PulsArte’ ~ Seeing Millennium
Spirit Shower & Gift from God
Mattison FitzGerald
Whether the Bay Area, New York, Europe or Asia, or the furthest
reach of the clear night sky, geography is a potent influence in Mattison
Fitzgerald's work. Not the bookish geography that most of us
struggled with in the sixth grade and that changes with depressing regularity
on the evening news. But rather a geography based upon the timeless
rhythms and complex inter-relationships of the Earth (and
Cosmos), augmented and magnified by an area's unique qualities of "place."
This then, is captured and rendered by Mattison in paint and pigment
upon cloth and paper. This series of work represents the Artists' budding
relationship with Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The repeated portrait imagery of individual wildflowers presented
en masse and the intimately scaled morningscape of the Santa Fe
sunrise both serve to engage the viewer with Mattison's Earth-view. By
envelopment or by drawn-in introspection, the silent dialogues
delivered through these works convince the viewer of the natural world's
fragile power. This balance and the influence of humans upon it make the
landscape the most difficult genre to master, but once mastered,
the most satisfying. The personal vision of the Artist make these Santa
Fe works more intimate and unique - a hand-written travelogue from
an articulate friend sans agenda rather than a glossy (but soulless)
picture perfect postcard.
Mattison's historical interest in materials is also continued in this
new work. Commercially prepared grounds and paints are used
along side of (and sometimes in spite of) hand-made papers and pastels
(made to the Artist's own specifications). This choice of medium is carefully
decided upon as each work is planned - the effect is deliberate;
after viewing, the works are inconceivable in any other medium.
Mattison is deeply committed to art in public places and the rights
of artists in both the virtual and "mundane" worlds. These
sensibilities are also touched upon in this new work. An individual's first step
of aesthetic discovery is to notice the things that they notice. The
second step is to ask and explore why. Here, we are shown in a
silent and telling way how one artist chose to "place" Santa Fe in her
own journey of discovery. And, if we wish, we can follow.
Mark A. Kramer
Curator Web Art Critic