MacDonald’s work is rich in its use of the “elements of art”—line, form, shape, volume as well as layered meaning.  She captures the interest of viewers visually and seduces them into contemplation.  The work is also autobiographical in that the visuals are taken from MacDonald’s hiking expeditions and travel in Colorado and adjacent states.  All these elements are woven together in a way that combines the visual and the conceptual into compelling works.

Having shown in Denver since 1977, MacDonald’s oeuvre includes painting, drawing, writing, sculpture, installation and street performance.  Her work typically examines society and the  human condition.  She has also created projects that bring people together through art.  

The day before the opening of the exhibition, in connection with Arts Week, Joan MacDonald and Russell McKlayer will be giving a gallery talk —October 11, 6:00 p.m.  The event is free and open to everyone.

The Detroit Connection

2005

New work by Colorado artist, Joan MacDonald originated with photographs of Detroit, Michigan, her hometown.  She moved to Colorado in 1975 and on trips to Michigan to visit her family, she has taken photos of the changes that have been occurring in Detroit since that time.  The photos are of a city that has been abandoned by over 1,000,000 residents since the exodus began in the 1970’s.  Empty houses waiting for the bulldozer, vacant lots and abandoned buildings are among the photos taken by MacDonald.

MacDonald’s show consists of 24 framed inkjet prints of some of the abandoned structures.  There are 12 different structures; one print is in the original state; the second print is altered in Photoshop.  Each of the 24 prints is framed and hung on the wall inside a unique and elaborate frame constructed and sculpted by the artist.  Also included in this exhibit are 5 handmade and carved boxes made by the artist that contain the 24 prints.  The work celebrates what once was and acknowledges nature’s reclamation of this grand old industrial city. 

Detroit is an example of what happens when a city is abandoned by its residents.  The population of Detroit in the 1950’s was close to 2,000,000 when it was the fifth largest city in the United States.  The ruins of Detroit are evident everywhere in the abandoned buildings and empty lots that line Woodward Avenue, the heart of downtown, as well as every other thoroughfare and neighborhood in the city. 

In her first visit back to Detroit in 1983, after moving to Colorado in 1975, MacDonald visited her old neighborhood only to find vacant lots where many familiar houses had stood.  None of the old neighbors or their children lived in the neighborhood.  In her father’s neighborhood, the house in which he was born had been torn down and a grassy field was taking the place of it and several other homes on the block.  Memories of the past had been violated by the removal of the structures and changes in the infrastructure of the city.  Detroit homes that would sell for $300,000-$400,000 in Denver were being stripped of brick and anything of value and were waiting for demolition.  MacDonald saw this as a unique sociological phenomenon and began recording these changes with photographs starting in 1983.  She feels that Detroit is being reclaimed by nature—a reversal of Joni Mitchell’s song, “they paved paradise to put up a parking lot”; in Detroit, “paradise” is being reinstated by Mother Nature.  The process of the abandonment of Detroit is something to be studied and analyzed and brought to the attention of the public to create dialogue.  This is part of the impetus for this show.  Further information about Detroit is included with this news release.

MacDonald’s past work includes painting, assemblage, writing, sculpture, installation, and street performance.  Her work typically examines society and the human condition, often exposing the struggles and inequities of life.  She has also created projects bringing people together by making connections between the artist and various segments of society.  The underlying quest in this new body of work is to create awareness of the unique and on-going transformation of Detroit.

Fictions & Factions

2004

Denver artist Joan MacDonald presents Fictions and Factions, a new body of work that incorporates rich art and architectural images from from Mesopotamia, Mesoamerica, Europe and Asia.  These images coexist with MacDonald's past images while she reflects upon her personal artmaking history and searches for her place on the continuum of artmaking that runs throughout history and across cultures.  MacDonald creates fictions in setting up relationships between her own art and art of the ancients.  The factions that come together in the work are her ideas and images that combine with the historical images.

Today we study and learn about ancient civilizations from their art and architecture.   Will this be the case in the future?   Will art and architecture define this culture or will it be defined by rusted washing machines and car parts? The artist is making, albeit with tongue in cheek, her own somewhat presumptuous associations between her own personal art and art of the past by putting these fictitious relationships in front of the viewer for examination and consideration. 

Fictions and Factions consists of thirteen multi-media pieces using stretched canvas, paint, wood, plaster and paper pulp to create carefully crafted two and three dimensional works that provoke contemplation of the dynamics of art and culture.  Rich textures and seductive visual elements in this body of work engage the viewer visually and intellectually. Words and language are a factor in most works – an ongoing characteristic of MacDonald’s work

This spring MacDonald visited Mexico City where past and present are synergistically intermingled.  Pre-Columbian and post-Columbian structures co-exist among contemporary structures and the culture is enriched with the historical presence of the past.  This trip contributed dramatically to the expanded use of ancient images in this new work.

The collage/assemblage painting, “Seven Sisters from Detroit,  Nine Rocks from Tula and Two Laughing Men from Veracruz“, examines the connection between the ruins of Detroit and ruins of the ancient Americas.  MacDonald grew up in Detroit and returns every few years to visit and photograph the deterioration of the inner city.  She has always been astonished by the overwhelming loss of interesting buildings and entire neighborhoods.  There are several pieces in this body of work that reference her past work and interest in Detroit.

In the triptych, “Staged”, MacDonald focuses on time, using ancient calendars and images from Mesopotamia, Egypt and Meosoamerica that are combined with two and three dimensional images from her earlier work.  The triptych incorporates many factions that pay tribute to the art of the past.

MacDonald’s past work includes painting, writing, sculpture, installation, and street performance.  Her work typically examines the human condition; its struggles and inequities.  She has also created projects bringing people together by making connections between the artist and various segments of society.  The underlying quest in this new body of work is to foster a better understanding of the artist’s role in contemporary society.

First Draft

2003

A life deconstructed through writing in the genre of the William Burroughs, Anais Nin and Andy Warhol diaries.  “First Draft” was begun in September 1999 as an outlet for the thoughts that are continually flowing through one’s conscious and unconscious mind.  Similar to Jonathan Borofsky’s “Thought Books” and his counting works, the words and thoughts that unceasingly flow are acknowledged and recorded.  MacDonald has chosen to track the subconscious coming into consciousness onto paper.  Thoughts, partial thoughts, memories, observations, reflections, dreams, events and automatic writing; the prosaic to the profound, are all woven together into over fifty-five word pictures on display at Edge Gallery.

In this society language development is being driven by its ability to convey commercial and political agendas to the masses.  This artist is using language to validate the individual voice; the individual life that is often overlooked in today’s world.

MacDonald has used words and language in her work over the past 15-20 years, whether it is in paintings, drawings or installations with sound.  Bringing the voices of the voiceless to the gallery venue has been an important aspect of work that has ranged from recorded interviews, recorded conversations, audios of children reading poetry, assemblages made from stories written on recycled wood, performance street art, a reading of her own poetry, paintings that often use words, and an artist’s book of writings to the current words of “First Draft” written in a visual format.   

The words are written on Rives BFK paper in pen and India ink with an ink wash background. There are 45 pieces hung in a grid format that are each 11”w x 15”h, and 10 pieces that are 22”w x 30”h.  The gallery takes on a meditative atmosphere as the works subtly resonate from the walls.

Window Action Project (WAP)

Art installation with sound with a performance at the opening reception

2002

In taking her art to the streets and parks of the Denver metropolitan area, Joan MacDonald estimates that at least 4,000 people have seen her at work.  Some of those 4,000 stopped to talk, some looked on with curiosity while others merely glanced and kept on walking or driving.  Such is the nature of performance art on the streets.

November of 2001 began the first of nine performances that took place at the following outdoor locations:  431 W. Colfax (at night with lights), Civic Center Park, Washington Park, the Aurora Farm and Art Market on East Colfax, LaAlma/Lincoln Park, Five Points--27th and Welton Streets, City Park, Colfax and Lincoln (across from the State Capitol Building) and the 16th Street Mall.

The process of making the art, in this case, “windows” made out of 2x4’s, is more important than the actual finished product.  The interaction between the artist and the public is the crux of this project.  As the window is constructed, hand sawn 2x4’s are put together with nails, and interest is generated by the actions of the artist.  Each window is designed on the spot--no pre-planning or pre-cutting of materials.  When there is time, the windows are painted with designs using black paint on the raw wood.  The interaction with and reactions of the public are documented with black and white photographs taken during the event.

Each of the nine windows is designed to stand upright and are being shown together in an installation with sound at Edge Gallery that incorporates over 200 black and white photos taken by several photographers.  The photographers are:  Dorothy Cosand, Krista Husak, Frank Knowlton, Drew Mannie, Kitty Reid and Sandra Thomas.  The photos are cropped and printed digitally by the artist.  The sound track is derived from recordings made at the sites of the window construction, which includes conversations and situational sounds.  In addition, at the opening on October 11 from 7-10 pm, there will be a performance that will include the painting of the windows, which will be interactive with the gallery audience.

Performance art and installation art combine in Window Action Project to create a powerful work that is the culmination of the efforts of the artist over the span of many months.  Putting together many different media is a sometimes daunting task and this exhibit rises to the occasion.

Hybrid

2001

Vibrant color and larger-than-life herbs are the starting point for this painting series by Denver artist, Joan MacDonald.  The show consists of 15 acrylic on unstretched canvas paintings (26” w x 84” h) that are hung in the tradition of ancient Japanese and Chinese scrolls.  As in Eastern tradition, the paintings are designed to be contemplative in their content and seductive in their appeal and execution.

The herbs, yarrow, onion, dill, tarragon, hemlock, datura, hyssop, mandrake, rhubarb, dock, rue, sage, sassafras, feverfew and thyme are combined with other elements in the paintings that are sometimes painted right on the canvas and at other times painted on smaller pieces of canvas and affixed to the larger canvas.  Seasoning qualities, medicinal properties and lore of the herbs have all been researched and utilized in the relationships between the herbs and other elements of the work. 

The title, “Hybrid” refers to the cross pollination of the herb and the other elements of the paintings.  Titles combine the Latin name of the herb, an “x” indicating hybrid and a word that reflects the other components of the paintings, e.g., “Achillea x Protection,” Allium x Mantra,” “Rumex x Language,” etc.  The painting “Thymus x Healing” contains the herb, thyme, which is often used in herbal medicine for its healing properties.  In this painting thyme is combined with map outlines of countries such as Israel, Ireland and Afghanistan.  Contemplation of the healing of the wounds in these countries is the focus of this painting.

The paintings are strong and vibrant, yet are easy to be with as is evident in the Stanton Gallery where paintings fill the gallery with color and create an intimate atmosphere for reflection.

Say

2000                          

New work by Denver Artist, Joan MacDonald, is being shown at Edge Gallery October 6-22, 2000.  The work consists of 22 constructed wall pieces and an installed piece with sound in the center of the room.   Assemblages are made up of fourth generation recycled art that has been combined with antique and used hardware.  The words that were part of a past installation are cut up and used in each piece.  The sound is also recycled from past installations and is combined with a newly written/spoken piece.  Words and voice are a continuing aspect of the artist's work and contribute to the layering of each piece.

Say--Artist Statement

One aspect of this work would be impossible to interpret fully without the following information.  Other aspects of the work are left open to viewer interpretation.

1.         In 1992 I did an experiential sound installation about sense of place and storytelling.

2.         That same year I moved into a house that I was to rent for 8 years. 

When the installation came down, I moved it into my backyard and used the structures and docks as a porch/deck, etc.  Two of the structures were moved under the 16th Street viaduct as a gesture to acknowledge the homeless who lived in the area.

3.         In 1999 the house was sold and my rent went up by $350 per month.  I began looking for a place to live and found that there was nowhere in Denver that I could live for any less.  Meanwhile, my new landlord began renovation of the house in preparation to sell.

I moved a good portion of my backyard deck/porch materials into my studio in the Zook Building, wrote the story of the house and the people who lived there since 1992 on the wood, and created an installation with the wood that had sound and which I showed during the Zook Studios open house.

4.         I moved out of the house April 1, 2000.

For this current show I cut up the wood and made it into pieces with other recycled materials--to be re-used for the last time.  Part of the irony of this piece is that the 1992 installation was about storytelling and sense of place and the materials were ultimately used to tell the story of displacement.

The sound track combines the sound tracks from the two previous installations plus a newly written piece.

Creative Dissonance

A collaborative installation with sound

This exhibition was created with middle school students from the Edge Gallery neighborhood.  Students, Ricky Delgado, Max Garcia, Adelina Herrera and Melissa Perez joined the artist in creating the paintings on the gallery walls that were two shades of green plants that symbolized creativity.  MacDonald's seven paintings were hung about six inches from the wall.  The students were encouraged to paint their own images on the walls around MacDonald's paintings.  The students created the sound track by making audio recordings of and about the artists/poets depicted in MacDonald's paintings:  Antonine Artaud, Charles Baudelaire, Judy Chicago, Eugene Delacroix, Rembrandt, and David Wojnorowicz, etc.  MacDonald photographed the installation and recording process and put the images on the wall in the gallery and provided each of the students with their own photo album and a book of the readings.