RP 1
"RP 1", ink and graphite on paper, 4.125" x 5.75".
_____________________________________
Relentless…the word I chose for this year, 2018. Or the word that chose me. Am I chosen by, or do I choose? I ask this question more often as my years pass by. So what is this word about? This word that chose me–relentless? Must I be relentless in my choosing? Did she choose me to be Mom? Or did I choose her?
The faint smile of knowing. I know that smile. The sideways looking. I know that look. The resolve of her mouth. I know those studied hatch marks. Those lines, drawn lovingly, knowingly. To be... relentless.
- Sherrie Lowly
_____________________________________
About the Redeemer Project: In November of 2017 I received an invitation from Bethany Kenyon of Redeemer University College in Ontario, Canada to participate in a two-person exhibition. My initial thought was to show a few paintings, but various considerations led me to the idea of making a series of small, postcard sized drawings. The drawings would be installed over the course of the exhibition one at a time, starting with just one. I invited my wife Sherrie to write a text for each drawing (see above) which I will post in relation to each drawing concurrently with when it (the drawing) is installed in the exhibition.
Here is the statement I wrote for the exhibition:
"The Redeemer Project"
The viewer: you complete the work. While my intention with this project is hopefully relevant, I invite you to look and think carefully prior to reading my statement. Perhaps start with "What does (the practice of making a) drawing mean?"
The subject: I see her face every day. Over the last 32 years Temma, our daughter, has been a constant presence in our lives. She is profoundly other. To use more medically clinical terms is to largely define her by who and what she isn't. I'm more interested in and constantly unraveled by who she is. The central stream of my work as a visual artist has been Temma-centric. She is emphatically present even while remaining an enigmatic mystery.
The project: Post card sized(1) ink (and a bit of graphite) drawings of Temma. Start the drawing from life, if need be(2) supplement with photographic reference. And again. And again.(3)
The artist: I like to think of (the making of) art as a relational practice, a representational practice, a political practice, a conceptual practice, a contemplative practice, a practice in being (present to), a practice in longing, a practice in loving.
1 - The size of an artwork is always meaningful. The material used to make an artwork is always meaningful. The process used to make an artwork is always meaningful.
2 - Temma doesn't pose, let alone hold a pose. Most likely she has little understanding of what it means to be seen.
3 - The season of Lent and the common practice of reflection leading up to Holy Week (when the exhibition concludes) was not irrelevant to my thinking towards this project and exhibition.
AasP
RP 1
"RP 1", ink and graphite on paper, 4.125" x 5.75".
_____________________________________
Relentless…the word I chose for this year, 2018. Or the word that chose me. Am I chosen by, or do I choose? I ask this question more often as my years pass by. So what is this word about? This word that chose me–relentless? Must I be relentless in my choosing? Did she choose me to be Mom? Or did I choose her?
The faint smile of knowing. I know that smile. The sideways looking. I know that look. The resolve of her mouth. I know those studied hatch marks. Those lines, drawn lovingly, knowingly. To be... relentless.
- Sherrie Lowly
_____________________________________
About the Redeemer Project: In November of 2017 I received an invitation from Bethany Kenyon of Redeemer University College in Ontario, Canada to participate in a two-person exhibition. My initial thought was to show a few paintings, but various considerations led me to the idea of making a series of small, postcard sized drawings. The drawings would be installed over the course of the exhibition one at a time, starting with just one. I invited my wife Sherrie to write a text for each drawing (see above) which I will post in relation to each drawing concurrently with when it (the drawing) is installed in the exhibition.
Here is the statement I wrote for the exhibition:
"The Redeemer Project"
The viewer: you complete the work. While my intention with this project is hopefully relevant, I invite you to look and think carefully prior to reading my statement. Perhaps start with "What does (the practice of making a) drawing mean?"
The subject: I see her face every day. Over the last 32 years Temma, our daughter, has been a constant presence in our lives. She is profoundly other. To use more medically clinical terms is to largely define her by who and what she isn't. I'm more interested in and constantly unraveled by who she is. The central stream of my work as a visual artist has been Temma-centric. She is emphatically present even while remaining an enigmatic mystery.
The project: Post card sized(1) ink (and a bit of graphite) drawings of Temma. Start the drawing from life, if need be(2) supplement with photographic reference. And again. And again.(3)
The artist: I like to think of (the making of) art as a relational practice, a representational practice, a political practice, a conceptual practice, a contemplative practice, a practice in being (present to), a practice in longing, a practice in loving.
1 - The size of an artwork is always meaningful. The material used to make an artwork is always meaningful. The process used to make an artwork is always meaningful.
2 - Temma doesn't pose, let alone hold a pose. Most likely she has little understanding of what it means to be seen.
3 - The season of Lent and the common practice of reflection leading up to Holy Week (when the exhibition concludes) was not irrelevant to my thinking towards this project and exhibition.
AasP