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Diverse Voices – Gathering in the Wild
Debbie Jircik, Kirsten Christianson, Pat Hidson and Fran Cheney
Urban Ecology Center
Riverside Park, 1500 E. Park Place
Milwaukee, WI 53211
(414) 964-8505
Through Late March
By Jeff Filipiak
March 25, 2008. When one thinks of a show of art about nature, landscape
paintings often come to mind. Views of broad vistas; images recaptured by an
artist. This show usefully took quite a different angle, focusing our attention on
pieces – small pieces of the landscape, and pieces which are combined to create
these works. This indeed was a 'gathering' of elements; many of the works are
collages of elements found outdoors, including branches from bushes, rocks,
birch, and cattail leaves. They are arranged, but (except for the paintings) the
traces of the original material are always there. Many works enacted art as a
form of gathering, selecting elements of what one has seen and experienced, then
combining them in a new arrangement. Debbie Jircik presents "Nesting Patterns"
works, suggesting a human artist gathering in order to construct, as birds do. I
found it difficult to find human-scale meaning (personal nesting, perhaps?) in some
of these works; these works are clearly arranged, but do not feel obliged to
privilege human understanding. Kirsten Christianson's work focuses on trees –
through painting and collage, she provides what could be a tree's eye view.
Several works emphasized the experience while gathering, particularly Fran
Cheney's collages with narrative elements. At times, these functioned effectively as
means of mooring the works in a particular place, and reminding us of the human
experiencing those moments; a tangible narration that complements the abstract
visuals. At other times, though, the narration threatened to overwhelm the visual
aspects.
Pat Hidson's work stands apart, for instead of gathering for collages, she painted
animals. As such, it complemented the other works, which focused on plants, not
animals. But though her captions often described where she encountered the
animals, on the whole the pieces took the animals out of context, isolating them in
front of abstract colors.
'Wild' as these artists use it can mean a 'wilderness' area, for some works were
based on travels to the far north. But usually it means the persistence of wild within
urban places. These works almost never present the charismatic large animals that
guide some of our visions of the wild. Instead, they draw our attention to how we
can find, if we look, nature to appreciate near us – urban ecology, indeed.
Jeff Filipiak is an environmental historian, humanities instructor, and frequent
contributor to Susceptible to Images.
Debbie Jircik, Kirsten Christianson, Pat Hidson and Fran Cheney
Urban Ecology Center
Riverside Park, 1500 E. Park Place
Milwaukee, WI 53211
(414) 964-8505
Through Late March
By Jeff Filipiak
March 25, 2008. When one thinks of a show of art about nature, landscape
paintings often come to mind. Views of broad vistas; images recaptured by an
artist. This show usefully took quite a different angle, focusing our attention on
pieces – small pieces of the landscape, and pieces which are combined to create
these works. This indeed was a 'gathering' of elements; many of the works are
collages of elements found outdoors, including branches from bushes, rocks,
birch, and cattail leaves. They are arranged, but (except for the paintings) the
traces of the original material are always there. Many works enacted art as a
form of gathering, selecting elements of what one has seen and experienced, then
combining them in a new arrangement. Debbie Jircik presents "Nesting Patterns"
works, suggesting a human artist gathering in order to construct, as birds do. I
found it difficult to find human-scale meaning (personal nesting, perhaps?) in some
of these works; these works are clearly arranged, but do not feel obliged to
privilege human understanding. Kirsten Christianson's work focuses on trees –
through painting and collage, she provides what could be a tree's eye view.
Several works emphasized the experience while gathering, particularly Fran
Cheney's collages with narrative elements. At times, these functioned effectively as
means of mooring the works in a particular place, and reminding us of the human
experiencing those moments; a tangible narration that complements the abstract
visuals. At other times, though, the narration threatened to overwhelm the visual
aspects.
Pat Hidson's work stands apart, for instead of gathering for collages, she painted
animals. As such, it complemented the other works, which focused on plants, not
animals. But though her captions often described where she encountered the
animals, on the whole the pieces took the animals out of context, isolating them in
front of abstract colors.
'Wild' as these artists use it can mean a 'wilderness' area, for some works were
based on travels to the far north. But usually it means the persistence of wild within
urban places. These works almost never present the charismatic large animals that
guide some of our visions of the wild. Instead, they draw our attention to how we
can find, if we look, nature to appreciate near us – urban ecology, indeed.
Jeff Filipiak is an environmental historian, humanities instructor, and frequent
contributor to Susceptible to Images.
| Copyright 2008 Art History Chicks LLC |
| Installation view from Diverse Voices with work by the four artists. |
| Debbie Jircik, Fall Topography |
| Fran Cheney, Pewaukee Beach Gathering |
