Control Freak

My work is driven by an emotional conflict between a need for unrestricted freedom of expression and my own desire for control. This deeply personal yet universal dichotomy is represented through the competing elements of gesture and Suprematism. By superimposing intuitive and meditated designs, I establish complete control and personal autonomy – constantly defining boundaries in order to break them. In both analog and digital design, I use technical conventions as guidelines which I then bend or break to challenge the confines of artistic tradition and to manipulate the message received by the viewer. The coherency of the design proves to the viewer that each broken convention is intentional and reaffirms the validity of my own artistic license. I intend to connect to my audience’s own desire for art to be intuitive, original, and expressive while also being recognizable and explicable. I opt not to include recognizable subjects, forcing my viewers to participate as they attempt to apply their own explanations and engage in their own desire to control what they observe. Through the layering of lines, ink, wax, and opaque vinyl shapes, I create a visible history of mark making, depth, and form. The design develops like a living interaction between the lines and shapes, each fighting for its right to control the other within the bounds I have determined. These competing layers increase in scale from background to foreground to bring the theme of tension and conflict to the surface of each piece. I experiment with typography intuitively, abstracting designs through unconventional arrangements of type, used as both legible text and abstract form. By placing colored type on sheets of transparent velum, I create separate planes of text and shape that interact with the subsequent layers. I am inspired by Julie Mehretu’s use of layered line and shapes with architectural undertones to communicate a complex and dynamic sense of used space. I relate to designer David Carson’s emphasis on the distinguishing of communication from legibility. Like Carson, I am much more interested in communicating visually and abstractly rather than through obvious renderings of subject matters.https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art498/1046/thumbnail.jp

Rosalyn Churchman ProPrac

Rosalyn Churchman | Artist Statement My work is an examination of the process of decontextualizing everyday objects and manipulating perception through juxtaposition and the use of freeform line. I find that by juxtaposing order and chaos I am able to create energetic and visually engaging compositions. I have synthesized the techniques of Julie Mehretu’s layered line and Jackson Pollock’s abstract paintings to develop a style of my own. The static nature of ordered line juxtaposed with loose line creates dynamic and dramatic movement throughout the piece. I think of each of these drawings as a maelstrom of line, pattern, and ink clouds that come together to create ambiguous and abstracted compositions. I am interested in incorporating recognizable images of the human figure within more abstract compositions to evoke a universal feeling of distress. These pieces use parts of the human figure as reference points within an abstract and dynamic scene. This juxtaposing allows me to blur the line between figuration and abstraction. In these drawings, I incorporate colored pencil and watercolor with pen and ink. I find that along with pattern and line, the addition of color enhances the piece and aids to the overall complexity of the drawing. The appearance of bold black lines and patterns beside bright blocks of color gives an aggressive and graphic quality to these drawings. In my current drawing series, Gears, I render human faces and figures, but incorporate mechanical aspects. I am exploring this method of juxtaposing the artificial with the human as a new means of depicting ironic and unnatural subjects. I would like to transfer my ideas of juxtaposing order and chaos to my graphic design work. I enjoy typography and the manipulation of letter forms through font variations, color, and pattern to develop eye-catching and aesthetic visual hierarchy. I am also drawn to page design and enjoy organizing imagery and type into effective and visually interesting compositions. Paula Scher’s use of color, shape, pattern, and type to create engaging compositions inspires me to do the same in my own designs. Like Luba Lukova, I would also like to scan in my drawings and then manipulate them on the computer. I am interested in how my method of contrasting order with chaos and the recognizable with the unrecognizable can play out in my future designs.https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art399/1041/thumbnail.jp