Thursday, June 17, 2010

Julia Kay- Art and Meaning

"Sun Dances with Monstera and Me", Acrylic paint on canvas.
49" X 49"

"What meaning does doing art have for you?"

"Let the beauty we love be what we do." Rumi as translated by
Coleman Barks

Sometimes I think my visual cortex is tied more strongly than
usual to the pleasure centers in my brain. Looking - at rich color
combinations, warm low light on autumn afternoons or cool light
on late winter mornings, multiple reflections on glasses at the dinner
table, or layers of peeling paint on an old wall, makes me really
happy. The process of seeing enriches me. I can get stopped still
at odd moments, staring at a slice of light down a narrow alley
between buildings or the accidental juxtaposition of colors as strangers
pass each other on the street.

At the same time, I feel like I haven't really seen something until I've
drawn or painted it, so making art is a way of seeing better, and thus
making myself happier since the seeing itself jazzes me. I also feel the
pull of what the photographer Eldred Davis referred to as a 'visual call
and response' similar to some traditional dances and certain kinds of
jazz music. I see beauty and it thrums in me and I need to respond, my
response is the art-making process. It's my way of dancing with the
universe.

Of course I love it when other people like what I've made, but what
really pleases me is when I like it, and I have something new to look at,
thrumming and humming with the rhythms of the world.

For more of Julia Kay's work go to
http://studiojuliakay.com/art
Her blog is: http://studiojuliakay.com/dailyArt/
Her email is: julia@studiojuliakay.com

Julia Kay is the instigator of the Julia Kay Portrait Party. The Portrait Party
currently has more than 250 artists from around the world who are about to
top 2900 portraits of each other in less than 4 months. Here's a link to a slide
show of the party: http://www.flickr.com/groups/portraitparty/pool/show/

15 comments:

Ria Vanden Eynde said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ria Vanden Eynde said...

AWESOME! I keep repeating here "I just LOVE looking, I LOVE seeing, " crazy how I recognize her art&meaning.

Anonymous said...

Congrats to Julia! wonderful artist and Instigator of all good things!
great to read this blurb.

di aka shewolf

Anonymous said...

Congrats Julia Kay!!
fantastic artist and instigator of all good things!
cheers!!

di aka shewolf

Diane Walker said...

Beautiful image, and wonderful comment as well: as a photographer I definitely experience the work as call and response, but never thought of it in the context of jazz. Thanks for sharing this, and for creating a space in which thoughts and work like this can be expressed...

Katherine said...

Ria that is fantastic. That is exactly why I do this project. Loved her response.

Katherine said...

Di thanks for stopping by in blog land and taking the time to read Julia's wonderful response.

Katherine said...

Diane thank you for your visit and comments. Nice to meet you and your work. Glad you enjoyed Julia's response.

Julia Kay said...

Thanks, everyone!
it is interesting how the different answers reverberate with us - I really identified with a few of the previous entries, too. I will definitely be continuing to follow this project.

Katherine said...

Thank you Julia Kay for your contribution. I really enjoyed what you had to say. I live in a huge valley surrounded by mountains and sometimes the light is more than I can bare in it's beauty, especially in the fall when the light is almost horizontal most of the afternoon. With big skies it boggles my visual cortex!

DJ said...

Oh, yes. I believe artists used to be called "weird" and other names because we see the world around us so intensely.
Perhaps non-artists are beginning to understand that they, too, can see beauty and be creative, if they take the time...

Katherine said...

That was a perfect comment to go with your eye icon. Thanks for visiting DJ. If artists are weird I want to get weirder and weirder! Don't you? :^}

RK said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
RK said...

love this piece of Julia's, your blog page looks beautiful Katherine!

Katherine said...

Thanks Rachel, and yes I really like this painting of Julia Kay's. It reminds me of Fritz Scholder.