This painting is also going in the "RED" exhibit at Mary Rezny's. The title is "Sensory Data Array 02" and it was actually done awhile back for an exhibit at
Logsdon 1909, in Chicago. The obvious connection here is the color. The piece is part of a series in which I am exploring the juxtaposition of chaos (free gesture) and order (pattern). A portion of the first painting in the series is used as the header background for this blog. The other three pieces can be found on my portfolio website
www.philiphigh.com.
For me, painting is part pure sensory enjoyment, part puzzle-play and part contemplation point. While some artists purposely distance themselves from titles, I like to provide some clue as to what I was thinking before, during or after the process. Or simply offer a suggestion as to where someone else might start their exploration. But I also try to keep the titles cryptic enough to leave room for interpretation. The image isn't meant to illustrate the concept but to serve as an anchor point for individual experience. Plus, I like words almost as much as images and just enjoy the added resonance.
In the case of this series, the titles carry the same pairing of concepts as the images - "Sensory" for the raw color and gesture and "Array" for the ordered grid pattern. The word "Data" suggests the computer-centered world of tools and knowledge (technology) we have built around ourselves for protection against the limits of our understanding and the potentially overwhelming forces of nature. I know, it's a lot to read into a simple arrangement of colorful circles. It's not mandatory for enjoyment, but it's there if you want it.
painting - "Sensory Data Array 02"
acrylic and Tyvek on panel.
The red theme seems to have grabbed my imagination. I actually started this piece last year but was never completely satisfied with it. After some extensive reworking I think it's finished now. The title is "Atmospheric Sequence I" and it represents an idea I've been interested in for some time, putting together multiple views of the same "scene" with slight variations - like frames from a movie that suggest the passage of time. They are temporarily held in suspension for individual examination, but also merge into one dynamic, if indefinite, stereo "field," forever flickering in the imagination between two slightly out of phase points of perception.
