Last Thursday I visited CSULB’s on campus art galleries, which were occupied by GLAMFA. The artists featured were of various Cal State universities and mostly from the greater Los Angeles area. I was particularly impressed with the quality and deeper thought that the galleries provoked, especially when reflecting on the fact that the artists were around my own age. Not that I had any doubt about my own age group’s creativity or ability, but it felt comforting to think that people similar to me in some way make great things and I was slightly inspired to think that I can create something as well.
I was particularly drawn to two oil and acrylic paintings by Lisa Diane Wedgeworth of CSULA. They were part of a series of black and white orb-like formations on very large squared canvas with black backgrounds. I think I was initially drawn to these because I had recently attended a concert festival and saw a band called Darkside, whose music is usually paired with visuals of the moon, smoke, circular beams of light and an overall two-tone haziness. As I stared at them more and more, I realized that the orb shape and large size of the paintings really help to draw you in and feel like you’re consumed be the orb’s haziness.
Upon further research, I found her artist statement on the GLAMFA website and she discusses the relationships people have to each other, the psyche, the line between public and private and range of other topics that all connect in some subtle way. In my own interpretation, these paintings somewhat represent the minds interpretations and a person’s feelings as they interact with others and reflect on how things affect them. For instance Celestial Body 2005 (A Big Dog, An Ugly Woman, Two Shot Guns and A Claw Hammer) gives me the feeling that the relationship between the people involved, maybe not specifically a dog or woman, is on the brink of explosion and the orb depicted is a calm before the storm. That may not be what was intended but regardless, I very much enjoy her work.
The first two images are the ones included in the gallery and the third is my favorite of hers that I found when I looked her up. Check out her GLAMFA feature page here: http://greaterlamfa.com/Glamfa2014/Wedgeworth_2014.html
diazzzzzz 