“What’s It All Mean” - Retrospect at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

via [ NY Times ] “In Case You Missed the Revolution, Man” by Ken Johnson

Thomas Painting, What I am Looking at

Thomas In My Studio, Painting

This piece was done during graduate school as a little side note. I still love it.

Thomas In My Studio, Painting

Paul and I went to graduate school together in the early 1990s at Indiana University. “A Mark In The Sand” is documentary by Flynn Donovan about the art of Paul Charles Pallaro. Flynn Donovan does a fantastic job capturing Paul and his work. 

A Mark in the Sand (part I)

(part II)

Thomas Painting, What I am Looking at

Thomas Painting, What I am Looking at

Thomas Painting

These are great works from the turn of the century.  [ Jacqueline Humphries ]

Thomas Painting, What I am Looking at

Thomas In My Studio, Painting

The Incredulity of Thomas :: 1601

Caravaggio fascinated me throughout my student years. Not only for his heightened representation and pushing the forms out into the viewers personal space, but also the way he pushed a censored spirit into that space. Despite the grandeur of light and form, his works are very intimate. The image of Thomas poking around in the wound of Jesus reveals, only to Thomas’ touch, some sort of mystery beneath the fold of Jesus’ skin. This image has always been a startling image for me. The encounter between Jesus and Thomas is a physical encounter. Thomas seems almost like a blind man focused on the tactile touch at the end of his finger along with Jesus’ restraining grip around his wrist. Thomas is orientated to be from the viewers space. He is our entry into the painting. By probing jesus’ wound he is modeling how we are to poke into the painting - we doubters.

It’s all visual, but I am left with a tremendous tactile sensation on the tip of my index finger. 

And it is very sexual. From the mid 1980’s to the mid 1990’s there were many artist exploring this very orientation of the roles of the sexes.  

I just realized we haven’t heard much about Caravagio lately. 

It was a strong influence on the blue draped elephant (the top image) in the previous post.

Thomas Painting, What I am Looking at

My favorite Shahn Painting.

Timeline of Ben Shahn’s life brought to you from New Jersey Public Radio.

As much as I was surprised Leon Golub did not move to the center stage of our visual culture these past eight years, I would be equally surprised if Ben Shahn does not in the next four years.

Thomas Painting, What I am Looking at

I am posting this as a placeholder for the use of the term “Pattern Language.” I used it in my last post in referring to the built environment in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. It is a term made popular by Christopher Alexander in his book by the same name (Amazon.com). You can explore more at www.patternlanguage.com. 

Because of my interests in planning I have a tendency to think in terms of how we move through the world and know. This is a good stepping-off point into a discussion about my own work and how I reference and build a painting.

Thomas In My Studio, Painting

I almost always have a page open in my studio to one of Leon Golub’s paintings.

In 2001 my wife and I attended a retrospect of his work (Leon Golub: 1950 - 2000) at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. I still have a youthful fascination with his work and his clarity. 

I am surprised his work hasn’t been invoked more often in the “age of bush.” With “the Bush Doctrine”, “the War on Terror”, the “Iraq War”, “Extraordinary Rendition”, and “Wire Taps.” We have not had a proper dialogue on power, especially one of with as much maturity as Leon Golub bring to his work. Golub’s work is not only an investigation in to these power relationships, his work is also a testimony to America’s (and Humankind’s) use of these practices, before Bush made them ordinary government policy.

Thomas Painting, What I am Looking at

In my first attempt to get my work seen, two of my paintings were stolen from a group show I participated in with Uncle Freddy’s Gallery. When I first heard they were missing I was not so upset - I didn’t feel terribly invested in them. But now that a month has gone by and I am looking at these images, I am much more upset.

If you have any information regarding the location of the these works, please contact the Hammond police department. 219/852-2906

Lake Effect Series: 56" x 72"

Lake Effect Series: 30" x 34"

Hammond Gallery Paintings Swiped

BY STEVE ZABROSKI
Times Correspondent | Friday, December 19, 2008 |

HAMMOND | Four monumental paintings collectively valued at $51,000 are missing from a temporary gallery in the former Mercantile National Bank building at 5243 Hohman Ave., police said.

The sheer magnitude of the crime — the largest piece stolen measures 8 feet by 12 feet — has left detectives scratching their heads, and the artists hanging theirs.

“You hope that some of your better work can be around so people can see it,” said well-known local artist Tom Torluemke, whose enamels “Hide & Seek” and “Between Two People” were among the pieces stolen.

The paintings were part of a fall exhibit which reunited some two dozen artists to celebrate the original downtown location of Uncle Freddy’s Gallery, which Torluemke founded with Linda Dorman in 2002.

After the show ended, some of the larger pieces were left at the site with permission from the building’s owner, the Hammond Development Corp., Dorman said, until weather conditions improved.

And then the paintings, including two by East Chicago artist Thomas Frank, were discovered missing on Wednesday.

“We just want them back,” said Torluemke, best known for his 12 foot by 25 foot tile installation, “Jesus Speaks to the Children,” at Andrean High School, terrazzo flooring in Indianapolis International Airport and murals at the Indianapolis-Marion County Central Library.

Torluemke and Dorman said they promise not to press charges if the works are returned or can be recovered undamaged. They ask that anyone with information about the artworks call their gallery at (219) 923-1909.

Police had no suspects as of Thursday afternoon. Detective John Murks can be reached at (219) 852-2906.

Images of some of the missing paintings can be seen at www.tomtorluemke.com.

Thomas Painting