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.

Contemporary Art

Peekaboo (part 6)

bedroom_2127

An alternate title could be “what’s hanging (part three)”. This little marble shelf and bracket were installed today. Their purpose was to be a drop-off for my purse and sunglasses, but I’m now unsure about this. They’re just too precious to spoil with my scruffy everyday stuff. You can’t tell from this photo, but the marble top curves out in the front. In order to add depth—the antique bracket was too shallow to be useful as is—Charley McKenney, my architect, designed a way to push the bracket further out by mounting it to a thick wall-mounted board. Because the entrance to my bedroom is through that doorway on the right and the return vent is under the shelf, placing a piece of furniture larger than this shelf would not have worked. I’m thinking that this shelf needs a small sculpture. All in good time.

The two works of art above are by Lorraine Tady purchased through Barry Whistler Gallery back in 1995. They are both drypoint monotypes. The one on the left is Untitled, No. 117, and the one on the right is Untitled, No. 133. Hopefully someday I can get a better photo of these two. There’s just too much reflective glare during the afternoon, and the morning light would not have provided enough to show off this corner.

I forgot to mention that the table lamp on the right is one of a pair that were once my maternal grandmother’s. I love their art deco vibe.