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Visual Art: Outdoors:
Drawn
to the Face Together, the recent works of painters Kris Ibach and Claudia Cilloniz Marchini form contrapuntal odes to the human face and the intensity of human emotion and experience. Their work shows at the Jacobs Gallery through Sept. 2. PART I: KRIS IBACH Ibach's preferred subject-matter when she did photography was the human face. Faithful portraits, however, are not what her large oils are about. She may begin with live models or photographs, but they are merely points of departure. She uses them "just to get the basic gesture," Ibach explained. "The paintings are not about anybody in particular. … I keep trying for certain feelings of intensity, focusing on the face and the eyes," she said.
Ibach's palette contributes its own intensity, as does her use of chiaroscuro. Blacks and reds contrast with flesh tones and yellows. Her blacks are luminous and gleam as if still wet, which makes them appear even darker, yet fresh. Ibach uses the glazing technique favored by the old masters. Rather than mixing colors on a palette, she applies layer after transparent layer to obtain different tones. What we perceive as black is the result of careful multiple transparent layering which allows light to go through to the white canvas and back again, adding further luminosity to the reflective glaze medium. Contrasting with the depth provided by successive transparent layers, opaque red accents stand forward toward the viewer. Unlike the old masters, Ibach keeps her vigorous brushstrokes visible to provide texture and movement. She also never erases what she decides to change, and these previous marks add texture by showing through further applications of paint. Ibach likened the glazing process to "a series of veils laid over one another" that contribute to the sense of mystery she seeks to convey. Ibach, who started painting four years ago and graduated this year from UO, learned her glazing technique from Adam Grosowsky, painter and LCC instructor. Grosowsky also influenced Ibach in terms of palette and composition, and they share a predilection for the human face. Yet despite striking similarities of approach, Ibach's paintings remain her own. She brings to her work mood and contained intensity — an intensity kept in check even as it is dramatized in her subjects' gaze and facial expression. "The people who really live life and observe it are like that," Ibach said. "It's the not being fearful, that contained pride in being who you are, in doing what you do, I see that in certain people, I just see it in them, and it's very beautiful to me." Slight facial distortions and misalignments contribute to the expressiveness of Ibach's figures. Strabismus and asymmetry of the eyes recurs often. One eye is lower or farther from the nose than the other, less detailed or not reflecting light in the same way. Though perceptible, these distortions remain subtle enough or are handled just right to result in a double, paradoxical effect. On the one hand, they produce a sense of strangeness (Unheimlichkeit) that unsettles our expectations and rivets our attention. On the other, the distortions make her characters more real, alive, stronger and more intense. They add personality and drama, and oddly, a sense of truth captured and revealed but not explained, a truth made visible for us to see, feel and puzzle out as well. In Woman with Flowers, a striking painting dominated by blacks, reds, gold and white with a yellow accent, the subject squints a little, and her left eye is slightly misaligned. Yet we don't perceive it as a weakness. Instead we are confronted by the force of her personality and expression. She knows who she is and flaunts it, yet she remains an enigma that challenges us. Ironic clues, such as the suggestion of an icon-like halo, reinforce the mystery. "I always need something a little off to pique my interest," Ibach said. "When I come across someone with a marker that sets them apart, something a little off, I find it more attractive." Other paintings project a serene, reflective mood, such as the lovely Girl with Blue Dress, or Interior 1 and 2. The latter two, Ibach said, came from her memory. They exemplify an approach in which she works more intuitively, responding to a definite mood in herself as she paints. Ibach also does tiny, intimate portraits. Her Guys I Know are detailed and vivid, while her Head & Shoulders Series has a more suggestive quality. For her landscapes, Ibach resorts to mostly black-and-white monotypes printed from Plexiglas plates, created from memory. Ibach grew up in Eugene and her rural Oregon landscapes are brooding, wintry, atmospheric, marked by the presence of water from rivers, ocean and rain. Although Ibach started painting recently, her mature, striking voice resonates with original strength. Don't miss her work. Part II of this review featuring Marchini's work will appear next week.
Peak
Experience
The glittering shape of Diamond Peak dominates the view south from Willamette Pass. Although the mountain may look like a distant precious stone to skiers and other winter travelers on Highway 58, it's actually named for one John Diamond, an Irish immigrant and early Lane County pioneer who climbed to the top of the mountain in 1846 hoping to spot an easy settlers route over the Cascade Crest. The 8,744 foot tall Diamond Peak is more than 1,000 feet shorter than the South Sister, and a much less popular destination. Like the South Sister it can be climbed in one day. And it offers unrivaled views — on exceptionally clear day you can see from Mount Hood to Mount Shasta in California. The 52,000-acre wilderness that surrounds the mountain is also under-appreciated by backpackers and day hikers who flock to the Three Sisters Wilderness to the north. Like the Sisters, Diamond Peak was formed by intense volcanic activity that pushed a dozen cubic miles of rock skyward several million years ago. Glaciers have bulldozed the flanks of the mountain, leaving steep ridges and ravines. The base of the mountain is dotted with dozens of turquoise lakes and wildflower meadows. There are several multi-day back packing trips that can be built around the 14-mile section of the Pacific Crest trail that traverses the Diamond Peak Wilderness. Directions: Take I-5 south from Eugene for approximately three miles. Take the Oakridge/Klamath Falls exit (Exit 188A). Stay to the left onto Hwy. 58. Take 58 for approximately 37 miles. Just past Dink's Market on the east side of Oakridge, take a right onto Kitson Springs Road. In .4 miles, take another right onto FS Road 21 (sign for Diamond Drive). Stay on 21 for approximately 29 miles, and then take a left on the gravel Pioneer Gulch Road (FS 2149). In 3.5 miles take a right onto Rockpile Road (FS 2160). Travel the 2160 road for 2.4 miles and park by the trailhead for the Rockpile Trail. Unlike most of the hikes in this column, the Diamond Peak ascent should only be undertaken by people who are fit and have experience with off-trail travel on steep and rocky terrain. Weather can change suddenly at high elevations and stiff winds at the summit can quickly chill sweaty hikers, so pack a sweater or wind breaker. The mosquitoes in August can be a serious nuisance, so bring plenty of bug repellant, as well as sunglasses and sunscreen. Stout boots are a must. On warm days, each member of your party will need an absolute minimum of two liters of water to make it to the top and back. The major hazard of this climb, other than rapidly changing weather, is loose boulders. Travel in a group, examine your route carefully, and pay close attention to where you're putting your hands and feet. You'll have close to four miles of hiking on a hot, dusty trail before you begin the climb. Head east at the Rockpile trailhead and stay straight in a mile at a four-way intersection. A mile or so from this intersection you'll break out of the forest for a moment and have nice views south to Summit Lake and Sawtooth and Cowhorn Mountain beyond. Then you'll drop down to Rockpile Lake and a trail junction that takes you to Marie Lake. Rockpile Lake is little more than a shallow puddle this time of year. Marie Lake is a great destination for people who don't want to climb the mountain — the water is warm and deep enough for swimming. The trail from the Marie Lake junction bends to then south and then east again. Stay straight at all trail intersections, following signs for the Pacific Crest Trail. About a half-mile past the junction with Marie Lake, turn north on the PCT. In a little less than a mile, the PCT will make a fairly sharp bend to the east across a short rocky bluff that offers more superb views of Summit Lake. At this point look to the left of the trail for orange ribbons leading towards Diamond Peak. Following the ribbons and small rock cairns, you'll climb steeply over a rocky forested slope before breaking out on the top of a long ridge leading to the summit. From here, you'll follow a faint climbers trail past several snowfields to a false summit before a last steep scramble around a series of rock spires to the top. The views will make the hard trip worth it.
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