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Visual Arts: Theater: Gardening:
Works
by Jamie Newton
At first glance, a clear Asian influence seems to permeate Ashland artist Jamie Newton's abstract landscape paintings in black, white and various pale-yellow or pinkish tints, currently on view at the White Lotus Gallery. But Newton's work is also heir to abstract expressionism, albeit with a whimsical, childlike quality absent in the New York School. The earlier pieces in the show belong to Newton's 36 Views of Wagner Butte and Siskiyou Rain series The Wagner Butte works are abstract black-and-white compositions set between mustard-green horizontal bands and sporting a red seal: Newton's stylized initials and a crucial accent of complementary color. The Siskiyou Rain works are among his most abstract. All are pieces in which Newton himself sees the most similarity with Japanese sumi-e (black ink painting). Newton had studied photography, pottery, sculpture and painting before his momentous encounter with sumi painting. "I remember what a thrill it was to first pick up a sumi brush," Newton says. Newton uses acrylics on board rather than sumi ink on paper, but his brushstrokes evoke the characteristics of calligraphic marks. He does not achieve the fluency and precise mastery of calligraphy, which is a rigorous discipline, nor is it his goal. Rather, what he seeks is a quality of spontaneity and freedom in execution.
"This earlier sequence grew out of playing with sketches I do with a sumi-brush fountain pen," Newton explains. "I loved the spontaneity of these sketches, and I tried to see if I could get the same feeling onto a larger surface." Newton also had a decisive encounter with Aaron Siskind's photography. "Siskind was my introduction to abstraction," he says, "a significant change in a way of seeing." At the forefront of abstract expressionism in photography, Siskind was a close friend of painter Franz Kline. It is difficult not to think of Kline's black-and-white paintings when looking at Newton's work. Kline's paintings were influential, with their bold black gestural strokes, splatters and smearing seemingly due to chance, and an apparent emphasis on spontaneity of gesture and immediacy of expression. An obvious difference between the two painters is scale. Kline used huge size for effect. Another is that Newton's work generally contains representational elements, recognizable as such despite being abstracted or stylized. These elements are part of a recurrent vocabulary associated with landscape. Una Storia della Toscana is characteristic. Abstracted Tuscan landscape elements (cypress trees, olive trees, hills, fields, an archway that could also be a human silhouette) have been assembled into an abstract composition in black, white and pale ochre. In Bridge we discern bridge and arch forms and perhaps a waterfall.
Besides this landscape vocabulary, we find recurring in most of Newton's paintings a series of abstract symbols (Xs, crosses as in Cathedral), shapes (cones, circles, rectangles, arches) and patterns (grids, furrows, splatters), all functioning like idiosyncratic cartographic markers. Newton says they possess "a symbol sense without it being specific. I just use them as marks to balance things. But when I look back across all these sets of paintings, I realize I've developed this group of symbols that I return to without noticing." Symbols and simplified shapes often impart a mood of childlike playfulness and whimsicality to the paintings, intimating that the artist is not taking himself too seriously, which is part of Newton's appeal. Newton's other profession entails using GIS-based cartographic databases, which also plays with spatial ambiguity. In some paintings the viewpoint seems to be at eye-level (Bridge), while in others, we appear to be given a purely aerial view (Lac Léman I, with its snowy fields marked by tracks). Many works, however, combine both perspectives in the same painting, such as Lac Léman III, with its aerial view of fields and water but profiled tree silhouettes. In Hillock and Three Trees, only the hillock and the trees are at eye-level. Everything else is viewed from above. In Cipriano's Mulberry, a black and off-white composition, the mulberry tree is profiled, while the rest is entirely ambiguous. The viewer is free to shift perspective from aerial to eye-level perspective. Find your own perspective at "Paintings by Jamie Newton," at White Lotus Gallery through Feb. 19. The exhibit also includes Dan Schmitt's recent porcelain work.
More
Beauty Than Beast With typical verve and flair, Actors Cabaret packs more action, glitter and glam onto their tiny stage than you could ever imagine in their fun-loving adaptation of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Half love story, half comedy, different aspects of the show will appeal to you depending on your age. Adults will love the smart jokes and double entendres sprinkled throughout the dialogue. The performance will also remind you how funny the story is. An unofficial poll of kids in the audience revealed that they prefer the magical characters and creative costumes. Regardless of your age, Beauty and the Beast is quite a show. When it comes to costumes, ACE excels. The enchanted, half-human characters living in the castle appear in fabulous attire, each unique, funny, and perfect for the character. Transformed into a feather duster, Babette (Brittney Endicott) is hysterical with her faux French accent, all glamour, sparkles and feathers. As Mrs. Potts, matron and mom of the castle, Maida Belove charms us, exuding good-humored warmth. But Lumiere (Tyler Holden), a man transformed into a candelabra, and Cogsworth (Gaylord Walker), a human clock, steal the show. Recently seen in the highly successful ACE production of Seussical, the two have an onstage energy that zings back and forth between them as they argue and banter throughout the performance. Greg Mathans puts in a laudable performance as Gaston, a guy you'll love to hate. As Belle, Siri Vik captures our hearts and imaginations. Whether rebuffing unwanted attention from the insufferable Gaston, caring for her eccentric father (Matt Bonham) or befriending the Beast, she plays the plucky character with sass. Kevin Boling captures the internal struggle of the Beast perfectly, flashing from anger and despair to hope. His performance pulls at our heartstrings and clearly draws a parallel between the Beast's internal transformation and his external form. The set is simple yet effective, keeping our focus where it belongs: on the actors and their attire. In one of the finest scenes, Director Joe Zingo and Producer Jim Roberts fill the stage with dancing silverware, booty shaking napkins, and plate after plate of larger-than-life papier-maché food. Beauty and the Beast is all good fun with a happy ending, just the way it should be. The show continues through March 13. Log on to www.actorscabaret.org for more info.
Go
for the Gravel One thing I regret about the trend reducing the size of lawns (or even, sometimes very sensibly, removing them altogether) is that it often means replacing grass with an impervious surface. Concrete, mortared stone and mortared brick are often chosen to replace what was once a cool, breathing, organic solution to furnishing a living space. Budget constraints keep some people from doing this, because impervious surfaces are relatively expensive to install. They are, however, easy to maintain and they eliminate weed problems.
As more of the world gets paved over every day, problems arise. Some towns in Britain have banned the paving of front gardens for extra parking; the increased run-off during rain storms overloads sewers and causes flooding. For areas that must withstand heavy traffic, perforated paving systems exist that provide a plausible driving surface while they permit water to drain and grass or groundcover to grow. But for many home gardening needs, gravel will do the job, and it is relatively inexpensive. If you are planning to build a new or refurbished patio this year, gravel is worth considering. What do I mean by gravel? Two different kinds of small stone are readily available: crushed quarried rock (locally, most likely basalt) and river gravel (a small grade of round rock). Both have advantages and drawbacks. Neither is totally friendly to bare feet, and both can be thrown by small children. Toddlers love to throw gravel. Count on it. Sometimes your choice of gravel type will be determined by aesthetics. If you are graveling an area in the same view as a dry stream bed of smooth, rounded river rock, for example, you may choose to match it with river gravel. Crushed basalt is dark in color, which can be nice in sunny places but is less appealing in shade. The grade of basalt called half inch minus contains smaller particles that allow it to pack down to form a firm surface that supports furniture and container plants well. But if your gravel surface is near a door, smaller pieces will be tracked indoors on your feet. When it has weathered, weeds like to grow in half inch minus. Larger, "open" crushed rock (screened to remove small particles) is cleaner and less weedy but does not pack readily and is less comfortable to walk on. Pea gravel, the smallest grade of river rock, reflects light, contains a subtle mix of colors and is beautiful to look at, but it travels. While this movement deters weed growth, pea gravel can feel loose underfoot and isn't a great substrate for furniture. It, too, can be caught in shoes that have a pronounced tread. These problems are mostly overcome by using the larger grade, called three quarter round, or by sinking paving stones to form pathways and firm standing for chairs and tables. Incorporating flagstone areas is also a good way to relieve the visual boredom that can result from large areas of crushed basalt. Whatever kind of gravel you use, it is best to lay it on a base of coarser crushed rock to provide good drainage and to postpone the inevitable day when it fills up with soil particles and organic debris, forming an ideal seed bed for weeds. Yes, weeds can be a nuisance in gravel, but they are a minor one to a gardener, since any unwanted seedling is easy to pull from gravel as long as you get to it promptly. Weeding gravel or unmortared flagstone patios is a great job for a winter afternoon because it keeps you out of the mud. In addition to pulling, experiment with low-toxicity alternatives such as boiling water, radiant heat or flame weeders, and sodium salts of fatty acids (sold as Safer's Sharpshooter). Some gardeners, myself among them, just love the fact that plants like to grow in gravel. Things that are miffy about growing in my flower beds will romp away in weathered half inch minus with a good, deep porous base. Our gravel sitting area and steps have become my version of a rock garden: hens-and-chicks, native sedums, a tiny black-leafed geranium and a poppy with gorgeous orange flowers revel in the gritty medium. Lavender and Mexican daisies also self-sow here, and it's the only place in the garden that creeping thyme is happy. Very occasionally, I actually plant something in a graveled area. I make a hole with a pry bar, mix a small amount of gravel with the potting soil I shake off the roots of a four inch or two inch plant, and seat the new inmate in the gravel. A thorough watering washes soil particles around the roots. Rachel Foster of Eugene is a garden consultant and author of All About Gardens, a selection of past Eugene Weekly columns. She can be reached at rfoster@efn.org
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