"Rhythm is not a definitive, regular sequence of time and space: it is the unity which ties all the parts into a whole."
— Hans Richter 1971

Since arriving in Los Angeles from New Zealand in 1995 I have been developing a largely experimental visual language of Drawing/Collage/ Painting relating to musical scores and mapping a new urban environment i.e. 1995 "Yankee Doodles", 96-97 "SoundTracks" 1998-99 "Traverse" 2000-01 "TransMotion" 2002 "New Landscapes New England."

The presence of Nature in the city, transportation ("there is no truth but in transit" R.W. Emerson.) sound, noise, silence, music, language, movement through and above.The paintings grow from drawings and the drawings grow from walking, the overall compositions fracture and reconstruct, literally movement through and about space, architecture, both plan and elevation and dramatic collisions of opposites.
Exploration-Translation- Disorientation-Simplification.

Painting initially comes from a strong impulse and gesture of drawn line, choreographed moves and the trace of the body connecting directly with motion and rhythm.

Rhythm determines structure. Form/ChaosFormlessness.

Line is calligraphy, diagram, direction, signature, stretch, sketch, network and screen.

Formats as in filmstrips and scrolls extend beyond the actual canvas in a serial movement.

Drawing as Painting as Drawing and the relevance of Gesture in Painting today are my questions and processes. Work from 2D-3D, a thicket of lines a mass of tones.

The paintings are poured, stenciled, sculptured and flooded, moving paint and canvas from several directions at once, looking down, "bird's eye view". A comprehensive aerial vision. A musical score read at a glance or an archaeological site? Speed is important with the initial moves, keeping an eye on the land, mapping a surface and building up a rough and transparent terrain of a map…like a topographical construction, a built environment., an abstraction of sorts…architecture and music. Titles reflect the hybrid nature of these changing states and sites and are often multiple inventions combining different verbs, languages and cross disciplines i.e. 2002. 4 different locations inspired new work:

Northland, NZ ("Kete" from the Maori basket weaving series)
Connecticut ("Mapping New London")
Residency at Griffis Art Center Feb-September Florence, Italy Teaching in August ("Eznerif"Firenze Backwards, Palio in Siena)
Los Angeles ("A way to Go"/ "Encantos")

Unlike music with its temporal, episodic nature, painting as a dramatic event and ultimate meditation is viewed over a period of time and rather than a glance invites a long look.

Rather than a systematic visualization of musical pieces I use paint to build a dynamic event or structure with tools improvising on traditional methods, deliberately unsettling the order then pulling it back together, chuckling at the results, challenging minimalism for surprise!

Philippa Blair
January 2003