CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
FANTASYSCAPES
An abstract submitted in partial satisfaction of the
requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in
Art
by
Christina Louise Larkin
June, 1976
The abstract of Christina Louise Larkin is approved:
California State University Northridge
May, 1976
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
ii
Approval Page
iii
Table of Contents
list of Illustrations
iv
Imagery and Process
Tools
Style
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Conclusion
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Appendix (Illustrations)
iii
LIST OF IllUSTRATIONS
4.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .... . .. . . .. . .
Night Hike at Joshua Tree
. . ... ... ... . . . . . . . . .
Volcano with Flaming Birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tornados on Patchwork Fields . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . .
5.
After the Rain
6.
Haunted library ••
7.
First Act of Spring
8.
Basement Swamp
1.
2.
3.
Nightmare
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iv
7
7
IMAGERY AND PROCESS
The ideas for my current work developed from a series of paintings of
my interpretations of fairy tales. The stories I read as a child impressed me
deeply with their universal
symbology, the concerns of mankind with the same
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problems of life and death. I have studied folklore and mythology, and real.....__,_._._~-~·
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ize how much the human soul needs stories to understand the world around it.
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.
I still draw on folk tales and myth for images, but my paintings have become
a personal expression of my own myths.
I begin with an idea, but I allow my intu1tt.Q_•;t to take over. I paint
unconsciously, laying down first the rough shapes of the composition, then
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allowing ideas to flow by free association. I never know how a painting will
look when it's finished, the results are always a surprise. The _e£~.<:~~'~'i,tself
is most important. I put a~q_~~!Jon to myself, and the finished painting is the
answer. In Nightmare; figure 1, the question was 11 Why .am I afraid of the
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dark? 11 • The answer took the form of depicting a nightmare that has remained
vivid since childhood. The child under the bed is me, but it could be anyone.
Fear of the dark has been with man since our ancestors first took shelter in caves
from the elements and wild beasts. Predators hunt at night, and the dark hides
the familiar things. The bed that my child-self hides under is open and unprotected. The usually welcome light only serves to further expose the child to
that which she fears. A menacing shadow teddy bear looms in the light cast
through a window. Because a teddy bear is a common harmless toy, it becomes
1
2
even more frightening by its betrayal. The light from an outside street lamp is
metaphorized into sticks that are beating down on top of the bed and cutting
off all escape. Even the surface of the walls are threatening, bulging with
unknown forces. The imagery that grew out of the painting process was not
premeditated, it appeared as I became involved with the problem that I had set
form of the finished painting •
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I've writtenpoetry since I was nine years old, thus my familiarity with
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poetic metaphor has carried over into my visual imagery. I want objects to
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look as though they are about to metaphorize into something else, like clouds
that billow momentarily into a recognizable shape, only to rapidly change into
some other form. I am influenced by Rene •. Magritte in that I strive for exciting
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juxtapositions of images. He took ordinary objects and put them into extra-
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ordinary contexts. The effect is stimulating, it makes one think differently
about an object that is so common that it is usually ignored. Common objects
are universal symbols, Magritte used combs, pipes, apples and many other
mundane things that draw an immediate response by their common nature. He
startles the viewer by his use of them, for instance, he filled a room with an
apple. I use recognizab,le shape, rather than abstract, because I want to make
use of the viewer•s association with real things to build an explanation for
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abstract ide as .1
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The idea with which I begin a painting is whatever is affecting me most
deeply at the moment of the paintings inception. It can be a real event or a
3
memory inspired by its relevancy to a current problem. I believe my role as an
artist is to take a personal experience and translate it into a universal experience by personal symbol. If all of my symbols cannot be understood by the
viewer, it is all right, I also seek to present
mysteries. The unconscious picks
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1
up more than the conscious. I want to communicate nonverbal ideas that the
viewer may enjoy looking at without understanding.
Even though I paint intuitively, there are consistent concerns throughout.
I deal with scenes.
(Jhe settings evolved into contained landscapes, even out.
~~""--
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door environments are closed in, usually by a roof of clouds. This gives the
painting a room like qua lityo It cuts the world of the imagery off from outside
influence. The landscapes bear some resemblance to the real world, but this
only serves to lure the viewer into a strange situation, made stranger by the
familiarity of some of the for~
Night Hike at Joshua Tree, figure 2, was a major turning point in the
character of my work. .The idea was derived from a real event, but it becomes
a fantasyscape by my emotional attitude towards the event. My senses were
assaulted by the beauty and violence of the desert, and this painting was an
attempt to recapture the experience and share it. The circular mounds of clouds
seem to be spitting the lightning at the earth, backlighting the anthropomorphic
shapes of the Joshua Trees. Because of their almost human form, I fear for their
safety in the storm. The central location of the hilltop gives the composition
the feeling of a crucifixion scene, with a slash of lightning where Christ on the
crucifix should be. I did not deliberately compose a religious painting, but in
4
retrospect, the experience was profoundly pantheistic and the relation fits.
The potential of lightning for destruction is as great as its spectacular beauty.
tfbJs ambivalency of the forces of nature led to further investigations
o~,-~~.IJral
-1
disasters as entertainm~ot, which is a concern of my current work.J
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The ~qiJ of my painting is tl~h and iiJ!!J~.ate. I invent minute images
with line inside the larger shapes to enrich the overall surface. The form the
embellishment takes is usually ambiguous and multi-leveled, like the surface
of glass. The water media produces transparencies and accidental shapes that
constantly stimulate the imagination much as glass distorts and changes objects
reflected on its surface. I want the viewer to be drawn into search for hidden
meanings. \"The painting should work from a distance, but also be able to stand
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up to close scruti'"!W
TOOLS
I choose water
color to express my ideas because I find it to be a very
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fluent and V!'lrsatile medium. It is receptive to being worked into with pen
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and ink line, and colored pencil. This combination produces rich surface
te.xtiJr~~·
I've discovered that outlining shape with ink also brings the imagery
under cQntrQt.
I prefer to work on stretched ,f,<;P,~r that has some texture. Murillo is my
favorite because of the way it takes color and line, but other kinds lend themselves to different images. After the Rain, figure 5, was executed on smooth
surfaced etching proof paper. It flattens out the forms and lends itself to
5
QQ_Q£itY• On the other hand, Haunted library, figure 6, was painted on
Murillo, and though it is also QP,g,q!,!e, the colors have achieved a brilliancy
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that is lacking on the,,~!!tQ9th~RQPere
Another process that has had an impact on my work is lithography.
made a series of priQ!:s that I hand colored with water media. I was thus able
to separate form from color, which gave me insight into the nature of both.
I also had multiple images to deal with which allowed me to express different
attitudes towards the same subject by coloring each print differently.
I am constantly experimenting with new tools. I believe the creative
...........
process requires change to remain fresh J.
-..,. . ....,_J
STYLE
My style is what makes my work uniquely mine. 1.!.~.r,!~..!91J!Q~~JlJQrks
tQ9!_~r.e.!~~n9.~d.gp~g"qrggnlc rather than sharp-edged, but I use straight edges
to separate the compositional elements. The pieces thus cut off become compartmentalized, like a jigsaw puzzle. Each must be read separately, like a
chapter in a book, but also looked at in conjunction with the whole, so that.
the pain•lng becomes a full story.
· /The size of my work is small: my largest piece is 30 11 X 40 11 •
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I like the
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.J.n!LIJ19~.X of working on a small scale. t~e larger paintings take too long to
finish and I lose detail because of my impatience to investigate new ideas
while they •re fresfq
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6
Color is a vital element of my style. It develops in the same manner as
my imagery, intuitively and freely. Color excites my imagination so that
objects and their colors become inseparable.
[~-e work
··"~~
of ...Henri
Matisse
is
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partially responsible for the evolution of my color sense.\ I admire his ability
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to use many strident colors, but still achieve balance in his paintings.
CONCLUSION
The process of painting was most important for me, but the finished
product translates my thought process for the viewer. Gaiety and sadness are
both present, but they balance each other as I strive to balance myself. My
paintings are full of the excitement I feel toward the creative process. ~~~:~;eek
to ...........
~ntertain my viewers, to give them so much to look at that they will always
-····-. ..
... ;:;
find new images hidden in the who!;~....
_
ILLUSTRATIONS
1.
Nightmare
8" x 10"
2.
Night Hike at Joshua Tree· 18" x 24"
3.
Volcano with Flaming Birds
4.
Tornados on Patchwork Fields
5.
After the Rain
6.
Haunted Library
7.
First Act of Spring
8.
Basement Swamp
19" x 25"
22" x 29"
22 11 x 28 11
30 11 x 40 11
17 11 x 23 11
20" x 26 11