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The Neo-Expressionism of Midland artist JODI PATTERSON By Robert E. Martin "There is no abstract art. You must always start with something and remember that art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth." - Pablo Picasso "There is nothing new in art except talent." - Anton Chekhov Known simply as THE GALLERY, the lack of pretense in the name of Midland based artist & entrepreneur Jodi Patterson's new art studio speaks volumes about the purity of her vision. Sandwiched between LaSalle's Café and Warner Photography on the second floor at 134 1/2 Main Street in Downtown Midland, Jodi is an artist seeking to establish a special niche' and disprove the rule in the art world that in order to succeed one must either cater to the masses or kowtow to the elite. Possessing a clean, bright and naturally lit environment to showcase her own paintings along with those of other uniquely gifted artists, Jodi sees the purpose of her gallery as twofold. "First, I want to entertain myself; and secondly, even if you go to bigger cities, everything you see is so 'marketable'," she explains. "All the galleries are selling commercial works and nothing displayed is really 'out there', so I view this as an outlook for my own work, as well as that of other 'edgy' artists. " "At a lot of galleries art functions like wallpaper," she continues, "and the vision is secondary. I haven't been happy with a lot of the choices around here, so THE GALLERY is an effort to reach out to the artistic community." A formidable artist in her own right with a preference for colorful original works that map the often jagged edges of our interior architecture, Jodi describes her own personal technical style as Neo Expressionistic. "My individual work deals mainly with personal experiences, dream images, and symbolic references for the most part," she explains. "My works are somewhat abstracted, but extremely psychologically based." Drawn heavily towards the world of art since her days in high school, where she would spend all her lunchtime in the art rooms, Jodi didn't start college until five years past her graduation. "I moved down to Miami after high school and my own talent didn't really sink in until I started at Delta College and studied under Larry Butcher," relates Jodi. Subsequently she earned her B.S. in Education from Central Michigan, and Masters degree in Arts from CMU, and started showing her work around 1989. Currently she also teaches art for the Hemlock Public Schools. In terms of the evolution of her work, it has grown in complexity. "I started incorporating taped layers into my work," she explains. "One of my first serious paintings is simply a plain Black & White face with one layer of green tape on the top; but through the years I've incorporated various symbols - a fish, a crow, and a moon scene - so that technically in my later work you can find five paintings right there on one piece. In short, I started with a general format and evolved into my own niche', using this taped layer process and understanding it as an artist." In addition to showcasing her own work along with that of other artists, Jodi also conducts art classes out of THE GALLERY. "The figure drawing sessions are non-instructional," she notes. "Basically it is a means of reaching out to other people that do what I do. I've hired models and the artists bring their own supplies and have someplace to work for a couple of hours and be surrounded by people with similar interests." Jodi also teaches individual lessons, which up until now consist mostly of freshmen and younger people for an hour of week. She also is adept at getting portfolios ready. Jodi's individual art lessons consist of exploration sessions where people can experiment with pastels, charcoal, graphite, watercolor, collage, and tempra, and have fun exploring with mediums of their choice. The individual sessions are open to ages 5 and up. The drawing lessons concentrate upon the basics such as shapes, shading, texture, color, and 'seeing'. These sessions are open to ages 9 and up, with all 45 minutes sessions costing only $20.00. Moreover, each individual can make their own schedule. It is said that art is not so much a 'thing' as a 'way'. What does Jodi feel is the most challenging component about being an artist? "Well," she smiles, "being an artist and running a gallery don't necessarily go hand-in-hand. As an artist I think we're all who we are very naturally. Some people crunch numbers while other people paint. It's like there is nothing you can do to escape it because there is almost a form of mania involved, which makes it very difficult to try and fit into another realm somewhere. With THE GALLERY the hardest thing for me is tooting my own horn, because I find it kind of pretentious." In terms of the evolution of her own art, does Jodi find it easy to get into repetitive patterns, and if not, how does she stretch her boundaries? "I think there are two ways to handle that issue," she reflects. "First, if you deal with what your life is about in a moment of time you aren't regurgitating the same subject over and over. As for the subject matter, that is one way to approach it. For me the commission work I do is like making cereal because most people want simple portraits." "My earlier works consisted of a single portrait with a few layers here and there and they were basically pretty dark. In my newer works I've started having other things represent the people instead of being so literal about it. Sometimes as an artist you must challenge yourself. Drawing faces is very easy for me, but now it's like I almost had to come back to where I started. I do count my blessings, though, and don't torment myself over it." While she works in acrylic, Jodi also has mastered pencil, oil and watercolor. "I do love working with the layers of tape," she emphasizes. "Some pieces I even leave the tape on the finished painting, because do you ever know what's totally underneath a person? For me it's an issue of process." In terms of the 'State of Art' today and the way it has become fed into the popular consciousness, does Jodi feel the world of art is in a healthy position? "If you look at our society in general, what isn't a cookie-cutter image anymore?" she asks. "You see a McDonald's on every corner and everything is so revolved around money in the United States it makes you sick. When you go overseas you understand what a capitalist society we really are, which is actually pathetic. Frankly, I'm really disappointed about the commercial art world. People are doing great stuff but the role of the artist has changed so much. I don't know how necessary we are anymore. I believe the necessity is more to yourself, but not to society necessarily." "I'm interested in talking to other people that might want to display their work here," she concludes. "Artists that are interested in pushing the envelope." THE GALLERY Studio is open from 3:30-5:30 PM and appointments are highly recommended. Located at 134 1/2 Main St. in Downtown Midland, you can phone Jodi at 517-205-6697. |
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