Arist Talk: Brian Chu and Rick Fox

Brian Chu:

I was very moved by Brian Chu's use of the pallet knife to paint. Having taken introductory painting, and been forced to use the pallet knife to paint on occasion, I know how unbelievably time-consuming and restricting it can be as a tool. With that in mind, I have an entirely new appreciation for Chu's work. His use of multiple ranging colors to create one greater, cohesive element is impressively successful. His focus on the larger image, rather than nitty-gritty details, give his paintings more emotion.

I was especially interested in his comment about time as an element, and how shadows shape a terrain over time, such as with his painting of Mt. Washington. I have always paid attention to shadows in a landscape, but never considered them as an entity to actually SHAPE the landscape and image before me. Using time and shadows as a tool is not a method I had previously considered, but it's an incredibly engaging approach.

Rick Fox:

Having had Professor Fox as a teacher for both Introductory Drawing and Introductory Painting, I feel that I understand his methods more clearly, as he teaches them in his classes. I have always looked up to his emphasis on how important the process of creating is. His drawings of personal iconography were raw in a way that allowed genuine human connection. There were hints of the process behind the work - smudges and erase lines. But they did not seem unfinished.

I was deeply moved by Professor Fox's discussion of poetry, and the connection between writing poetry, and creating visual art. Talking about his poet friend, and how she needs to scale back on "virtuousness," as he gave us a definition, "conforming to a known standard of right and wrong," is something I wholeheartedly believe in. Poetry and art are not meant to exist within the walls of conformity - their creation should involve chaos and confusion and above all else, push the boundaries. They should be raw and human, not bound by rules, restrictions or regulations. I found these sentiments within Professor Fox's drawings. I found it both within the dark sweeping lines, and the masses of negative space shapes that enveloped them.