Surrealist Impulse Object Labels

Gloria Bornstein Born New York, New York, 1937 The Bachelor Grinds His Chocolate Himself, 1988 Monoprint Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Mia McEldowney, 2004.33.3 The primary reference for Gloria Bornstein’s The Bachelor Grinds His Chocolate Himself is the monumental construction The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass) by Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968). Although intentionally enigmatic, Duchamp’s work is often understood as depicting the never-ending sexual struggle between the bride (as represented in the top register) and her male suitors below. Bornstein, responding to Duchamp’s male perspective, created an image in which Duchamp’s bachelor is rejected by his bride and must fend for himself.

Marcel Duchamp (France, 1887–1968) The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass), 1915–23 Oil, varnish, lead foil, lead wire, and dust on two glass panels 109 ¼ x 69 ¼ inches

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Marcel Duchamp (France, 1887–1968) Chocolate Grinder No.1, 1913 Oil on canvas 24 ¼ x 25 ¼ inches Philadelphia Museum of Art

Jana Brevick Born Ogden, Utah, 1970 Running, 2000 Sterling silver Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the Sandra Crowder Estate, 2007.41.2 Jana Brevick frequently incorporates humor into her jewelry. In this neckpiece, two legs dangle freely as the wearer moves. This kind of random movement is gently amusing and somewhat illogical, in opposition to the regular, purposeful movement of a runner’s legs. Running also plays with scale and logic by dangling two miniature disembodied legs directly beneath an actual human head.

Salvador Dalí Born Figueras, Spain, 1904 Died Figueras, Spain, 1989 The Song of Songs of King Solomon, 1971 Portfolio of 12 etchings with stencil, gold dust, and gilding, No. 10 from an edition of 50 Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Ann and James Wiborg, 2007.53.1-14 The artist Salvador Dalí painted what many consider the most beloved surrealist image, The Persistence of Memory (1931). Dalí also created surrealist sculptures, theater designs, and films. After World War II and the detonation of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, Dalí’s artwork began to focus more on spiritual concerns. An increasingly devout Roman Catholic, Dalí finished the prints for The Song of Songs of King Solomon near the end of his artistic career. These prints are characterized by Dalí’s masterful handling of line and color. The elongated figures and ethereal sense of place create a mesmerizing vision of the garden setting for the biblical verses of the Old Testament. The otherworldly treatment of the

illustrations also alludes to the traditional allegorical interpretation of the biblical passages as human nature united with God through the workings of the church on earth.

Salvador Dalí (Spain, 1904–1989) The Persistence of Memory, 1931 Oil on canvas 9 ½ x 13 inches The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Top row (left to right) King Solomon The Kiss The Shepherd The King's Train The Dovelike Eyes of the Bride The Bridegroom Leaps upon the Mountains Bottom row (left to right) The Beloved Looks Forth Like a Roe The Beloved is Fair as a Company of Horses Thou Art Fair, My Love. . . The Beloved Feeds Among the Lilies The Fruits of the Valley Return, O Shulamite

Scott Fife Born Moscow, Idaho, 1949 Dresser with Drapes and Landscape, 1991 Archival cardboard with Lascaux painting Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Les J. and Karen Weinstein, 2007.29 Scott Fife’s early cardboard tableaux and sculptures have a strong affinity to film noir; notably both share an eerie, dark mood. The imagery of Dresser with Drapes and Landscape suggests a crime scene— strong raking light, sweeping drapery, and a knife buried deep into the wall. This kind of psychologically unsettling scene was typical of film noir during the 1940s. Although primarily American filmmakers embraced film noir, its origins have been traced directly to French surrealism.

Tacoma Art Museum is dedicated to the art and artists of the Pacific Northwest. One of the most beloved works in the museum’s collection is Leroy, The Big Pup, by Scott Fife. Tacoma Art Museum is proud to have the artist’s full range represented in its collection, from the early work seen in this gallery to the contemporary, monumental puppy in the lobby.

Claudia Fitch Born Palo Alto, California, 1952 Two Chandeliers with Milk Drops, 2003 Ceramic with glazes, oil paint, gold leaf, and brass Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from John and Shari Behnke and Greg Kucera and Larry Yocom, 2007.28 Claudia Fitch often finds inspiration directly from her dreams. The resulting works of art convey the nonsensical order and juxtaposition of things and people that she remembers from her dreams. In Two Chandeliers with Milk Drops, Fitch depicts upside-down, Buddha-like figures that seep gilded drops of milk. This unearthly scene evokes a serene sense of compassion and a promise of security and prosperity as symbolized by the milk drops.

Nöle Giulini Born Heidelberg, Germany, 1958 Untitled (Mickey Mouse Organ), 1994 Kombucha fungus, wood, thread, and myrrh resin Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Scott and Ruth Wilson, 2006.36 A-C In this haunting sculpture, Nöle Giulini creates a desiccated version of the famous Disney character Mickey Mouse. Giulini establishes a morbid psychological tension by crudely sewing pieces of dried fungus into a toylike object. With her creation, she obliterates the usual joyous associations given to childhood toys and Disney characters. Instead of happy memories, the viewer faces issues related to death and disintegration. Like the surrealists, she emphasizes mortality and a grim vision of the passage of time.

Joseph Goldberg Born Seattle, Washington, 1947 Chaco, 2005 Encaustic on linen over wood Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from Rebecca and Alexander Stewart in honor of Dr. Dale Hall and Susan Russell Hall, 2006.31 For the surrealists, animals provided powerful symbols that could represent untamed natural forces or the darker, unknown aspects of human nature. For example, one of the preeminent surrealists Max Ernst (1891–1976) created an alter ego named “Loplop,” represented in birdlike forms. Northwest artists, beginning with Morris Graves, also employed the symbolism of animals in their art. Owls, in particular, have an important place as a symbol of the mystical power of the region’s forests. The unnerving psychological impact of owls was tapped by the popular television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991) that was set in Washington State. A key plot element

revolved around the revelation that “the owls are not what they seem.”

Max Ernst (Germany, 1891–1976) Loplop Introduces Loplop, 1930 Oil and various materials on wood 39 ½ x 70 ⅞ inches Private collection

Max Ernst (Germany, 1891–1976) Le Grande Assistant, 1967 Bronze Private collection

Morris Graves Born Fox Valley, Oregon, 1910 Died Loleta, California, 2001 Chalice Holding the Stimson Mill, 1936 Oil on canvas Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Robert Ohashi, Ross Ohashi, and Arnold Ohashi, 2007.14 After a devastating studio fire in 1935, Morris Graves focused his attention on making paintings that were overtly symbolic and reflected his concerns about the state of the rapidly changing world. In this painting, Graves depicted the Stimson Mill isolated in the cup of a chalice. When he painted it, the mill, located just outside of Ballard near Seattle, was the world’s largest producer of wooden shingles. Graves adapted surrealist symbolism to make a powerful commentary on the negative impact of the rapid economic and political changes in Seattle. He emphasized his point by contrasting the factory to the purity of fallow fields.

Blake Haygood Born Athens, Georgia, 1966 Easy Pop, 1999 Color drypoint Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Ben and Aileen Krohn, 2006.14.2 Blake Haygood often depicts fanciful machines that seemingly have no discernable use or basis in rational mechanics. Like Marcel Duchamp and other surrealist artists, Haygood relies on humor to convey a sense of futility and helplessness in the modern world. Harkening back to Duchamp’s The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelor’s, Even (The Large Glass), Easy Pop features pulleys and machine components that simply cannot function or perform a useful task.

Jared Pappas-Kelley Born Olympia, Washington, 1974 Some Say She Lost Her Head, 2002 Single channel video, 2 minutes, 42 seconds, No. 3 from an edition of 15 Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase, 2007.11 Created from 2.5 seconds of found film footage by L. Frank Baum (author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), Jared Pappas-Kelley’s Some Say She Lost Her Head offers a poignant metaphor for the ability to right oneself in the face of unknown difficulties. Pappas-Kelley composed the melancholy soundtrack to emphasize the tenderness of the personal task. In this short video, the actor literally finds her own head and replaces it over and over again. The physical impossibility of the actor’s task adds to the dream-like quality of the scene.

Anya Kivarkis Born Chicago, Illinois, 1975 Untitled Brooch, 2006 Fine and sterling silver, enamel auto paint Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from the Ramona Solberg Endowment Fund, 2007.17 With Untitled Brooch, Anya Kivarkis melds two symbols of taste and value, a chandelier and an elaborate wallpaper motif. In much of Kivarkis’s jewelry, she incorporates symbols to generate discussion about gender and commodities in our culture. Visually, this juxtaposition of two radically different objects has its conceptual roots in early surrealist paintings and photomontages.

Max Ernst (Germany, 1891–1976) la bicyclette graminée...(The Gramineous Bicycle...), circa 1921 Gouache and ink on chromolithographic chart with ink inscription 29 ¼ x 39 ¼ inches The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Mary Ann Peters Born Beaumont, Texas, 1949 in an instant…everything, 2006 Graphite powder, ink, pencil, watercolor, and gouache on polypropylene paper Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from Shari and John Behnke, 2007.22 Mary Ann Peters creates her paintings using a method that has an affinity to the “automatic writing” process developed by surrealist writers. These early authors and poets attempted to tap directly into the unconscious by allowing themselves to write freely, unbound from logic and grammar. Peters’s painting process is similar. She builds each composition from a spontaneous arrangement and accumulation of marks and lines, which are filtered through her aesthetic sense and experience. In this painting, Peters explores the possibility of understanding all of the cosmos through a single glance.

Jim Riswold Born Seattle, Washington, 1957 Marie Antoinette Before, Coupe ici Marie Antoinette, Marie Antoinette After, Marie Antoinette’s Head, 2006 Digital pigment prints, Hors commerce edition Printed by Phil Bard, Cirrus Digital Imaging Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2006.12 A-D In this suite of prints, provocateur Jim Riswold rebuts the idealization of Marie Antoinette as a vision of power, luxury, and beauty. Like his surrealist predecessors, Riswold harnesses the power of symbols to question authority and rational order. The flat instructions “Coupe ici” or “Cut here” emphasize the merciless and gruesome executions of thousands of French citizens by guillotine during the French Revolution (1789–1799). Riswold’s deadpan imagery is not without its gallows humor—the decapitation of dolls is a childhood rite of passage.

Bertil Vallien Born Stockholm, Sweden, 1938 P-28-92, 1992 Sandcast glass, silver leaf, steel stand Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Mr. James G. Shennan, Jr., 2005.40 The dream state is one of Bertil Vallien’s primary subjects. Vallien deftly manipulates the material qualities of glass to create effects that recall the experience of not being able to remember details from a dream. Like the surrealists who avidly collected tribal art from Africa and cultures of the South Pacific, Vallien has a deep interest in mythic beings from ancient religions, and his sculptures evoke the mysticism of these cultures.

Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen Born Cincinnati, Ohio, 1960 Wisteria Hooded Falcon, 2005 Blown and off-hand sculptured glass Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from Anne Gould Hauberg, 2006.8 The surrealists sought to create jarring effects by juxtaposing strange, unexpected objects to evoke a sense of imbalance and unease. In this sculpture of a falcon and a falconer’s glove, Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen incorporates a spray of flowers around the falconer’s wrist, mimicking the ornate hood that covers the falcon’s head to calm the bird. Because falconry is not a high-profile sport today, Willenbrink-Johnsen’s sculpture reads as an unsettling vision from another era.

Amanda Wojick Born Rochester, New York, 1974 Tilted Mound, 2005 Ink on paper, gesso, plastic, wallpaper, nails, plastic, foam, and paint Tacoma Art Museum, Purchased with funds from Rebecca and Alexander Stewart, 2005.45.2 The landscape forms created by Amanda Wojick are inspired by introspection about ideas defining place, home, and terrain. Wojick focused on this subject during a transitional period in her life, when she moved to Eugene, Oregon, from the East Coast. Her imaginary landscapes mirror her feelings of being in an unknown and unexpected place. The repeated dot and circle motifs evoke a barren moon-like terrain that has not been explored or mapped. With Tilted Mound, Wojick creates a sense of psychological uneasiness that was also carefully constructed by the early surrealists.

Darren Waterston Born Fresno, California, 1965 Maelstrom, 2004 Oil on wood panel Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Greg Kucera and Larry Yocom, 2007.47.3 Painted on Denman Island in British Columbia, Darren Waterston sought to capture the energy and effects of a winter storm in the Pacific Northwest. The richly colored and ambiguous background alludes to the island’s forests and beaches at night. The brightly colored motifs suggest the continual movement of debris caused by the rain and winds. By depicting this place and his experience with an abstract visual vocabulary, Waterston provides insight into his imagination and feelings.

Top row (left to right) King Solomon The Kiss The Shepherd The King's Train The Dovelike Eyes of the Bride The Bridegroom Leaps upon the Mountains Bottom row (left to right) The Beloved Looks Forth Like a Roe The Beloved is Fair as a Company of Horses Thou Art Fair, My Love. . . The Beloved Feeds Among the Lilies The Fruits of the Valley Return, O Shulamite