TIMOTHY VAN LAAR: SHADOW PICTURES
Like all artists who
feel the
need to express the inexpressible through highly
personal creative
products, Van
Laar manipulates his chosen images
to communicate the idea
that
all works of art, faithfully and sincerely
produced, are
manifestations
of the artistâs spirit. The desire to celebrate
and comprehend pure
beauty and
the quest to express oneâs admiration
and gratitude for that
beauty
lead the artist down a path of humility.
Timothy
Van
Laarâs painting Shadow Pictures is one of the Brauer
Museumâs most
popular pictures, due to not only the workâs striking composition
and lively
surface, but also its enigmatic subject matter. Richard Brauer,
the
director of the museum at the time of its acquisition, admired the
paintingâs
stylized mode of representation but was primarily drawn to its
puzzling,
fascinating handling of a Christian message. Van Laarâs
work invites
the viewer to look at the curious spiritual scenario and attempt to
understand
what exactly is happening on this symbolic stage.
Before,
however, addressing the subject matter of the work, one should
concentrate
on the representational style that Van Laar uses here. His
paintings
from the 1980âs are characterized by a stylized figuration, very
different
from his more abstract, atmospheric current work.
Objects depicted in the
picture
are highly simplified in a manner reminiscent of comic illustration,
childrenâs
books, or even medieval art. Such a simplification suggests that
objects or figures are not meant to be thought of as specific or
portrait-like;
rather, these items are visual reminders or symbols of ideas, with the
overall message of the work more important than a focus on any of its
components.
However, unlike illustration of various types (and unlike
the precious surfaces of
medieval
paintings, which, although highly stylized in representation, are rich
with gold leaf or jewel-like layers of tempera), Van Laarâs
painting has
a painterly surface, with glistening passages of oil paint brushed
wetly
across the canvas, sometimes blending but mostly staying boldly and
distinctly
within forms to give the work its graphic character. Thus, Shadow
Pictures has an illustrative feel to it due to the clear and
distinct
nature of the represented items in the picture. The ambiguity of
the depicted actions, though, coupled with the delightful surface
removes
the work from the illustrative realm and places it firmly in
artâs more
intuitive, metaphorical area of concerns. Van Laar reduces his
scene
and mode of representation
to their
essentials and then enriches his distilled vision with skillful paint
handling
and careful orchestration of light and dark tones.
The
main
light source of the picture is a highly generalized projector, largely
without detail, that seems to shoot cartoonish rays of light from its
cannon-like
lens. The projector here has a metaphorical or symbolic function
and needs to be considered in terms of its mechanics. Projectors
typically
operate by shining light through a picture, typically a slide or film
frame.
Thus, projectors 1) project an image onto a wall or screen,
2)
shine light through or illuminate an image, and by so doing 3)
use
the power of their light to make an image enlarged and comprehensible
for
the viewer. While Van Laarâs projector produces raw light
without
the intermediate transparency of slide or film, several words or
concepts
in the description above are significant and meaningful for
interpretation.
For instance, the word illuminated may refer to not only a physical
phenomenon,
but also the production of a spiritual or intellectual awareness.
The concept of projection seems to deal with both the act of physically
enlarging an image through light and dramatically focusing on a
particular
isolated notion so that viewers pay extra attention to it.
Projecting
onto a wall or screen through illumination, therefore, seems to refer
rather
poetically to the art-making practice in general. Van
Laarâs painting
on the wall is a projection of ideas gained through illumination.
His personal experience with light, or The Light, is what he wishes to
communicate through his two dimensional creation displayed on the
gallery
wall.
This sense
of personal revelation is reinforced by the bareness of the stage that
serves as the setting or arena in which the pictorial action takes
place.
A stage is by nature not a private space; it is an open setting meant
to
present to viewers some significant action for both their entertainment
and edification. The generalized, nondescript character of the
stool
and projecting device ensures that nothing distracts from the gesture
or
activity taking place on center stage. Interestingly, what seems
to be this key gesture appears to be obscured or hidden by a suspended
sheet. That is, the human figure, so often the primary subject of
a work of art, is purposely hidden by the artist so that the viewer
pays
primary attention to what that figure is doing. Here is yet
another
example of certain elements or concerns subordinated in order for the
artist
to guide the viewerâs attention to the main theme of the
work. The
presence of hands and feet provides the viewer with evidence of a human
figure standing between the projector and sheet. Yet the shadow
and
the meaning of that shadow are more important than the personâs
identity;
witness, as further evidence of the shadowâs significance, the
legs in
the shadow straight and together, as opposed to the figureâs feet
spread
widely apart indicating a different pose. A precise and accurate
transcription of the cast shadow is less significant than the idea the
shadow pose expresses.
The
shadow
pose would clearly strike most viewers as mirroring the pose of the
crucified
Christ. While such a pose could be found in other places or
contexts,
the straight body with outstretched arms is so deeply embedded in
Western
consciousness that the association of this
body position to Christ is
immediate
and nearly without question. Van Laar in fact could have even
intended
a different meaning for his painting and the figureâs
gesture. However,
the frontal cross-shaped pose is so strong in its history of
associations
that viewers may automatically assume a Christian basis for the
picture.
Viewers, then, see the shadow not necessarily representing Jesus, but
more
referring to the divine nature of the crucified form.
The
shadow
is without interior detail. Thus, once again Van Laar directs
viewer
attention to the most significant elements within the work. The
shadow
is cast by a man (the shapes of the figureâs hands and the type
of shoes
seem to indicate that the figure is male), a point which seems to
relate
to both the humanity of Jesus and Christâs spirit residing in the
human
heart. Thus, the artist seems to be offering a dramatic revealing
of a Christian soul or essence, brought about by a climactic bathing in
powerful light. Earlier parallels with the terminology of art
making,
however, would lead one to expand on this Christian analysis. An
experience of the divine, in other words, is brought about by the
illuminating,
enlightening execution of the
creative act. Through
making
viewing and comprehending art, human beings are able to gain a sense of
God, the Holy Spirit, or secular Truth (although only a shadow picture
is possible; to fully comprehend or capture such splendor is beyond
human
capability). Van Laarâs stretched sheet is a metaphor for
his canvas;
the shadow silhouette is a metaphor for his artistic soul. Like
all
artists who feel the need to express the inexpressible through highly
personal
creative products, Van Laar manipulates his chosen images to
communicate
the idea that all works of art, faithfully and sincerely produced, are
manifestations of the artistâs spirit. The desire to
celebrate and
comprehend pure beauty and the quest to express oneâs admiration
and gratitude
for that beauty lead the artist down a path of humility. The act
of painting, the act of making art, therefore becomes an exercise in
devotion,
faith, and worship. Van Laar does not wish the viewer to stop at
an identification of Christ or the crucifixion. He wants the
viewer
to see that his honest work, his best effort, has led him to the point
where he feels himself closer to the glorious yet humble, human yet
divine,
beauty within himself. Just as the strong light projects his
image
on the sheet, so too might art project a clarifying light to enable
viewers
to discover within themselves a marvelous spiritual force.
© by Gregg Hertzlieb
