2019-08-08 Dactylografies (Timber Village Museum, Blind River. Until September 3, 2019) Jonathan Brodbeck saw his mother Isabelle Michaud using her typewriter (she likes the tactility of the machine). He decided he wanted to use it too, and began writing notes about his daily life. He’s on the Asperger’s spectrum, and expressing himself was highly unusual. Isabelle, with his permission, began making abstract paintings incorporating his typewritten notes.
She uses acrylics on 2ftx4ft mahogany plywood intended as floor underlay. She likes the texture created by the interaction between brush, wash, paint, and wood. So do I. Some of her paintings include organic forms based on the typewriter: beasties with scrawny necks and round, blank heads, like typewriter keys transformed and given life. Most of the paintings use colour fields, some randomly shaped, some rectangular, some indefinite, made with wash or paint. The colours somehow relate to Jonathan’s words, an effect I can’t account for.
I liked the show. We met Jonathan and Isabelle there. They are interesting people. Recommended ****
2 comments:
Hi Wolf! Thanks for your great review of the show! The colour palette is partly a remnant of the study of colours from the 70's which I had researched for my Thesis show last year, and partly a new way in dealing with colour combination, mitigated by the natural wood grain. The predominant orange cadmium and green gold combinations figure strongly in my palette. I work with Teal, Payne's Gray, Parchment White, Iridescent white, and Copper as well. I also tried some iridescent gouache in some of the paintings (the dddd and the Dactylo Gomme Balloune)... and moved away from it.
The Payne's Gray was the closest I could come to the ink feeling of the typewriters. The pink came out, I have no idea why, it is not a colour I have worn or used a lot, I thought it softened or added an element of surprise.
It was wonderful meeting you and your wife. Thank you so much for this. I was looking for feedback! Merci beaucoup!
Thanks for the interestimng comments on colour. Colour matters. I think that's what Monet etc showed a hundred years ago, when cultivated taste was all about the story in the picture. True, a good painting adds to a story, but it does so not because it depicts a scene, but because of colour. Etc. (One could talk a lot about this. :-) )
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