“Ashes to Ashes” by G Jackson Tanner, Supervisory Collections Manager, National Museum of African American History and Culture. Acrylic, 2012.
“Ashes to Ashes”
G Jackson Tanner
Supervisory Collections Manager, National Museum of African American History and Culture
Acrylic
30” W x 40” H (frame will be approx. 39”W x 49” H
2012
In my new work I am investigating methods in which a singular action being performed in and of its self isn’t complete, but by repeating this action many times over again, the sum begins to transform into intricate fields of color, pattern and subtle surface texture. Within this process I have begun to explore new and playful uses of positive and negative space with the use of objects as stencils, references we see every day, which when brought together, will often lead to unexpected or unintended and unusual references which are made during the process to produce images of ever increasing complexity.
The methodology of applying the paint to the surface in a very repetitive process is reminiscent of printmaking. While at the same time my method exhibits basic aspects of mass produced printed media through the use of half-tone or mezzotint screening techniques it is none the less produced by hand using basic painting tools. The constant and repetitive process leads to a complexity within the color fields which makes one think of manufactured processes being made by machines. While the unique nature of the surface texture is very subtle it needs and almost wants to be touched to experience it in a very tactile manner.
While this is a departure from my traditional painting method of using brushes, artist knives and rags; I am excited by this new method and embracing the challenge of ever increasing scale and complexity of subject and subject matter to come in the future.
