Jim Green

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(b. 1947, San Angelo, Texas, USA)

 

I use a computer as an innovative tool to push the boundaries of conventionally produced visual artworks. In 2016 I began a series titled 'Body Parts', where I am utilizing digital technology, not to replace traditional painting, but as yet another tool to put visual information onto a two-dimensional surface. Each work is the end results of a form of synergy, where the interaction of individual elements, when combined, produces a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements, in my case, a completed picture.

 

My approach to creating a picture is improvisational, meaning I start from scratch without a preconceived mental image or idea (Think automatic writing - using imagery in place of words.) I begin with a large starter (or springboard) photograph to which I add layers of individual elements comprised of online images, newspaper photos, TV and music video still shots, both figurative and abstract imagery, colors, marks, text, and strokes. I then edit everything, adding and subtracting, using color, perspective, composition, shapes, lines, tones, space, and other visual elements that takes the picture through a series of iterations, or changing course, until a complete visual narrative and/or scene is revealed.

 

My influences range from Rembrandt, Velázquez, Seurat, Magritte, Andrew Wyeth, Jim Dine, to the styles of the Neo-Expressionists, such as Julian Schnabel, Albert Oehlen. And, there are far too many painters to mention here from the 90s, both American and German, whose styles and approaches provided me with new ways of looking at art. One particular mention goes to Jasper Johns. As a painter, his credo, "Do something, do something to that, and then do something to that", continues to be my main approach for creating pictures. 

 

Regardless of the medium, method, or creative process I choose to produce art, my main concentration is on aesthetics as well as narrative, albeit generally an open one. For me, it begs the question: Other than tactility, what exactly is the difference between conventional painting and a unique, one-off inkjet print, especially when so many artworks are being produced using today's technological and printing processes?