nature sequences David Ashby

Natural Sequences
The main interest of my image research has been finding Alfred University MFA graduates’ work that is based on different aspects of nature, specifically concentrating in the mediums of glass and ceramics. Nature and organic forms have a huge influence on my artistic expression, as well as being the inspiration to many other artists. In finding artists with similar inspiring interests, I hope to expand my interpretation and develop a higher sense of what an exhibition can offer to the public eye.
Creating a space that evokes emotions while incorporating an underlying message can be a difficult task. I plan to collaborate these works of art together to make the viewer aware of what could be, and what will be if we as humans don’t change our actions
Linda Huey’s ceramic sculptures were the first to catch my eye. Her organic and botanical forms, along with the lush color pallet, evoke questions about the environment. I was intrigued by this particular piece, Remainder – 2007. It brings forward ideas about environmental change and human interference. The piece stands twelve and a half inches tall and there is a central botanical figure glazed a light, pastel blue-green. Engulfing the plant from the back is a more geometric rectangular block. It mimics compacted metal that has the appearance of being weathered and it has a coloration of rust. An oval hole in the front of the block harbors the central plant figure. The only contact between these two components is at the bottom of the plant formation. It appears as if this sculpture was a section cut from the ground in an industrial park. What once had flourished in the open air is now incased in metal debris exposing the underlying past. It illuminates how humans have a massive negative impact on the environment.
Environmental change is a big topic to consider. Reading further into the piece, it brings up ideas of decomposition, absorption, and human interaction. Our production and consumption of materials, as well as our interactions with them, effects the way other organisms thrive. For example, massive amounts of air pollution causes acid rain, which is now destroying our Great Lakes and the organisms in them. ‘Remainder’ may suggest a contradiction to that aspect because there is a sense of adaptation and natural processes; weeds and grass can break through and grow out of concrete over time. However, perhaps this sculpture is a memorial for a forgotten field of flowers that is buried beneath a parking lot.
There are many interpretations I felt that could be expanded on and developed further accompanied with work from artists with similar interests about changes made in nature. The artist by the name of Robin Cass creates images of natural events in glass. In her series of work titled ‘Consumption’, she creates images using minimalistic bird forms. The birds are matte, neutral colors. Some have railroad spikes driven through their bodies. Others are attached to a metal armature that is mounted to the wall with branches along side of the birds. The branches are made out of metal and are accented with glass flowers and shaped metal leaves. The work depicts imagery ranging from the activity of eating a blossom off a branch to the grim event of death.
The simplistic form of the bird leaves a lot for the imagination. Robin’s work consists of a smoother, more refined pallet with elegant, poetic imagery. A seemingly simple event can be forgotten, and transformed into a feeling, gesture, concept, or reaction.
Placing Linda’s work on a low pedestal in front of Robin’s wall mounted glass piece would contrast the viewers’ interpretations and expand the limits of conceptions evoked by the works displayed. Robin’s work, in comparison to ‘Remainder, produces the suggestion of movement, a feeling of abrupt action such as the swooping of a bird to catch that in-flight meal. As apposed to the slow meticulous, process of decay seen in Linda’s work, both are a necessity in order to have life. Natural sequences are a part of everyday being and in creating such a sequence and solidifying it in time invites the viewer to be enveloped by the environment that is created. Being able to have an unspoken conversation with a work of art is essential to get a meaning across. The meaning of the piece can vary because it allows the viewer room for interpretation.
Both artists bring forth the idea of an environment, along with the aspect of human interaction. I believe the idea of human interaction involves the sad, but true fact that humans, as a species, have caused a substantial amount of damage to our environment. Another piece in the series ‘Consumption’, Robin has used the same bird form but this time the piece is on the floor and there is a rusty railroad spike piercing through the bird. Both of these pieces can be inter-tangled with subtle comparisons. The bird eats and spreads the seeds, the plant grows and is nourished buy the decomposing corps on the ground next to it. Nature is morbid in a delightful way.
Another artist that caught my attention is Linda Sormin. The piece ‘Manerplaw’ 2003, is made from hand built earthenware and porcelain. This piece expresses a mass amount of movement with its extensive complex system of tubes branching out from the upper most part of the inter-tangled mass of textures and open voids that makes up the base. The glaze is vibrant in color and sporadic in the application. Colors range from red to blue in the color spectrum. All together, the piece as a whole is very organic in substance and in structure. To me, Sormin’s work reads as an interconnectivity of organisms, whether it be plant life, fungi, or an interpretation of a system of organisms.
Keeping to my underlying theme I have chosen a glass artist by the name of Tina Betz. Her work consists of linear three-dimensional sculptures that are made out of colored glass cane. The colored cane is made of stringers pulled from long slender sections cut from a pane of stained glass, in which she then torch works into shape with a hand torch. I have chosen her piece ‘Pears’. There are three life-sized pear shaped pieces in a row about an inch away from one another. The suggestion of the pear form is obvious, but instead of having a solid exterior surface, it is constructed with a geometric honeycomb pattern. The color is reminiscent of a natural pear and at the same time it has the distinct vibrancy of a honeycomb luster. The structural purpose of the pears is a clear homage to the flying insect that is essential to the reproduction of this and many other species of plants, which in essence is the basis of survival and life as we know it.
I chose both Sormin and Betz because even though these artists are using different mediums, they bring forth the same idea of interconnection of organisms. Sormin’s work is more about chaos and decay while Betz’s work is about a symbiotic relationship; the bee is required to pollinate the pear blossom in order for the pear tree to bear the fruit. Both pieces show an inter-connection of a matrix that makes up the visually stimulating lines. The ceramic piece speaks more of an alien or an organic interpretive structure. It is unsure of its purpose I approached the pieces with a slight hesitation. The pear has a fragility and coldness due to the material it is composed of, this also creates a cautious approach. On the other hand both structures speak of an underlying strength. If any part of the structure is taken away, the durability is lost and the structure begins crumbling to its demise. There is a need for every aspect to work together harmoniously to obtain the tranquility and chaos that is nature.
In the journal Andria Gursky and the Contemporary Sublime, the author, Alix Ohlin, states that “emotion can be caused by the grandeur of nature, but it can also be caused by a work of art. If the latter, because the artwork is a representation rather then a direct experience, the sublime could be mitigated. Once moderated, the sublime could transform itself-not into pleasure, exactly, but into “a sort of delightful horror. A sort of tranquility tinged with terror, (Ohlin, 23)”
After reading that quote, I felt Linda Huey’s and Linda Sormin’s sculptures worked well with that statement. They bring forth the fundamental question of, what is going to change in our environment, that hasn’t already? It makes people more aware of the natural beauty around us in everyday life. The unknown is a large aspect of the sublime. Leaving gaps to let the mind wonder invites a viewer more so then a complete set of exact answers.
The aspect of the Sublime is a difficult point to reach, in that many pieces of art never accomplish the full astonishment of the sublime. Making a piece of art that leaves the viewer in awe is a goal of many artists, and working to achieve that is an almost impossible feat. My goal in this exhibition is to show the complexities and fragility of nature embraced and interpreted by these artists. Arranging the work is an essential part in the development of the viewers’ interpretation of the exhibition.
In order to engage the viewer in a more mentally interactive way, I would have the ground in the entrance of the gallery space covered with sod that included a dirt pathway. Doing this will immediately bring the gallery space and the viewer to another setting. Instead of the quiet gallery atmosphere there will be sound pieces playing noises of wind and nature conversing as one. Transporting you to a more tranquil setting. Following the path the viewer will first encounter Linda Sormin’s sculpture ‘Manerplaw’ accompanied with Robin Cass’s wall mounted glass sculpture ‘Consumption’. A little further down the path will be Tina Betz’s pears. All of these works speak of an importance of the natural sequences that are essential for us to live as we do. Several other sculptures from these artists will be placed alongside this thirty-foot pathway. As the view progresses down the path, it will slowly transform. The grass will gradually turn to brown. The wind and the sounds of birds and running water will lessen and the apparent sound of automobiles and industrial construction muffles the once tranquil setting. Garbage and metal debris will take over the areas once covered in grass. Accompanying this well known affliction of our surroundings will stand the sculpture by Linda Huey ‘remainder’ and Robin Cass’s glass birds with railroad spikes askew on the floor, emphasizing the destruction of nature that humans are causing.
A huge part of my life is based in nature. I frequently enjoy going on long walks through the woods off the beaten trail to see what has gone unseen. I have also encountered the dismal sight of what excessive amounts of garbage and waist can do to the beauty of a landscape. An exhibition should engage the viewer and create another atmosphere detached from the hustle and bustle of the outside world and at the same time it should bring questions forward that are apparent in ever day life but are somewhat looked over.









• Andreas Gursky and the Contemporary Sublime
• Alix Ohlin
• Art Journal, Vol. 61, No. 4 (Winter, 2002), pp. 23-35
• Published by: College Art Association