Art History Essay. 2 Local contemporary artists.
The Michael Walter Art & Design Gallery is located on Santa Fe Drive in Denver, Colorado. Amber Fagan and Tim Havens are just 2 of the 30 local artists being represented in this months showcase.
Amber Fagan graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a B.A. English Literature and a B.F.A. Fine Arts Photography. Her paintings are bright and colorful portraits of women. She uses mixed media to pour the inner workings of her mind onto canvas. From sequins to beads, stickers, spray paint, and wrapping paper. Dazzling and startling, her pieces illuminate a distorted view of women preoccupied with the vanities of today. Drawing from her imagination, traditional western beauty is mutated into an elusive tragic magnificence.
“Channel No 5.” is an excellent piece that draws on the common emotions of young ladies of the 21st century. The heart on her arm signifying an open heart, the fork symbolizing diet and how obsessed our nation has become with it, the rose and bird are classic icons of timeless beauty and love. The expression on her face appears peaceful yet intentional. This piece, among many others, interests me because it mirrors a slight identity that all women of today can recognize. Vanity tagged with lust and ambition, determination to attain the world via these qualities. I admire her work for confronting such controversial topics that can lume our imaginations.
“I believe that the universe, creation itself, is life and a part of life glows through light. As a photographer, I capture some of that light and express my view of life. There are places well known, with scenery vast and grand. But it seems that it's in the quiet corners where splendor's heart really dwells… For me, these places are what it is all about.” - Tim Havens, artist’s statement 2005.
Tim Havens is a lover of photography and all its technical processes. Living in the plains of Colorado, even until this day, he is surrounded by the quite country land and serene nature. True appreciation for nature can be recognized in his photographs, from season to season and forest to mountain. I have always been fascinated with tranquil nature and landscape photography. Mr. Havens’ work appeals to me mostly because he presents a world unrecognized to me, having lived in cities all my life.
But it is also the technical process he uses to capture his images, a mix of traditional and modern techniques as well as materials that interest me. Multi-masking and Tri-color method transfers, giclee pigment transfers, as well as digital technologies. During modern times, often people are not impressed about technique and processing when dealing with photography. We are in the midst of a digital revolution, manipulated and enhanced images via photographic software are the rule of the market of today.
“On the Path” is an image that invokes remembrance of nature in general. The cycles it goes through, spring being the rebirth and fall the beginning of the hibernation.
Amber Fagan graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a B.A. English Literature and a B.F.A. Fine Arts Photography. Her paintings are bright and colorful portraits of women. She uses mixed media to pour the inner workings of her mind onto canvas. From sequins to beads, stickers, spray paint, and wrapping paper. Dazzling and startling, her pieces illuminate a distorted view of women preoccupied with the vanities of today. Drawing from her imagination, traditional western beauty is mutated into an elusive tragic magnificence.
“Channel No 5.” is an excellent piece that draws on the common emotions of young ladies of the 21st century. The heart on her arm signifying an open heart, the fork symbolizing diet and how obsessed our nation has become with it, the rose and bird are classic icons of timeless beauty and love. The expression on her face appears peaceful yet intentional. This piece, among many others, interests me because it mirrors a slight identity that all women of today can recognize. Vanity tagged with lust and ambition, determination to attain the world via these qualities. I admire her work for confronting such controversial topics that can lume our imaginations.
“I believe that the universe, creation itself, is life and a part of life glows through light. As a photographer, I capture some of that light and express my view of life. There are places well known, with scenery vast and grand. But it seems that it's in the quiet corners where splendor's heart really dwells… For me, these places are what it is all about.” - Tim Havens, artist’s statement 2005.
Tim Havens is a lover of photography and all its technical processes. Living in the plains of Colorado, even until this day, he is surrounded by the quite country land and serene nature. True appreciation for nature can be recognized in his photographs, from season to season and forest to mountain. I have always been fascinated with tranquil nature and landscape photography. Mr. Havens’ work appeals to me mostly because he presents a world unrecognized to me, having lived in cities all my life.
But it is also the technical process he uses to capture his images, a mix of traditional and modern techniques as well as materials that interest me. Multi-masking and Tri-color method transfers, giclee pigment transfers, as well as digital technologies. During modern times, often people are not impressed about technique and processing when dealing with photography. We are in the midst of a digital revolution, manipulated and enhanced images via photographic software are the rule of the market of today.
“On the Path” is an image that invokes remembrance of nature in general. The cycles it goes through, spring being the rebirth and fall the beginning of the hibernation.