Pour, Tear, Carve

Joan Mitchell, August, Rue Daguerre, 1957, Oil on canvas, 82 x 69 in., The Phillips Collection, Acquired 1958; © Estate of Joan Mitchell

Olivia Lucinski, Senior, General Fine Arts/Humanistic Studies 

Have you ever experienced an environment you couldn’t stop thinking about after you left? Maybe, if you close your eyes today, you can recall the colors, the smells, the bustling energy, or the peacefulness. Maybe you just recall the feeling. 

    In this painting we see the artist’s poetic response to Paris in the 1950s, specifically Rue Daguerre, a colorful market street. Notice Mitchell’s energized brushstrokes, the lively way in which she applied paint. These brushstrokes evoke the feeling of a busy city street, while the white background immerses us in the space of this painting. At first, it may seem like a spontaneous reaction, but if we look closely, we see that white paint has been applied on top of the palette of blues, reds, and dark neutral tones. Through the reworking of her painting, Mitchell wasn’t merely reacting to her environment, but rather thoughtfully responding to the memory of it. 

In collaboration with the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Baltimore, Maryland

Los Carpinteros, Cachita, 2013, Powder coated aluminum, LED linting, 75 1/2 x 61 x 2 in., The Phillips Collection, Gift of Aaron and Barbara Levine

Jackeline Aguilar, Junior, Animation  

Los Héroes (The Heroes)

Consider this portrait. What may this person have gone through in their life? What does their age, appearance, and expression tell us about them? 

    From 1953-59, Cuba experienced unrest. On January 1,

1959, the former president, Fulgencio Batista, was removed from office. In the aftermath, the leader of the revolution, Fidel Castro, began a program of nationalization, centralization of the press, and political consolidation. Castro promised to bring prosperity to the citizens of Cuba, but it soon became a dictatorship. People experienced daily struggles to survive. 

    In the monumental portraits of communist revolutionaries, there is a tension between who is considered a hero and who is an average citizen in post-revolution Cuba. This artwork not only celebrates these citizens’ longevity within the system but also criticizes the aging government that has yet to provide the glory Cuba deserves. It makes us consider: who are the real heroes? 

In collaboration with the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Baltimore, Maryland

 

Sarah Anne Johnson, Group Portrait (Tree Planting Project), 2005, Chromogenic print, 8 1/2 x 13 in., The Phillips Collection, Gift from the Heather and Tony Podesta Collection, Washington, DC

Nash, Junior, General Fine Arts

You may wonder who all the people are and whether this is a camping experience or something more labor-intensive. Who sits before us, posed in a comfortable group setting? What is their story? 

    Planting trees in rural Canada is a rite of passage for many young Canadian adults. The little clay figures represent the people who planted trees alongside Johnson. In her words, “[It is] the closest thing I’ve found to Utopia.” 

    Pay is involved, as the task is very labor intensive. The creative process was an opportunity for the artist to retell her experience. Planting trees is great for the environment, but when it comes to those involved, and the historical context of labor within art, this work sits in a gray area. Johnson depicts everything in a liberating light, as this summer job connects those involved to the land while becoming “eco-warriors.” 

In collaboration with the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Baltimore, Maryland

Sarah Anne Johnson, Girls on a Beach (Tree Planting Project), 2005, Chromogenic print, 8 1/2 x 13 in., The Phillips Collection, Gift from the Heather and Tony Podesta Collection, Washington, DC

Sara Hinterlong, Junior, Photography

Have you ever had a fun day with friends where you wanted to pause the moment forever? To feel the sun on your shoulders? The sand between your toes? Girls on a Beach uses a handmade model to depict a moment from the artist’s life in rural northern Canada. 

    This image is part of a larger project titled Tree Planting (which consists of 65 separate images) that mixes documentation and memory through the interaction between her polymer clay scenes and more representational photographs. The fabricated dioramas built later in her studio fill the gaps Johnson missed with her camera. During her time in Manitoba, she participated for three summers as a sapling planter in reforestation efforts. These pilgrimages are common among young, white, middle-class Canadians, in a way akin to mission trips. 

In collaboration with the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Baltimore, Maryland

 

Albert Pinkham Ryder, Dead Bird, 1890s, Oil on wood panel, 4 3/8 x 10 in., The Phillips Collection, Acquired 1928

Henry Pluta, Senior, Drawing/Game Design

When you see a dead animal on the side of the road, what do you think about? How long does the image stay in your thoughts? Are you one to let it go as fast as it came into your sight, or do you let it sit in the back of your mind for a while? 

            With Dead Bird, we are presented with the opportunity to intimately connect with, or confront, a deceased animal. The stark contrast in the size of the painting to the size of its frame, as well as the detailed intricacies Ryder painted in his life-sized bird, amplifies and prompts a closer experience between the viewer and this painting. A muddy yellow veil of color separates the viewer from the bird, the living from the deceased.

In collaboration with the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Baltimore, Maryland