CALIFORNIA STATL UNIVERSI'IY, NOR'IBRJ])2E
HIDDEN IMAGES
\\
An abstract submitted in partial satisfaction of the
. requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in
by
--
Ga:y Barnes. BanCYNskv
January, 1979
-
The Abstract of Gay Barnes Banowsky is approved:
_ _.Aea.Tf- Luc Bordeaux 7
-ifaren Carson, Committee Chairperson
·.~---
California State University, Northridge
-TABLE OF CONTENTS
.Abstract
,·
Appendix of photographs
iii
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ii
ABSTRACT
HIDDEN IMAGES
by
Gay Barnes Banowsky
Master of Arts in Art
October, 1978
The seven paintings shown in this exhibit are
described as liHidden Images" because each piece contains many torn images from old paintings and prints.
Just prior to this I enjoyed the security of
working within the boundaries of painting geometric
forms.
These efforts were restricting so I began
searching for a more passionate way of working.
effort
~vas
to paper.
An
made to f:r:ee myself by moving from canvas
That profitable passage, while not totally
successful within itself, led to this new method.
For centuries philosophers have attempted to deal
with Tian 1 s profound need for both security and freedom.
In these paintings I am str1.1ggling with this apparent
conflict.
This is a desire for a marriage between
creative freedom and my mm prescribed boundaries.
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I·.
My first act of freedom came by tearing old works
into fragments which were used collage-fashion on a
stretched canvas.
It was visceral and exciting.
immediately made the canvas less threatening.
It
Having
violated the white surface I felt an exhilerating urge
to use a variety of materials.
my mentor.
"Nixed-media" became
I started with inks and progressed to
pastels, watercolors, acrylics and finally oils.
This
freedom also bred a new confidence in my intuition
'tvhich allowed me to leave areas which had occurred
accidentally.
The next stage involved a careful study of the
emerging forms, necessitating critical decisions regarding which areas to negate and which ones to expose.
Frequently the more exciting images were made by prints.
They were more mysterious and later when juxtaposed
with painted surfaces projected an enticing ambiguity.
It soon became apparent that the process would
profoundly dictate the final image;· another freeing
encounter.
A thin layer of gesso was used to block out some
of the shapes.
The remaining areas determined my choice
of colors and shapes.
The initial step of applying
paper to canvas for texture made me aware of the reality
of the surface.·
This emphasis on the "skin" resulted
iv
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in the use of oils over parts of the acrylics for
added richness.
When the final image evolved I found myself setting
up boundaries using a similar imagery that was prevalent
in past work.
Now, however, the actual form became
less important due to the emphasis on collage and underpainting.
This rectangle which was used to set up
comfortable boundaries, surrounded by the mysterious
half-hidden images of -.;-vatercolors and print's, produced
a finished work in which the figure-ground relationship
was reversed.
The large static form became the figure
encircled by an active field.
The pyramid-like shapes
alongside multiple collage activity provided the field
of energy.
These partially visible remnants of collage are
reminiscent of several periods in my painting.
The
physical and emotional experience of destroying past
works, then recycling them in a more passionate form
is symbolic of passages in my own life.
Just as past
mistakes have led to enriching experiences, this
originally destructive process has provided me with a
new constructive method of image making.
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