SURFACE TREATMENT: Manifestations of Life

Artist Steve Franklin shows us two opposing sides of life in this exhibit of recent paintings: one side works for a living, and the other enjoys play. “Manifestations of Life” is currently on display at the STC Nursing and Allied Health Library Art Gallery.

Although this exhibit is modest in numbers of works, the quality and content of the pieces adequately compensate. Franklin is an imaginative painter whose work reflects a dichotomy: it can be whimsical, but may also deal with serious social concerns. His compositions are constructed through geometrics, but still maintain a strong human element.

The Great American Picnic series is abstract in viewer perception, yet the shapes are those of actual objects.

“For one picnic painting,” explained Franklin, “I toasted an entire loaf of bread, and used the slices to crudely stamp thick paste-like gesso onto the canvas, leaving the impression of toaster bread. This made me think of what it’s like to prepare several sandwiches for a picnic.” To create his The Great American Picnic 2, Franklin spread the thick gesso onto the canvas and repeatedly stamped a six-pack of generic sodas into it. “These circles represent a mass quantity of beverages ready to be consumed at a picnic,” continued Franklin. “I would say that these are my fun-to-do paintings.”

Franklin knows his craft. All of the paintings reflect a solid understanding of color theory, along with a keen understanding of design. He reduces the composition of his worker paintings along Golden Mean principles, strongly evocative of the French “Section d’Or” style. Sections of basic geometric shapes such as circles, triangles, and rectangles are placed; objects are then fitted into these shapes.

In the Machine, an acrylic on canvas painting, is composed around a hand that fits into a large diagonally placed rectangle. Part of a worker’s face, appearing to be held in the grip of a wrench, is laid in the hand. Dark outlines and shading give power to the hand; the saturated red background surrounding it is oppressive, yet balanced by the vivid green of the worker’s hair.

The meticulously composed painting, Don’t Give Up, depicts a worker struggling against the oppression of aggressive tools.

 “The imagery from this set of paintings that I am doing include a wrench, a human character, and hands,” stated Franklin. “I like tools, especially the wrench because it is very simple. The wrench can symbolize continuous work that the human character does. He’s tired, but he keeps on going. The hand connects the man to the tool.”

Even Franklin’s “fun” paintings are tightly regimented. Although this process is whimsical, he uses a grid to hone the statement into a sever order. In the final assessment, the two series are not that different in content.

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Nancy Moyer, Professor Emerita of Art from UTPA, is an art critic for The Monitor. She may be reached at nmoyer@rgv.rr.com