Angle, Drizzle and Dot, Margie Livingston
When lines and colors come together in unexpected ways, the mind often recognizes something unique. In this case, whatās surprising is not only the composition itself ā which is quite intricate ā but the way in which it was formulated and the fact that the artist did so outside the confines of a traditional canvas.
Margie Livingstonās unusual painting is a complex web, a network of loopy, colored lines that merge and intersect at rhythmic angles. Think about a nest, a dance, an explosion…
The title, Angle, Drizzle and Dot, suggests the artistās process, the spontaneous motion of making this work by drizzling colors to make lines that create angled patterns and finally large, layered compositions. Why is this significant?
Every so often, an art critic claims that āpainting is dead,ā that it canāt be pushed any further ā thereās nothing new to explore. Livingstonās work says otherwise, both in the way she experiments with paint and the compositions that result.
Certainly Livingston is not the first to explore this process, which can be traced to Jackson Pollackās famous skeins of paint. But, whether consciously or not, the way she builds on the idea is noteworthy.
These paintings make me smile. It is fun to see ropes of color directly on the wall without a canvas support. Livingstonās activated lines cling tightly to the wall to be appreciated as pure design and texture.
How we perceive art depends on our culture and individual frames of reference. There is no right or wrong, but instead information, knowledge, and experience. As with all types of activities, the more you have, the more discerning you become. In other words, the more you look at art, the more you see.
ā Barbara Matilsky, Curator of Art