From the body to the own
Everything that bothers us or is likeable about someone else is a mere projection of our actions, our being and our relationship with ourselves. Vincent George’s work seeks to bring the viewer closer to these projections and the imagery we see in his faceless figurative works.
Vincent George’s work plays with that disappearance of the embodiment of the individual. It plays with substituting that which is most noticeable, the first thing that we see and which generally shows us how to find the other that is in front of us. “When you meet a person, their face doesn’t necessarily indicate who they are or what they are driven by; it doesn’t show the nature of the individual. By removing the barrier of the face from my figures, I bring the viewer closer to the subject. The viewer is able to connect more quickly and develop a personal relationship with the piece, maybe even project themselves onto the subject, in order to form their own opinion,” says the artist. It is there where those subjects, or faceless models become meaningful and take on an individual stance where they adjust to the reality of the person that is observing or interacting with them.
Vincent’s subjects have objects or symbols for faces. Images that attract the eye in order to convey the concept the artist is interested in working with as well as the ties uniting the being with the form and daily life; which reflect a part of what we are. “Since faces are typically associated with identity, demeanor or thoughts, they are not easily translatable in symbols; I used objects to project the identity of my figures. The object or symbol I use for each piece is the main theme of each work. I would like my work to be accessible to a wide audience, so I often provide artistic commentary on more universal topics. For example: in some of my female figures I utilize flowers to convey the reflection of inner beauty,” explains the artist. The example he describes is directly evident in Torch, No. 9 and Modish. These female figures are different, but both have budding flowers obscuring their faces. “These works are a commentary on the identity of the individual. Whether the message is interpreted as “be yourself, even if it’s not accepted”; or “don’t lose yourself”; the goal is to inspire a dialogue,” states Vincent.
The addition of pyrography
Vincent George’s work doesn’t consist only of figures. Several landscapes such as Blaze, No. 35 and animals such as Torch, No. 48 are also created by this American artist who uses a very particular technique on his work –pyrography.
This technique, which was very common in Egyptian times as well as in different African tribes, involves burning a substrate, whether its paper, cardboard or wood with a flame or heat in order to draw on the surface. These drawings and lines that are made are controlled by different torch heads and by regulating the intensity used to create the drawing. Through this, the burnt surface takes on different tones which range from a soft brown to an absolute black. The result, therefore, is an original and unusual drawing, to which Vincent sometimes adds color to complete his work.
And despite working in different ways and varying between bodies, subjects, objects, landscapes and animals, the technique that he uses is the same technique that he used as a child. “When I was a kid, around 10, I became fascinated with a burn kit that I found in a local hobby shop. The kit came with a burning tip you plugged in and when it was hot, allowed you to make marks on different substrates. I had to have it and luckily my parents bought it for me. Instead of following the tracing patterns with the kit, I began drawing my own images. As I was progressing, I used pencil colors to add color to the image. While this was my first experience with a burning technique, then many years later, after focusing on my painting skills, before I turned to it again.”
By taking up this ancient technique that becomes even more complex when combined with his skills in drawing and painting Vincent George’s work is given meaning through this rescue of individual projection. These works illicit contemplation and even provide subtle advice from the artist; and from the ways in which he questions the subject–both the depicted subject and the viewer.
Comentarios
