Norm Paris “The Wall Still Stands”
The Proposition
This event has ended.
The gallery presents the first New York solo show by Norm Paris “The Wall Still Stands”.
The following is an excerpt from the Director’s correspondence with the artist concerning his upcoming show as expressed in the artist’s words.
I am influenced as much by the landscape of contemporary sports as I am by academic sculpture, renaissance painting, or the political-technical history of printmaking. I find that the intermingling of these worlds creates a sort of visual Frankenstein; mythic stories rendered in bygone languages are retrofitted with recent identities and newer forms. Popular figures appear insufficient to take on the weight of old-world meanings. In my Disasters of War etchings, Michael Jordan is inserted as every figure within Goya's infamous compositions. Historical narratives are reanimated but are not the same as they once were; a sense of entropy permeates the heroic myth.
Relationships between leisure icons, geopolitics, and art historical syntaxes are constantly shifting in my work. In the recent Reconstruction drawings, the post-apocalyptic landscape from the Disasters evolves into a progressive building project. Renaissance compositions are hijacked. Human form is substituted with building material, and “green” technology is improperly installed. The paraphernalia of sporting heroes sometimes finds its way into these construction sites, as if the actual person was once there and now gone. Absent of the protective "Arena", structures of questionable integrity struggle to find their place in the landscape.
Concerning potential titles for the show, you will find the list below:
The Wall Still Stands Terminal Tower Arena Over Time
Fortress Rebuilt Fortress Rig Passed Time
Holding It Together Small Wall Specimen Man Made
Municipal Stadium Rebuilt Wall Out Of Time Parapet
Colossal Wreck Stadium Out of Place Model
My initial title idea was Fortress. This springs from Superman's "Fortress of Solitude", which is Superman's crystalline, glacier-like hiding place. This idea of a heroic retreat is interesting to me. In a more general way the aesthetic of the Fortress of Solitude has been an undercurrent theme in some of the work, especially the sculpture Bridge/Fortress/Hillis.
But after some thought, my current favorite might be The Wall Still Stands. For me this title is both more specific and perhaps allows the work to breath a bit more. I have been thinking about how the title might hint at sources without closing down the meanings of the work. It comes from an old poem by the once famous sportswriter Henry Grantland Rice about the Fordham Rams of the 1930's. Here is the most relevant excerpt:
Once Carthage Ruled an ancient coast, but where is Carthage now?
The Grecian Phalanx no more wears the winning olive bough,
And where are Persia’s ruling hosts, that ruled all warring lands?
Their day is done, by sand and sun, but the Fordham wall still stands.
The phrase "The Fordham Wall Still Stands" has sat with me for a while, and I used it in the title for my drawing Tondo (The Fordham Wall Still Stands). I thought it might be good to edit "Fordham" out for the show title, but I think the phrase generally alludes to a few themes close to my heart (time, architecture, mythology, history, sports) in a way that is poetic.
Norm Paris lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He has exhibited nationally, most recently participating in exhibitions at The Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA, and The Jewish Museum, New York, NY, The Print Center, Philadelphia, Pa., and the Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC. His work is also included in numerous collections including The Jewish Museum, New York, NY and the West Collection, Oaks, PA. Norm is an Assistant Professor at Rhode Island School of Design and core faculty at the Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art in Norfolk, CT. He received his B.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design and his M.F.A. in painting and printmaking from the Yale School of Art.
[Image: Norm Paris "Geode (Pistol Pete)" (2011) Graphite, Forton MG, Epoxy, Glass; 15 x 10 x 8 in.]
Media
Schedule
from September 15, 2011 to October 30, 2011
Opening Reception on 2011-09-15 from 18:00 to 20:00