ESP Work on Exhibit Opening May 23!!!

The Battle of Carnival and Lent, Judith Schaechter's new exhibition at Claire Oliver Gallery, tackles one of the most  fundamental struggles known to man, the war humankind wages between good and evil.  Dancing on the psychological border between spiritual aspiration and human suffering, the Artist questions the association of an environment of confinement/reflection in the name of self betterment and the harsh realities of the physical experience of imprisonment; She is  speaking about the 'prisons' we all encounter, be they mental or physical.

Schaechter's title window in the exhibition (and the largest in scale), inspired by the 16th century Brugel painting with the similar name "The Fight Between Carnival and Lent", contains 96 figures (almost all previous Schaechter works  contain only a single figure)
locked in a mythic battle between virtue and vice.  Depicted here by somber monks and garish clowns, hilarity and mayhem seduce impulse control; no blood is spilled in the Artist's rendition; here, softened by humor, we see the constant battle we face between our will, our desires, and our choices.

Inspired by the history of Philadelphia's notorious gothic castle-like structure,  Eastern State Penitentiary, where they were on temporary exhibition, these 17 works draw on mythology, the Bible, and even famous works of art from ages past.  Schaechter's archetypes struggle with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, exploring in turn the stories of Atlas, Prometheus, Noah, Icarus, Mary Magdalene and Andromeda.

Along with the figurative/narrative windows, there are a matching number of purely decorative patterned works which Schaechter calls "militant ornamentalist", a nod to the great strength of 13th century European cathedrals, such as Chartres.  Although ornamentation suffered in popularity during the Modernist period of art history, its power to move people has not been diminished.  One has only to look to the great traditions of Islamic or Asian art to see the hypnotic and spiritual relevance ornamentation has.

Elisabeth Argo, Curator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, says of the work, "When I saw Judith's new works, my thoughts went to Guernica, Bruegel and Diego River's murals on industry or Otto Dix's paintings looking at war.  She's (Schaechter) looking at this moment and the issues of humanity and those artists were too."

Says Schaechter of these works: I have strong feelings about this work appealing to those who are in transition, those who have known pain, grappled with despair.  The parallels between cell and cathedral go beyond just appearances.  In a church the windows are charged with profound meaning; the "windows" here are more than a mere "ray of hope" for the churchgoer and incarcerated alike.

For more information on the Gallery and upcoming events please contact:
 Claire Oliver Gallery
513 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10001
(212) 929-5949

Info@ClaireOliver.com

www.ClaireOliver.com

Eastern State Windows reworked

Because they were site specific--and by that I mean they weren't just inspired by Eastern State, but utterly dependent on that venue to give them integrity as works design-wise as well, the pieces need some attention after their removal.  The idea was to work with the original idea and to honor their origins as coming from the penitentiary but to give them autonomy at the same time.

In Eastern State, the work was installed in Cell Blocks 8, 11,14 and the hallway of 11.  Each work could be seen as individual works, each section could be seen as individual installations and the whole thing could be seen as one big installation.I wanted to hearken back to this and resolve the pieces as groups, but they are not to be seen as large works--just individuals in a series.

 Click to enlarge!

I worked with images of the penitentiary to create borders for the Con/Fines windows that would emphasize their isolation and solitary struggle.  For this reason the border is exaggerated in scale.  There’s a lot of stone to dig their way through should they be contemplating an escape!  And of course, it is very similar to the surrounding stone in the penitentiary itself.

The ornamental windows were given an ornamental surround.  The idea here, was to  honor the original groupings, but to give them individuality.  These borders update the works so that they reference Gothic Revival and Victorian work.  They are intended to create a dazzle effect of truly blazing color.

For the three Icarus windows, I wished to take the opportunity to point out something no one noticed whilst they were installed at Eastern State and that is they were based on the primary colors of red, blue and yellow.  The border was then given the texture of distressed concrete, which is a familiar sight at Eastern State.  The same distressed concrete texture was used in the borders of the Weeping Chorus works.  They were indeed in cells of stained and cracked concrete.  The Mother and Child windows were actually in cells that had some pretty serious ceiling leaks and thus, the sensation of weeping was all the more evident, as one visitor emailed me to say.

The “Sister” window was built out—the only one of all the windows.  She is now in a crucifixion pose, making the Weeping Chorus an “optional” triptych as would be seen in a church.

 I made no changes to this window! 

I was struck in the making the transformations of these windows how easily and simply they went from “prison” to “cathedral”.  The Con/Fines and ornamentals are the windows one would see along the nave and in the clerestory of a gothic cathedral.  The Battle of Carnival and Lent the large Eastern window in the Apse!  The Icarus windows  could be in a side chapel as well as the weeping chorus with the crucifixion right in the middle where it so obviously belongs. It’s amazing how trust in the process allows these “coincidental” developments to occur without effort.  It was certainly as if it were meant to happen!
 

This is from Lawrence Lee's "Stained Glass"

Battle of Carnival and Lent book available!!

The Battle of Carnival and Lent by Judith Schaechter |


I have finished the book...barely in time for the holidays.

I apologize for the high price, such is the world of self publishing.  To make it smaller would mean less images and/or smaller ones and I really wanted to make a document that was somewhat representative of the experience of seeing the work as it was intended.

happy holidays!!!

Eastern State Penitentiary--Last Chances to see the installation

 On December 2nd, my installation at Eastern State Penitentiary will come to a close!  :(

(Photo by Dominic Episcopo)

 It has been absolutely fantastic to have had the opportunity to design and install for one of my favorite spaces on earth (and in my hometown!). 

If you are interested, please know that this is the  last chance to see the work in its intended setting—one that hearkens to sacred architecture like chapels and even cathedrals, while at the same time being a place of incarceration and also a fantastically lovely creepy ruin.

My work is usually seen in light boxes.  At Eastern State, it is installed in directly in the architecture and as such the images are dynamically powered by nature—the weather,  the time of day and the season.  With constantly changing light, the works truly come alive!!  Seriously, if you like my work, you don't want to miss this!

Please check out Eastern State's website for information on hours , directions etc as well as information on special Flashlight tours!

(Flashlight tour photo by Charles Outhier)

Instsalation pics from eastern State

Just a few of the pics posted in a completish album here!

Last Three Pieces for Eastern State

"Mother"

 CLICK TO ENLARGE!!!! I COMMAND THEE!

"Sister"

"Daughter" 

These represent the "Weeping Chorus" of those left behind to mourn the chaos when someone is incarcerated. I tried to refer to the aspects of the windows in Cellblock 9--where each cell has a prisoner and an ornamental window. In these windows the ornamental design has moved into the space with the figure. Why women? Well mainly because most prisoners are men. I wanted to avoid the romantic relationship, hence mother, sister and daughter but the sister seems to have snuck into that territory on her own! Thes windows are in Cellblock 14.

Video by Marc Brodzik

It was made by Marc Brodzik (Woodshop Films and Scrapple TV)

Eastern Sate show info

info Here!!!!
The short version:
Cellblocks 8, 11, and 14 for the duration of the 2012 season (April 1 - November 30).

"The installation marks Judith Schaechter’s return to Philadelphia after more than ten years exhibiting nationally and internationally. It will open to the public Sunday, April 1, 2012, with an opening reception Friday, May 11, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The Battle of Carnival and Lent will be on view through November and is included in standard admission to the historic site."

For more information and schedules, please call (215) 236-3300 or visit www.EasternState.org.

Installation at Eastern State

Please enjoy the photo album here!

DONE!

Impulse control. Ain't it a bitch?? Here it is, just in time for Mardi Gras and Lent!

ALMOST DONE!!!!

Here are images of the top left and right panels all the way through almost completing them. The entire window will be done...tomorrow!!!! I will post pictures Monday or Tuesday of the finished work. Dominic Episcopo, my photographer, comes Monday. After this window is done there are three more very small piece left to make for the Eastern State Penitentiary project. It is scheduled to be completely installed by the end of March!!
Above is the cartoon on the light table. As always, click to enlarge the images.

Here is the piece with the initial glass cut out.

Sandblasted glass.

First layer of paint.

Sandblasted, first layer of paint fired on, then the glass is engraved, and the second layer of paint is added.

some details

Working on the second layer

Some details of how sections look completed

What the right hand top part look like

What the right hand top part look like