Jessica Dickinson
Of-Also (2012) Artwork Type: Painting
Medium: Oil on limestone polymer panel
Dimensions sight: 50 x 48 inches (127 x 121.9 cm)
Credit Line: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Purchased with funds contributed by the International Director's Council, 2013
The online exhibition “Time” is from the collection of the Guggenheim Museum. The works in the “Time” show all focus on the relationship between time and life. In this exhibition, many artists are trying to explore and creating special ways of recording time, keeping time and suspending time. Jessica Dickinson is one of the artist. Most of her works are abstract painting. She always can get inspiration form light, some pattern. For her works, the shifting in time are the mean theme. Typically, she will paint on a wood panel to create a sculptural surface first. After adding oil paint, she will distress and chip away at the coated layers. Her painting can show decay by exposing and a process of the impact of the time. The work in this exhibition is Of-Also. An abstract painting on the limestone polymer panel by Oil. She used the similar way to create this work. When people first see this work, the work gives people a feeling that it is not finished. However, this is a finished work and experienced a lot of exposing and decay. Dickinson said “events of marking, scraping, covering, cutting into, and revealing are worked through as indexical time, illumination, and change become inscribed in the work over several months.” The repetition of the decay on the surface let the work becomes a record of time. In another way to say that this work is also one of the time’s work. Dickinson and “time” create this work together and Dickinson just let the impact of time shows faster. Like any creature in the world, this painting can get old. The dots randomly distributed on the sculptural surface. Scratch and traces of corrosion surrounding around the dots.
Time can change any surface of painting and sculpture. A lot of artists try to protect art works as long as possible but this Of-Also is trying to show the changes. Any changes on the work is part of the work because time is one of the artist foe this work.
I really like the idea of the work you chose to review. The layering of paint on a surface only to chip away and show the physical trace of the layers and the time it took to create them. I think the ideas you discuss in your review are very strong! I really enjoyed the bit at the end where you mention how artists usually try to protect their work, like through means of conservation, but Dickinson is specifically embracing the decay of the work over time and even trying to artificially accelerate its decay.
ReplyDeleteYour response of the work that reflects the time passing through the process of decay is very strong and interesting. Like you said in the response that " She always can get inspiration form light, some pattern. For her works, the shifting in time are the mean theme." The random spots and scratching seems to be originated from the nature and the time influences the work day by day.
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