Spring Break
Brooklyn Artists Display Life, Work and Passions
Charissa Che
Issue date: 11/1/06 Section: Arts and Entertainment
Joelle Shallon, an abstract artist, described her art as "oil paintings with lots of texture and color on plywood panels with irregular shapes." A piece entitled, "Ray of Light," represents her work well by featuring lines of various bright colors which unite to form semi-concrete shapes and intricate dots which have a similar effect. Her art also features arches, domes and minarets- shapes found in Islam architecture. "I grew up in the Middle East for eight years," Shallon said, continuing, "in places like India, Iran and Turkey. Artists create inspiration; we distill ideas, observations, experiences and skills learned onto our work."
Abstract expressionist Charles Truett said art doesn't necessarily have to be driven by motivation to have weight and meaning: "The motivation is not always clear," he said. "I make art in order to find motivation." Truett's artwork features spattered paint on a canvas which gives a disorienting and apocalyptic aura to the viewer with its chaos and sharply contrasting colors. "I saw a giant black painting in Chicago when I was 19," he said while explaining the inspiration for his work. "It was really beautiful and I didn't understand it." It was the mystical nature of this piece of art which made him want to create it. "I'm really passionate about things I don't understand," Truett said. Describing A.G.A.S.T., Truett said that it is "a great opportunity to get feedback from people. The rent's cheap, and I get to share the building with other artists [...] but the neighborhood is changing." Pretty soon, Truett thinks that the artists, including himself, will have to leave the area as the cost of living becomes increasingly unaffordable.
Joanne McFarland has an eclectic collection: abstract works on paper, dress collages and representation oil paintings and poetry. Her favorite piece, "Stunned by What She Saw," depicts a black baby doll dressed in a starched white dress lying down upon a pink, flowery background. McFarland said, "The composition is successful. There's a lot of emotional weight, and it's a subject I'm particularly attached to [it].The doll refutes current notions of beauty as it is very dark, bald, and small." Beauty is a term she believes is stereotypically defined by society as "shallow, noisy, pale, blonde, well-endowed, and cynical rather than innocent." The black baby doll in this painting defies these stereotypes, and its graceful nature is done so hauntingly.
Abstract expressionist Charles Truett said art doesn't necessarily have to be driven by motivation to have weight and meaning: "The motivation is not always clear," he said. "I make art in order to find motivation." Truett's artwork features spattered paint on a canvas which gives a disorienting and apocalyptic aura to the viewer with its chaos and sharply contrasting colors. "I saw a giant black painting in Chicago when I was 19," he said while explaining the inspiration for his work. "It was really beautiful and I didn't understand it." It was the mystical nature of this piece of art which made him want to create it. "I'm really passionate about things I don't understand," Truett said. Describing A.G.A.S.T., Truett said that it is "a great opportunity to get feedback from people. The rent's cheap, and I get to share the building with other artists [...] but the neighborhood is changing." Pretty soon, Truett thinks that the artists, including himself, will have to leave the area as the cost of living becomes increasingly unaffordable.
Joanne McFarland has an eclectic collection: abstract works on paper, dress collages and representation oil paintings and poetry. Her favorite piece, "Stunned by What She Saw," depicts a black baby doll dressed in a starched white dress lying down upon a pink, flowery background. McFarland said, "The composition is successful. There's a lot of emotional weight, and it's a subject I'm particularly attached to [it].The doll refutes current notions of beauty as it is very dark, bald, and small." Beauty is a term she believes is stereotypically defined by society as "shallow, noisy, pale, blonde, well-endowed, and cynical rather than innocent." The black baby doll in this painting defies these stereotypes, and its graceful nature is done so hauntingly.
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