DP was my professor; we established that already. One of my favorite moments with him was a late night impromptu critique in Hamliton Hall at Edinbory University. I always managed to work my way into getting studio space. I worked hard and was rewarded. This one night I was experimenting with a long horizontal piece with a photograph buried under thick paint but showing this figure of a young kid. It was a hard composition and I was struggling with it.
DP showed up, it was probably after midnight, but there he was seeing who was around working still.
If you're not aware of artists and their tendencies... you won't understand that those of us who get it, understand the work ethic involved.
Artists work.
DP showed up, it was probably after midnight, but there he was seeing who was around working still.
If you're not aware of artists and their tendencies... you won't understand that those of us who get it, understand the work ethic involved.
Artists work.
Anyway, this night DP showed up and we talked over this piece. He picked up a red peanut butter jar cover off the floor and held it up to the painting on the left side. He looked back at me and I saw what that did for the composition to bring the entire piece together.
He left. I glued that cover onto the painting right where he held it. I painted some more but to me that completely fixed the composition and made the piece.
The next day DP walked into my studio and started to laugh. And if you know DP he has a couple different laughs. One is when he finds something you said truly funny and one when he thinks you are a little twisted in the head. The latter was the laugh I heard. "I meant you needed something bold here in this place, I didn't mean you should use the cap." We both laughed. But then he said, "But goddamn, it actually works."
He left. I glued that cover onto the painting right where he held it. I painted some more but to me that completely fixed the composition and made the piece.
The next day DP walked into my studio and started to laugh. And if you know DP he has a couple different laughs. One is when he finds something you said truly funny and one when he thinks you are a little twisted in the head. The latter was the laugh I heard. "I meant you needed something bold here in this place, I didn't mean you should use the cap." We both laughed. But then he said, "But goddamn, it actually works."
Stories like this is why I am thrilled to have my friend be the artist of the month. I have been blessed to have these experiences to share. And I'm pretty sure I have more. This work above was done before I met DP. As is the tie below. But this work is what led to the work he was doing when we met.
DP is influenced by the gestalt of life. Art history and music play into his experiences with the environment and his kids. He weaves meanings. Nothing is sacred or off-limits. He tackles art more than he finesses it, yet he gets subtle as well as the next guy.
DP is influenced by the gestalt of life. Art history and music play into his experiences with the environment and his kids. He weaves meanings. Nothing is sacred or off-limits. He tackles art more than he finesses it, yet he gets subtle as well as the next guy.
DP wrote that in the late 80s a family trip through the drought stricken plains and the mountains out West began to influence his work. Man and environment or environment and man. His pieces began to be statements of what the hell we're doing to the place we live.
His titles became a part of the pieces themselves by adding an unseen or hidden layer.
Missile silos on the ground where coyotes roamed, toxic waste dumps tossed into spaces by corporations who couldn't care less.
His titles became a part of the pieces themselves by adding an unseen or hidden layer.
Missile silos on the ground where coyotes roamed, toxic waste dumps tossed into spaces by corporations who couldn't care less.
DP was making statements. Life wasn't going along naturally any longer.
By the early 90s when I met DP he was working on a family that includes five children. His art production slowed a bit, but his ideas about the environment were fine tuning. The following pieces where from a show in the early to mid 90s when he showed mostly work he had done in previous years. I remember this show because it was one of the first painting shows that was an entire installation I had rvrt experienced. He and I would talk about this concept for the next few years.
By the early 90s when I met DP he was working on a family that includes five children. His art production slowed a bit, but his ideas about the environment were fine tuning. The following pieces where from a show in the early to mid 90s when he showed mostly work he had done in previous years. I remember this show because it was one of the first painting shows that was an entire installation I had rvrt experienced. He and I would talk about this concept for the next few years.
At this point his painting had become sculpture and 3-D wall hangings. The boot above jutted out a good three feet. The camera lens below was at least a foot out from the pressed board surface.
He was exploring space and boundaries and the picture plane wasn't sacred to him. If breaking out of the frame or jutting out from the surface let him say his peace then you as the viewer just had to deal with it. His show in Slippery Rock was one the viewer had to navigate, not just look at.
He was exploring space and boundaries and the picture plane wasn't sacred to him. If breaking out of the frame or jutting out from the surface let him say his peace then you as the viewer just had to deal with it. His show in Slippery Rock was one the viewer had to navigate, not just look at.
And he has never been afraid to say his peace
Week two post: richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/artist-of-the-month-of-july-dp-warner-sound-check-twohttp://richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/artist-of-the-month-of-july-dp-warner-sound-check-two
Week one post: http://richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/featured-artist-of-the-july-dp-warner
Week one post: http://richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/featured-artist-of-the-july-dp-warner
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