Gary A. Bibb - Art and essay in new exhibit book!

Exhibition:
Longview Museum of Fine Arts - Longview, TX - Spring 2009
Co-sponsored by The International Museum of Collage and Assemblage - Ft. Worth, TX

(First Edition available online at www.collagemuseum.com or www.lulu.com/content/6047891).

Artists were asked to make a work in honor of one of the artists that they consider as influential on their own development and to make an additional work in their own typical way of working. This international exhibition has participating artists from, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland and the USA.


Essay excerpts from the Under The Influence book -

The Redemption of Rubbish

by Gary A. Bibb

"Utilizing found-object materials in the construction of Fine Art has long been regarded as visually and metaphorically viable. For nearly a century, artists have collected non-art objects with the intent of incorporating them within their compositions. The results have repeatedly proven that the creative process of selection, signification and organization can elevate even the most humble scraps of human detritus into beautiful, majestic forms ....

Incorporating collected items, along with various media and techniques, expands my visual vocabulary and adds an objective dimension to my art. Therefore, the ideas expressed are not merely limited to the realm of ethereal thought but also enter into the viewer’s tangible reality".

Primal Primate

 Vincent monkeyin' around! What he does best.

©2009 Gary A. Bibb


Remember the old adage? If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and sounds like a duck - then it's probably a duck!

The same can be said about artists and other creative people. Not that you can always tell by the way we look or the clothes we ware, but rather because we are always going about being who we are. "Creatives" (regardless of their art form) have a heightened perception and tend to notice things most people are oblivious to - so we are always observing, listening, taking things in; and most of all, pondering. Contemplation is an important component of a creative person's life. We have to internalize all the sensory data we've been exposed to - we mentally catalog it and then try to make some sense of it all. No wonder we are often accused of "being in our own world".

In addition to our acute perception, we are also busy being creative. Most Creatives have diverse avenues of expression, so we are usually engaged in some form of artistic endeavor; whether it be art, music, literature, dance, theater - cinema, photography or a number of other forms. The point being - we have so much to say, we just can't hold it in.

If you are reading this post and don't consider yourself creative; I suspect you are more creative than you realize - most people are. You may not consider yourself an artist, musician or author but you may enjoy carpentry or home decorating - or perhaps singing in the shower, the car, or along with the congregation in church - or you may find that you really enjoy keeping in touch with loved ones via email, or that good old lost art of letter-writing. Regardless, most people gravitate to an artistic form of expression that satisfies a deep need. That is the human trait of giving a creative voice to the soul in a manner that touches another soul.

So the next time you do something creative, no matter how personal - rejoice in that expression. And, if you know someone who is a bit of a misfit because they are a "Creative" - tell them you appreciate their artistic gift; along with their sacrifice, dedication and effort. A hug would be nice as well.

Comments from a Creative -

Gary A. Bibb

Abstract Origins

"01-13-09" Mixed Media Assemblage
©2009 Gary A. Bibb
garyabibb.blogspot.com

Although I wasn't cognisant of it when I was working on this piece, upon further review, there is a correlation between the imagery and the early origins of abstraction. Once again, it reveals the role of an artist's subconscious input and the universal, trans-generational, trans-cultural language of human expression.

Gary A. Bibb

(Note - To those interested, I started with a smooth surface and built layer upon layer to achieve the textural effects in this piece of art.)

Ancient Abstract Artifact

Image: �SCIENCE, 2002

"For all the attributes that humans share with other animals, there is a trait that clearly sets us apart: our reliance on symbolism. Exactly where and when in our lineage this and other aspects of modern human behavior emerged, however, have proved difficult to pinpoint. Now new findings may help to close that gap. According to a report published online ... by the journal Science, excavations at a South African cave site have turned up two pieces of ochre bearing symbolic engravings that date back ... to the so-called Middle Stone Age (MSA)".

"Ochre, a form of iron ore, appears relatively frequently among the scraps of culture left behind by our Stone Age predecessors.... But the newly discovered pieces bear unequivocal signs of use as symbolic objects. Christopher S. Henshilwood of the Iziko Museums of Cape Town and his colleagues report that both specimens bear cross-hatched markings that appear to have been produced through a deliberate sequence of choices".

"'The Blombos Cave motifs suggest arbitrary conventions unrelated to reality-based cognition ... and they may have been constructed with symbolic intent, the meaning of which is now unknown' the authors note. 'These finds demonstrate that ochre use in the MSA was not exclusively utilitarian and arguably, the transmission and sharing of the meaning of the engravings relied on fully syntactical language.'"

Ancient Engravings Push Back Origin Of Abstract Thought, Kate Wong, www.sciam.com, January 11, 2002

Origin of Abstract Images

"All Knotted Up"
Encaustic Collage
©2009 SM Gibbons


SM Gibbons had some interesting comments about tracing abstract imagery to the simplified cave art of early man as well as other "primitive" cultures (by Western standards). No doubt abstracted images have long been a part of mankind's desire/compulsion to express/communicate ideas.

Thanks for the input!

Check out some of SM Gibbons' art and commentary - smgibbons.blogspot.com

Ahhh... Amore' - Vincent's Valentine

Hello Ladies!

Vincent Gets Personal

Up-close and personal!!!

Abstract Art - Passe'?

Vincent was browsing the web and asked a provoking question: Is abstract/non-objective art passe'? Has that form of pictorial imagery already been explored to the point where there is nothing more to say?

Hmmmm. I replied with another question: Has realism been fully explored? If so, why has neo-realism and its variations remained attractive to contemporary curators? Hasn't realism in one form or another been considered valid for several thousand years?

Abstract Fine Art has only existed for 100 years; which is roughly 3 or 4 generations. How could it possibly be exhausted as a viable language? We have only begun to explore the depths of abstract imagery and its effectiveness as a form to express the human condition.

Gary A. Bibb