The Moderation is Deferred

Moderation Report for Homer Shew:

Members of the board: Kristin Lucas, Andrew Mockler, Hap Tivey

The moderation is deferred.

Homer came into the studio program after moderating into the art history program with an enthusiastic desire to pursue painting as an activity and a vocation rather than an investigation. He conveyed his commitment and desire very convincingly in his papers and his verbal comments about his work. The board believes that he has the will and the foundation to achieve that goal if he continues. Homer certainly has some painting skill, but the examples he presented raised two principle questions. First, why did the paintings consistently present areas that were fully realized surrounded areas that had been effectively "filled in", without the same commitment and attention? Second, what is Homer's particular interest as an artist?

With regard to the first question, the board presented several suggestions. The craft of handling paint over the entire painting should be a principal concern. Homer expressed strong attraction to passages that involved precise brush statements. Expand on that sensitivity by holding onto that quality and letting it inform the rest of the canvas, rather than filling in around the attractive passages. Look carefully at what individual strokes do and what is needed by individual strokes to develop the image and the space. Homer is very articulate about what he loves in painting and what attracts him, but this is not manifested in the physical objects, which may account for his tendency to finish the painting when it attains a degree of verisimilitude with a kind of painting he loves. Don't be afraid to scrape and start again. Look carefully at Twombly or Hals for the details of how marks accurately serve their paintings. Work with focus and sustained quality.

The board would like to see him enroll in more painting and drawing classes and recommends Laura Battle's level II abstraction as a way to explore beyond the figure and focus on the craft of the paint. If he wishes to stay close to the figure, Joe Santore's Level II could work to advance his ability to build space around the subject.

The moderation deferral resulted from the board's feeling that Homer had not completed and/or presented enough work. This is not an uncommon decision for a board reviewing students who have recently transfered into the studio program, and should not be interpreted as a negative. The board recommends that Homer use the summer break to concentrate on making paintings that reflect his personal interests. What kind of painting does he want to make for himself as a statement of his personal taste? This doesn't necessarily preclude experiments with styles or techniques, and if he presents a body of work that represents him as an artist in the next moderation, he will have no difficulty.