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Lynn Tomaszewki: Sabbatical Work
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design
River Level Gallery
273 E. Erie Street
Through October 21
(updated 10.10.06)
Among multiple possibilities, art can be an act of
ordering reality and making sense out of overwhelming
amounts of facts and data. This is not a small task and it
seems to me that only a few artists these days dare to
approach it. Lynn Tomaszewski, a professor at
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, whose recent work
is currently on display there, is one of those who engage
with the most complex and important information
systems shaping our world.
Tomaszewski’s work has long been investigating
scientific information, which aspires to summarize our
lives both on their micro- and macro-scale: patterns of
DNA sequences and maps of the universe. In series of
drawings, paintings and prints the artist presents
delicate, seemingly chaotic and random structures of
both, as well as surprising parallels between the two.
“From the Sky and the Floor” is a series of drawings,
which resulted from sprinkling confetti remaining after
creation of the installation “Adenine Sky” over fragments
of maps of the Universe. For “Adenine Sky” (as well as for
other series of drawings) Tomaszewski punched out the
position of particular amino-acid within the DNA
sequence in a blank piece of paper creating a perforated
sheet that vaguely brings to mind a card for old tabulating
machines. Regularly shaped fragments of black paper
left over from that process and the background map
merge in “From the Sky and the Floor”, creating simple,
but atmospheric fields, resembling close-ups of infinite
surfaces like a night sky, a rocky desert or possibly a kind
of cellular structure.
In her most recent painting series “Pieces of Them”
Tomaszewski moved beyond the post-minimalistic
aesthetics she had employed for years and incorporated
human figures into her previously uninterrupted fields.
Colorful, overlapping silhouettes composed of flickering
specks of saturated hues occupy the majority of the
canvases. Contrasted with densely painted
backgrounds, these silhouettes, taken out of snapshots
of everyday life, appear like translucent projections, tiny
daubs of paint semi-revealing or obscuring the pattern of
DNA sequence which fills the figures. Not only does the
artist juxtapose visually familiar human form with its less
recognizable molecular make-up, but she also tries to
relate this microscopic pattern with other patterns found
in nature: logarithmic map of universe (“At Camp”), and
bird flight and nesting (“Lynn & Tim I & II”). In these
paintings Tomaszewski throws all these complex
patterns right at us, as they coexist closely within the
picture planes. Yet, she doesn’t make any judgments
about the nature of the relationships between them and
we are left to wonder where we fit in this grand scheme
of things.
While provoking important questions might be one of the
most beneficial and powerful things art can undertake, it
seems to be easier to extract these inquiries out of the
viewers if they are at least directed towards general
categories their speculations are supposed to fall into. It
is tempting to perceive Tomaszewski’s work as
essentially existential, forcing us to ask ourselves
questions about our place in the universe and how we
make sense out of reality defined and described by
scientific data that goes significantly beyond our
comprehension.
However, the clarity of this issue, so profound, ambitious
and endless in its scope, seems to be muddled in
“Pieces of Them” by the presence of the work that
speaks to particular and immediate, rather than universal
and timeless, considerations. “Miller Park/Superdome” is
one of those pieces, juxtaposing silhouettes of ball game
gazers with the survivors of the hurricane Katrina waiting
to be rescued. “Freedom Rain” is yet different, as the only
piece in the entire exhibit in which patterns of DNA
sequence has been replaced by the pattern of president
Bush’s speech on the war in Iraq. This political speech
pattern fills the silhouettes of little children playing at a
camp. Why? Is the artist trying to comment on social
conditioning? Is the artist attempting to comment on the
future of those kids? The reason for this juxtaposition
remains unclear, perhaps because of the fact that there
is no other piece in the show that would put “Freedom
Rain” in context. [Tomaszewki responds:
"The sequence data in “Pieces of Them Freedom Rain”
has not been replaced, it is in the silhouettes of
the children. The presidential speech can be found
(as vertical Braille) in the background of the
piece."]
No matter what tremendous impact current political and
social events have on our everyday lives, they still belong
to a completely different category of problems than the
relationship between humanity, micro- and macro-
cosmos. I think the greatest strength of Tomaszewski’s
work lies in the pieces, in which human figures are
presented as fleeting and temporal, and yet a necessary
link in the chain of connections within the fabric of
cosmos. Infinity of the universe and the mystery of DNA
sequence are magnificent ideas that can stir up feelings
of awe and wonder that transcend common, mundane
concerns.
- Dorota Biczel Nelson
Biczel Nelson resides in Milwaukee. She teaches
printmaking at MIAD and the University of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee
Comments?
Email comments@susceptibletoimages.com
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design
River Level Gallery
273 E. Erie Street
Through October 21
(updated 10.10.06)
Among multiple possibilities, art can be an act of
ordering reality and making sense out of overwhelming
amounts of facts and data. This is not a small task and it
seems to me that only a few artists these days dare to
approach it. Lynn Tomaszewski, a professor at
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, whose recent work
is currently on display there, is one of those who engage
with the most complex and important information
systems shaping our world.
Tomaszewski’s work has long been investigating
scientific information, which aspires to summarize our
lives both on their micro- and macro-scale: patterns of
DNA sequences and maps of the universe. In series of
drawings, paintings and prints the artist presents
delicate, seemingly chaotic and random structures of
both, as well as surprising parallels between the two.
“From the Sky and the Floor” is a series of drawings,
which resulted from sprinkling confetti remaining after
creation of the installation “Adenine Sky” over fragments
of maps of the Universe. For “Adenine Sky” (as well as for
other series of drawings) Tomaszewski punched out the
position of particular amino-acid within the DNA
sequence in a blank piece of paper creating a perforated
sheet that vaguely brings to mind a card for old tabulating
machines. Regularly shaped fragments of black paper
left over from that process and the background map
merge in “From the Sky and the Floor”, creating simple,
but atmospheric fields, resembling close-ups of infinite
surfaces like a night sky, a rocky desert or possibly a kind
of cellular structure.
In her most recent painting series “Pieces of Them”
Tomaszewski moved beyond the post-minimalistic
aesthetics she had employed for years and incorporated
human figures into her previously uninterrupted fields.
Colorful, overlapping silhouettes composed of flickering
specks of saturated hues occupy the majority of the
canvases. Contrasted with densely painted
backgrounds, these silhouettes, taken out of snapshots
of everyday life, appear like translucent projections, tiny
daubs of paint semi-revealing or obscuring the pattern of
DNA sequence which fills the figures. Not only does the
artist juxtapose visually familiar human form with its less
recognizable molecular make-up, but she also tries to
relate this microscopic pattern with other patterns found
in nature: logarithmic map of universe (“At Camp”), and
bird flight and nesting (“Lynn & Tim I & II”). In these
paintings Tomaszewski throws all these complex
patterns right at us, as they coexist closely within the
picture planes. Yet, she doesn’t make any judgments
about the nature of the relationships between them and
we are left to wonder where we fit in this grand scheme
of things.
While provoking important questions might be one of the
most beneficial and powerful things art can undertake, it
seems to be easier to extract these inquiries out of the
viewers if they are at least directed towards general
categories their speculations are supposed to fall into. It
is tempting to perceive Tomaszewski’s work as
essentially existential, forcing us to ask ourselves
questions about our place in the universe and how we
make sense out of reality defined and described by
scientific data that goes significantly beyond our
comprehension.
However, the clarity of this issue, so profound, ambitious
and endless in its scope, seems to be muddled in
“Pieces of Them” by the presence of the work that
speaks to particular and immediate, rather than universal
and timeless, considerations. “Miller Park/Superdome” is
one of those pieces, juxtaposing silhouettes of ball game
gazers with the survivors of the hurricane Katrina waiting
to be rescued. “Freedom Rain” is yet different, as the only
piece in the entire exhibit in which patterns of DNA
sequence has been replaced by the pattern of president
Bush’s speech on the war in Iraq. This political speech
pattern fills the silhouettes of little children playing at a
camp. Why? Is the artist trying to comment on social
conditioning? Is the artist attempting to comment on the
future of those kids? The reason for this juxtaposition
remains unclear, perhaps because of the fact that there
is no other piece in the show that would put “Freedom
Rain” in context. [Tomaszewki responds:
"The sequence data in “Pieces of Them Freedom Rain”
has not been replaced, it is in the silhouettes of
the children. The presidential speech can be found
(as vertical Braille) in the background of the
piece."]
No matter what tremendous impact current political and
social events have on our everyday lives, they still belong
to a completely different category of problems than the
relationship between humanity, micro- and macro-
cosmos. I think the greatest strength of Tomaszewski’s
work lies in the pieces, in which human figures are
presented as fleeting and temporal, and yet a necessary
link in the chain of connections within the fabric of
cosmos. Infinity of the universe and the mystery of DNA
sequence are magnificent ideas that can stir up feelings
of awe and wonder that transcend common, mundane
concerns.
- Dorota Biczel Nelson
Biczel Nelson resides in Milwaukee. She teaches
printmaking at MIAD and the University of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee
Comments?
Email comments@susceptibletoimages.com
| Lynn Tomaszewki, Pieces of Them I |
| Lynn Tomaszewki, Pieces of Them II |
| Lynn Tomaszewki, Pieces of Them at Camp |
| Lynn Tomaszewki, Pieces of Them Freedom Rain |