New Exhibit at TAG Gallery Carol Kleinman, Gary Polonsky, Darlyn Susan Yee September 4 - September 29, 2012

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 15, 2012, 5-8 p.m.
Conversation with the Artists: Saturday,September 22, 2012, 3-4 p.m.

Carol Kleinman Reflecting Reality

Photographer Carol Kleinman documents reflections. Her goal is to capture the many layers of fleeting reality she finds on reflective surfaces. Each reflection is a moment in time - a slice of reality that exists for a second. Kleinman prints her images on canvas rather than paper to blur the line between photography and painting taking the mysterious nature of her work further toward the edge of reality. Combining reality with mystery is very important in Kleinman's work. She does not add, layer or combine in her images. She feels if she were to manipulate the serendipitous reality she finds in the world, the impact would be lost. What you see is what she saw.

Gary Polonsky New Work in the Food Series

 In his latest exhibition, artist Gary Polonsky further explores large-scale still life painting, focusing his most recent work on classic American confections. Working from real food while using non-traditional canvases of balsa wood, styrofoam, and wire mesh, Polonsky’s three-dimensional works break the surface and effectively blur the line between painting and sculpture. “I figure out how to build the physical 3D object, which essentially becomes my canvas,” says Polonsky. “Some pieces require quite a bit of engineering to figure out how to build the object so that it will last.” Magnifying his subjects’ detail, Polonsky’s wall-based constructions echo themes of nostalgia while beckoning viewers to take a closer look at an array of tantalizing sugary treats - just short of taking an indulgent bite.

Darlyn Susan Yee Re: Fashion

Darlyn Susan Yee's latest exhibition, Re: Fashion explores fashion and attire. Using exaggerated conceptual styles, larger than human sizes, and repurposed materials she playfully challenges traditional roles of family, gender and consumerism. Her latest works inject traditional methods of cloth and garment construction with exciting vinyl, acrylic and polyester flagging, barricade, audio and correction tapes. With a wry smile, Yee comments on the desire to conceal perceived flaws and alter the human form. “I am so excited by the energetic colors and textures I can achieve through use of alternative materials,” explains Yee. “Although these works are not intended to be worn, I've been approached to create customized wearable art for specific events and fundraisers.”

TAG Interview with Darlyn Susan Yee

Darlyn Susan Yee

The Red Dress 2006 Photo by Hugh Hamilton 

Knitted Plastic, 74" h x 15" w x 12" d

Your work includes knotting and knitting, as well as crocheting. Are there other ways that you use fiber and other materials in your work? What are they? Where do you get them? Do these other techniques change your work in any way? Or, vice versa, have changes to your work resulted in exploring new materials? 

 I really enjoy placing traditional fiber methods in a new context. For my Alternative Material Series, the selection of barricade, flagging ad audio tape drives the concept of the final project. Created from string, the works in my Knotted Sculpture Series are smaller, with meticulous detail in both form and structure. In my Body Cocoon Series, I use amazing commercially produced specialty yarns with the more flexible techniques of knitting and crocheting to represent the various shapes of the human form. And in my Public Art practice, the visual impact, duration of the installation and exposure to the elements influence my material selections.

Yarn bombing has become a trend…Tell us a little about public yarn bombing? What is the motivation, the history, what issues are involved? How is it different than vandalism, than seasonal decoration? Does the yarn bombing you participate in require a permit? Do you ever worry about being sent to jail like “Revoke” or “LA II”?) 

 Yarn bombing is a temporary public art form - a non-damaging urban intervention. Most of the projects I've worked on have been in collaboration with Yarn Bombing Los Angeles. We've created installations at the Craft and Folk Art Museum and 18th Street Art Center. In response to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, we collaborated on the Empathy Circle displayed at the Union Center for the Arts in Little Tokyo. On the closing weekend of Art in the Streets, we yarn bombed our cars outside Geffen Contemporary at MOCA to show a softer side of graffiti. And during the College Art Association Conference, we participated in Un-Space Ground by creating and dispersing pillows inscribed with Wish I Were Here in front of the Los Angeles Convention Center adding a warm texture and color to the otherwise sterile environment.

The immediate feedback while working on a yarn bombing project is so exciting. And applying the technical skills in a different way has been freeing. With any form of expression, there is a risk that others will not receive the message in the way it was intended. Response to Yarn Bombing Los Angeles projects has been favorable, and with each installation we mount comes another idea or opportunity. Some yarn bombing projects are sanctioned and involve permissions, site plans, permits, insurance, etc. Other projects and collaborations happen more organically. In both cases, we take responsibility for returning the public space to its original state.

Darlyn Susan Yee
Hot Mamma Apron 

Crocheted Plastic, 2012  64" h x 62" w x 3" d

What do your newest creations say about the human form? Are you considering making pieces so that they are wearable? (Do you flirt with the idea, but stop at that boundary…if so, why stop at that line? Is the distinction between wearable art and sculpture important to you? Why or why not?) 

Re: Fashion, my upcoming exhibition at TAG Gallery, is about fashion and attire, though these works are not intended to be worn. Using exaggerated conceptual styles, larger than human sizes, and repurposed materials I playfully challenge traditional roles of family, gender and consumerism. It has been quite fun to play with the energetic colors and textures to create these new artworks.

Girls play with fashion dolls that often have lots of bright pinks in their wardrobes. In reality, pink is a difficult color for a woman to wear and be taken seriously. With Hot Mamma Apron and Hot Mamma Mitt, I juxtapose the frivolous feminine pink with the impact of plastic fluorescent flagging tape most often used by construction workers.

In what ways does your work speak to the various cultures of Southern California? How would you like it to affect them? 

Whether showing my work in a gallery or museum, or installing it as public art, the familiar voice of fiber begins the conversation. The common thread woven through all cultures is the sense of home and place. Without regard to location, social status, culture or gender, everyone recognizes the processes because they know someone who knits sweaters at family functions, or crochets baby booties, or creates beautiful knotted necklaces. When people see my artwork in a different context, it sparks dialogue about fiber methods in the contemporary context, and at a more base level, about our upbringing, home, and comfort.

Darlyn Susan Yee Photo by Wyatt Conlon

Detail of Edyth Wyle Square Knots 

Two Knotted Knit Cord Banners 

as installed at Craft and Folk Art Museum, 2012 

48" h x 26" w x 1"d each

 Darlyn Susan Yee's exhibition opens September 4, 2012.

Interview with Carol Kleinman

Carol Kleinman Paris Rose Reflection

single exposure reflection on canvas 45 x 34 in.

What excites you about photography?

Over the past 40 years I’ve worked in many media, among them sculpture, oils, watercolors, glass, collage and construction. The type of photography I do combines a great deal of what I’ve learned from these media, particularly collage. The most exciting thing to me about the photography I do is the direct connection to reality – the presentation of a moment in time. I print on large canvases to blur the line between photography and painting.

You often travel for your subject matter. Do you see something ‘out there’ that you don’t see around the corner or at home?

Travel stimulates my awareness and creativity. I love to wander around cities like Paris, Moscow, New York, and Chicago. Sometimes I’ll walk for hours and not take any photographs. It’s like going on a treasure hunt. Then I’ll spot a reflection on a window and get captivated, drawn in to what I’m seeing. I lose all track of time as I work on finding just the right light, just the right angle and just the right moment.

In the Photoshop age, where it is so easy for artists and photographers to composite, alter, and manipulate photography, why do you stay true to single exposures? Is it important to you? If so, why?

I am a documentary photographer. My main goal is to expose and document the many layers of reality in reflections. I want to encourage people to look more closely at the world and see the richness and depth of everyday experience. My work says, "Look more deeply...notice the complexities of life...enrich yourself with the wonders that surround you at each moment." The impact of my work stems from the fact that my images actually existed at a specific time and place and are not my creations. Were I to "Photoshop" and combine images, that impact would be lost. Nothing I do is set up or manufactured. What you see in my images is what I saw. I seek out  images in world and with a single "click" of my camera offer them to the viewer.

Carol Kleinman Lost in NY Reflection

single exposure reflection on canvas  44 x 30 in.

Is scale important to you? How do you decide what size to print? Does it matter?

In my work, size does matter. I have found that large canvases make a strong statement and have a unique impact on the viewer. I tailor the size of each canvas to each image. I visualize the two working together to convey the mystery in reality in the most potent way possible.

Your images stop at the brink of abstraction. Do you feel it is important to you to keep one foot in ‘reality’

I strive to create a tension between abstraction and reality. It is critical that my canvases reflect a “reality” that actually existed at a given place and time. The illusion of abstraction is a launching pad from which the viewer can dig more deeply into that reality and hopefully find deeper meaning and emotions.

Whom do you make art for?

I make my canvases for people for whom the surface of things is not enough. As most of us visually go through life, we rarely focus the complexity of what’s around us. Our minds are too busy. Our other senses (smell, taste, touch and sound) can also distract us from seeing the depth of a visual moment in time. Through my photography, I hope to enrich people’s lives, encouraging them to see with more intention, to appreciate just how wonderful our inter-related world is.

Carol Kleinman

Carol Kleinman's exhibition begins September  4, 2012.