Page 22 - the NOISE August 2015

three sIDes to surrealIsM
The paintings of Sky Black (LEFT) and Matthew Rucker (RIGHT) will be on display for the month of August at Flagstaff Modern And Contemporary.
sTory By CAleB MCClure
Flagstaff Modern and Contemporary (FMAC), owned by northern Arizona University art professor Franklin Willis, is showcasing something seldom seen in Flagstaff this month — an ode to surrealism called, “Third side of the Coin.” The gallery aims to showcase work that challenges and morphs the world around us in order to delve deep into the unknown subconscious of the human experience. Local artist Sky Black and Minnesota native Matthew Rucker are featured in the show which opens First Friday, August 7.
“‘Third side of the Coin,’ references the side no one ever thinks about, the unconscious side that holds the two sides together,” says FMAC director Andrea Bagdon. “It completes unbiased relations between the allusions of duality which is what surrealism is.”
The artists chosen for this show execute the idea in different ways, but rather than competing, their styles seem to complement one another. Mr. Black’s work has a visual intensity and in-your-face emotional tie to the somewhat chaotic scenes he produces. He has been making a name for himself in Flagstaff recently with the production of the mural on the Orpheum Theater with the help of the Mural Mice. The painter is known for his representations of nature mixed with the unnatural, but “Third side of the Coin,” will introduce new images from him that concentrate more on the human form and emotions of interpersonal relationships. “I started working with more human figures and somehow that brings the not-so-easy side of life — maybe the tragedies and downfalls,” said Mr. Black.
Mr. Black’s first passion was for baseball. He always thought he was going to be a professional baseball player, but he discovered his passion for art when he was in high school. He could look at a scene and draw it. It was a cool feeling, so he started exploring the more creative side to painting — a side where he created his own world instead of recreating the world in front of him. But, although he paints otherworldly scenes he does not consider himself a true surrealist. “surrealism was an era that already happened. It’s done, but there are surreal qualities in my work,” said the artist.
school was never a priority for the young artist. He never felt like it was a challenge. He could get good grades without showing up to class, so he would skip often. eventually, due to his excessive absences he wasn’t allowed to play school sports anymore. That’s when he decided to move to Flagstaff, the city he was born. Moving to Flagstaff was a huge step toward his artistic ambitions. He started being mentored by a family friend and local artist Joe Sorren — known for his mural on the Diablo Burger wall. eventually, he was offered a full ride scholarship to nAU, but he turned it down to focus on his art. His focus on art is also the theme of much of his
new work. The struggle to balance his relationships and an ambitious pursuit of his creations is blended in scenes that challenge natural conceptualization of what is physically real and the depths of human emotion that cannot be represented in our physical world. “I just have a drive to paint something that hasn’t been seen before, and bring out new emotions that people can still relate with and that’s just my natural filter,” said Mr. Black.
His creations come naturally without much planning. He paints and paints over originals until he figures out what he is painting. “I try to be pretty free flowing with it. where is the inspiration coming from? when am I going to be hit with that feeling? what am I going to do on a canvas? The best way to figure that out is to just start painting,” said Mr. Black.
His work throws the viewer into a world where the only true reality is the feelings his paintings give. They so violently contrast the natural world that there is no way to rationally make sense of them. It’s striking and utterly unnerving. He wraps the concepts in a very clean and precise painting style.
Matthew Rucker’s work contrasts Mr. Black’s in his more simplistic imagery and subtle strays from reality. Mr. Rucker’s grandfather was an artist, specifically a sculptor and woodworker and he noticed his grandson had an aptitude for art when he was very young. His grandfather would give him art supplies and coax him to exercise his abilities whenever they would visit. By the time he got to high school art was what he did constantly.
when he was 19 the painter fell into a deep depression. He wasn’t creating as much as he used to, and he felt a bit lost. One day, the artist says he “just felt this need to create,” and went down into his basement, picked up a blank canvas and the set of paints his grandfather had given him and started doing what Mr. Rucker refers to as, “feeling out loud,” onto the canvas. It was then he knew art was what he was going to focus all of his energy into. “It was so cathartic, and so liberating, so moving, so powerful I just kept on going, and I didn’t stop painting,” said Mr. Rucker.
He spent a brief period at the Art Institute in Chicago, but quit when he wasn’t getting the education he wanted. He wanted to paint like the old masters: Michael Angelo and his own idol salvador Dali. “I want to learn how to be an exquisite painter,” said the artist. His classes focused mainly on free painting without much instruction, or how to make a living as an artist. He wasn’t getting the lessons in technique he needed, and he was uninterested in the practical side of the art world. so, he decided to quit and continue his journey with art by teaching himself. He read books, studied other artists and learned his craft with lots of trial and error.
His unique style is influenced by the strange fact that the painter is colorblind. He doesn’t see in black and white, but
his interpretation of the colors around him are far from his peers. He remembers a time when he was young where he would dream in vivid color. It is this dream world that influences his strange canvases. “I can’t see colors very well in the real world, and it was beautiful, it was an amazing place, and I loved that world my mind created for me over and over again, so I decided I’m going to try to recreate that world on canvas,” said Mr. Rucker.
His colorblindness influences his technique as well. The painter can’t mix the same color twice, so he paints in one color until he is finished with it and moves on to the next which might explain the minimalistic approach to his color schemes. Often he gets help when applying a specific color, but they can also lead to arguments about what color he is actually using.
His paintings depict scenes which at first glance give a facade of normality, with subtle divergence from reality to give the viewer unsettling feelings. In fact, almost everything about Mr. Rucker’s paintings are subtle from the color combinations to the concepts displayed. The painter calls his style with it’s emphasis on subtleness, “subtle surrealism.”
“I’m trying to express. I’m trying to feel out loud, and at the same time share myself with others in a way that will open their eyes a little, that will be interesting and challenge them,” said Mr. Rucker.
He finds immense satisfaction in the creation of a place only he knows. “I have the ability to create my own world, create my own universe, be the master of that world, and I want to have fun. I want to play, mix things up a little bit — create things on canvass that can’t happen in reality — that’s my goal,” he said.
The differences between the painters highlights the extremely broad nature of the genre, which has morphed over time. From Dali’s melting clocks to the grotesque warped human figures of Russian surrealism, it is a genre where the only consistency is its stray from what is normal. “It’s a symbolic language of the subconscious. It’s a universal language and I like the narrative and symbolism in the work, and the smooth application of paint draws me in,” said Ms. Bagdon.
For the gallery this is an opportunity to show work from around the country, while keeping local artists involved. “we want to show something different. It’ll be good for the
community to see different kinds of art and art movements that are relevant around the world,” said Ms. Bagdon.
“Third side of the Coin,” will be on display for the month of August at Flagstaff Modern and Contemporary Gallery, 215 s. san Francisco street. 651/261-6337 flagstaffcontemporary.com
| Caleb McClure is back in the mountains after a Korean adventure. arts@thenoise.us
22 • august 2015 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us