back   next    Grid Work  © 1971 Tom Ferguson   oil on canvas 17 x 14"-ish   collection Ashley Schalow-Ferguson, Wisconsin
The grid creeps in on occasion for some reason. It was used to transfer drawings to canvas traditionally and also, in Modernism, it was used to emphasize the surface/objectness... it abstracts the picture, assuring that though you might see references outside we know that this is a conceptual/visual/two dimensional experience... not a view out the window. I did a series using uniformed characters, in this case dancing. I recall some movie of military types in Russia dancing as if everything is perfectly normal while Napoleon's army is on the outskirts of town. I guess that was in there someplace as it is here in or lives. Mostly I was into painting everyday and the things I would think to paint reflected what I was seeing in Art History books, the museums, books and my schooling. Part of the liberation I was feeling was that I could incorporate anything crossed my mind, so long as it resonated.
grid work
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