Contents
Page One:
Abdulwahab Mihoub: Folk Artist from the Maghreb
Page Two:
Abby Levine: Works of Humor and Satire
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Big Bend Postcard |
A native of the State of New Jersey, American artist Abby Levine decided some ten years ago to make Marathon, Texas her home.
From Austin Chronicle Art Critic Jesse Sublett:
Working predominantly with wood, using Japan color and a scroll saw,
Dremel tool, and woodburner, Levine creates deliciously complex 3D
pieces with interlocking architectural structures festooned with icons,
fetishes, and cutout figures of historical, political, and cultural significance.
|
Western Door Topper |
"When I moved to Texas in 1991, I had been doing weekly
illustrations in
ink and brush for an alternative weekly in Seattle, and
three-dimensional architectural
constructions 'on the side'.
Travelling in and reading about the West, I became interested in the
sort of kitschy tourist representation of its icons, which one could
find in motel and national park gift shops. I was really tired of the
slackness or lack of tension in my ink lines. I had used wood burning a
while back, in a depiction of Jesse Jackson as part of a group portrait
of the 1988 presidential candidates, and remembered the unusual linear
quality it produced and thought it would be appropriate for the theme of
the work.
So I bought myself an inexpensive tool (the kind with the changeable
points), and got started. I liked the effect so much that I purchased
a rheostat-controlled tool (Detailmaster IV Sabre), which I have been
using ever since. It is a little 'long in the tooth' but is a real workhorse."
|
Western Door Topper, detail |
"I also use pyrography to transfer images to wood by burning
through the tracings, leaving wonderful scraps of translucent paper
images with seared edges, which I always intend to use for something but
wind up throwing out.
Lately I have been using it as an engraving tool and painting over the
burned line. I was drawn to pyrography because of its populist
connotations. It reminded me of those pot-holder weaving kits I had as
a child, tourist knick-knacks, and the illustrations on the board games
we used to collect. Being basically a cheapskate, by upbringing and
necessity, I prefer to use readily available, ordinary materials, and I
have been using the same wood-burning tool for upwards of seven years
(with occasional replacement of the pens)."
|
Abby Levine at Work in Her Studio |
Tools. "Along with the above-mentioned Detailmaster, I use a
Dremel for
shaping, drilling, etc., a Hegner Multimax 22-V stationary scroll saw
and a hand held jigsaw for cutting, a 1/3 sheet palm sander and a detail
sander (self evident), and various
miscellaneous nail punches and other small hand tools."
Wood. "I generally work with lumber that is available in an
ordinary hardware
store--birch plywood and luan, which I purchase in 4 ft x 8 ft sheets
(for 1/4 in.) or 5 ft by 5 ft sheets (for 1/2 in.). I also use pine,
poplar, and cedar for carved portions. I don't turn my nose up at
"fancy" wood, I just can't afford it!"
Finish. "Most of my pieces are painted as well as burned,
and I use Japan color, which is a super-flat decorative oil-based paint.
It can be extended with mineral spirits and used as a stain, or used
straight for a heavy, chalky, matte effect. I then coat the pieces
after overnight drying and buffing, using a clear spray in a can
(Krylon, etc.) to whatever degree of gloss is appropriate."
Size. "I have worked on pieces as small as 11-1/2 in. tall
by 3 in. by 3/16 in., and as large as 52 in. by 58 in. by 9 in.
However, I find an intermediate size the most appealing!"
|
Move Outta Babylon |
"I recall the summer I did the Bob Marley, Marcus
Garvey, Haile Selassie piece--MOVE OUTTA BABYLON--that we had just
purchased a CD compilation of the history of Reggae. The liner notes
were really informative and made a
connection between Marcus Garvey's "back to Africa movement"
in the late 1920's (he was a Jamaican), the Rastafarian Movement (a
messianic belief system which posits that a descendant of the union
between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba will be the Redeemer.
Rastas are vegetarians, and spend a lot of time smoking Pot), and Reggae
music. The Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie, was, for a time, believed
to be the Redeemer, and so was
Marley. I have always been fascinated by belief systems and the
cultural structures that they
generate, and this subject had the added attraction of a rich visual
context. (Marley is
depicted as "The Lion of Judah," I use a lot of African
patterning and imagery, etc).
I spent a lot of time on the research and the execution of this piece,
and used pyrography extensively to suggest the quality both of African
art and artifacts and that of old photographs and maps. I also used
thinned-down enamel paint and colored pencils, layered and sprayed
between coats, for the coloration."
|
Move Outta Babylon, detail of Marcus Garvey |
Although art critics--like Jesse Sublett
quoted at the beginning--have written some very eloquent and interesting
comments about Abby's work and how they perceive it and define it, here
is what Abby herself says about her style and how it came about:
"I think of it as 'history painting' in a sense. Somewhere between
a museum diorama and the pictures in an old school textbook from the
early '60's. I try to present 'alternate histories', ones that don't
necessarily reinforce the status quo, but familiarize viewers with
ideas and movements that were out of the mainstream (for example,
Utopian movements of the mid-19th century in the United States). I
developed many of these techniques and interests while doing
commissioned work for a fellow who lives nearby, over a period of six
years."
|
Fabulous Las Vegas |
Abby did not refer to her style as pop art or folk art as art critics
have described it; however she did say that she liked working in
pyrography because she thinks of it as a 'craft' medium rather than what
is traditionally considered one of the 'fine art' media. One reason she
chose pyrography as one medium in her mixed-media works is that it has
what she termed a 'popular' look to it.
Her motivation, she explains, is "Both to draw people into the work
and to place me, as the artist, closer to the viewer. Not a lot of
folks have used fine art materials to make the work more like a
household object, a piece of furniture, a toy--something less
intimidating and more intimate."
As to the viewing public she attracts because of her style of work and/or the media she uses, Abby remarks, "Not necessarily your ordinary fine art public. A lot of women respond strongly to my work, as do people with a good sense of humour. Leftists, intellectuals, activists, and children of all political persuasions (!) respond strongly to my work."
Has her choice of media and her style hampered her acceptance in
galleries or other expositions? Or otherwise determined where she will
show her work, the reception she gets, etc.? Abby responds:
"It is not so much the medium (although some of my pieces are
cumbersome and difficult to store and transport) that makes acceptance
of my work difficult, but rather its political content and its
ambivalent view of the 'art world'. Since I am female, and my work
could be considered as being in a craft medium, it is occasionally
devalued in a fine art context. Despite all of this, I have had a fair
degree of success in getting the work shown. Occasionally folks suggest
I show in 'outsider' venues; however, since I am a trained artist
(although I've attempted to unlearn much of the elitist hogwash that
comes with the training) I feel that would be somewhat dishonest
(although some would say I qualify because of my mental problems!)."
|
Fabulous Las Vegas, detail |
"I like to think of myself as someone who happens to have the
ability to communicate visually and make things that people enjoy having
around and are simultaneously challenged by. I don't think of myself as
a special genius or that my abilities elevate me over the general
public.
I would like to be able to make a living at least as good as someone who
flips burgers. I guess the WPA artists are sort of ideals to me, like
the Mexican muralists--pariticipating in the cultural discourse rather
than closing themselves off from it, and hence valued by the society,
and not viewed as parasites or high priests."
|
Happy Trails |
From Abby:
"I have used pyrography extensively for narrative, historical
pieces, compiling burnings of photos and images and incorporating them
into larger, quasi-symbolic structures. In these
pieces, the pyrography is sort of 'memory writing', stamping the image
into consciousness,
hot off the presses of the past."
And a last quote from Jesse Sublett: "Levine's work always makes
me think and smile at the same time--a pleasurable
sensation."
Abby currently has a cowboy piece in the show "Cowboy at
Heart" at the Museum of Civilisation in Quebec City. Much of
Abby's work is in private collections in Ft. Davis and Marfa, Texas.
On-Line Viewing. Linked here is Jesse Sublett's excellent
critique, written about Abby's work for a show that opened in January
this year at Gallery
1313 in Austin, Texas.
And here is a link to the website of the Kiowa Gallery that shows her
work, particularly the cowboy works.
Linked here is Abby's own website AbbyArt.com/.
And here is a link to Abby's salon in the E-Museum of
Pyrographic Art.
 |
The AuthorKathleen M. Garvey Menéndez learned her pyrography techniques in Guatemala in 1975-1977. Her sister, Artist Sharon H. Garvey, later joined her there to collaborate on a pyrography project designed to promote this art form in the United States by means of a didactic book and a pyrography tool made by Navarro of Mexico.Thanks to the internet, this is the sixth year of articles on pyrography for the Woodcarver Online Magazine (WOM), started January 1997, and the fifth year of the E-Museum of Pyrographic Art, which opened its virtual doors January 1998. In March of that year, the International Association of Pyrographic Artists (IAPA) was formed and members began meeting on line. Linked from the E-Museum's Café Flambé, which hosts the IAPA meetings, is the Yahoo Groups uniting_pyrographers mailing list, member list, and chat forum set up by IAPA Co-founder Mixo Sydenham of Australia for IAPA members. |
2002, Kathleen M. Garvey Menéndez, all rights reserved.
