of this forthcoming project, which I completed for a project grant opportunity from the South Dakota Arts Council. Let me know what you think, the previous post includes some rough sketches which I’ve been developing in pursuit of this new work. I’ll know in a few months if this proposal will be accepted from the SDAC, should be a great project to make happen. (Revised note – I did indeed receive a 2011 SDAC Artist Project Grant)
Overview of the Project
… involves the development and production of a new body of abstract landscapes drawn directly from the South Dakota Badlands. A major component of this project is focused on a research excursion to the Badlands, to explore a significant aspect from the ancient landscape, a sedimentary layer of darkened iridium-enriched earth, called the KT Boundary.
Iridium itself is a rare element found on earth. It can be found primarily within outer cosmic bodies, such as meteors, that when impact our earth, leave traces of iridium in their violent aftermath. Indications of this element, here on Earth, often revel past cosmic events. This particular layer of enriched earth found within the Badlands corresponds directly with a mass-extinction of prehistoric life between the Cretaceous and Paleogene time-periods.
I would like to explore this layer first-hand, via a research excursion, in order to better capture the unique visual language of this landscape feature. I believe this to be a necessary venture to ensure the physicality of these forms are well translated and truthfully developed. During this excursion, my attention would be focused on creating hundreds of quick-sketches, as well as taking a number of digital still images, in the pursuit of capturing this layer of earth for later use and development in regards to this new body of work.
Within this body of work, I would work exclusively on a 2 3/8 inch gallery-profile stretched canvas, heavy cotton duct, with the medium comprised of non-traditional oil-sticks which often utilize modern synthetic pigments. This unique medium combination allows for the creation of work that has the look of traditional oil painting, yet has an average drying time of a day, as opposed to several months or even years in some instances. This will allow the exhibition of this work to the public within a much shorter period, making it more accessible in the near future.
Further added to the work, I would like to incorporate traces of the layer of iridium-enriched earth, into the actual oil pigments. This process I believe would create a more unified and real connection between the actual artwork and the ancient landscape that inspired it. I envision a bold and dynamic exhibition space, filled with these intimate abstract paintings, with large swaps of richly layered earth-tones intersected by dark piercing layers, representative of this blackened layer of iridium-enriched earth.
I believe these motifs to be a natural progression and a symbolic meeting of the themes I have pursued within all my past work: the connection between the forces of the natural world juxtaposed with the engineered world which we occupy, as well as the dominant creation and mortality themes which have remained a constant throughout my previous work over this past decade.
