Inside Out

The title is not meant to refer to the animation film of the same name. Instead, I chose it to connect to the exhibit at the Orlando Museum of Art, “Edouard Prulhière – The Inverted Sound of Painting”. What is a painting? Simply mark-making with any type of material on any type of surface. These paintings refer to the tradition of stretchers, canvas, and paint used throughout Western Civilization. We see the finished product. It is all about the “outside”.  What if we got through that exterior and entered the world of the process? That is Prulhière’s, who invites us to be participants and “hear” the process. At what point does it stop and what decisions are made during the process?

The work challenges the viewing participant, stirring up many questions. Does the painter control this outcome? Does he mean to have us hear what he hears when he is building and how? Is the visual object we see considered finished by him? At what point is that moment of completion? My experience as a painter is that the painting takes over the painter, and eventually controls the destiny. Does Prulhère make that decision intentionally at an earlier stage or does the work tell him at some juncture to stop? Because the painting is not in its traditional role of being a hung canvas on the wall with a depiction on the surface that the intention is clear, he is in control. He goes one step further as he turns the canvas and stretcher literally inside out and the full materialism of the painting becomes sculptural to be seen from all angles, not solely frontally.

To make a connection to real estate from Prulhière’s artwork is esoteric but there is a definite connection. I was all about the out when it came to the structures we live in. I would turn on the faucet and then water appeared, like magic. I’d push a switch up and down and voilà, I created light or darkness. No, I did not think I was omnipotent, I was just clueless. But like everything, a day comes where you must open your eyes and figure it all out. I needed to build out my first studio and living space. I slowly understood about the inside and that the out was not there by magic! This beganmy interest in renovation.

The title is not meant to refer to the animation film of the same name. Instead, I chose it to connect to the exhibit at the Orlando Museum of Art, “Edouard Prulhière – The Inverted Sound of Painting”. What is a painting? Simply mark-making with any type of material on any type of surface. These paintings refer to the tradition of stretchers, canvas, and paint used throughout Western Civilization. We see the finished product. It is all about the “outside”.  What if we got through that exterior and entered the world of theprocess? That is Prulhière’s, who invites us to be participants and “hear” the process. At what point does it stop and what decisions are made during the process?

The work challenges the viewing participant, stirring up many questions. Does the painter control this outcome? Does he mean to have us hear what he hears when he is building and how? Is the visual object we see considered finished by him? At what point is that moment of completion? My experience as a painter is that the painting takes over the painter, and eventually controls the destiny. Does Prulhère make that decision intentionally at an earlier stage or does the work tell him at some juncture to stop? Because the painting is not in its traditional role of being a hung canvas on the wall with a depiction on the surface that the intention is clear, he is in control. He goes one step further as he turns the canvas and stretcher literally inside out and the full materialism of the painting becomes sculptural to be seen from all angles, not solely frontally.

To make a connection to real estate from Prulhière’s artwork is esoteric but there is a definite connection. I was all about the out when it came to the structures we live in. I would turn on the faucet and then water appeared, like magic. I’d push a switch up and down and voilà, I created light or darkness. No, I did not think I was omnipotent, I was just clueless. But like everything, a day comes where you must open your eyes and figure it all out. I needed to build out my first studio and living space. I slowly understood about the inside and thatthe out was not there by magic! This began my interest in renovation.

Before Facade

After Facade

As mentioned, I began with my own studio and then on my second studio, a building I bought with other artists, I had taken it down to the bones! You’ll hear a realtor say, “It has nice bones”, really meaning, “you can work with it!”  This project was a true education of the workings from the source to the magic of turning a faucet. I learned and worked on plumbing, electrical, carpentry, structural beams, flooring, drywall, and finishing. I became adept at changing buildings that no one wanted and made them not only functional but beautiful. When you take apart something you see its inner workings. The inside is what makes everything outside work. This is so for buildings and the inanimate but also of the living. Relating back to the successful movie, Inside Out, although our emotions are inside, they do come out.

Before

After

Before

After