|
| |
MAPPING MAINE
FOUR CONTEMPORARY VIEWS
On view at the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine
From May 17 to August 24, 2003
By Laurie Meunier Graves
I must admit that I have a fascination with maps. I love to look at them, to
trace routes and roads and distances. To me, they represent finding one’s
way, which can be difficult both literally and figuratively. The allure of
maps captured me when I was quite young, and by the time I was ten or
eleven, I was the designated navigator for family trips. As an extra bonus,
I got to sit in the front seat next to my father rather than in the back
seat with my younger brother.
It seems to me that for an artist, mapping an area involves more than
literally finding one’s way. It’s an attempt to come to terms with a place,
to really come to know it, and perhaps even gain a glimmer of illumination.
It’s a way of looking inside by looking outside.
In Mapping Maine: Four Contemporary Views, which is being shown at the
Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine, four artists explore the outer
space of Maine. These artists are Sam Cady, Eric Hopkins, Yvonne Jacquette,
and Natasha Mayers. All four, of course, have different approaches, yet they
have all managed to capture the feel of Maine. Sam Cady and Yvonne Jacquette
do this in a very specific way, and Eric Hopkins and Natasha Mayers do it in
a more general way. However, in the end, they have indeed all mapped Maine.
Sam Cady has painted two exquisite cutouts of islands. One is large and
clear with the green of “pointed firs” and the brown of a sandy beach. A
small one has the same pointed firs, but most of it is obscured by a wash of
fog. These islands float on the wall in an almost mystical, magical way.
It’s as though they are little Brigadoons of Maine.
There is also a large painting—not a cutout—of the blue and white swirl of
water. Mr. Cady has painted the water so that it seems to stretch endlessly
to the open sea, and the effect is almost hypnotic. In addition, the water
has a series of patterns. First, there is the line of the water as it
stretches toward the ocean. Second, there is a sort of whirlpool as it comes
closer to land. Third, the water fizzes and foams as it breaks on the rocks.
This wonderful painting shows the different glimmering aspects of water that
few of us take the time to notice.
Yvonne Jacquette’s paintings take us on an aerial tour of Maine. In one
painting, it’s over a field; in another, it’s over water; in still another,
it’s over a factory at night, and the factory looks like a mighty fortress.
These paintings have a soft, out-of-focus look, which is appropriate given
the vantage. They look familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. And
somehow, even though scenes are shown at a distance, they are very specific.
We really do see the fields, the water, and the factory at night.
Eric Hopkins, with his vivid blue and green paintings, takes us even higher
than Ms. Jacquette does. He’s not quite in outer space, but he’s heading
there. His paintings show bold outlines of land and the intense blue of
water, and they remind me of John Marin’s paintings. In Circling the
Islands, along with the bright water there is the curve of the earth. It
really does feel as though Mr. Hopkins is painting from a space ship, and
they make you ache for home.
Natasha Mayers's paintings form a grid—there are three down and four across—of
roads, hills, and traffic signs. There is a jumble of colors, roads, and
scenery, and it’s as though they were painted while the artist was in
motion. They have a hectic, almost cartoonish look, a blur of images from a
speeding car. It is scenery on the run, which of course is the way most of
us see the road.
As I studied this exhibit, I thought about how all these artists looked at
Maine from a distance and either painted or drew what came to them. They
really have mapped certain pieces of Maine and have asked the viewer to
consider the state from angles and altitudes not usually considered. While
these pieces don’t exactly come together to form a whole, they do form an
interesting pastiche of images that gives an impression of Maine in much the
same way a map would. And, it is up to the map-reader to fill in the blanks,
to translate, to find the way.
|
| |
|
|
|
2008 Wolf Moon Desk Calendar
We are pleased to announce that we have put together another snappy desk calendar
featuring work by Maine photographer Clif Graves.
5 1/2" x 5"
2008 Wolf Moon Calendar just
$10.00 each
More Info |
|
Some of the fine
stores
where you can find
Wolf Moon JOURNAL
More Info |
|
Wolf Moon
Photo Note Cards
More Info
|
|
|
|
