Motion: the key to art, reaction
Surveying the works in Tom
Blodgett’s and Mike Kelly’s
’’Drawings on Paper” exhibit is
not a simple or mindless way to
spend time. It is not, as some
may consider art-viewing, a
passive or a particularly
graceful process.
The art connoisseur, upon ap
proaching each piece, is forced
by intrigue to place her nose
two or so inches from the
rendering, to cock her head and
squint a little.
Then she must step back, re
maining faithful to the up-close
picture, and look again, this
time possibly struck by
something delightfully new or
maybe strangely familiar.
The actions continue,
repeating themselves. "It’s part
everybody to (his or her) way of
thinking," says Blodgett.
‘‘There has to be something for
everybody."
"Drawings on Paper,” a col
lection of recent works by the
two Oregon artists, is currently
hanging at the University art
museum, along with paintings
by James I,avadour. While it is
indeed a two-man exhibit.
Blodgett and Kelly agree that it
is not plagued by typical group
show problems.
For example, there isn’t the
characteristic lack of
cohesiveness says Kelly, adding
that often group shows are
simply "mishmashes” of works
jumbled together.
"I think Tom’s and my work
do well together,” Kelly says.
Photo by Karen Mallwood
Mike Kelly (leftI and Tom Blodgett, whose “Drawings on Paper"
exhibit is currently on display at the University art museum, feel
their works are symbiotic.
of the response,” says Blodgett.
The recognition of mediums us
ed, of elements, of color, of
space and of shapes, gives each
picture a unique life for each in
dividual taking note.
And this sort of bantering, of
energetic intercourse between
artists' renderings and viewers,
is what Blodgett and Kelly seek.
“Even though the images are
personal, the images invoke
responses that live,” Blodgett
says. “It’s fun to get ques
tions. . .individual responses.”
“The artist cannot direct
However, there are obvious
differences.
While both use several
mediums — pencil, ink, water
color. charcoal and torn paper
to name a few — Blodgett tends
to use more of them. His pieces
have a worn-blanket quality; a
cultivated, worked look. Kelly’s
drawings, on the other hand,
have a faster, spontaneous
quality. He calls it "fresh” and
"just born.”
Both artists admit that in their
works they are interested in in
teriors, composition and the
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“kinetics” of drawing. But
while Kelly deals primarily
with figures — “My work tends
to be more elemental.” he says
— Blodgett’s pieces are usually
detailed scenes; confrontations
between two or more people,
complete with dialogue.
Kelly describes the work of
the two men as “symbiotic.”
and says that both approach art
from an “old fashioned” stand
point; neither are avant-garde,
he says.
Both artists tell “human be
ing stories,” says Kelly, adding
that Rembrandt was a mutual
teacher. “We’re walking similar
trails," he says.
Kelly sees his work as an
ongoing struggle between
shapes and space; between the
edge and the air. He says he
works quickly, consciously
placing each line — monitoring
its position with exact preci
sion. “To you it might be am
biguous,” he says pointing to a
streak of grey outlining a leg.
“But to me it’s meaningful.
Lines and shapes are really
important.”
Light is evident in both ar
tists’ works, but neither are
obsessed with shadowing. Light
is “a slave, not a master,” Kelly
says. “It’s definitely not the
primary thing.”
Similarly, the factor of time,
or the distinct lack thereof,
plays an important role in each
work; Blodgett's art is definitely
related to some period in the
past, although it’s intentionally
ambiguous. Kelly, on the other
hand, ignores time in his work.
He says he enjoys taking the
rendering of a model posing in,
say, an academic setting, and
giving it “personal beauty” and
a role in society.
Blodgett describes his pieces
as kinds of self-portraits. They
are, essentially, parts of
himself. “It’s allegorical,” he
says. “In my own world there
are things that are important,
events that have happened that
are personal.” he says.
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