artistjeff's photostream

email jeff@jeffstevenson.com


The Process: This latest body of work, the altered book series, explores altered books, collage, traditional oil painting on canvas, and wax. Each part of each mixed media piece is developed separately prior to the elements being put together. There is a plan, a sketch, an idea, and an aim. However, by keeping the process open and not being too directive, there is room for surprises to appear.

From the chaos of simultaneously developing four or so individual pieces at a time in the studio (multiple oil paintings, multiple altered books, multiple collage elements all scattered about), these ordered and balanced mixed media pieces emerge. My attention is divided to the point where I can only direct the pieces and wait for them to reveal themselves, instead of trying to execute an exact plan. This way of working allows the art to develop in the way that it needs to, and although I am directing the process and actively involved, there is something else more universal at work.

Each piece stands alone in its narrative and yet there is a clear dialog between the pieces in the series.

The Content: These pieces explore personal and cultural issues of sexuality, masculinity, race, gender, and humor and then more universally the human thought process - how our brains take in information, select, collect, rearrange, interpret and then come to a conclusion. I am questioning thoughts by observing them, like in meditation practice; observing that the mind is thinking and these thoughts are arising.

Although the social commentary is an important aspect, there is also plenty of room for interpretation and reflection by the viewer. Because the works are created using an intuitive approach, aspects evolve that might not have been planned. As a result, there is a freshness to them, often an epic scale, and bits of humor thrown in for good measure.

The Medium: The material of the work has become more important to me as I try to push straight, traditional oil paint on canvas to a new level, one that will resonate with our current cultural events and collective consciousness. The rich tradition of oil painting and its history is a foundation, and I’m finding that the altered books and collage techniques, in combination with painting, creates a new whole that is reflective of our current time.

The object-ness of the book is an important symbol, particularly with regard to history books in our information age. They embody the idea of historical information, once thought to be true and real, now outmoded and obsolete. When the sculpted altered books are used in combination with the collaged imagery, a narrative about how human beings think comes to the fore. Various bits of information are combined with memory and experience to derive conclusions and then take action. The density of the visual imagery in this work also connotes the effects of media, advertising, and the internet, although in these pieces more unusual combinations are being presented in a unique way.