Elevated Highways - Mixed MediaExhibition Text:
"Elevated Highways: Absence of Urban Planning" brings forth the U.S. interstate highway that valued getting from point A to B efficiently over considering urban fabric impact. This piece was created as a mixed media work, with inspiration coming from Chicago Imagist Roger Brown creating similar urban environment settings with an approach that breaks the 2D plane. Text: Elevated Highways - Absence of Urban Planning
Size: 60.96 x 45.72 cm Medium: Mixed Media (Oil Paint and Wood Construction) Completion: July 2023 |
Inspiration
California Gawkers: Being the Chief Cause and Primary Source of California Traffic Jams by Roger Brown
As part of taking the Advance Fine Arts course during the MIAD Summer Pre-College I had the opportunity to create an artwork that reflected my previous practices. I acknowledged that it would be beneficial to continue a technical approach that I've done in the past while refining oil painting once more. After looking through inspiration for this project, the one that caught my eye after being directed towards him was Roger Brown, a Chicago Imagist that in the following work being observed deal with the built environment of roads. I knew that I wanted to create an artwork that dealt with Elevated Highways (especially with location in mind), and California Gawkers was interesting as in a minimalist fashion highlighted the idea of "rubbernecking" being the compound idea of small issues become prominent exponentially. This is shown in the work with the cause and primary source of traffic jams not being necessarily a crash itself, but something as simple of police stopping a vehicle slowing down all movement just by drivers being intrigued by the cause. Brown had a intent emphasize the annoyance he and a plentiful of audiences have experience from an occurrence that unknowingly leads to large consequences which I believe following a similar mindset and technical style can emphasize elevated highways as well.
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Jacknife by Roger Brown
One of the concepts that I wanted to explore further with doing artworks and having a research topic component along with it is how it's communicated with the audience. In Jacknife, Roger Brown illustrates a man-made disaster that in a literal sense breaks through the 2D plane of the oil canvas and onto an exterior shelf. From all the paintings Brown had created with vehicles and traffic being the central subject of the work, this was one of the only ones that utilized wood construction as a clever way to add upon traditional painting with a formalist sculpture. I believed that the attention grabbing technique that moved the viewer's eye through the canvas as the story of the truck played out until disaster would be a great way for me to try a mixed media work that added on my experiences with oil painting. Furthermore, with an artwork that will be research centric and topics I've explored previously in my school studies it becomes a factor to help it stand out with the 3D elements that progresses the story being told.
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Planning
Side by side images of the I-794 that intercepts Milwaukee's core as it stands today and a proposed reimagining of the space
Highways are quite a common occurrence in America, especially if you have ever made a trip to any major city. The main reason I wanted to do an artwork related to elevated highways is that Milwaukee has the I-794 that cuts through it's downtown from the Third Ward (a southern area in the city's center that border's the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan). Originally the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 gave states highways essentially for free that was a very valuable assets for rural communities to traverse into urban areas. The problem with this was the lack of municipal foresight, as urban planners barely even existed, and the "yellow book" that states would follow in order to build these highways that mapped out where routes occurred cut through the core of city centers. Engineers had the mindset of what was the most effective way to bring commuters from the growing suburbs from point A to B without considering the urban fabric impact.
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Jump to today with the Connecting Milwaukee 10 year Downtown plan that when it comes to addressing adjacent neighborhoods is if it is beneficial to tear down the I-794? Even back in 1999 Third Ward Comprehensive Plan it was acknowledged that elevated highways being out of proportion to pedestrian travel caused significant psychological barriers. There has been proposals of using the removal of the I-794 to reconnect the Third Ward and create a green space that coincides with the walkability the area already excels at. The Problem?: It's not a realistic solution, at least to be included in the Downtown plan as it comes down to state law that will preclude it. The idea has receive more traction as portions of the I-794 are subject to renovations, but even then stakeholders are hesitant and most haven't supported removal options.
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So the task becomes how can we effectively take this oversight of elevated highways that has become a serious topic of discussion for the connectivity of Milwaukee's Downtown and consideration to urban fabric? Well on the right shows the general plan I had going into this artwork in a smaller scale, and I wanted to make the original notion of elevated highways being to get commuters from point A to B as efficiently as possible to be prominent. Therefore most of the top portion of the canvas will simulate traffic on a elevated highway with each vehicle being confined to their destination. Transitioning to the bottom of the canvas would reveal the elevation structure that would move into darker tones, making the viewer unaware of what is being ignored/blocked because of the construction of the highway. From there we can have on of the trucks traversing the canvas have it's payload fall off and into the exterior shelf place below that breaks the 2D plane. At first the idea of the payload falling off was used mainly to be eye-catching, but later on in the process I had found a strong connection to make with my research using color choice that I'll touch upon later.
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In order to ensure that the connection between the oil painting and the wood construction was more apparent, I had to plan out the dimensions of each truck that would simulate the traffic. Gathering a portion of wood that would be placed upright on the exterior shelf, I took the measurements of the soon to be payload and recorded them on notebook paper. The objective would be to develop a consistent truck design that can be replicated through the entire canvas. Luckily I was using an architect scale ruler that allowed me to know the scale of each truck and approximate that I could fit about 4 trucks in each given lane. The primary steps that I had to foresee in the upcoming process was utilizing guide lines that were faint and later be covered up when paint was applied, but allowed me to interpret how to replicate my truck design dozens of times from scratch.
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Process
Setting up the canvas with the lanes was quite straight-forward as I sectioned it into sixths that allowed guidelines for four lanes to be created with the bottom portion reserved for the elevation structure. Extending the lines between lanes slightly allowed the confined structure to be more evident for when paint is applied. Semicircles were used past the bottom lane that had vertical lines continue into the end of the canvas. Original I had the mindset when it came to adding trucks was that it would be fairly straight forward and easy to replicate on the canvas since I would only really need to make the guide lines on the top line for four trucks, and then extend those onto the bottom lane. I realized that having the lanes going different directions, slight spacing differences, off canvas vehicles and the front portion of the trucks would require each individual lane to be outlined.
It becomes the most time consuming portion of the process that can't be stressed enough as in order to meet the necessity of the trucks staying relatively consistent, it required over fifty unique guide lines that had to be constantly double checked to ensure they retained the same quality and dimensions. The payload of one of the trucks would remain absent on the bottom lane, but besides that it was mainly just following the scale I had developed in my planning to duplicating it to reach the final outline seen on the right.
From there I could start applying oil paint onto the canvas, which involved laying out a monochrome palette for the roads to simulate cement concrete and to make any individualism of the commuters non-existent. This is part of the reason that you are unable to see windows of the drivers since engineers focused on efficiently of travel. Each lane begins to become sectioned out, with a portion of the barrier being removed in order to allow the payload of one of the trucks to be seen fallen off the canvas.
I continued going through the elevated highway and choose a hues that were similar to the ones present on the I-794, with light browns and dark blues that section off the top roads from the structural columns. As I moved down the columns I began to transition into darker values that would illustrate depth and set up for the upcoming external shelf that would be placed below. I had nearly wrapped up painting the canvas and left the area in between columns blank as they would be the same color as the wood construction.
To carry out a surrealist intent, I landed on using Crimson Red as the color of choice as what would be the transition of 2D to 3D. It was a choice that seemed fitting in order to present the wood construction as being something that is mysterious and out of reach from this world. Once painting the canvas had concluded I prepped the external shelf by using wood glue to place the fallen payload of the truck onto and covered the wood with gesso so that the paint can have a surface to stick upon. I also managed to gather a artificial plant that I cut down and glued next to where the payload was.
Originally for painting the payload I wanted to match my inspiration of Jacknife and use the same monochrome color scheme as seen in the trucks on the oil canvas to make it more evident that it was a payload that had fallen off. When I did my planning one of the topics I touched upon was that the thing that was apart of Elevated Highways being constructed in America was the Yellow Book that outlined these highways on maps that state's had to follow to get them essentially for free. I decided to paint the out of reach payload with bright yellow color for the idea that now despite the interest of wanting elevated highways to be removed to make way for green spaces, it becomes out of reach since it is a state law issue. With this in mind I had finished painting the external shelf and at the end of my Advance Fine Arts course connected both components together to finalize the work.
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Experimentation
Before I even began working on this project I had created a P.S.W. (Paragraph, Sentence, Word) that narrowed down and gave a draft of my particular craft so far when it came to art. While I had a general list of the supplies and medium that I wanted to pursue, it didn't have the "expansion" concept figured out to go beyond what I've done before. Although the work on the right didn't set the foundation for my inspiration, when I went through the Milwaukee Art Museum for the first time Sunset in Norway by Ludwig Munthe was the initial example I was shown for how I could experiment with viewer interaction. The revelation of this was clear when seeing the artwork in person, as when you approach the painting it was intentionally placed to mimic a walk home.
Moving forward to wood construction when I received the external shelf with the specifications I asked for there was still possibilities of on how I could expand upon my original concept with it being mixed media. Initially I didn't have no aspect of my artwork that incorporated the green space concept that people imagined that could replace elevated highways like the I-794. I managed to gather a bundle of artificial flowers that I could glue to the external shelf to represent the mentioned green space. However since this was a smaller concept of the whole work and the glue used didn't support much weight, the artificial flower was transition into a small pedal sticking out of the yellow payload.
When it came to having the 2D element of traditional oil painting with 3D wood construction coexisting in this artwork, I made use of color choice and making it distinct. For that reason I explored keeping a traditional minimalist palette of white, black, and brown when working on painting the canvas that reflected the in real life counterpart of an actual elevated. In contrast when moving onto form I had narrowed down to using bright yellow and crimson red that popped out from the original composition. Since this artwork had the idea that it would be installed during an exhibition at the end of the pre-college course, it was decide to place it as shown on the right with the elements of it's environment in mind. As mentioned at the start of this experimentation tab at the Milwaukee Art Museum each artwork is placed intentionally, and in the same manner the structural aspects of columns and railings supported the work.
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Critique
Similarities
- Technical Craftsmanship: The repetition of shapes with the landscape and subjects is precise to ensure that consistency is retained through the work. Aspects like clean, simple lines tend to result in a satisfying work that all three contain.
- 2D plane broken with Mixed Media (Left): With the incorporation of wood construction upon the oil canvas, it allowed elements in the canvas of that being a truck's payload to break the 2D plane and transition into a exterior shelf.
- Consistent vehicle design (Right): Taking consideration of spacing between subjects, each road being illustrated ensures that the vehicles retain a identical design that is replicated across the canvas.
Differences
- Setting Choice: Elevated Highways: Absence of Urban Planning had taken into consideration that it would be used in an exhibition and compete alongside primarily 2D work in the same venue, therefore influenced how wood construction should be implemented in order to stand out with elements like color choice.
- Wood Construction Interpretation (Left): In Jacknife the exterior shelf serves as the conclusion to the payload of the truck falling off course and breaking the 2D plane, which is achieved by a consistent color through the artwork. My artwork instead chooses to convert the payload from it's grey tones into a bright yellow for the connection with the "Yellow Book".
- Subject Boundaries (Right): California Gawkers depicts a relatively common illustration of a road where in two-lanes cars going each respective direction have the choice between one or the other. When it came to the same concept in my artwork I instead kept each lane within it's own barriers where drivers could only go to one direction.
- Technical Craftsmanship: The repetition of shapes with the landscape and subjects is precise to ensure that consistency is retained through the work. Aspects like clean, simple lines tend to result in a satisfying work that all three contain.
- 2D plane broken with Mixed Media (Left): With the incorporation of wood construction upon the oil canvas, it allowed elements in the canvas of that being a truck's payload to break the 2D plane and transition into a exterior shelf.
- Consistent vehicle design (Right): Taking consideration of spacing between subjects, each road being illustrated ensures that the vehicles retain a identical design that is replicated across the canvas.
Differences
- Setting Choice: Elevated Highways: Absence of Urban Planning had taken into consideration that it would be used in an exhibition and compete alongside primarily 2D work in the same venue, therefore influenced how wood construction should be implemented in order to stand out with elements like color choice.
- Wood Construction Interpretation (Left): In Jacknife the exterior shelf serves as the conclusion to the payload of the truck falling off course and breaking the 2D plane, which is achieved by a consistent color through the artwork. My artwork instead chooses to convert the payload from it's grey tones into a bright yellow for the connection with the "Yellow Book".
- Subject Boundaries (Right): California Gawkers depicts a relatively common illustration of a road where in two-lanes cars going each respective direction have the choice between one or the other. When it came to the same concept in my artwork I instead kept each lane within it's own barriers where drivers could only go to one direction.
Reflection
Being able to not only refine the technically skills and research incorporation I've done with previous works but also incorporate wood construction to expand how viewer's interpret the work has been a very helpful experience. When it comes to a lot of topics like these there is a obstacle of how you make the language you are presenting intriguing in a way. I believe that looking into Roger Brown and seeing how he utilized wood construction was a really stand out way for me to start thinking and using mixed media in future projects. The biggest challenge I tend to have when it comes to precision in making sure measurements I make before had are carried out correctly (such as in my Axiomatic Object) is the sense of fatigue you can get when you making 20+ truck designs. However it is a direction that uses precision and measuring tools that out of all the students at the pre-college course weren't utilizing.
In about half of the work I've created so far, the concepts that I've created tend to fall within the technical field and away from more organic structures that are more experimental which while is less common within peers I believe have been shown to be effective when it comes to presenting research centric studies. It makes it very exciting and enjoyable when you can take a concept like Elevated Highways that I've studied upon before when researching the connectivity of Milwaukee's Downtown and interpreting it into an artwork. I hope that others view the expanded elements upon traditional oil painting as a new perspective for how to make a niche topic stand out against the crowd.
Connecting to ACT
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
Roger Brown not only address concerns and identified areas of discussion for built environments, but could utilize his skill and understanding of wood construction to elevate his oil painting. I dealt with a similar area of discussion being elevated highways, and the conversation that occurred when simply incorporating a exterior shelf truly expanded the work.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach Roger Brown took was observing the built environments of roads and discussing the man-made disasters that have developed, bringing into question the oversight engineers had when creating these environments and what truly is the cause of the disasters.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
While I researched my inspiration I had discovered the idea of incorporating the transition of a 2D plane into a 3D one, which not only complimented the technical skills seen upon the canvas but could be used as a story device in a simple manner.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my inspirational research was uncovering a method that either created a interaction element or stood out to an audience that expanded upon my previous oil paintings and brought emphasis towards the work.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Incorporation of traditional art and wood construction allows two different planes to be established, contrasted, and interacted with in order to not only expand the composition happening on the canvas, but develop of sense of form that is out of reach.
Roger Brown not only address concerns and identified areas of discussion for built environments, but could utilize his skill and understanding of wood construction to elevate his oil painting. I dealt with a similar area of discussion being elevated highways, and the conversation that occurred when simply incorporating a exterior shelf truly expanded the work.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach Roger Brown took was observing the built environments of roads and discussing the man-made disasters that have developed, bringing into question the oversight engineers had when creating these environments and what truly is the cause of the disasters.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
While I researched my inspiration I had discovered the idea of incorporating the transition of a 2D plane into a 3D one, which not only complimented the technical skills seen upon the canvas but could be used as a story device in a simple manner.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my inspirational research was uncovering a method that either created a interaction element or stood out to an audience that expanded upon my previous oil paintings and brought emphasis towards the work.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Incorporation of traditional art and wood construction allows two different planes to be established, contrasted, and interacted with in order to not only expand the composition happening on the canvas, but develop of sense of form that is out of reach.
Citations
Gupta, Kavi. Roger Brown, California Gawkers: Being the chief cause and primary ..., 2021. https://kavigupta.com/artists/28-roger-brown/works/7734-roger-brown-california-gawkers-being-the-chief-cause-and-primary-1997/.
Gupta, Kavi. “Jacknife.” Hallmark Art Collection, March 2, 2016. https://www.hallmarkartcollection.com/artwork/jacknife/.
Syndicated. “Rethinking I-794: Advocates Propose Removing Milwaukee’s Interstate Overpass to Rejuvenate the City.” Milwaukee Independent, February 20, 2023. http://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/syndicated/rethinking-794-advocates-propose-removing-milwaukees-interstate-overpass-rejuvenate-city/.
Stromberg, Joseph. “Highways Gutted American Cities. so Why Did They Build Them?” Vox, May 14, 2015. https://www.vox.com/2015/5/14/8605917/highways-interstate-cities-history.
Gupta, Kavi. “Jacknife.” Hallmark Art Collection, March 2, 2016. https://www.hallmarkartcollection.com/artwork/jacknife/.
Syndicated. “Rethinking I-794: Advocates Propose Removing Milwaukee’s Interstate Overpass to Rejuvenate the City.” Milwaukee Independent, February 20, 2023. http://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/syndicated/rethinking-794-advocates-propose-removing-milwaukees-interstate-overpass-rejuvenate-city/.
Stromberg, Joseph. “Highways Gutted American Cities. so Why Did They Build Them?” Vox, May 14, 2015. https://www.vox.com/2015/5/14/8605917/highways-interstate-cities-history.