Steve Seeley
May 27, 2009
Whether it was an unconscious decision due in part to the Memorial holiday, our upcoming move or my obsessive curiosity about the ripple effect, my editorials have been centered around a common theme this week, ‘impressions we have on our environment’. Even the artist I chose to interview, one part man, one part gypsy, spends months exacting one detailed painting at a time, that depicts the ramifications of our chosen city placements on wildlife. Yesterday’s review of Kimo M. discussed the variety of ways that he’s chosen to preserve his sense of home and history in paper/photographs, and the appreciation he has for restriction.
This isn’t a magazine dedicated to preserving the Earth, minimizing carbon footprints or saving the whales, but I think it’s fair to share an opinion – we, as a people, are bad at considering anything other than ourselves. We’re selfish and that’s exactly why I love Steve Seeley’s work. The pallet is muted, the message is quiet and the paintings are an incomplete narrative. Here’s an artist who combines spontaneity (hand cut paper) with well planned renderings of vocal and disconcerted animals. So what’s the big deal? We know animals get angry. Steven isn’t egotistical enough to assume he would know what these animals want to say, speech is implied, the bubbles blank, he’ll use color to reflect emotion, or add an banner scrawled with fact. What is going on with these beasts?
He also incorporates visually interesting design elements into the background that don’t correspond, but also don’t take away form the drawings. The femininity of the elements is intriguing and often, subtle details like these set the artists apart from his peers. Secondly, a few of us agreed that the choice to leave his pallet colors on the finished work is a bold gesture that suggests he is proud of his process and confident in his ability to age the acrylic so the painting has a vintage vibrancy to it. Oh, and it goes well with the paper. Moreover, Seeley’s work contains comic relief with the message – I still don’t know what role Superman plays, but he makes me giggle. Steve Seeley, I’m adding you to the growing list of people I love in Columbus.
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