Frank Stella

Frank Stella
digital scan of 2-D dot matrix
June 2007
Steven Mesler

Donald Judd

Donald Judd

Digital Scan of 2D Dot Matrix on Stainless Steel

June 2007

Steven Mesler

This was among the first images that got me to start thinking about this entire project. It is graphically attractive and I began to ruminate on it's power as a visual language. Coupled with the contemporary concept of "mash-ups", I instantly saw years worth of work in front of me. While I have spent most of my adult life making art for other people, I have never felt compelled to make my own. That moment was brand new for me. However, I do not consider myself an artist, only someone working through some ideas. Where will it lead? I don't know, yet.

Visit to MoMA

I spent the afternoon at MoMA yesterday in order to go see the Richard Serra Exhibition with my son Sebastian. There can be no doubt about his mastery and brilliance as a sculptor and a craftsman. He's one of our best and it is a treat to be living in New York with access to this show and many others just a few train stops away.

I have a confession though. I found the work physically nauseating. From the moment I walked into the interior space a was hit with a wave of nausea. I would have attributed it to the bad pizza my son and I shared while waiting for the line to go down, but he began to spin around saying how dizzy he was. The vertigo created by the shift in spacial reference upon entering them was physically overwhelming.

Favorite piece in the show though is upstairs on the 6th floor. It's titled "Dilineator". It is as if Serra was issued an impossible challenge: Two steel plates, no welding, no finishing-must tranform a room. It's quiet solemn dignity and opulence in one package.

The trip also served as a research trip. I was able to look at an Ellsworth Kelly that in part inspired the "portrait" I have done. I've got a few things wrong. One, there are no perceptible brush strokes in his surface-mine is full of them. Two, the colors were separated by painting them on separate canvases and the joined together. I also was able to look at one Chuck Close, though not a painting, in the "What is a painting?" exhibit. Three; my Jasper Johns needs more collage, plywood, and gesso. That will have to be for the next study.

Another go at a "Chuck Close"

Study for Chuck Close #2
acrylic
2007
Steven Mesler

I painted this over the last twenty four hours. It's only 5" square and painted in acrylic as opposed to oils. Not sure if I am up to the task of oils yet. It served the purpose of working out some questions of technique and system. I have genuinely enjoyed the painting though.

Study for Chuck Close #1
pen and colored pencil
2007
Steven Mesler

This is my first thought on a large Chuck Close. I am still undecided about doing a painting or a thumb print piece. Maybe both. Looking at this, I want to go smaller with my units in relation to the scale of a larger painting.

Ellsworth Kelly Portrait

Ellsworth Kelly
acrylic paint
20" Square
2007
Steven Mesler

This is second in a my series of portraits of artists I respect. It is not quite finished. I will post the finished piece later. This reads perfectly when scanned.

I am finalizing a Sol LeWitt and making plans for a Chuck Close...dreaming of a very large Robert Smithson earth art installation...I'll keep you posted.

Jasper Johns Portrait

Study for Jasper Johns
2007
oil pastel
9" square
Steve Mesler

This is a first attempt at a "portrait" of an artist I have long admired. It is a mash up of his style and a 2D Datamatrix of his name. 2D Datamatrix is a universal language used by industry to identify parts and pieces for tracking purposes. This work actually reads "Jasper Johns" when scanned by a commercially available ID Reader.