My Presentation to Foundations

I wanted to tell you about my presentation to Katie Murkin's foundation class before I completely forget everything.

Katie's class was finishing up a unit on color theory and when I asked her if there was a way I could gear my presentation to what the class was studying, she asked if I would create a presentation about how I use color in my work. The challenge seemed initially easy: my work is colorful, therefore there MUST be a lot to talk about.But the truth is I really hadn't talked about the color in my work before. Color had always been what I considered a self-indulgence--I printed the color combinations I liked. Of course there was room to talk about this in my presentation, but I knew there had to be more to it than that.I asked some of my students in my silk-screen course what I should talk about. They said that after an intensive color theory unit, they are almost afraid to approach color. Thus, my goal was to inspire the Foundations students to have fun with color.

Basically, I organized my presentation around three areas: color inspiration, historical or contextual reference, and emotional utility. First, like I said, I use the colors I do because I am attracted to them. When I see other artwork, and there is an amazing color combination, I remember it and try to apply it to my work. This is what I called color inspiration.

Second, I talked about my academic and personal interest in the civil rights/peace/anti-war movements of the 1960s and 70s and the art that came out of that time. Like protest art, my work is attempting to be socially conscious. I talked about my reverence of Sister Corita Kent. She used some methods that the class would be familiar with: complimentary colors make something POP and get the attention of the viewer, even if the image is one that might make people want to avoid, like this one depicting a Newsweek cover. Or with regard to her poster that has a Camus quote in red white and blue. Kent is using a common color combination to make an association for the viewer. It says, "Apply this quote to you and your feelings about the United States." But it is her other posters, with their bright, cheerful color combinations that really inspire me. These pallets unify and welcome the viewer. They do not push him or her away.

Additionally, I come from a rock n' roll poster background. I showed posters of the artists from Providence that have inspired me: Pete Cardoso, Darren Johnson, Xander Marro, and Brian Chipendale. Each artist uses his or her own style, but the bright, unorthodox color pallet continues in there. So, in this way I showed how protest posters and rock n' roll posters and their color pallets influence my work because they are part of my background.

And the lastly, I talked about how I came to realize that the pallet I loved aesthetically and the pallet that was rooted in the political movements I find so inspiring was also very effective in transmitting my artistic agenda. I came to realize I could use these unabashedly wild colors with my political messages and people were more likely to engage with my work BECAUSE the colors made the topics more accessible and less serious. Wild, playful colors softened the seriousness of the message. They introduced a certain amount of humor, especially when they were used in the context of a serious environmental or social problem. In this way, I started to see that color was a tool I employed.I believe the presentations went well. Katie was surprised how on topic it was with what she was teaching. Students seemed interested (although shy) and everyone seemed to follow along with what I was saying. But more than anything, the exercise of thinking about how color plays a part in my work helped me to better understand myself as an artist.