Artists "Review" Artists: Paula McCullough on Aric Calfee

The Artists "Review" Artists Project was launched on June 30, 2008.  Below is a "review" of Aric Calfee's work, The Reward, written by Paula McCullough.  Aric provided the second jpeg, an image of Interior, as well as a brief response to Paula's "review."

Aric currently resides in Budd Lake, NJ and Paula lives in Stowe, VT.

If you would like to participate in this project, please email me at jtkirkland [at] gmail [dot] com.

The Reward
Oil on Canvas
36" x 24"
2006

The "Review"

My first reaction to this piece was a bit like seeing a person that I didn't know and didn't like based on certain attributes. I had to look at it for awhile and then I started warming up to it.  There is a lot going on in the subject matter for sure, add an eerie palette to it and one must keep looking at it until they rectify a sense of getting it before moving on.

 

Thoughts that come to me when I look at this:

 

Salvado Dali
Escher

A children's character

Magical

Bizarre medical doings

 

I don't normally look at a painting and wonder what I am supposed to think.  What does it reference itself to? etc.  I have to wonder what was the artist thinking, what inspired him/her to create this?  I feel as if there is a joke in here aimed at the viewer; something about the eyes and the flair of the nostrils piques my curiosity even more.  This piece makes me feel uncomfortable as if it is trying to tell me something and I haven't the logical brain to figure it out.  Makes me want to see more of this persons' work as I imagine it would put this into more context and answer some questions. 

 

Personally to say I do or don't like this piece seems unimportant.  Art, in my opinion, isn't necessarily supposed to be pleasant to be liked, important or interesting.  I'm not sure I would want to look at this everyday if it were hanging up in my house; however, I think this is interesting enough to warrant seeing more of their work.  I WANT to know more about it just because it is such an unusual piece.  It's beautiful in a very unusual way.

 

By Paula McCullough

Interior
Arylic on Canvas
30" x 24"
2007

The Response

A friend’s teenage son recently described one of my paintings as looking like a combination of a kid’s cartoon show and a porno movie.  I think the kid was pretty insightful.  I’m interested in things like cartoons and comic books, anatomy textbook illustration, and the intermingling of high and low culture.  Some of my work has biographical elements in it, and humor plays at least a small part in almost all of it.  I love fleshy pink.

 

By Aric Calfee

Previous "Reviews":

Pam Farrell on Ken Weathersby

Comments

[J.T. Kirkland]

All,

I am sorry for the strange appearance of my posts lately. The blame falls squarely on Typepad's awful text editor. I'm trying to get it fixed.

If you're thinking of starting a blog, do not use Typepad!!!

[paula]

Aric, I was fascinated when I went to your website to see more of your work and had a DUH moment when I saw that you liked Crumb.

[Aric Calfee]

Paula, thanks -- I found your review really interesting. I appreciate the thought you put into it. As far as reviewing your piece, besides enjoying the qualities of the work itself it made me aware of how much I look at art that is similar to what I make. I definitely had to 'get out of my box,' so to speak....something I should probably do more often.
Thanks again,J.T., for the cool project!