-Cati King
I spent the first 40 minutes walking and observing the gallery. I was completely blown away by how photography can be all those things! I then spent the next half hour talking with the artists. The two that I got to speak with were Joyce Neimanas and Patrick Nagatani. I spoke with Joyce first and was completely blown away by how interested she was in my life and me as a person. She continually asked me questions about what I am doing and planning on for next year after I graduate. I also discussed how I am going to study abroad in Stirling Scotland. I felt like she was genuinely interested in my words and thoughts. She was willing to discuss her thoughts and work with me. She also walked the gallery with me and asked me what I was interested in and asked my thoughts on different pieces. She also told me she was married to Robert Heineken and could tell me anything I wanted to know about him, and then joked with laughter “Is he egotistical? … Yes!” We laughed a little bit and then I asked her if the two of them inspired each other, and she replied that they both really did and that it was so different and almost strange being in the same medium as each other. I followed up with asking her if they were competitive with each other. She responded that at first they really were, but then she realized that Robert was 12 years older than her. She decided that when she got to his age she would be just as good as him, so she really let go of that competitive spirit. She was such a stunning person and absolutely genuine. She introduced me to Patrick Nagatani. I started speaking with him about how I had been researching the process he goes through in making his art. He was kind of surprised when I quoted him in an interview article I found about him. He told me that it has been quite a while since he has shown his work but that he is getting back into it. He says that he has been doing one a month for three years and that only twice has he done two pieces consecutively, twice, otherwise it is just one at a time. I also asked him if he thought it was weird to have people observing his work and commenting or discussing his work with him, but he said it wasn’t weird and that he has been doing this a long time just that he didn’t like the attention as much. But that some interesting piece can emerge once and awhile. He was very kind and joked around quite a bit. I asked him how he decided which of the piece to leave untapped in his work. He replied that sometimes he decided before he even started and that sometimes he decided as he went along. I then finished with asking if he just works with masking tape. He replied yes but that ‘just’ is a tricky word because he uses 80 different types all with different widths, hues and transparencies.
Being apart of the opening show was an absolutely amazing experience that I was really intimidated by at first but then I decided to just jump in and go crazy!
I really understand why so many people showed up and wanted to be apart of it. I now feel that the skepticism I had about galleries has been resolved in many ways. I really enjoyed it and am glad I took the time out to attend and participate as an active audience.
Here is the article I found on Patrick Nagatani:
This article written by Nancy Salem gives great insight to Nagatani masking tape pieces…
"While Nagatani has produced several bodies of groundbreaking photographic work, his masking-tape pieces are perhaps his most distinctive.
"I call them `tape-estries,' " Nagatani says.
He did his first taped piece in 1983, stumbling on the technique while photographing cathedrals in France.
"I was spray-painting over the images and using masking tape to block out areas," Nagatani says. "One day I decided to leave the tape on."
He starts the process with photographs. Some are from postcards, some from other printed sources. He often assembles collaged images; for example, a towering cactus with a burro or person superimposed; Japanese calligraphy behind a Buddha; a wedding party on the steps of a church. The final image is scanned and made into a large chromogenic photograph. The print is cold-mounted to museum ragboard. Nagatani adds paint to the picture to enhance certain visuals so they'll stand out when covered with tape.
"The photo gets manipulated, but it's not paint-by-numbers," Nagatani says.
Nagatani covers the image with strips of masking tape by cutting and tearing them into pieces of varying lengths, widths and shapes. He works from the background to the foreground, creating layers, textures and surprising depth. Sometimes he'll leave an area, such as hands or a figure, untaped for emphasis. The result is mesmerizing, a veil of hazy color and intricate design through which to view the image. A simple material, masking tape, produces a complex canvas, lends a spiritual quality. He seals a piece with several coats of fluid matte medium that soaks through the tape onto the image, adding adhesion and keeping oxygen from yellowing the tape. A UV inhibitor is the final touch.
"They're like mummies, lovingly preserved," Nagatani says.
He says the taped photographs are more personal than his other work because "so much revolves around the process and my joy in doing it." "
Image found at- http://www.billjayonphotography.com/JoyceNeimanas.html
"For many years Joyce Neimanas has experimented without a camera. Her computer-generated images use advertisements, art reproductions, and comic books to create humorous collages that explore contemporary gender roles." (Museum of Contemporary Photography)
Image found at – http://www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=Nagatani_california_06 (courtesy Patrick Nagatani)
Patrick Nagatani was a professor in the Department of Art & Art History at the University of New Mexico. in June of 2007, after 20 years at UNM, he retired as Professor Emeritus and became a full time artist, continuing to live and work in Albuquerque.
"Nagatani received his M.F.A. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1979. He has given numerous public lectures, seminars and workshops, and his work has been exhibited widely, both nationally and internationally. In 1991, he earned the Outstanding Faculty Award from the College of Fine Arts. Prior to this, from 1998 to 2000, he was honored with a Regent's Professorship. In 2004, he was recognized for his scholarly achievements and exemplary contributions to the College of Fine Arts by the University of New Mexico Libraries. He is a past recipient of two major National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artist Fellowships, and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson honored him with the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. Some of his other awards include: The Aaron Siskind Foundation Individual Photographer's Fellowship; The Kraszna-Krausz Award for his book Nuclear Enchantment; the Leopold Godowsky Jr. Color Photography Award; and the California Distinguished Artist Award from the National Art Education Association. Patrick Nagatani has also served as a panelist for a number of prestigious organizations: Illinois Art Council, Arizona Commission on Arts, Southern Arts Federation, Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, California Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts." (516ARTS.org)
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