Contemporary Art

What’s Hanging (part 4)

(hanging) Lorraine Tady, 'BTT-TAR (96B),' 1999, charcoal, ink, acrylic on paper; (tabletop) Professor Otto Poertzel’s Carrara marble bust previously discussed here
(hanging) Lorraine Tady, ‘BTT-TAR (96B),’ 1999, charcoal, ink, acrylic on paper; (tabletop) Professor Otto Poertzel’s Carrara marble bust previously discussed here

Lorraine Tady may seem a bit shy or reserved in person, but her work is not. I am not very good about using words to describe why I love a work of art, but I will try. This piece for its small size is packed with rich energy. The details and use of structural elements, which I have dealt with while restoring the inside and outside of my little home, speak to me. It may seem chaotic, but there’s a plan, there are layers, it’s going to work and why not have fun while we’re at it.

In Tady’s own words: In my work mechanical-like systems are subjected to or are participants in an indirect and formal examination of structure; or a subverted diagrammatic, engineering process. Parts are extracted, analyzed, and re-translated, using both digital and analog tools. I propose questions in the investigation and set up specific games, parameters and rules to respond to in the work’s progression. The language of line propels the work, and I use it to help make visible the parts, and to find the answer to ‘what connects to this, how is this connected to that, etc.

I own two more pieces by Tady which I blogged about in a previous post. They were part of a larger group, but I could only afford the two. They were created in 1995 and have a different sensibility from the one shown above.

All three of Tady’s pieces were purchased through Barry Whistler Gallery in Dallas, Texas. To find out more visit the gallery’s website and the artist’s website.

Landscape & Gardening

What’s Blooming Now

These coral bells were planted six weeks ago.
These coral bells were planted six weeks ago.

Heuchere villosa ‘Beaujolais’, commonly known as Coral Bells, were chosen to replace the purple Wandering Jew (Purple Heart) that did not survive its first year in this location. Since the Wandering Jew did manage to come back this spring in a shadier portion of my garden, I can only guess that this unsuccessful small patch received too much sun. Additionally, I have chosen not to continue planting seasonal annuals. So the Coral Bells have been planted as perennials to replace the annuals and Wandering Jew.