TAG Interviews Michael Knight

Michael Knight's current show at TAG is titled Superstitious.  

Michael Knight, Kitty Noir, Scratchboard, 8 x 10"  

We asked him a few questions:  

Tell us about the theme of your show.  
I planned to investigate various aspects of superstition, pulling that concept out of mystery and darkness into the light of recognition. Looking for a medium to help transform my idea, I came upon scratchboard. It seemed the perfect material as white imagery is pulled from the blackness of the board.

Michael Knight, Interloper, Scratchboard, 11 x 14"

What is scratchboard?
Scratchboard is a Masonite covered with a smooth white clay/gesso surface which has been sprayed with a coat of black India ink. The black surface is scratched to reveal the white underneath. Doing so produces line imagery similar to pen and ink drawings. It is similar in that lines, hatching and cross-hatching create value. It is different in that it is a subtractive process where more marks create lighter values instead of darker ones. Hint: Scratch slowly and lightly. If when removing the ink with a sharp X-acto blade, the clay is not gouged deeply, it may be replaced and the imagery redrawn.

Have you had to adapt your palette or composition to accommodate this medium?
At first working with an achromatic pallet seemed restrictive, however I discovered myriad subtleties and differences in the gradations that exist between black and white.

Michael Knight, Crow, Scratchboard,  5 x 7"

Did you miss using color?
It is possible to add color to black and white scratchboard; however its black and white matrix makes a statement in which the addition may seem jarring. I find that color must be used judiciously.

Michael Knight, Saint Dunstain's Revenge, Scratchboard, 12 x 12"

From small to monumental, is there a scale that you prefer to work in?
In the past I have created bigger pieces in the four by six foot range and found them great fun. I now work at a small to medium scale… 9x12 to 30x40. I do this to accommodate my current work space and a growing art storage problem. While strong concept and quality craftsmanship fill my current work, I have come to believe that to the “art elite” size matters. In my opinion, larger pieces tend to claim undeserved importance based mostly on their bigger size.

Michael Knight, Winner Winner Chicken Dinner, Scratchboard, 12 x 12"

How or why is a made by hand, one of a kind art piece important?
As an ex-student recently pointed out, handmade art establishes a one-on-one connection between artists and their audience, and that this direct communication relates insights into human experiences, identity, culture and ideas.

What would you like your viewers to take away from their encounter with your artwork?
Besides appreciating the aesthetics involved, I would like them to question or affirm personally held ideas, notions and assumptions about their world views on art and culture.

Michael Knight, Fingers Crossed, Scratchboard, 9 x 12"

Have you had any surprises putting together this show?
I started this series as an intellectual exercise. I did not consider myself superstitious. In the process, I have come to question that. As I worked, I became more emotionally connected to my work. I ended up scrapping a piece that I was doing about “Voodoo” due to an unshakable feeling of foreboding that came over me as I worked on it. Even now something lingers.

“When you believe in things that you don't understand, Then you suffer, Superstition ain't the way”.
– Stevie Wonder.

Michael's work will be on view until March 19, 2016.

Coming Exhibition: Go Woon Choi, Michael Knight, Elyse Wyman

February 23 – March 19th, 2016 

Opening Reception: 
Saturday, February 27,  5 – 8pm 

Artist Panel Discussion: 
Saturday, March 12, 2pm 

Go Woon Choi  
Everyday Life 

Go Woon Choi, Red Prop Composition 04, Oil, 30 x 24"

Go Woon Choi’s recent body of work is a unique exploration of everyday objects. Her interest in common objects is rooted in her idea that “even common objects can appear strange and fantastic under different light conditions and environments”. Transforming ordinary objects into extraordinary visual experiences, Choi concentrates on the reflection of light and silhouettes of her imagery. Buttons, clips, toys and metal objects in her paintings are depicted in close-up views and compositions that give the objects a new life.

Honing in on minute details, each object is substantially represented while the various, objects are combined into one surreal construction; building a hybrid form of semi-abstraction. The monochromatic colors in the background stresses the silhouette of the whole image, whereas the imagery itself continues to develop beyond the canvas. Subsequently, the changing light on the surface give an impression as if the form is in motion.

“Artists reinterpret the subject of art by imbuing artistic recreation in different elements of our daily life. Our interpretation was not a concept learned in school, but what our eyes have seen and our senses have felt.”

Michael Knight
Superstitious

Michael Knight, On Tilt, Scratchboard, 11 x 14"

In his latest body of work, Michael Knight explores the ideas behind our superstitions, myths, and beliefs. Reacting to the world around us in irrational ways seems an easy thing to do. Frightened by that which is unknown and mysterious, we establish belief systems, customs and notions meant to help us cope with and control that which we do not understand; circumstances which we wish to influence.

From our lucky shirts and magic numbers to the avoidance of ladders and black cats we establish rites and rituals to protect us. From whim to obsession, from the scratching of lines on the stone walls of Lascaux to the etched marks depicting the talismans and traditions collected in this exhibit, we hedge our bets seeking safety and good fortune. Meanwhile the laws of nature reveal most of this to be non-sense and fate and chance exert their strong grasp as we struggle to avoid bad luck.

Elyse Wyman 
Sign Language

Elyse Wyman, No Outlet, Mixed media bas relief, 34 x 15 x 4"

In No Outlet, Elyse Wyman explores the dynamics and interrelationships of female identity, sexuality, gender stereotypes, and self-worth. Wyman’s sculptures illuminate a deeper emotional level generally hidden by the more carefully managed armor we display to the outer world. The transparent forms in her work reveal the female torso as both physical and psychological containers, as well as allegorical muse.

Throughout this new work Wyman fuses separate entities to reveal things we often take for granted. Seemingly ordinary road and warning signs take on new meaning when placed inside the female form. This intersection of disparate elements results in new, sometimes impishly humorous interpretations. Layered with significant objects, paintings, and personal fragments, the torsos expose the female figure to deeper scrutiny, functioning as both object and subject. These visual double entendres demonstrate how context can determine meaning and how meaning changes according to context.

Coming Exhibition: Anne M Bray, Michael Knight, Ellen Starr

Tues. April 21st – Sat. May 16th, 2015

Opening Reception: Saturday, April 25, 5-8 p.m.

Artists' Talk: Saturday, May 9, 3pm

Southwestern Sojourn, Anne M Bray

Anne M Bray, Dawn: Reeves County, TX, Oil on canvas, 24 x 48", ©2001

Anne M Bray's core subject is the American landscape as seen from the highway. It's a modern take on the Hudson River School's devotion to the sublime beauty of nature. In her current exhibition, Southwestern Sojourn, Bray limits her focus to the southwestern region of the US. “The stark beauty of sky and earth stripped down to their core elements pulls my soul.”

 

For more than twenty years, Bray has taken “on the fly” research shots and then later interpreted them in the studio. She’s not satisfied with keeping the images as photographs – “that format seems too cold and detail-laden”. She distills the information manually through paint or modifies it digitally, simplifying the compositional elements and adding her emotional response to the place and time. “My roadscapes are a celebration of fleeting moments frozen in time. Urban, rural, and the roads in-between -- I share with the viewer windows for contemplation.”

Precarious, Michael Knight

Michael Knight, Badges? Badges?... Acrylic on paper, 23 x 31 in

Life is a balancing act. We walk tightropes over familial issues, current affairs, societal pressures, work politics and the like. In Precarious, artist Michael Knight illustrates the journey; the process by which we make these journeys. Knight’s interest in process has generally been about the technique and execution of his art. In this exhibition, it is also about the subject matter. He creates imagery to match our realities. The work forces us to evaluate how we deal with the intricacies of our lives. Michael Knight works in a wide range of media to create art that questions and challenges perception of society, culture and the individual.

Back to Nature, Ellen Starr

Ellen Starr, Ballona Wetlands, Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 24 in.

In her latest exhibition, Back to Nature, Ellen Starr explores the endless possibilities of subject matter presented to us in the natural world.  Using acrylic paint on canvas, she strives to clarify the visual intricacies of every-day subjects, primarily landscapes. Starr’s work brings the viewers into the landscapes and enables them to feel as though they are seated next to her as she paints. Composition – the delicate balance of numerous details – is a major concern, but even more important is communicating to the viewer a deep love of Nature.

The Lives We Could Have Led November 1 - November 26, 2011 Featuring: Carol Kleinman, Michael Knight, Cheryl Medow

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 5, 2011, 5-8 PM

Artist Panel: Saturday, November 19, 2011, 2-3 PM



Carol Kleinman
Reflections of Hawaii


Upon first glance, Carol Kleinman's works might seem like photoshopped composite images. However, Kleinman takes a single picture of a single reflection, floating in the complexity of simplicity. Kleinman's images engage a careful kind of seeing, where unlike things interact and overlap in images simultaneously possible and impossible. Though they are real images without technological intervention, they only exist in reflections, and thus are in a way unreal. Kleinman invites viewers to join her in floating between exotic placeless places, somewhere between home base and utopian escape. Here Kleinman explores Hawaii, her origin and oasis, and a place where dreams fade in and out of reality with its surreal beauty and maternal warmth.

Michael Knight
As the Crow Flies


Moving from here to there, people and populations travel and disperse for myriad reasons, ccasionally or with regularity, legally or illegally, willing or under duress. Cultural patterns are reinforced or shifted by these journeys that range from daily commuting to the activity of nomads. Reflecting on this enduring human activity in his new show, As the Crow Flies, artist Michael Knight continues a multifaceted metaphorical exploration of the complexities of human migration. In this series of limited edition digiglyphs on canvas, Knight combines layered images of maps, hand drawn crows in migratory flight and calligraphic tracings that record growth, time and change. These images combine the uniqueness of a monoprint with the sophistication of the digital world, exposing our own, uncertain times. In Knight’s transitory world, nothing is taken for granted, and nothing remains the same.

Cheryl Medow

Wildest Dreams

In her upcoming exhibition Wildest Dreams, Cheryl Medow infuses her hyper-realistic images of wildlife with an acute, visceral energy.  From the jungles of Africa to the marshy thickets of the Malibu Lagoon, Medow seeks the textures of the landscape and its diverse creatures, saturating them with layers of color and imagery.  With every image we become attuned to the contours of the environment and the creatures within her magical dioramas.  

Medow is filled with a sense of belonging whether she is photographing nature in a nearby lagoon or in a far distant land.  Join Cheryl Medow in the journey through her wildest dreams.    

Interview With Michael Knight

Michael Knight

Juarez

Limited Edition Digiglyph, Ed. Of 8  

28” x 36”

 Michael Knight's digiglyphs on canvas continue his multifaceted metaphorical exploration of the complexities of human migration.


Can you teach somebody to be an artist or is it an innate ability?

As an art teacher of more than three decades experience, I believe that just about anyone can be taught to make art. In the same way that humans have developed the ability to communicate verbally, they have also learned to communicate on a visual level. In fact, we only have to look to a young child to see that they often scribbling out their impressions of the world around them with a carefree abandon long before they are able to speak (innate artistic ability). Just as there are guidelines that help to organize verbiage, thus clarifying our thinking, so too we use the elements and principles of design to organize visual compositions and to clarify our thinking. These guidelines of visual communication have remained constant through history and along with content, form the basis of art criticism. How to apply these guidelines and the manipulation of materials and techniques can be imparted to others (artistic teaching). However, I also believe that there are inborn personal traits such as desire, commitment, aptitude, initiative and passion that will make developing these artistic capabilities easier to master.

Have you participated in migration yourself? Is your perspective on migration born from experience and/or observation?

Wow! Mapping the course of my relocations would produce quite a circuitous route and has provided a personal perspective on the implications of human migration. Born in Oakland, CA, I soon ended up in the Bronx, NY after a layover in Southern Arizona. Greenwich, CT, Old Saybrook, CT, Mamaroneck, NY were all stops before I came to LA and the San Fernando Valley. As a youth I traversed “The Valley” calling perhaps 12 different locations home. Next was LA 90034 and now LA 90066. Finding my way to and from those locations and being immersed in the environments and cultures that I found there has shaped many of my views on this shared human experience. Observing and reflecting upon how these same activities affect the lives, thoughts, actions and behaviors of others is at the crux of my current process. 

Crows are a recurring element in your work. Why crows? Why not parrots or penguins?

Crows first appeared in my artwork during my graphite/tornado series about five years ago. I became aware of them while out walking my dogs in my Mar Vista neighborhood. I would see large groups of black birds flying South and East in the morning and North and West in the evening. As I walked, I mused about the metaphorical connections between the way these cunning survivors would travel to insinuate themselves into an area, and find a way to thrive there. I also noticed that their arrival was met with mixed sentiment. This then led me to find connections to human migrations and especially immigration. To me, these crows became the ideal symbol to use as I questioned these essential issues in my art.

Michael Knight

HYY 80

Limited Edition Digiglyph, Ed. Of 8

26” x 36”

How do the digital and handmade aspects of your work complement each other? How does each support the other?

I have been involved with printmaking for about fifteen years. Initially I explored transfer prints, photo etching and monoprinting. More recently I became interested in digital printmaking, and in the digiglyph, I have found the perfect blend of handmade and digital art making. Creating hand drawn monoprints became a major focus. Along the way, I experimented with digital art making as well, finding the ability to layer imagery fascinating and similar to that which is present in monoprinting. In my current work I begin with a hand drawn monoprints of crows using only black ink on white paper. That image is then scanned and added digitally to images of maps that establish location, destination and movement. I use my artistic training to guide the manipulation of compositional issues and color considerations viewed on a monitor.  Concentric rings that represent time, growth, travel and change are then added, both digitally and by hand, to an image that is outsourced to paper or canvas.

Where do you your find inspiration for your works?

Process is the core of my inspiration. My goal is to create images that question the constant evolution of societal pressures, cultural identities and definitions of self, tempered by intellectual control and emotional response. I encourage the viewer to examine the world beyond the art and beyond the frame. To that end, my artwork explores distinctions between the inherent and the refined, the organic and the geometric, the worldly and the spiritual, the male and the female, the cerebral and the impassioned. This contrasting nature of the universe, as I perceive it, is ever present.

What is your thought process while making an artwork? Or, Can you take us through the steps you go through when creating a new piece?

I am always taking photos of crows with the overarching migration theme lurking in the back of my mind. In the studio these two occurrences intersect as I create a monoprint drawing and gather the resources that will form the final composition. Next, images are scanned, and the digital fun begins. Although I start with a concrete plan, I also embrace, even seek, the unexpected discoveries I find while manipulating the numerous digital layers in the computer. I find combining new and age old technologies intellectually and physically satisfying. They seem to round out both sides of my Gemini personality and provide a yin/yang balance to my life. The finished prints are a bonus. 

Whom do you make art for?

I make art mostly for myself as a way of reconciling my ideas and understandings of the world around me with those of others. Rather than offering visual opinions, I prefer to pose questions to those who view my work. I would like them to share in my questioning of our world and its constructs. It is my way of saying, “Did you ever notice this?” and if so,  “What do you think about it?” 

Michael Knight
Photo by Danny Moloshok

Michael Knight's exhibition opens November 1, 2011.

TAG Gallery Interviews Michael Knight

Austin 60 x 40" 
digiglyph 
Michael Knight 

Blackbirds become symbols in Michael Knight's imagery as he explores patterns of relocation and change.

In observation of your work one gets the impression that there is a ritual taking place. How would you account for this?

 I don’t see it as being ritualistic. My work is communicating the rhythms of migration and the change that occurs when someone with established patterns of living moves from one place to another and has to understand how to fit in. People move, establish themselves, and survive; these things are a part of migration. The black birds are symbolic of humans as survivors, and the concentric rings are symbolic of time passing, growth, change, and the ripple effect that these type of movements engender. I present symbols of human migration, travel and change, leaving and starting, endings and beginnings.


Who or what determines the meaning of your work?

 I would imagine that each viewer can establish a unique meaning by bringing their own personal history to the work. The viewer and I add a layer of meaning, as does the culture in which the work is viewed. How people might feel about the concept of border, crossings, migration, and change also adds a layer of meaning. I invite the viewer to draw their own conclusions about the ideas presented in my work.

 Does your life experience play a role in your imagery?

 Yes. My life experience has lead me to make certain conclusions about life and see the world in a particular way. I think humans have a proclivity to unravel their surroundings to find meaning, and we all have different ways of doing that. As I find things important, trivial, or significant, I want to express them through a visual means of communication. I am understanding my environment and picking out what’s important and what I want to share


Which facet of art do you find more favorable: aesthetic, conceptual, commentary, objectivity or something different entirely?

I find all of these to be equally significant and I emphasize one of those aspects more or less in a particular piece.


 
Michael Knight

 Michael Knight's exhibition opens November 30.

New Exhibition Featuring Shelley Adler, Eve Brandstein, and Michael Knight

November 30 - December 24, 2010

Reception:
Saturday, December 4th, 5- 8 PM

Artists' Q & A Panel:
Saturday, December 18th, 3 PM
(Followed by Poetry Reading by Eve Brandstein)

Shelley Adler: "New Work"

In her new exhibition, Shelley Adler calls upon her love of old photographs and transforms them into small scale oil paintings to capture moments of casual sublimity that often go unnoticed in our everyday lives. Exploring human body language and vibrant juxtapositions of color, Adler breathes life into vintage black and white photographs of people unknown to her. Adler's work is the thoughtful product of her intuitive response to modes of human expression. "I do feel that I am intuiting truth about [my subjects] as I paint them, and I try to communicate my understanding of them as I work to complete a painting," Shelley says. This exhibition also includes Adler's explorations in painting contemporary still lifes, landscapes, and portraiture.

Eve Brandstein: "Word Forms"

In her new exhibition, Word Forms, Eve Brandstein blends her painting's sensual symbolism with the emotive voice found in her poetry to create levels of harmony and tension between her writing and forms of visual expression. Brandstein paints her subjects from live models before turning to rhythmic lines of poetry that are then directly layered onto the canvas to accompany her ambiguously painted figures. In light of her new exhibition, Eve reflects, "For me, making art and writing poetry come from the same place and have the same urgency that pour out of me in different ways. It was only natural for me to allow the two mediums to meet this way." By pulling together these two art forms, Brandstein extracts a vital narrative that exposes what her painting and poetry cannot express alone.

Michael Knight: "Border Crossings"

In his latest exhibition, Border Crossings, artist Michael Knight uses the ubiquitous crow as a symbol for human migration prompted by instinct, necessity, and fate. Knight creates unique works that he coins "digiglyphs;" -- a combination of hand drawing and traditional monoprint techniques with digital manipulation. Distorted maps become the backdrop of silhouetted black birds within a repetition of hand-drawn rings in-order to symbolize the rippling effects of time. "Black birds are symbolic of humans as survivors," explains Knight, "My work is communicating the rhythms of migration and the change that occurs when someone with established patterns of living moves from one place to another and has to understand how to fit in." Knight's work beckons the viewer to reflect on how these rhythms affect their own lives and our world at large.