By Kevin Madness

From the cell phone and the iPod to the ever-present glow of the television, we’re constantly drawn to the illuminated rectangles that frame our entertainment, information, and realities.

Perhaps the screen is the canvas of the new age. Maybe with an artistic touch, it can teach us a little about the incomprehensible process of perception or, at the least, change the way we view art.

Through the Other End of the Telescope, an exhibition hosted by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), celebrates the use of film and video in art. It’s the twelfth installment of Southwest Net, a series that features emerging contemporary artists from the southwestern United States.

“It’s an exhibition that explores the material properties of the moving image,” explains Cassandra Coblentz, curator of the show. “There are four different artworks in the exhibition, and each one contributes to the topic in a different way.”

Part of that exploration is allowing the viewer to interact with the art. This project features instillation art—an artwork that completely takes up the space it’s shown on and goes on to include the space itself in the piece—sort of like an esthetic incarnation of The Blob. Traditionally, a piece of art is treated as a precious object that cannot be altered or manipulated. Conversely, each instillation featured in the film and video exhibition can be appreciated differently depending on the viewer’s interaction with it—and in some cases, it is essential.

At first look, Reel to Reel is confounding. The instillation, created by Texas artists Jon Fisher and Jeff Shore, initially looks like a sinuous mess of exposed wires and electrical components connecting a record player, a monitor, and other devices. It’s actually a complicated system of automated mechanical sculptures that coact to create music and video in real time—the art is customized through the viewer’s interaction with it.

Artist Jon Fisher says some sculptures house miniature sets that can be seen through small and sometimes movable surveillance cameras. Others are electronic musical devices that create a soundtrack to go with the images. Playing with these sculptures, the viewer is unknowingly creating video and music that they will soon see projected onto the wall.

“The most interesting thing is when [the viewer] begins to discover the relationship between the two elements,” Fisher says. “As they recognize that the video is coming from within the sculptures, there is often an ‘aha!’ moment when everything else becomes clear.”

Along with interaction, perception is an important theme in Through the Other End of the Telescope.

Los Angeles-based artist Mungo Thomson deals with theme by referencing art history. He’s projected a negative print of artist Nam June Paik’s Zen for Film, using a rare and archaic 16mm model, transforming specs of dust into a starscape enveloping the wall.

With the old projector working in full view, viewers are given a behind-the-curtain view, making the production process seem like part of the sculpture.

The exhibition also features Los Angeles artist Jennifer West’s oversized video projections from cleverly abused film cells and Aaron Rothman’s atmospheric Where You Are and Where You Can Never Be, an instillation inseparable from the art museum’s architecture.

Rothman, representing Phoenix, utilized the museum’s skylights along with photographs and projected images of clouds to create a piece of art without borders. The intended result is the viewers becoming aware that they are within the art and hence are more conscious of their perception.

“What I hope is that it all points towards a singular experience,” Rothman says of the show. “The thread that ties everything together is the viewers’ experience in trying to create an awareness of how you encounter your place in the world.”

Through the Other End of the Telescope presents art in a unique way that exercises your perception as television does not. The next time you find yourself starring blankly at a television screen, turn it off and come to the museum for a video experience you won’t soon forget.

Through the Other End of the Telescope will be featured at SMoCA until January 24, 2010. Visit smoca.org for more information about this and other museum exhibits and events.

By Kevin Madness

As you might guess, the majority of events held at the Great Arizona Puppet Theater are geared toward children. Stories like “Baby Bear Goes to School” and “Jack and the Beanstalk” delight youngsters while teaching them a little about life and introducing them to the imaginative art of live theater.

In contrast, a listing for an upcoming event cautions, “We love children, so please DON’T bring them to the Adult Series Puppet Shows!”

It’s referring to the edgy comedy of Puppet Slam, an age-18-and-up show regularly held at the theater. Puppet Slam consists of a handful of miniplays, from quirky takes on classic stories to outrageous original gags, MC’d by a dirty old puppet named Hector the Sock.

Theater director Nancy Smith says the censorship-free nights are a change of pace for the puppeteers.

“We do lots of shows for children, but not this one,” she said.

Smith and the others at the Great Arizona Puppet Theater have been hosting Puppet Slams for eight years and have watched their popularity grow. She describes the audience as “adventurous art seekers” that have multiplied due to word of mouth.

Offbeat as it may seem, Smith and company are not the lone purveyors of adult puppetry but rather a microcosm of a fringe movement with a long history. Puppet shows laced with sex, violence, and vulgarity can be traced back as far as the sixteenth century with the Italian commedia dell’arte and are currently performed in theaters and nightclubs all over the United States. Smith says puppeteers sometimes meet at national festivals to share ideas and experiences.

There is something charmingly surreal about a mass of felt with googly eyes unleashing a string of profanity and something equally innocuous about a puppet freaking out and killing everyone on the set. It’s that contrast between the character and the content that makes this performance style so compelling.

Smith puts it simply: “We have lots of violence—it’s kind of funny with puppets.”

Producing a puppet show is time consuming and laborious and thus requires a talented crew. Gwen Bonar and Lisa Haslbauer, the duo that makes up Rude Rabbit Productions, write and perform segments of Puppet Slam along with assisting in the technical aspects and helping other performers who need an extra pair of hands.

One of their routines is to take a classic theatrical work like Macbeth, Oedipus Rex, or Grease and replace the leading male with a monkey puppet. The story is then altered considerably by adding a quirk that makes the monkey able to only screech and have just a vague understanding of what is going on around him.

“One of the gags we’ve found works best for him is ‘the butterfly,’” Bonar says. “During the leading lady’s speech that’s always revealing an important plot point, a butterfly will fly on. The monkey will be intrigued with it and, instead of listening to the leading lady, he plays with it and ends up chasing it offstage.”

Bonar and Haslbauer have been working together for sixteen years, and both have backgrounds in theater and puppetry. Haslbauer says that working on Puppet Slams helps curb the misconception that puppets are for children only and calls more attention to their entertainment value.

“I just hope that people come and enjoy themselves and laugh,” she says. “And pay us to do it so we can pay our rent and eat and stuff.”

With the event gaining popularity and the anticipation of upcoming Slams, Bonar is optimistic.

“I think we’re starting to change people’s minds about where puppets stand in the performance art world,” she says. “Puppets can be funny, political, thought provoking, and emotional like any other form of art. They aren’t just for cheap laughs. There’s a true art form, from designing them to manipulating them. Artists are just trying to make the audience believe. That’s what we’re trying to do, too.”

Note: Puppet Slams take place at the Great Arizona Puppet Theater, located in a beautiful historic building in Central Phoenix (302 West Latham St.). Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. All Puppet Slams are strictly for audiences 18 and up. The next performances will be Friday and Saturday evenings, Nov. 6–7 at 8 p.m. For more information or for reservations, call GAPT at (602) 262-2050.

By Kevin Madness 

Amid the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Latin American artists visualized their freedom both off and on the canvas. Through painting and printmaking, they confronted discrimination with intelligence, activism, and cultural pride. The movement, as much social as it was artistic, articulated a simple demand: Equality.

In the decades since the movement originated, a great deal has changed. Shifting away from traditional media, modern Chicano artists are experimental and edgy. They are reimagining the old, mixing up the modern, and broadening the canvas to encompass the streets. One thing has not changed, however—they continue to make art that empowers themselves and their people.

Through September 20, the Phoenix Art Museum will house “Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement,” a traveling exhibit presenting conceptual art made by a younger generation of Chicano and Latino artists.

“It is a show about contemporary creation now seen through the optic of artists working after the initial struggles for social and racial equality of the Chicano Movement,” says Sara Cochran, the curator of modern and contemporary art at the museum.

At the exhibit, you will see a full-size Volkswagen Bug made from soft vinyl, an artist break-dancing atop a famous floor sculpture, and historical film and photos of ASCO—early art rebels who shocked audiences with street performances.

In a sense, every piece of art represents that young artist’s relationship with the Chicano Movement, since art is inseparable from self and oneself is inseparable from culture. With race and equality issues being slightly less pressing than they had been to their forefathers, today’s Chicano artists enjoy more freedom to focus on other personal or social concerns.

“For some Chicano and Latino, concerns about the border and immigration are central to their work,” says Cochran. “Others have different focuses. If anything, this show is about what has happened to the next generation after the initial struggles.”

One of the general shifts that marked contemporary art was a change of media. This shift is evident in “Phantom Sightings,” with conceptual pieces and art installations that reference common objects in surprising ways. Perhaps the most stunning example of this transformation is “One and the Same.” In this piece, a serape (blanket) is unwoven into impressive image of shape and color..

All images copyright of the artists.

One and the Same, Adrian Esparza, 2005. Serape, plastic trim, and nails.
El Paso Museum of Art, purchase with funds provided by Robert U. and Mable O.
Lipscomb Foundation Endowment © Adrian Esparza. Photo © El Paso Museum of Art.

Lavanderia #1, Christina Fernandez, 2002. Chromogenic development print mounted on Sintra. Los AngelesCounty Museum of Art, Ralph M. Parsons Fund. © Christina Fernandez. Photo courtesy of Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica.

Vocho (Yellow), Margarita Cabrera, 2004. Vinyl, batting, thread, and car parts. William J. Hokin Collection, Chicago. © Margarita Cabrera. Photo courtesy of Sara Meltzer Gallery.

By Lee Nelson

It’s hard to imagine what life was like 1,500 years ago in Arizona. But you can visit the Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park to get a feel for how the prehistoric Hohokam people survived here. The museum is located at the ruins of a Hohokam village in the otherwise hustling, bustling Phoenix.

The mission of the museum has been to collect, preserve, and research materials from the site of Pueblo Grande and the Greater Southwest. Since 1929, the museum has been operated by the city of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department. For nearly 80 years, the museum has provided insight into the Hohokam culture.

The 95-acre park can give you a sense of the everyday life of these people by exploring full-size adobe replications of their homes. Through ingenuity and the gathering of natural materials from the desert, the Hohokam designed wood-framed houses and insulated them with adobe mud within shallow pits. They created a village by constructing the homes inside a courtyard.

A trail through the village takes you to a pit house cluster. You can observe Hohokam daily activities by stepping inside and through the courtyard. You’ll see cooking equipment and tools similar to the ones once used long ago. The Ruin Trail at the museum also features an adobe compound that resembles the Hohokam homes later in the tribe’s history. The houses were erected with walls around them, probably for larger extended families.

The culture of this regional people included red-on-buff pottery, shell jewelry, and beautiful woven textiles. They worked the land as farmers, growing corn, beans, squash, and cotton. No one quite knows what made them abandon their villages in the fifteenth century.

Visitors can walk around the ruin of an 800-year-old platform mound that probably was used for elaborate ceremonies or an administrative center. An excavated ball court and a full-scale reproduction of a home can be viewed along the trail.

If you are more into hands-on experiences, the Dig It! Explore Archaeology exhibit can fulfill your desire to find clues from ancient and historic sites. You can view a life-size trench wall that replicates different elements of an archaeological dig, or you can build a miniature Hohokam village.

A new exhibit called Pieces of the Puzzle: New Perspectives on the Hohokam concentrates on state-of-the-art archaeological techniques that can give new investigative searches into this ancient group of people. Visitors can explore methods for dating and analyzing existing archaeological materials and consider the latest opinions on what really happened to this ancient culture.

The Museum Store offers a myriad of American Indian jewelry and pottery, games, books, CDs, and one-of-a-kind gifts. The shop is operated by the Pueblo Grande Museum Auxiliary. If you have a larger group such as a class or office, the museum offers tours of the outdoor exhibits, ruins, and inside exhibits.

The Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park is located at 4619 Washington St., Phoenix. For more information, call (602) 495-0901 or visit phoenix.gov/PARKS/pueblo.html.

By Cassaundra
Photos courtesy of The Irish Cultural Center

As we all are well aware, America’s culture is as diverse as it is identifiable. Thanks to places like the Irish Cultural Center, we can experience a taste of foreign culture and effectively integrate the traditions of other countries into our overarching American culture. The center is a rare gem in the Valley of the Sun; there are few prominent individual cultural organizations in the area and, it seems, none so well established or active in the community as the Irish Cultural Center. With help from the Phoenix Sister Cities Commission, which is instrumental in connecting Valley residents with others around the world, the City of Phoenix and the Irish Cultural and Learning Foundation established the center in 1998 and since have made it their mission to foster a relationship between the people of Phoenix and the people of Ireland.

Establishing connections with people of other cultures and traditions serves to broaden our horizons, develop our worldview, and strengthen our sense of a common human spirit. Why Ireland specifically? The Emerald Isle doesn’t simply serve up some sensational scenery. It boasts a rich history that may have taken root as long ago as 6000 B.C. and includes a beloved patron saint and infamous Viking invasions. According to Ireland’s official tourist Web site, an estimated 80 million people claim Irish ancestry. It is a land steeped in tradition and enshrouded in enchantment and lauded myths. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated across the globe by leprechaun lovers and religious people alike. The acclaimed Riverdance company has popularized traditional Irish dancing, while Irish transplants have brought with them to America one of the best-loved working class-rooted traditions: the Irish pub—a place of merriment, conversation, authentic Irish fare and beer, and music. If you revere President John F. Kennedy, swoon over song-and-dance sensation Gene Kelly, or cling to the words of famed poets Seamus Heaney or William Butler Yeats, you’re already a fan of the Irish! But with the lyrical, romantic lilt of the several Irish accents and Ireland’s own Gaeltacht language—or Ullans, in the Ulster region of Northern Ireland—who wouldn’t be a fan?

“The Irish are known for their music and literature,” says Mary Moriarty, operations manager of the Irish Cultural Center.” They are known for their hospitality and passion for life.”

The Irish Cultural Center provides Valley residents with the opportunity to taste of the Irish and other Celtic cultures through programs, classes, festivals, exhibits, and special events. Sign up at the center’s Academy of Irish and Celtic Studies to learn the Irish and Welsh languages, one or more of approximately ten musical instruments, Ceili dance, and beginner Irish step dance.

Join in the fun during their many annual festivities, including the Arizona Irish Festival, the Winter Solstice, Bloomsday Celebration, Back to School Tea, and IRISH You a Merry Christmas Holiday Craft Show. The upcoming 26^th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Faire on March 14 promises its usual fanfare and fun with a full schedule of music, dance, vendors, and food in addition to a colorful parade and a children’s area. Also check out the upcoming Woods Tea Company Concert on February 27, the 26^th annual Emerald Ball on March 7, and the special Easter Remembrance on April 12.

Plans are underway to build a library on the center’s campus, Moriarty says. A library would provide yet another tool to aid the Irish Cultural Center in its goal of providing the public with the highest-quality educational and cultural programming. Consider enhancing your own Irish education by joining a center-organized trip to the island, or get suggestions for exploring the lush land.

This haven for fair folk and leprechauns doesn’t discriminate—no Irish ancestry or four leaf clovers required for admittance. Just a curiosity, fondness, or love for all things Irish. Attend a public festival, take a class, visit the campus, volunteer, donate—embrace the luck of the Irish, and get involved!

For additional information on the Irish Cultural Center, including a calendar of events and classes, call (602) 258-0109 or visit azirish.org. The center is located at 1106 North Central Avenue in Phoenix.

By Cassaundra Brooks
Photography courtesy of Arizona Broadway Theatre and Kelly O’Connell-Weigel

Shakespeare wrote in his famed comedy As You Like It , “All the world’s a stage.” In theater itself, the stage must encompass the world, and the set designers and crew are responsible for creating a tangible world for the characters—and a believable one for the audience.

Building a set is both an artistic and technical undertaking, and since most plays and musicals give little more direction than listing specific locations that need to be represented, much of the look of the set is left to the discretion of the design team. “The designers, producers, and directors arrive at a concept or approach to each show,” says Paul Bridgeman, Arizona Broadway Theatre’s technical director. “The designers—e.g., scenic, costume, props, sound, lights—have only their imaginations to limit their designs.” Healthy doses of research and discussion go into each project as numerous options and visions are considered.

The flexibility in design also allows theaters of all sizes to put on shows of varying magnitudes. Sets can be built to accommodate an array of budgets, stage sizes, levels of available technology, and director’s vision. With the exception of modernizations and alternative productions on longstanding scripts, which will obviously look vastly dissimilar, traditional productions of the same play or musical can have striking set differences. The Phantom of the Opera sets at the Queen’s Theatre in London and the Arizona Broadway Theatre in Peoria will not look the same, though the basic concept and overall mood of the scenery will match.

Often, as in the case of Arizona Broadway Theatre, a cache of stock scenic pieces serves as “basic building blocks” that can be used multiple ways. This not only cuts down on cost but also is time-effective, as sets often must be built and torn down quickly. However, these foundational pieces are rarely recognizable, as scenery seldom appears in more than one show. According to Bridgeman, stock flats and platforms comprise the underlying structures that are repeatedly disassembled and utilized again. In addition, all scenery is painted fresh for each individual production.

While the creative talents of painters, carpenters, prop makers, directors, and others work together to create the artistic aspect of a set, the technicians must find ways to make the designs practical. Sets must be quickly and stealthily—or at the very least creatively—transitioned between each scene and each act, and sometimes even during a scene. This is where pulleys, wheels, and trapdoors come in handy! Bridgeman says of Arizona Broadway Theatre, “We have a fly system to raise large drops or scenic pieces. There can be traps in the floor. Units can be double-sided, rotated, tracked, and unfolded. We own a large turntable that can rotate a two-foot circle of stage.”

Lighting can also dictate the success of a set, and not just for set transitions. Colored lights, dimmers, spotlights, and flashing lights all may evoke the mood of a scene. Lighting can showcase a character’s emotions, contribute to the backdrop, establish or alter positions in time and space, and create the illusion of movement. It works in congress with the tangible set pieces and colors to transport the audience into the world that is the stage.

An actor’s passionate monologue may captivate an audience, but a well-designed set is the catalyst for a mesmerizing performance—and overall audience experience. Set design and creation is an art form that is increasingly taught and studied but is frequently underappreciated by the masses. What Bridgeman refers to as “theater magic” is created through the collaboration of talented designers, actors, musicians, operators, directors, choreographers, and technicians. If you have ever attended theater, you have witnessed that magic firsthand.

By Tyson Qualls

Marble sculptor Pete Incardona represents the third consecutive generation of quarry owners, and has a wealth of knowledge that can only be gained from several lifetimes of experience. It is no wonder that he has an immense amount of respect for the raw product.

“I just try not to overpower what God has already done,” he says.

The Incardona family is an embodiment of the now venerable concept of the American Dream. The family began the trek to America in 1916. Incardona’s grandfather emigrated from Italy, and after becoming financially stable in the United States, he returned to Italy to retrieve his family and settle down in America. Quarry work was in the blood of his ancestors, and Incardona has successfully continued the tradition.

The world of marble sculpting has evolved significantly over the years. Incardona’s father did not have the luxuries of today’s tools. It is hard to believe that in his day, he sometimes had to spend over nine years working on a single project. Incardona has been able to craft new and exciting creations without sacrificing the traditions of generations of rock sculptors. While he may not take nine years to finish a piece, he still puts his heart and soul into each work of art.

Specializing in custom work, Incardona’s Sunrise Mine Marble Gallery houses a multitude of treasures. Seeing them in photos represents only a fraction of their beauty, and luckily for potential clients, Incardona is far from a reclusive artist. Warm and friendly, he readily opens up about his life’s work. As a well-respected businessman, Incardona serves the entire Valley with pride.

Incardona’s workshop at the Sunrise Mine is a haven for limitless projects. Anything can be found there, from sculptures and fountains to benches and tables. Incardona is known for his ability to take on even the toughest custom requests from clients. While his specialty is fountains, Incardona is capable of creating a masterpiece out of any client’s assignment. Two of the most popular types of marble handled by Incardona are Arizona onyx and Aguila stone. He has used these frequently throughout his career and enjoys working with such beautiful types of rock. The easiest way to get your hands on these prized possessions is to head up to Wickenburg, Arizona and meet with Incardona at the Sunrise Mine. With a little bit of time and imagination, he can satisfy the needs of any customer, no matter how difficult the project may be.

As a frequent contributor to ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover, Incardona also understands the need for a society that helps support those less fortunate. All work done for Extreme Home Makeover is without compensation. A man of principle, Incardona once put ABC executives on hold so he could finish an important cut so as not to sacrifice the quality of his work. His charitable work factors in his future goals. In the present sagging economy, he has made it his mission to “try and make custom marble work affordable for the public and more in the realm of people’s pocketbooks.”

Incardona is deeply zealous about his line of work. The creative opportunities and unique work environment goes beyond a traditional nine-to-five. It is rare to encounter an individual who is so enthralled with his profession. A man of many talents, Incardona is a kindhearted artist with a passion for helping others. Ironically, the reason behind his love for marble sculpting is as simple as it is ingenious.

“Every time I cut a rock, I see something I’ve never seen before,” he says.

By Alana Stroud

GUADALUPE APODACA

Colorado-born Scottsdale resident Guadalupe Apodaca discovered his artistic side in the third grade. Now, with oils and pastels, Apodaca uses bold colors and strokes to create, as described on his Web site, “vibrant movement and a soft abstract quality seen in the Native American dancers, enchanting children, and captivating landscapes he translates to the canvas.”

Three paintings: All oil on linen.

Apache Basket: Bright colors and muted lines bring life to this woman holding up a woven basket.
Night Dancer: A man dressed in traditional Native American attire performs a dance.
San Miguel Vendor: A woman shields her eyes from the sun as she awaits a buyer at the market.

guadalupeapodaca.com

DWIGHT BENNETT

Paradise Valley resident Dwight Bennett was born in Phoenix and graduated from Glendale High School. He, too, began his art endeavors in the third grade, when he was caught and punished for carving tiny sculptures out of this crayons with his fingernails. As a sculptor and craftsman, he has shown his work for over thirty years in numerous galleries and shows all across the U.S.

Life: This beautiful sculpture of the human heart measures approximately 9 by 11 inches. The piece was sculpted from Arizona ironwood and is inlaid throughout with shimmering silver.

Ironwood Vase: Also made from Arizona ironwood and inlaid with sparkling veins of silver, this voluptuously curvy vase stands 16 inches tall.

Flamingo: Carved from dark-red Arizona ironwood, this flamingo stands 4 feet, 5 inches tall and, of course, shimmers with inlaid silver.

dwightbennett.com

RON HEAD

Phoenix resident Ron Head has had a passion for art throughout his life. Upon graduating high school, he was awarded two scholarships to the Interlochen Arts Academy in northern Michigan, where his creativity was nurtured. His confidence in his talent led him to pursue a career in fine arts. Taking interest in multiple mediums, Head works in oils, acrylic, terra-cotta, bronze, ivory, and wood, and says he will work in “ice, sand, water, or in the air, if that is what it takes.”

Soldier: This cold-cast bronze soldier has his guardian angel looking over him at all times.

Abstract Angel: Blended colors and media draw one’s eyes heavenward.

Terra-Cotta Lady: Molded from terra-cotta clay, this sharp-featured woman appears wistful.

ronhead.net

By Kylie Gad

If you only do one thing this month…

Ice sculptures in July? No, really. The nineteenth annual Summer Spectacular Artwalk will be chillin’ in Downtown Scottsdale. July 10. scottsdalegalleries.com

You could dance all night, or you could check out My Fair Lady at Gammage Auditorium. June 17. ticketmaster.com

Ballet Arizona brings a little of New York City to the desert with a tribute to NYC Ballet legend George Balanchine. June 6–8. balletaz.org

Doubling up on culture? Try this…

The North Valley celebrates movies, song, poetry, and literature with the Cave Creek Film and Arts Festival. June 27–July 19. cavecreekfilmandartsfestival.com

Laugh yourself silly at the second annual Arizona Comedy Experiment, a showcase for local comedic talent. June 18. arizonacomedyexperiment.com

Mix and match movies and music with The Phoenix Art Museum’s Jazz Film Series. Admission is free to all Movies at the Museum. June 8, 15, and 22. phxart.org

For seriously devoted art-lovers…

Be the first to witness Concert 1, the premiere performance by Novaballet, a local Arizona troupe determined to expand the vocabulary of dance. July 11–13. novaballet.com

Get in style with Tatiana Sorokko, contributing editor to Harper’s Bazaar, as she discusses the elite world of fashion in her lecture Collecting Haute Couture at the Phoenix Art Museum. June 10. phxart.org

Local artist Marcus Payzant exhibits his collection of paintings at the Shemer Art Center in Phoenix. July 8–August 6. shemerartcenterandmuseum.org

Contemporary artist interprets her world with Renaissance color.

By Ronald T. Floyd

Roberta Kritzia is an artist of her travels, having spent the last twenty-two summers painting and sketching her way through the Italian regions of Umbria and Tuscany on the painting tours she conducts for groups of twenty students. She talks of being inspired by the classical painters and captivated by the colors of the Renaissance artists. She connected with the master artists of the Renaissance period when she studied under Theodore N. Lukits at the Art Center College of Design and UCLA, and later with the internationally known art instructor Glen Vilppu, commonly referred to as “the living Raphael.”

Kritzia created artworks as a child, and viewed her artist family as role models, particularly her father and uncles. Her life is a rich tapestry of influences, coming as much from the family’s background as illustrators at the famous Push Pin Studios in New York as from her travels and former art teachers. “I never felt any pressure to be an artist, but I did have an urge to create,” she says.

Kritzia needs to have an intense connection with her subject before starting to paint, but she also gives great importance to technique. An earlier art teacher taught Kritzia that art is visual music, and every student must learn to read the notes. Kritzia considers composition, color, drawing, and painting as parts of that music, and feels that they should be as significant to every artist. She paints with thirty-four mixed colors and their tints, and feels that this technique has given her an advantage over artists who squeeze out three or four colors onto a palette.

Nature is also a great teacher, as well as a painter. Since moving to Arizona from Los Angeles, Kritzia has been studying the effects of morning light on objects and can see why artists are profoundly influenced by the Arizona desert. She has found the art here to be heavily influenced by the desert sun and much more Western-oriented than that in Los Angeles.

What advice would Kritzia give to aspiring artists? “You must take responsibility for your work and believe in yourself,” she says. She sees too many people taking years of art classes, and believes they need to stop the classes and start creating art. Kritzia tells artists to build their studios, concentrate on what their teachers have taught them, and practice their drawing skills before starting to paint. And the most important thing to remember? Believe in your art.

For more information on artist Roberta Kritzia, visit artisttravel.com.