Hearne Pardee: Robert Else Gallery

Hearne Pardee Souvenir: New Caledonia

  Hello everybody, today I am excited to talk a little bit about the current exhibition here at Sac State in the Robert Else Gallery.  Here you will find a little hidden gem of a show exhibiting the work of Hearne Pardee.  Hearne Pardee is currently a professor at UC Davis and the show consists of a mixture of mediums including collage and painting.  The show is titled Souvenir: New Caledonia and displays works inspired by Pardee's experiences from New Caledonia and the modernization of small villages over time.

Hearne Pardee, Hienghene, acrylic collage on paper, 2012

  Pardee talked about his experiences in a recent interview with the Huffington Post.  I shared the link to the article at the bottom of the page.  Pardee studied at the New York Studio School in the 70's and was interested in observation art.  This he later combined with collage to form a colorful palette of geometrical shapes with gestural brush strokes.

Hearne Pardee, Home, acrylic and collage on panel, 2012

Pardee's current exhibition in the Else Gallery consists of works from his most recent trip to New Caledonia as well as some from his previous visit.  New Caledonia is a southern Pacific island and former French colony that houses some of teh most diverse flora and fauna on the planet Pardee shared many of his stories through diary entries provided to the gallery visitors. Having gone to New Caledonia in the late 60's to assist ethnobotanist Jacque Barrau, Pardee taught the local youth art classes through a missionary program.  This allowed him to observe the local life of people he became interested in.  After returning to the U.S. Pardee continued depiction of local life, but that of the American variety.  Part of Pardee never really forgot New Caledonia though and he returned in 2008 to locate some of his former students and document the changes through his art.

Hearne Pardee, Birch Lane, acrylic and collage on panel, 2012

Pardee's paintings are reminiscent of Cezanne and indeed he was influenced by the artist as he put it to  "develop spaces constructed with color".  This he would combine with the heritage and local cultures of the village communities. Pardee's usage of collage within his paintings serves a specific purpose of which he describes as "organizing the field rather than depicting a model".  In Hienghene he uses the collage as a very subtle effect in the blue skyline. Whereas in Home he ups the ante quite a bit by adding reds and blues to both the house and trees. In his Birch Lane he pushes the abstract even further with extensive use of colorful collage that almost totally obscures the house behind it.
  Overall I enjoyed the show quite a lot and though collage is not quite the medium I am used to working with, I appreciated its use in telling a story about people from a place that I new little about.  In that respect it probably succeeded in bring awareness to what appears to be a very magnetic and charming place.

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-seed/hearne-pardee-and-gina-we_b_4243052.html
http://arts.ucdavis.edu/faculty-profile/hearne-pardee

Lecture Series: Remembering TB-9

Usually one reads about history in a book or watches a program on television.  It is rare that you get to listen to people who were intricately involved with creating the history you are interested in.  I had that pleasure last Thursday evening when I got to listen to three most distinguished artists recollect about a very important time period and share their thoughts and experiences. 


Peter VandenBerge, Stephen Kaltenbach, Gerald Walburg

Remembering TB-9 was a discussion with emeritus art professors Peter VandenBerge, Stephen Kaltenbach, and Gerald Walburg about their experiences working with Robert Arneson, an important sculptor and professor of ceramics who taught at UC Davis.  All three were graduate students under Arneson in the 60's when an important transformation occurred.  Prior to this time ceramics was seen as more of a functional art than a fine art.  Arneson changed this during a California State Fair event where Stephen Kaltenbach met him during an exhibition of ceramics.  One piece in particular stood out of a bottle that was capped off.  We are used to seeing ceramic pots and bottles with holes in them to "stick a plant in" or something as Stephen Kaltenbach explained.  Arneson changed this by  putting a cap on it, or in some ways putting a cap on the conventional views of art when it came to ceramics.  Arneson was recruited along with other known artists such as Manuel Neri and Wayne Thiebaud to work at UC Davis in the early 60's.  Arneson  took over TB-9 or temporary building number 9 and made into into a hive of art creation that would be impossible to recreate today. Gerald Walberg explained much  about the laid-back atmosphere combined with obsessive work output.  TB-9 was accessible twenty-four hours a day and it was not uncommon to have a keg or two of beer around.  It was also not uncommon to find Robert Arneson there at all times of the evening and early morning according to the three artists.



Peter VandenBerge, House Poet, Ceramic, 2000

This was further explained by the answer to the question I proposed to the trio when I asked them if they could bring one aspect that is lacking in art education today from there experiences at TB-9.  All three of the former Davis students went on to have careers teaching at Sacramento State. Steve said access would be the one thing that is missing today as there was an open door policy at TB-9. Although currently it is possible for students  to obtain a key to Sac State art facilities during off hours, it is not anywhere near as open as TB-9 was.  Peter said interaction was very important and that they all had a certain bond at TB-9 that allowed them to share ideas and sometimes steal them as well. They took a minute to rib each other a little  and accused each other in a playful tone of using each others ideas from sketch books.  Geri said fortitude and work ethic were the main things missing from students today. He said that the talent is present but there has to be " a drive inside you". 

From those wise words I hope teachers and students alike can apply certain elements of TB-9 into their current world.  The height of TB-9 occurred long before I was even born and having grown up in the Midwest I was unaware of the history of it until recently.  It seems as if their lives were intertwined with art and the people that they crossed paths with.  They also had a lot of great advice to pass on.  Therefore I am very fortunate to have introduced myself to these producers and teachers of not only art, but that of life itself.

Charlie Rose: David Zwirner

Jeff Koons, Dolphin, 2007-2013

   Hey everyone, tonight I was checking out Charlie Rose and came across an interview with David Zwirner.  Zwirner is considered one of the most influential gallerists and art dealers in the United States.  Some of the artists he has represented include Donald Judd, Jeff Koons, and Dan Flavin.  In this interview Zwirner shows a great fondness of minimalism.  In fact he is quoted as saying minimalism was "the last really great newness".  He goes on to say that pop art was dis-appropriately valued in comparison to minimalism.  I included a link to the video and a link to Zwiner's gallery site to see his current and past exhibitions.

Karla Black, Practicality in Shadow, 2013

http://www.charlierose.com/
http://www.davidzwirner.com/image/new-york/