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"Wall Cloud" allows us to see Aeling's methods of
perception. The painting is horizontal, and about eighty
percent sky. He does not feel the need to 'ground' a viewer
in the landscape by emphasizing what's physically closer
to us, and more familiar – in fact, the immediate
foreground here feels a bit blurred. His heart appears to
reside in engaging the haze of things harder to grasp. A
cloud dominates this painting, in both size and liveliness
(the cloud feels more alive than the trees in the painting
do). A sentimental landscape painter might try to give us a
scene that we associate with happiness, a sunny day.
Aeling can show us what we can appreciate in something
we normally ignore or dread.
It’s hard to make out borders in clouds, details of them –
they shift, they blur into what’s around them. Aeling
emphasizes the role of processes, things that are
changing, like the whirling waves he enjoys surfing. His
work gives one a 'feel of the sky', not exact impressions of
it. He is effective at showing us the nuances of such
transitory states, like shadings of sky between clear and
cloudy, like the depth and shape of a cloud. These works
deal with different levels of light; he can make us savor a
cloudy day, but can also create light in a sunny-day portrait
when necessary. For instance, "Island and Cloud, Clear
Lake, Wis" effectively captures the crisp clarity of a bright
day in the foreground; while away from the center, he still
plays with shadings, with over a dozen clouds illuminated
to different degrees. This emphasis on sky is a very
appropriate gesture for someone who has spent as much
time on Western plains (images from Kansas and New
Mexico are included in the show) as he has, in a world of
horizons. So much of the action there, so much of what one
can see, is in the sky. The plains are often seen as boring,
but it’s as if Aeling learned from them to look up and pay
careful attention to depicting the drama in the sky.
In his Wisconsin works, however, the results are
somewhat different. Focusing only on the sky, while in the
middle of a forest, would suggest a lack of openness to the
representative qualities of nature in that area. Aeling goes
for verticality in some of his works here (a rare tactic for
him), with his canvas following trees rather than the
horizon line. "Aspen near Plum Lake" demonstrates his
ability to develop art appropriate to different regions. Unlike
the forest paintings, it does not direct one's eye upward,
with a sense of immense distance. Instead, I found myself
feeling somewhat confined – then my eyes moved back
and forth along tree trunks, savoring what existed within the
space. That painting also shows one of his points of
emphasis, reddish colors, in the peach sky that sneaks
through the trees. (He includes red highlights on almost all
of his frames, functioning as somewhat of a signature.)
Will Aeling’s paintings give you a sense of intimate
connection to nature? I think he makes it possible, given
his sensitivity to diverse places and to the feel of sky. His
paintings can force us to confront nature, with few
traditional guideposts, obliging us to make our own sense
out of the clouds and storms. But since his paintings lack a
human role, one could come away from these paintings
wondering if humans belong in these places; it can be
hard to see connections, particularly on a level of action,
when no humans are present. There is no North Woods
'culture' here. His attempts to come "as close to the
experience of having seen it as I can" are quite different
from Tom Uttech's. (Quote taken from Aeling's gallery talk
at the opening reception, on October 19.) Aeling tries to
keep all traces of human subjectivity out, while Uttech sees
them as a necessary means to capturing lived experience.
Jeff Aeling's work can expand your vision, and can make
you look UP to see what's there. After leaving this exhibit,
you might do as I did, and head to the lakeshore to find a
horizon to enjoy – and find you can now notice shades and
patterns in the sky that you usually do not.
- Jeff Filipiak
Jeff Filipiak teaches humanities at MIAD and Lakeland
College.
Comments? Email comments@susceptibletoimages.com
perception. The painting is horizontal, and about eighty
percent sky. He does not feel the need to 'ground' a viewer
in the landscape by emphasizing what's physically closer
to us, and more familiar – in fact, the immediate
foreground here feels a bit blurred. His heart appears to
reside in engaging the haze of things harder to grasp. A
cloud dominates this painting, in both size and liveliness
(the cloud feels more alive than the trees in the painting
do). A sentimental landscape painter might try to give us a
scene that we associate with happiness, a sunny day.
Aeling can show us what we can appreciate in something
we normally ignore or dread.
It’s hard to make out borders in clouds, details of them –
they shift, they blur into what’s around them. Aeling
emphasizes the role of processes, things that are
changing, like the whirling waves he enjoys surfing. His
work gives one a 'feel of the sky', not exact impressions of
it. He is effective at showing us the nuances of such
transitory states, like shadings of sky between clear and
cloudy, like the depth and shape of a cloud. These works
deal with different levels of light; he can make us savor a
cloudy day, but can also create light in a sunny-day portrait
when necessary. For instance, "Island and Cloud, Clear
Lake, Wis" effectively captures the crisp clarity of a bright
day in the foreground; while away from the center, he still
plays with shadings, with over a dozen clouds illuminated
to different degrees. This emphasis on sky is a very
appropriate gesture for someone who has spent as much
time on Western plains (images from Kansas and New
Mexico are included in the show) as he has, in a world of
horizons. So much of the action there, so much of what one
can see, is in the sky. The plains are often seen as boring,
but it’s as if Aeling learned from them to look up and pay
careful attention to depicting the drama in the sky.
In his Wisconsin works, however, the results are
somewhat different. Focusing only on the sky, while in the
middle of a forest, would suggest a lack of openness to the
representative qualities of nature in that area. Aeling goes
for verticality in some of his works here (a rare tactic for
him), with his canvas following trees rather than the
horizon line. "Aspen near Plum Lake" demonstrates his
ability to develop art appropriate to different regions. Unlike
the forest paintings, it does not direct one's eye upward,
with a sense of immense distance. Instead, I found myself
feeling somewhat confined – then my eyes moved back
and forth along tree trunks, savoring what existed within the
space. That painting also shows one of his points of
emphasis, reddish colors, in the peach sky that sneaks
through the trees. (He includes red highlights on almost all
of his frames, functioning as somewhat of a signature.)
Will Aeling’s paintings give you a sense of intimate
connection to nature? I think he makes it possible, given
his sensitivity to diverse places and to the feel of sky. His
paintings can force us to confront nature, with few
traditional guideposts, obliging us to make our own sense
out of the clouds and storms. But since his paintings lack a
human role, one could come away from these paintings
wondering if humans belong in these places; it can be
hard to see connections, particularly on a level of action,
when no humans are present. There is no North Woods
'culture' here. His attempts to come "as close to the
experience of having seen it as I can" are quite different
from Tom Uttech's. (Quote taken from Aeling's gallery talk
at the opening reception, on October 19.) Aeling tries to
keep all traces of human subjectivity out, while Uttech sees
them as a necessary means to capturing lived experience.
Jeff Aeling's work can expand your vision, and can make
you look UP to see what's there. After leaving this exhibit,
you might do as I did, and head to the lakeshore to find a
horizon to enjoy – and find you can now notice shades and
patterns in the sky that you usually do not.
- Jeff Filipiak
Jeff Filipiak teaches humanities at MIAD and Lakeland
College.
Comments? Email comments@susceptibletoimages.com
| Jeff Aeling, "Wall Cloud" |
| Jeff Aeling, "Aspen Near Plum Lake" |
Jeff Aeling: The North Woods
Tory Folliard Gallery
233 N. Milwaukee St., Milwaukee
October 19-November 18
In a world where humans have transformed the entire planet, and where many artists have grown used to
focusing more on method than subject, is there still a place for landscape painting? Artist Jeff Aeling
argues that landscapes do play a necessary role – to reflect the "intimate connection to the natural world"
which all humans have (as he says in his artist statement).
This exhibit does an efficient job of presenting recurring themes of Aeling's work; he loves to focus on
waves and skies, and his paintings of the ocean and of Western scenes represent those interests. (The
exhibit also includes paintings of the North Woods where he uses a different style.) In a gallery talk he gave
at the opening of this exhibit, Aeling explained that he seeks to avoid depicting humans and evidence of
them in his paintings. Older landscape paintings used the human element to provide 'cues' to the viewer
as to how to place themselves into the painting. Aeling’s paintings indeed avoid humans, and evidence (at
least obvious evidence) of their transformations of nature.
Tory Folliard Gallery
233 N. Milwaukee St., Milwaukee
October 19-November 18
In a world where humans have transformed the entire planet, and where many artists have grown used to
focusing more on method than subject, is there still a place for landscape painting? Artist Jeff Aeling
argues that landscapes do play a necessary role – to reflect the "intimate connection to the natural world"
which all humans have (as he says in his artist statement).
This exhibit does an efficient job of presenting recurring themes of Aeling's work; he loves to focus on
waves and skies, and his paintings of the ocean and of Western scenes represent those interests. (The
exhibit also includes paintings of the North Woods where he uses a different style.) In a gallery talk he gave
at the opening of this exhibit, Aeling explained that he seeks to avoid depicting humans and evidence of
them in his paintings. Older landscape paintings used the human element to provide 'cues' to the viewer
as to how to place themselves into the painting. Aeling’s paintings indeed avoid humans, and evidence (at
least obvious evidence) of their transformations of nature.