Piece of Mind
Jay Blogett
For most urban dwellers, personal space in public places is important, especially on New York City subways. An unspoken protocol exists in this subterranean world, which has a role in fostering urban tranquility. These stolen moments have become the focus of a Brooklyn-based artist, Stacy Stewart Smith. "A ride on the New York City subway can be like a moving sanctuary for peace," he states. From this he takes the title of his current exhibition, "Sanctuary for Peace," with works depicting East River panoramas.
Stacy Stewart Smith, a native of Chicago, relocated to New York in 1987, attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and worked as a designer in the garment center. He is an alumnus of the School of Visual Arts (BFA 2004) where he received the Rhodes Family Award for Outstanding Achievement in Fine Arts. Smith calls himself an "abstractrealist." This art form creates an imaginary construct where the elements of time and motion give meaning to selective mental montage. It occurs in movement and is achieved through memory by glancing. In Smith’s abstractrealism, architectural structures are of the greatest importance and provide the construct upon which spiritual illusions are created. In his latest body of work he used the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. Smith recalls: "I observed that as the train moves the position of the sun changes. This reflected light is broken periodically by the structural formations of the bridge. The combination of the train’s speed and the blinding sunlight creates an abstracted view of the horizon. Portions of the city landscape are blurred. The human eye cannot completely focus upon these images. When a clear view comes, it is immediately followed by a quick shadow from the bridge’s structure."
On clear days, Smith noticed that sunrays are reflected into the train cars that emerge from the DeKalb Avenue station onto the Manhattan Bridge. According to Smith, "During this ride the people get quiet and the train is transformed into a sacred space. This experience appears to cause New Yorkers to momentarily forget their problems, prejudices and differences."
Smith’s project experienced a threat in the early stages of production. In March of 2004, terrorists ignited explosives on a Madrid train. killing approximately 202 commuters. Next came the London bombings of July 7, 2005. However, even the recent heightening of security in New York, the heart of "Sanctuary" has taken on new meaning. What has evolved is a cry for peace. Smith has dedicated the work to innocent victims of these attacks.
The paintings in the exhibit are either grayscale or have an austere palette of taupe, teal, rust and umber. The monochromatic cool grays magnify the mood of serenity. A variety of support materials are employed including canvas, silk organdy, Plexiglas, magnifying glass and PVC. Smith paints both in oil and graphite/gesso washes on canvas. On close observance, one can see the manner in which each work is veiled by another element. In some works, etchings on Plexiglas dance above and cast shadows onto painted canvases. In other works, silk organdy creates light catching atmospheric illusions.<
Abstractrealist Sunrise is a breathtaking oil on canvas showcasing a view of the East River, Williamsburg and Manhattan’s Lower East Side from the Manhattan bridge at sunrise. The painting glows with the illusion of daylight. Smith’s palette has been carefully selected to capture the mood of the urban landscape by using sharp contrast between black and white and tonal harmonies of muted neutrals. The element of speed is important in Smith’s work whereas some objects take on a blurred quality. The beauty of this painting is in the way Smith captured the sunrise. You get the feeling that you are there in this special place peering through the bridge’s beams. It would seem that the industrial elements would convey chaos but they actually evoke peace. A white and orange traffic control construction cone is rendered in half-light at center front, which Smith says, "symbolizes the concept that world peace is under construction."
In Sanctuary For Peace, graphite, gesso and acrylic have been used to create a painting/drawing on canvas and placed beneath a Plexiglas hood. The image on the canvas is a draft of a MTA subway car interior stylized from a perspective similar to a church. Partial line rendering and gesso washes are introduced and reintroduced. A tilted pole is drawn at the center of the painting. From it you can almost stand arms-length in front of the work as if you were in the painting. The entire work is a cool gray and Titanium white. At the top of the work Smith has etched "(Acts 2:4)." This passage from the Bible speaks of the giving of the gift of tongues to the early church. Thus, the phrase "world peace" is engraved in various languages and scale. The etching casts shadows upon the canvas and speaks of universal hope. The presence and powerful solidarity of all commuters is felt in this hauntingly poetic comment on urban unification.
The attraction of the "Sanctuary" exhibition is a seven-piece installation of contemporary shadow boxes entitled Sanctuaries of Dreams. In the Smith ideology, these are weeks of dreams inspired by biblical prophecy. The boxes are constructed of Plexiglas and magnifying glass atop of graphite, gesso and charcoal washes on canvas. The paintings beneath the Plexiglas reveal a broken panoramic view of the Brooklyn Bridge as seen from the Q train on the Manhattan Bridge. These paintings could stand alone but the added Plexiglas creates an unforgettable presence. Smith has etched enigmatic street narratives onto each panel. To conceal the mystery, he has frosted the sides of each box such that they appear as enchanted screen monitors. When light hits the boxes the etchings come to life and the landscape moves with an approach to the piece.
Naturally, when one mentions "art" and "box" in the same sentence the name Joseph Cornell is stirred about in the mind; however, Smith has created something entirely fresh with Sanctuaries of Dreams. These boxes speak about contemporary urban life, point to deeper spiritual meanings and provoke self-examination. The etchings read like a melodrama. The box entitled Sanctuaries of Dreams: Mid-Week, 2004 has striking detail. Upon it, the ghost of a lonely Latino soldier appears clothed in jeans, wife beater, skullcap and dog tags. Shadows of postcards sent from Iraq appear as fragments. Words appear as inflections to a dialogue. The phrases "see ya soon" and "Gracias" appear as if the box were speaking. A postmark from New York represents a letter never delivered. In Chinese characters the phrase "world peace" is etched. On other panels, various personages appear including, Lady Liberty, the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. The installation hangs upon an oblong black painted surface on a white wall. Smith uses tiny dotted edges to represent unification and in it he salutes Georges Seurat the father of Pointillism.
Stacy Stewart Smith is an artist to watch. The entire "Sanctuary" exhibition is available on-line at stacystewartsmith.com
