Select works: 2004-2007
In contemporary art, the term appropriation refers to the practice of creating a new work by using a pre-existing image. When I began appropriating Renaissance images into my work a number of years ago, my interest was primarily in their skillful representation of fabric. I soon found myself, however, more interested in the portraits.
In Renaissance, Classical and NeoClassical portraiture, artists sought to create a likeness of their sitter, an illusion if you will. Yet Modern art claims that any illusion on a canvas is in fact, a lie: the canvas is in reality merely a flat surface. Elements such as text, pattern, or dripping paint acknowledge this truth, the surface is flat. These contradictory ideas have continued to fascinate me for many years, and become a kind of Yin and Yang: opposites that make up a whole. So, as two-dimensional elements such as text, pattern, etc., challenges the "Renaissance" illusion, the illusion also subverts out the "modern" flatness. Because each of these methods contradict each other, one is left new possibilities of artistic expression.
From the Middle Ages to the seventeenth century, portraits of popes, kings and the ruling class were painted (or sculpted) as a means of demonstrating their power. Later on, the bourgeoisie appropriated this demonstration of power by having their likenesses painted as well. That there is a kind of power associated with the likeness of a person is undeniable. The vandalism and toppling of images of Saddam Hussein illustrate this. Today, we look at portraiture much differently, especially with the advent of the camera and the proliferation of images of people.
For me, appropriated portraits are a means of putting paint on a canvas, to create illusion. On a deeper level, they are a means by which I share a connection with artists of the past, their sitters, and humanity itself.
portfolio: 2004-2009
architect | oil and mixed media on cradled panel
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/architect.jpg
attempting the impossible | oil and mixed media on cradled panel
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/attempting-the-impossible.jpg
catalyst | oil on multiple cradled panels
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/catalyst.jpg
circumnavigation | oil and mixed media on cradled panel
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/circumnavigation.jpg
colorblind | oil and print fabric on canvas
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/colorblind.jpg
confrontation | oil on canvas
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/confrontation.jpg
debris in the mind | oil on canvas
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/debris-in-the-mind.jpg
evidence | oil on cradled panel
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/evidence.jpg
hear in color | oil and mixed media on cradled panel
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/hear-in-color.jpg
architect | oil on 2 cradled panels
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/lover.png
the nature of | oil and mixed media on cradled panel
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/nature-of.jpg
out of the blue | oil on canvas
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/out-of-the-blue.jpg
pattern of doubt | oil on canvas
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/pattern-of-doubt.jpg
the problem of perception | oil on canvas
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/problem-of-perception.jpg
propeller | oil on canvas
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/propeller.jpg
retrograde | oil and mixed media on cradled panel
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/retrograde.jpg
untitled (choice) | oil and mixed media on cradled panel
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/untitled-choice.jpg
untitled (object) | oil and mixed media on cradled panel
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/untitled-object.jpg
untitled (request) | oil and mixed media on cradled panel
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/untitled-request.jpg
zenith | oil on canvas
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/zenith.jpg
sins of the fathers | oil on canvas
http://dev.bryanhollandarts.com/images/bha-works/2004-2007/sins-of-the-fathers.jpg