CONCEPTUAL STATEMENT:
From rising to
dying, people make decisions. Some are
profound; some are routine; some have significant repercussions; others are
cause for celebration. In each
instance, more than one option is available and the choice helps define the
person making it. This series of
portraits examines personal decisions without making value judgment. It focuses on the faces of real individuals
and the decisions they made. The titles
and words are meant to reflect the choice, confront and challenge the viewer,
and stimulate consideration.
Introduction to the book:
Introduction to the book:
The Decision Portrait Series resulted as a
response to a sculptural installation I made during the winter and spring of
2008. The piece was called Personal
Grounds. It was constructed
using four, old doors and hundreds of keys.
I displayed it at the annual spring arts crawl, Artista Vista, in the
gallery space just outside my studio door at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios.
My statement was brief:
"Personal Grounds is a location in life. It
is the place in which one exists as a result of doors opened, keys turned, and
options exercised."
I was very pleased with the work but also a little
troubled. Something was missing. While watching the public investigate the
piece, ideas churned. I realized that
what the sculptural unit lacked was "the people" ... the people who
make all these decisions. The more I
thought about it, the more I envisioned figurative artwork. Despite the fact that I’d never worked using
a human image, I couldn’t shake the idea for portraiture.
At first I thought I'd represent famous people who'd made difficult choices...like those senators in John F. Kennedy's book Profiles in Courage. I loved that book...in middle school. The more I thought about this, however, the more I hated the idea. It sounded all too academic...like a good high school history project, not a work of art. Besides, I wasn't passionate about any of these people. Truth be told, I didn't care enough.
Still, portraits would bring about the missing human element. I kept thinking, trying to incorporate images of people. I liked the idea of focusing on decisions that changed lives...bittersweet decisions.... options that meant one thing is left as another is gained...forever changed.
Finally, I got it. I wanted personal decisions…. every day choices…. real people who have made real decisions. I also figured out how to transfer real photographs onto tea-stained muslin using xylene as a solvent on the ink of an oversized, black-and-white photocopy. I made a “wish list” of the potential decisions I most wanted to stitch and created a blog to promote the series. I found a “model’s release” on-line and adapted it for my purpose. The first piece honored my sister Wanda. Her portrait is called Twenty-Five Years Sober.
At first I thought I'd represent famous people who'd made difficult choices...like those senators in John F. Kennedy's book Profiles in Courage. I loved that book...in middle school. The more I thought about this, however, the more I hated the idea. It sounded all too academic...like a good high school history project, not a work of art. Besides, I wasn't passionate about any of these people. Truth be told, I didn't care enough.
Still, portraits would bring about the missing human element. I kept thinking, trying to incorporate images of people. I liked the idea of focusing on decisions that changed lives...bittersweet decisions.... options that meant one thing is left as another is gained...forever changed.
Finally, I got it. I wanted personal decisions…. every day choices…. real people who have made real decisions. I also figured out how to transfer real photographs onto tea-stained muslin using xylene as a solvent on the ink of an oversized, black-and-white photocopy. I made a “wish list” of the potential decisions I most wanted to stitch and created a blog to promote the series. I found a “model’s release” on-line and adapted it for my purpose. The first piece honored my sister Wanda. Her portrait is called Twenty-Five Years Sober.
This initial portrait helped me determine several factors in
the series, like the sizes. As a
professional custom picture framer, I wanted “standard sizes” for optimum
material use and consistency when the series would eventually hang on gallery
walls. There are three sizes of
mats: 30” x 24”; 30” x 36”; 30” x
40”. I also selected the frame, a
narrow, inexpensive blonde colored wood to be covered with crackled and
distressed white acrylic paint. This
choice meant it would be very, very easy to touch up the frames after
inevitable damage caused by shipping and transporting the works to
exhibits. The frame adds a total of one
inch to the finished sizes. The
artwork’s size was determined in order to fit comfortably inside the frames’
dimensions: approximately 24” x 18”;
24” x 30”; 24” x 34”.
The initial portrait also helped me determine the layers
used. I knew that the xylene photo
transfer on tea-stained muslin would be thin, lightweight, and, if used alone,
would limit the type of stitching I could do.
Also, I wanted some sort of a border around the off-white
background. I happened to have several
sheets of Legion’s Silver/Gray Thai Stucco paper. It looked good. It was
strong, sturdy, and inflexible. I
especially liked the fact that I could tear it by hand and have a ragged
edge. There was a problem though. The muslin didn’t sit well on the bumpy
surface of the “moon crater”-like paper.
I also happened to have some recycled white acrylic felt on
hand. The felt once served as a
protective wrapping for a kayak or canoe on its way from a North Carolina
manufacturer to River Runner, the local outdoor shop. The owner had been giving me this felt for quite some time. (Only some of the Decision Portraits have
recycled felt. Why? Because generally
this recycled felt is black and used in my “In Box” and “Faux-Stained Glass”
series. The white felt is almost “rare”
and thus I actually had to purchase white felt frequently during the two years
of stitching the portraits.)
The white felt looked great between the muslin and the
Thai Stucco paper. I cut it with very
dull scissors for another ragged edge.
The felt made the surface smooth and ready for stitch. Best of all, I
knew this presentation would work well with any black-and-white photo. The presentation suits the concept for the
series. In each work it is possible to
see the subject but also to envision a friend or family member or even
oneself. These portraits reflect both
an individual and society … ragged edged, shades of gray, and the universal
quality found in a newsprint sort of image.
The Decision Portrait Series was conceived with a very clear concept:
The Decision Portrait Series was conceived with a very clear concept:
CONCEPTUAL STATEMENT
From rising to dying, people make decisions. Some are profound; some are routine; some
have significant repercussions; others are cause for celebration. In each instance, more than one option is
available and the choice helps define the person making it. This series of portraits examines personal
decisions without making value judgment.
It focuses on the faces of real individuals and the decisions they
made. The titles and words are meant to
reflect the choice, confront and challenge the viewer, and stimulate
consideration.
Months and several portraits later, I found myself at the
MacNamara Foundation’s artist residency on Westport Island, Maine. I was stitching on Blood Donor,
Death Wish, and Tattoo Artist. The studio manager, Duncan Slade, pointed
out that these portraits were, in fact, ART QUILTS. He would know. Duncan and
his wife were pioneers in this new medium and have three collaborations in
Robert Shaw’s definitive, first scholarly work in the field, The Art
Quilt, Beaux Arts Edition (November 1997). The Decision Portrait Series became my accidental introduction to
the world of art quilting.
My blog, Art in Stitches, (http://artbysusanlenz.blogspot.com),
documented each piece and helped make contact with other people who became
participants in the series. My blog, Decision
Portraits, (http://decisionportraits.blogspot.com),
was initially used as a communication tool when writing to potential
participants and also contained my “wish list” for future work. In April 2009 another blog was created in
order to share the photo transfer process.
It is called Gift of Life after the group Decision Portrait by
the same name. (http://giftoflifedecisionportraitseries.blogspot.com.) The one hundred and seven pieces were made
between May 2008 and August 2010.
During this time, I submitted individual pieces to local and national
juried shows and sent out proposals for solo show opportunities.
Behind in the Mortgage was
selected for the national juried “2009 Materials Hard and Soft” exhibition in
Denton, Texas where it won an award of distinction and was featured in the
printed exhibition catalog. Illegal Immigrant was selected for
the “The American Dream: A Juxtaposition” at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, IL
(2011). Solidarity was selected for the “14th
International Open” group exhibition at Woman Made Gallery (2011). Muslim was selected for “Fine
Crafts” at the Fredericksburg Center for Creative Arts, Fredericksburg, VA
(2011).
A selection of the portraits were also shown at Frame of
Mind, an alternative arts location in Columbia, South Carolina, for “First
Thursday on Main Street” and for the month of January 2010. Several portraits were shown at Gallery
80808/Vista Studios during various annual arts crawls called “Vista Lights” and
“Artista Vista”. This is the space
outside my studio door. There are
twelve other studios in the building.
The resident artists show work together twice a year.
The “big break” for the entire series came when Charleston’s
Office of Cultural Affairs selected the series for their lead visual arts
exhibition during the annual MOJA Arts Festival in 2010, September 10 – October
10. The exhibit included 106 of the 107
portraits, 45 sheer chiffon banners on which “decisions” were “written” in
free-motion machine embroidery, The Wall of Keys, and the original
sculptural unit of doors. The original
title used for the door sculpture, Personal Grounds, became the
exhibit’s title. The original statement
was retained as well. (The gallery
manager censored Knight Riders from the show despite my
protests.)
Obviously, the Decision Portraits series requires a very
large space. Yet, it can be curated
into smaller selections. In 2011 two
opportunities occurred for the series.
The dates overlapped. Twenty-eight
pieces were shown in Greenville, South Carolina’s Warehouse Theatre from
January 27th through February 23th. This show was called Decision Portraits.
(Above) Thirty-five pieces were
shown in Salisbury, North Carolina’s Waterworks Visual Arts Center from
February 16th through May 14th. This show was called Personal Grounds. (Below)
Most recently, my earlier proposal to Quilt’s Inc. for their
annual International Festival of Quilts in Houston, TX was accepted for October
31 – November 4, 2012. Forty pieces
were chosen. The exhibit is called Decision
Portraits. This is the first
time that the works will be shown without their frames. For my husband Steve and me, it was time to
claim the storage space these pieces required.
From Houston the exhibition travels to Chandler,
Arizona. Not just the forty pieces …
the entire collection is getting an opportunity to be shown at Vision
Gallery. All will be featured without
framing from January through March 2013.
This opportunity is really my honor.
I didn’t even submit a proposal; they’ve been INVITED to come!
There’s going to be one more portrait too! Right before going to Texas, I delivered a
“trunk show” to Threads of Life quilt guild in Lexington, South Carolina. I brought my Grave Rubbing Art Quilts
(http://graverubbingquilts.blogspot.com), a series of “intentional” art quilts
that resulted from my artist residency at the MacNamara Foundation in
Maine. One of the quilt guild members
was deeply touched by my affinity to cemeteries, memories, and our human
mortality. She told me about a fatal
car accident in which her daughter Aylah was killed. Aylah wasn’t wearing a seat belt.
From the very beginning, I’d had this unfortunate decision
on my “wish list”. It isn’t easy asking
the parent of a young, deceased child for their participation in this
series. I’ve been turned down more than
once. This time was different. This time I was talking to a mother who
wants to keep her daughter’s memory alive and to positively influence others to
BUCKLE UP and to obey STOP signs. So
now, I’ll be sitting with my solo show in Houston stitching on Aylah. The words will include: I didn’t buckle up. July 24, 1991 – December 6, 2006. There will be a seat belt on the
portrait.
I’m no longer looking for new portraits to stitch even
though there are plenty of decisions still left on my “wish list”. Artistically, I’ve moved on. Yet, there is one other, like Aylah,
which would make me change my mind.
It’s been on the list from the beginning. In fact, it is the catalyst for the entire series and even the
sculptural unit of doors made back in 2008.
I would stitch High School Drop Out. Of course, I envision my younger son Alex as
the “model”.
Steve and I were having serious problems with Alex long
before this work began. Many tearful,
sleepless nights found me wishing for some magic answer, some hidden key to
happiness, some elusive door to family peace, good grades, and obeyed household
rules. Problem escalated and on
February 12th, 2008, Alex left home in a fit of rage.
To this day, Alex is an uninsured, unemployed high school
drop out living “somewhere” in Columbia, South Carolina. Steve and I never approved of Alex’s
decision but it was not our decision to make.
Steve and I have not contributed one cent to Alex’s lifestyle. That was our decision to make …
and live with. Tough love is
TOUGH. This isn’t necessarily the
“right” thing to do but it certainly isn’t the “wrong” thing to do. It is simply the decision we made in a
difficult circumstance. Others facing
similar family problems might make totally different choices. Such decisions are always bittersweet. The Decision Portraits helped me come to
terms with these realities.
The Decision
Portraits
1.
Adoption
2.
Advocate
5.
Atheist
8.
Blood Donor
11.
Broken Nest
12.
Buddhist
13.
Cheater
14.
Childless
15.
Christian
16.
Cold Turkey
17.
College Student
18.
Creationist
20.
Death Wish
21.
Drag Queen
22.
DUI I
23.
DUI II
24.
DUI III
26.
Expatriate
27.
Exporter
30.
First Love
31.
For Science
32.
Foreigner
36.
Graffiti Artist
37.
Gun Owner
39.
Happy Family
41.
Hitch Hiker
42.
Homeless
43.
Husband I
44.
Husband II
45.
I Buckled Up!
47.
Immigrants
48.
Importer
49.
Inventor
50.
Kidney Donor
56.
Mackenzie at 15
59.
Missing Holly
60.
Mother’s Milk
61.
Muslim
62.
No Meat
63.
Nudist
72.
Patriot
73.
Personal Appearances I
75.
Pet Owner
77.
Priest
78.
Prisoner I
79.
Prisoner II
80.
Pro Choice
83.
Public Servant
84.
Pulling the Plug
85.
Rabbi
86.
Recycler
92.
Smoker
93.
Solidarity
95.
Soul Mates
99.
Teenage Parent
100. Termsof Marriage
102. Unplugged
104. Volunteer
105. Voter
1 comment:
107 Portraits, that is a huge body of work and a tribute to your perception and industry. I hope that some day Alex makes his decision to talk with you again and enables you to make the missing quilt. Thank you for speaking about your own decision, so many decisions have such far reaching consequences, as I know to my cost too.
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