The Art of
Gary John Gresl, by Gary John Gresl
Each of us may succumb to self delusion, and there from believe
that our art is especially important, superior, and worthy of much
more praise and exposure than it receives. I may suffer from
that delusion, but I also know that I certainly do not have the
skills or insights of many other artists. However, no matter
at what level my work may be when measured against the work of other
artists and of history, I do believe the products by my hand are
uniquely and simply my own. I recently heard Georgia O’Keefe
state in a video overview of her work and life, and I paraphrase: “The
teacher could tell me how to paint a landscape like he painted a
landscape. Not like I paint a landscape.”
The artists and art which have preceded me, and those contemporaries
which I have seen, may be responsible for giving me direction and
aesthetic and philosophical permission to produce what I do. I
must acknowledge with appreciation all those who I have seen, studied
and/or unconsciously digested. Unless we have lived a very
secluded life, all of us have absorbed some influence and knowledge
about other artists and their art.
However, for some time now the accumulation of my life experiences
resulting in my personally evolved expression fulfills all my needs
and goals in art making. Somewhere and sometime the path diverged
and I chose a direction... Like so many other children and
adults, I had always been a collector and gatherer with interests
in Natural History, especially three dimensional objects in the
realm of rocks and minerals, fauna, antiques, and pop culture items. Choices
inspired by my youth direct my output. Real life experiences
and interactions with humans cannot but serve as fuel for artistic
fires.
No matter what has come before, no matter what stages I have gone
thru, no matter what detours I have taken and mistakes I have made,
right now I make objects that I am strongly motivated to make. I
believe that these are objects which I have never seen before…objects
that are an outgrowth of my personal life experiences, of my intellectual
and emotional past. The need to make objects that are not exactly
like art made by someone else is clearly a strong reason that I
move in any direction. I believe my art making would grow weak
and end if I could not find an expression that was uniquely mine. I
am not fit to paint beautiful landscapes and portraits and technically
proficient awe inspiring paintings. That is not my nature.
I was aware of this personal search for uniqueness in my art making
of the 80’s, and some work done then in 2D seemed to me successful
in satisfying that quest. However it was soon clear to me that
a flat surface could not satisfy my needs. Fully formed three
dimensional objects, both the objects that surround me in Nature
and human culture, have always been predominant in capturing my
attention, fascinating me, and giving me pleasure to handle, organize
and study.
From fulfilling experiences recalled as an undergraduate student
at UW Steven’s Point, I quickly gravitated into using found
objects in my sculptural work. At UWSP for a credit art courses,
I had created a few sculptures out of found objects, and I found
being engaged with these real 3D things immensely satisfying. I
clearly remember the conditions under which I selected the objects,
the organizing and engineering, and the appearance of the results.
As a graduate student at UW Madison, in the Department of Related
Art of the School of Family Resources and Consumer Sciences (now
called Human Ecology), I consciously recognized that my response
to 3D objects was extremely strong. Where I could I geared
my studies toward three dimensional objects, these studies including
a paper written on a collection of African sculpture held by the
Elvehjem Museum, and my Master’s thesis about Harvey Littleton
and his work in the studio glass blowing movement.
The Past in the Present, That Which Has Impressed My Brain
In the 1980’s I created a group of sculptures that were titled
the “Gaia” series, which were motivated by recognition
of Human degradation and destruction of Earth. This theme still
plays into my work and cannot be separated from it. The theme
is one important layer in the visuals and underlying thoughts, the
palimpsests that are my sculptures and our lives. We build
our personalities on the structure that genetics has provided, and
by observing and absorbing that which we see and experience.
I also made a series titled “The Ethnography of North America”,
which was a title derived from a 19th Century series of books published
by the Smithsonian. These were very serious books dealing with
Native Americans and native cultures. The sculptures in that
series, I observed, were compilations of materials speaking of the
history of our culture in the 20th Century, and essentially provided
an outlet for my feelings about aspects of our culture
Science, Science Fiction, Pseudo-Science and Fantasy were important
parts of my youthful reading and movie going. Images of the
unexpected, impossible objects and futuristic stories entertained
me, and then Humankind watched Neil Armstrong drop on to our moon. Carl
Sagan educated and enriched my life through his books and the Cosmos
TV series, while reading the biographies of his life revealed his
own limited human condition, his errors and his successes. Today
I still pay attention to Science and pseudo-science, and expect
faults and mistakes as part of the process of growth.
Books, television and film provided materials to influence thought
and goals, serving as some sorts of interlude in the experiences
of Reality. There were the movies like Disney’s Fantasia
with its imaginative vignettes such as Night on Bald Mountain and
the Centaurs and winged horses. Other movies and books became
part of us as we viewed them, like Journey to the Center of the
Earth, Forbidden Planet, early television Sci Fi serials; Arthur
Clarke’s novel Childhood’s End and works by other authors.
There were the cartoon images and comic books. I was
also part of the last generation to listen to radio serials. I
am a product of my culture, but that which I absorbed and experienced
has synthesized in me motivating me subconsciously and consciously
to draw bits and pieces from diverse sources into a new personal
expression.
Sports Afield magazine, pin up girls, the universal experiences
related to sex, the repression of a Catholic upbringing in a conservative
community, the blast of a shotgun and smell of gun power, the odor
of gutted rabbits, catching northern pike and perch on wet and cool
mornings walking streams during hot summer afternoons, a small public
museum and the public library, visits to cabins, lakes and rivers;
the appearance of pan fish in subtly colored water; aunts, uncles
and cousins on family farms. Being ordinary and inexperienced
while blundering into the frontier of my younger life. Feeling
that there was something I should be “saying”, but not
knowing what it was. To quote someone else, “I am a dreamer
with nothing to say”.
The Human Condition, our frailty and heroism, hypocrisy and ignorance,
has engaged my thoughts and set emotions astir. During the
decades, restrictions and rules of family, community and religious
law were imposed upon me, making me victim as well as observer. There
were the years spent as an unhappy teacher, followed by the personal
evolution and growth attending graduate studies in Madison. My
favorite book of all time is “Spoon River Anthology”,
by Edgar Lee Masters. Words from the brief revelations of those
dead townsfolk might just as well be spoken today, and I see a correlation
of my sculptures as “visual short stories” spoken by
persons gone before. Like on the tombstones in “Spoon
River”, perhaps these art objects are my several epitaphs.
Painting to Sculpture
In the 80’s I first began making paintings that were explorations
of geometric and gestural abstraction and non-objectivism. Beyond
my former art history classes, I did a personal reading study in
those subjects as well. It did not take long for me to become
dissatisfied with the limitations of painting. It was, for
me, essentially creating false impressions of reality and applying
paint merely to explore the process of painting. Making pictures
of things, and doing gestural abstraction, proved to be personal
dead ends for me.
However, the presence of real 3D objects provided the reality and
interest I needed to satisfy my personal expression. 3D materials,
by their design, by their evolved aged appearance, by their relationships
to each other, could enrich the meaning and depth of my work. They
made the process more intriguing and fun, and by their association
with one another in sculptures suggested stories and the process
of evolution.
Indeed, “evolution”, along with Gaia, is integral to
my thinking and sculptures. Each of us evolves in our lifetimes. Some
of us stop off at certain plateaus and remain there, while others
continue to evolve, finding the processes of change and expansion
integral to our lives. Making sculptures in the way I do takes
advantage of the process of materials evolving from one state to
another, of natural systems as one layer of existence builds upon
another, gaining a deeper and deeper material presence, sometime
later requiring an unearthing of hidden material. We gather
thoughts around the real material objects, and thru their arrangements
and associations, create opportunities for idea and increased depth
of consideration.
Evolution occurs over an expanse of Time. Life, death, our
presence affecting the Earth, our material and intellectual culture
evolving. Art evolves, and should do so without the imposition
and restrictions of rules. Life is an organization of matter
and an expression of energy. Art making is an extension of
Life, an organization of matter, an expression of energy. But
in addition it is a product of Human thought. Art is idea…conscious
and unconscious. Humans are the consciousness of the Earth,
but flawed and too often insensitive.
Sculptural forms…objects in the round and with history and
character…are the means to an exploration and expression that
means the most to me. There is no doubt that I am not fully
satisfied in art making unless the resultant art objects are “fresh”,
progressing in a direction that produces art which I have not seen
before, that continues to evolve…and that stretches my own
sensibilities. I feel that sculpture offers more personal opportunity
toward that goal than did painting, though a return to painting
is not out of the question.
The Visual Organization
I recognize that I am motivated to join objects in their visual
dance in such a way that a balance and curious interplay takes place. This
is usually accomplished without a technical or theoretical mental
analysis, rather by a natural intuitive decision making process
in which I study the playing field, temporarily place objects, move
and remove elements, look ahead to the next step…make some
engineering decisions, and then allow for time to pass before locking
in the materials. The length of time might be several minutes
to several days before I commit to permanently fastening items to
the growing sculpture. There are times, as the sculpture progresses,
that I must go back to do some remedial work…but usually previously
successful elements remain incorporated…sometime buried or
hidden as new work is accomplished above. That is the way of
life and evolution… These are my palimpsests and middens.
I am aware of the basic abstract sculptural nature of what I use
and create. Decisions are made about how far of a reach into
space sculptural elements will go. I must consider the logistics
and difficulties of moving, hanging and storage. I often “reach”
further and allow obvious practical logistical difficulties to remain
so that the result before my eyes satisfies my aesthetic palate. This
often means that sculptures are created that will be difficult to
hang, move, store…and which may have limited opportunities
for future exhibition and sale. There are few homes and collectors
that will assimilate these objects into their environments. I
have decided to make sculptures for reasons other than to sell them…though
selling some would make it much easier to continue making more of
them.
Thought Processes and Resultant Objects
Unfortunately, perhaps…thoughts seem to emerge slowly in me,
with an occasional moment of self-assumed brilliant realization
thrown in. Since my entry into serious art making in the 80’s,
I have gradually reopened myself to respond more intuitively, sort
of recapturing that mode from my youth. Whatever my motivations
may be, and however delusional or profound my thoughts are, they
have guided the art production by my hand.
In viewing art history from its earliest roots in primitive humankind,
it is apparent that art exists for several purposes. One is
truly to decorate, to visually enrich and enliven the physical settings
in which we live, to delight the eye. Another is to instruct,
the message from the artist maker or from someone directing the
message the artist produces. Some art is made to explore one’s
own inner psyche, and in some cases to purge and express underlying
unconscious feelings, motivations, thoughts…and/or to satisfy,
pacify or gain attention from some gods and/or humans. Art
can also be for financial reasons, for monetary income, and it can
be made in an attempt for the maker to gain personal recognition,
prestige and status.
The “meaning” of art products has sometimes been obvious
and sometimes subtle. The reason for Abstract Expressionist
painting is quite different from German Expressionism, and so on
with other forms. Sculpture in the 20th Century, during what
is called the Modernist Period, appears often to be nothing more
than ornament…lawn ornament or some form of interior decoration. Look
at the painted enameled metal or polished steel objects that adorn
housescapes and museums. While they are often visually attractive,
alluring and stimulating, there is little if any “meaning”
or message carried thru them. They may suggest intellect and
status of artist and consumer, but they also may have little more
than a mere surface appeal. There are no stories to relate
and no life histories to impart. They express an understanding
of visual composition, but they are compositions with a thin veneer,
below which lies practically nothing more to contemplate. That
is not bad…and that is enough for them to exist and to be
enjoyed as potentially evocative satisfying sculptures.
However, at this stage of my own evolution I find it unproductive
to make sculptures which are merely organizations of materials that
“please the eye”. These exist in huge numbers and
there will always be more produced. As Marcel Duchamp expressed
in a statement about paintings, they are merely “retinal”. While
there are artists who can become intellectually engaged in such
production, I cannot. Right now, for me, there must be more
to it than creating lawn ornaments.
In the 1960’s I became sensitive to the work of primitives
and naives, early on discovering the interest that existed in art
objects made by persons lacking academic training. Aboriginal
art, folk art, the art made by the common people, despite being
produced by persons without knowledge of rules concerning figure
proportion, color compatibility and other accepted roadmaps laid
out by the experienced, sophisticated and academic mavens, still
had merit and artful qualities. In fact, we know that folk
and Outsider art has been the inspiration for many academically
trained and thoughtfully sophisticated artists.
“Outsiders”, artists who by their lifestyles and
mental conditions were not considered “normal”, have
gained high visibility and respect today. They might live a
seemingly normal lifestyle in public, but in their sometimes closely
held personal lives produced art objects out of some equally personal
and secret drives. Some of these Outsiders were the diagnosed
mentally ill who expressed their beliefs and malformed life views
thru art forms, styles and content that would be bizarre. It
is their uniqueness and stretches out of the ordinary which have
captured the attentions of other artists and collectors.
Another emergence in the last century has inspired artists. Objects
made by Aboriginals from all continents were once relegated to studies
in Natural History and were not included in the same museums that
exhibited Western Fine Arts. If the Aboriginal things were
not inferior to Western art, they were certainly very different
and still remained outside acceptability as fine art objects. Eventually
Western collectors, curators, critics and authors absorbed the art
by “outside cultures” into the fine art fold.
The acceptance of this described art work into legitimate realms
of sophisticated and trained artists, dealers and academia provided
stimulus and “permission” to all those of us who would
incorporate them, breaching the borders of acceptability and blending
the formerly disparate alien cultures and subcultures.
Many Roads Diverged in a Wood
While thoughts are many and varied, in my current work there are
two visual directions taken. One of these might be called the
Rustic series, in which I incorporate objects of the North Woods,
of a cabin, hunting-fishing and farming culture. Sculptures
in this direction do come out of my own memories and feelings about
that more elementary state of my own youth. These sculptures
may or may not be flattering to that culture, though I cannot tell
if the observer will recognize the several branches of thought in
these works. They are meant to involve viewers at many levels.
The other related current visual direction taken is one seen in
the titled “By the Sea” series. Because these incorporate
sea shells, marine and lake life, they may suggest an expanded craft-like
appearance and souvenirs from sea side places. I embrace so
called crafts as a branch of art-making, just as I also embrace
stage and set design, window design, floral arrangement, landscaping,
and calligraphy. I also reach to “earth works”
and crop art as true examples of fine art. I absorb Smithson’s
“Spiral Jetty”, Christo’s wrapped islands or Goldsworthy’s
stacked stones. I look to human made “crop circles”,
deliberately planted crop art producing pictures to be seen from
airplanes, and folk made small pictures from seeds glued to boards. Native
American sand paintings, aboriginal art of all sorts, popular culture,
are all sources for contemporary art making.
While some sculptural pieces of mine do speak distinctly of a straight
line lineage, directions do cross and blend, and are seen in what
would be hybridization. In fact, one piece produced in 2003
is titled, Hybrid, as it deliberately draws upon the imagery of
the rustic and marine sets. Other themes used in the past,
such as Gaia, certainly appear in my work.
Related to these themes, sources and places formerly not thought
of as fine art related make their way into my thinking about art,
its appearance and meanings. For example, natural history museum
vignettes, store window arrangements, store displays, stage design,
lawn ornaments and yard decorations, “make do” antiques
and collectibles (which serve useful functions but are made of available
materials and sometimes clever contrivances)…and old objects
from natural origins or human hand pull me to them and inspire directions.
A Timeline
Not precocious…no genius noted… As a child the interest
in art making was clear. It continued into high school and
entered into decisions about college choices. My parents had
no experience with art and could not encourage me in that direction. In
fact, my mother had always urged me, and expected me, to go into
teaching. This was an occupation she admired and it was one
that she undoubtedly believed her son was destined for.
Any other thoughts I might have had about occupations in Natural
History, such as paleontology or geology, never entered into discussions
with my parents. As a freshman in high school I did bring up
my interests in Natural History with a teacher advisor, but it was
met with a smile and dismissed immediately. He had no desire
to encourage me to look into some sort of life as a naturalist or
paleontologist. Such interests were only to remain as hobbies,
and my lack of observable success in science and math was not an
encouragement.
Later in Lincoln High, another high school teacher and advisor suggested
that I look into Layton School of Art, and perhaps the art department
at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh. There was absolutely
no way that my parents would allow that, and since I was entirely
dependant upon them, and was without independent mind and spirit
enough to risk going on my own, I chose a college that produced
teachers.
The local Manitowoc County Teachers College still existed, and due
to its close proximity and low cost, I attended. I recall clearly
walking to the school the first day to sign up for classes and thinking
about this choice…or non-choice as it was. I had no viable
alternative. I simply did what was expected of me. I had
little or no experience with children, no drive to teach…and
no self motivation to become a great teacher. It was simply
what had to be done. Thereafter my interests in art and in
Natural History remained a part of my personal culture, but rarely
as serious alternatives for a real job.
Yet, the art interest surfaced in the small County Teacher’s
College when I became the leader in producing our small college
Annual, a simple production with cartoon like imagery. I also
was leader in the production of decorations for a couple dance events. Then
later, at UW Steven’s Point, I surfaced as someone to also
make decorations for another dance event…and I deliberately
chose studio and art history classes as a concentration. Besides
the Major in Elementary Education, I chose a Music Minor…an
interest I had had also since youth. In the sixth to seventh
grade I had taken up playing the clarinet and participated in the
school band thru my freshman year, but as a sophomore I elected
to go into choir as a singer rather than an instrumentalist
Even at UWSP, I was part of the college choir, and also participated
in the Men’s Glee Club. While my instrument was the voice,
I was not destined to find great favor from my music teachers due
to a natural wide vibrato… I also was not skilled in music
theory or playing piano, neither subject being much to my interest
or abilities. In fact, I had to leave class piano, in which
numerous students practiced piano all together and I was quite distressed
by the noise. I could not concentrate. When provided an
experienced college teacher in order to gain enough expertise and
facility, I struggled with piano and learned the bare minimum to
receive a passing grade.
However, I spent hours playing tunes of my own creation, in the
limited unknown keys that my mind and hands could join together
in producing. I would go over certain emerging passages, playing
by myself in practice rooms. It must be noted that several
students complemented me on these limited excursions into musical
creativity, but I never pursued that interest beyond that point. When
I graduated and began teaching, the musical interests faded away. I
retired my guitar and never again participated in organized musical
art forms.
My art and art history classes were a joy, especially amidst the
unpleasant subjects which were required in order to fulfill my schedule
leading to a BS in Education. I was amazed at the skills and
accomplishments of my fellow art students and instructors. Whatever
I produced seemed to me to be acceptable by myself and others…
I received the small honor of entering two art exhibits and having
work accepted in both.
Yet, when I began my five year teaching career, the art making was
relegated to occasional forays with a sketch book and clay. My
interest in objects grew substantially, and there was great fun
and study in the realm of antiques and collectibles. I believed
this satisfied some of my longings to produce art. I became
engrossed in the study of glass and glass making especially, and
eventually that emerged as the subject for my Master’s thesis
when I returned to school at UW Madison.
I had even attempted to get into the glass blowing class that the
UW Madison Art Department offered, but I had too limited art credits
to be considered a candidate for that advanced class. Therefore,
when the School of Family Resources and Consumer Sciences (now called
Human Ecology), thru its Related Art Department (art related to
their curriculum) allowed me to write a thesis about Harvey Littleton
and his history in the studio glass movement, I was drawing together
my art interests with my interest in 3D objects. The thesis itself
was hardly extraordinary, but did provide the necessary outcome
leading to a Master’s degree from that School, and it offered
some satisfaction on a personal level.
Eventually I began a career in the antiques business, and in my
limited environment, a period of considerable study and growth. Handling
these objects, learning about the many facets of the antiques subjects
and profession, did satisfy me for years. But there continued
a sense of disappointment, a lack of development, and a kind of
“emptiness” in my soul. I gradually used the term
that I was a “closet artist”, always looking out with
some longing that was difficult to put a finger on.
Finally, when my art making finally burst its confinements in my
late 30’s, I began to experience what I believe was as close
to a true calling as possible…that activity that satisfied
my soul and entire being to the fullest extent. There were
catalysts that finally ground the husk from my artist nature and
led to the release of my personal art making exploration and excitements.
Eventually…
Of course, hindsight comes easy compared with prediction. The
desire to continue in art making comes naturally at this point in
my life. The intrigues and downright fun experienced as a result
of manipulating materials, leading to some curious and new expression,
take me back to my crowded studio again and again. Objects
capture my attention. I want to see what emerges.
I have quickly moved into the “”senior” days of
my life. The dwindling years seem to me in need of activities
that might enrich my existence. There are thoughts of legacy
and reputation and achievements. While my own place and record
will have limited place in the regional art history, and I will
not be present to witness the record, I do hope for some reasons
for my name to be viewed. There while have been countless artists
and teachers who have thought the same, few of us will have made
an impact forming a crater of information.
My involvement with the Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement
Awards, an attempt to raise the visibility of this region’s
art history and current art culture, has been a way for me to be
productive. The WVALAA would not exist if I had not taken the
idea to Tom Lidtke at the West Bend Art Museum…and subsequently
stayed energized and involved with it. It can be an important
legacy aside from my art making. That activity, plus my activities
with Wisconsin Painters & Sculptors and other artist groups,
enrich my life and have proven to provide more satisfaction than
frustration.
Shaping forms comes naturally now, while before 1983 I could not
say that. Consciously I expect to see objects emerge that fascinate
me. If that happens, I probably cannot ask for much more. It
is the process that provides the final comfort.
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