Holly Mae Pendergast . . . continued from page 4 

GETTING DOWN TO BASICS

Her most recent works have become simple, stripped down, dealing with the basics. They have a strong linear design, which she makes no attempt to mask, allowing the pencil drawing to show through and even sit on top of the painting. Her paint is often washed in with thin layers and only worked over in thicker paint in select spots.

The pencil drawing seems to be the framework, the skeleton, that lies beneath the surface of the painting and Holly Mae allows it to come through. It is the true essence, the abstract of the person. As her mother always told her, “We’re all just penciled in.” The color enhances the drawing, but does not cover it up. It is almost as if you are seeing through these people. They resemble the interior look that must consume much of Holly Mae’s day as she tries to manage her MCS.

In her life she is learning how to live large with very little and she seems to be doing the same with her artwork.

Her figures are performing a dance, between portraiture and symbols. The figures are real enough to be people but not so specific that they have to have a name.. In one work, a mother and child are distinct enough to have personality while remaining abstract enough to be symbolic.

“I’m just trying to get down what is coming through me” Holly told me as she showed me works in her studio. She holds up a painting of a little girl, a Barbie doll in hand, the other hand raised to her cheek in a coy manner. The painting is fairly thick, attention to detail layered over the surface. She has done this piece for a client.

“I found myself twisting and adding and struggling with this thing trying to get something that I think someone would like.” Then she shows me another piece. Same scene: little girl, doll in hand.

“When I did this one, I said ‘I’m painting for me this time.’” This one has been stripped down. It is simple and straightforward and very powerful. The first is a picture trying to be something it’s not. The second is a painting. Getting past the idea of getting it right, in the sense of making it look just like the little girl, she has found her painting and her style.

“As I did it, “ she explains, “I was asking myself, how little paint can I actually use and still have it be that little girl? With just line and what appears to be about five colors but is actually about 500 colors I wanted to get the essence of the thing down.”

The period in which she has suffered the most from MCS has been a terrific creative period for her. Yet, the irony of her health situation is that it has dramatically affected the direction of her art at the same time that it has threatened her very ability to create that art.


MOVING ALONG

After her return from Scottsdale, the most critical point in her health situation when she wondered if she would even be able to paint again, there was a short hiatus when Holly Mae did no new work.

Now, however, she has returned to her easel with a passion. Mike says “Holly would keep making things no matter what material she would have to use. She would do watercolor or sculpture or whatever it took. But she would keep creating.” In her studio she jokingly refers to a box of colored pencils she has found which are made from all natural materials. “I may eventually have to become a colored pencil artist.”

For now, though, she continues to work in her medium of choice, oil. She has left the wood panels she used to use because of the chemicals used to prepare the wood. She has turned to working on watercolor paper.

Just as Holly Mae’s MCS has limited her artistic options, it has also limited her normal social interaction. But just as she has responded to the MCS by searching for new materials, she has also found new social interactions. She has found solace in a support group of individuals across the United States who also suffer from MCS. Via the internet, they communicate with each other and share their experiences.

This interaction, as seems natural, has entered her artistic life. Holly Mae would like to use her artistic skills to give voice and community to her support group. Oftentimes people with MCS feel forgotten because they may not be able to leave their homes. Many end up losing their jobs and having to move out of their residences. But even those who are able to manage their health problems fairly well still may have trouble interacting with friends and family.

“We really feel uncomfortable saying, ‘Excuse me could you please not wear that perfume anymore’ so we end up not saying anything ,” says Holly Mae.

Holly Mae wants to give voice to her group and bring MCS into the public eye. She has a project to do portraits of one hundred people from her support group. She hopes to hang them all in one space. She has even considered having everyone who attends wear gas masks, to both develop empathy and to mask who it is that really suffers from the ailment.

Because, as Holly points out, it may not be long now, with the ever-increasing use of chemicals, that a majority of the population is afflicted with MCS. In fact, Holly Mae no longer sees herself as a “sick” person. She considers herself and others who suffer from MCS as canaries in the coal mine, warning the world of dangers of living in a world that goes by the motto “better living through chemicals.”

Holly Mae Pendergast is represented locally by Old Town Gallery in Park City.

To learn more about MCS, visit:
http://www.geocities.com/brendamcs/What_is_MCS.html

Artstop:Ogden . . . from page 2

ARTSTOP:OGDEN exists solely on a month-to-month contribution for office space. The proposal was to ‘dress-up’ the space which had been sitting empty for three years, to make it more appealing to potential business-owners.

According to Macnofsky, “we refer to our ‘ephemeral’ presence here as the ‘Cinderella Syndrome’—we can turn back into a pumpkin at any moment: as soon as someone shows up with the capital resources to pay for the office space, we move on. . .”  But, Macnofsky is not complaining, “This embodies the essential practice of Buddhist ‘non-attachment’ —when these spaces lease, of course we’ll be sad to go. But it will demonstrate a tangible ‘value’ of arts directly impacting economic development. There are still other empty storefronts along Washington Blvd, waiting for their chance to be Cinderella . . . to be dressed up and re-valued.”



Macnofsky likens the redevelopment currently underway in Ogden to cosmetic surgery, “We are in that awkward period of post-op following a facelift—we should be hiding in the house with the shades drawn—but life and business demand that we carry on as usual. Two years from now, with the mall renovation, the new IRS building, the American Can redevelopment, 25th Street’s Union Square complex and the RiverWalk project—Ogden is going to be radiant, and people will be doing double & triple-takes on what’s changed in Weber County. I believe the arts district will be one of the gems that show-off Ogden’s renewed beauty and “allure.”

ARTSTOP:OGDEN is a division of Downtown Ogden, Inc. located at 2484 Washington Blvd., Ste 101-102.  For more information, to apply for studio space or to enlist as a volunteer Arts Ambassador, contact Robin Macnofsky at 393-3866.


Letter From the Editor --Artists of Utah
The Role of Criticism
by Shawn Rossiter

A recent article by Raphael Rubinstein in the March isse of Art in America entitled "A Quiet Crisis" caught my eye recently.

In the article, Rubinstein lamented the growing trend for criticism to do everything but critique.  "As a critic," he wrote "lately I've begun to feel that something more than explaining and advocacy is called for, that qualitative choices must be made -- and articulated."

He noted a recent report that stated that 75% of art critics surveyed responded that "rendering a personal judgment is considered by art critics to be the least important factor in reviewing art," while 91% felt their main role was to "educate the public about visual art and why it matters."

The article made me consider our own position on why we publish 15 BYTES.  

We certainly serve an educational purpose, to inform artists and the public about the visual artists in their state. In addition, however, we have always wanted to create a lively discussion about the visual arts and visual artists and have always encouraged serious critiques of art exhibitions.

In a recent edition of this ezine, we ran a review of a number of shows in Salt Lake City. In the process of critiquing the shows, the reviewer had both positive and negative comments about the artwork and/or the presentation of the exhibitions.

Though at times the tone of the article may have been somewhat glib, we felt that the presentation of the reveiwer's ideas were at least coherent and well forumlated.   

We did, however, receive negative feedback about the review, both oral and written.  One writer was nice enough to take exception to some negative comments in the critique about my own work and wondered why we had chosen to print the review when the purpose of Artists of Utah is for artists to work together as a community.

As editors we have considered the role of criticism in our pages. We feel that it is important to have an open forum to discuss, even if it is to point out faults. We demand our reviewers write well and write fairly but we do not demand that they write positively.  

As to the role of criticism, we agree with Christopher Knight of the LA Times that "Criticism is a considered argument about art, not a priestly initiation of the unenlightened into a catechism of established knowledge."

Our reviewers are freelance, unpaid writers and their opinions are precisely that, opinions.  

We are simply glad that they have opinions and we are heartened to find individuals who care enough about the visual arts in our community to take the time to write about them for our pages.

A critic is a necessary check and balance to the power structure of any art world, no matter how small.  As Rubenstein pointed out in his article, critics have a freedom "commensurate with their lack of power." Curators and gallery owners have the power to decide what to show, and if they are professional about it they feel a sense of responsibility commensurate with that power to be public servants. If, however, there is no one to call into question the judgment of a curator or a gallery director , or the artists they show, then there is no control for the power that can be wielded.

We hope that our pages can be used to educate, but we also hope that our pages can be a forum where an informed opinion about art, adequately expressed, can be a catalyst for thought and discussion. 

As always we invite comments about any of our articles and will publish well-written letters to the editor in this space.

write to: artistsofutah@netzero.net