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Matthew and Patrick Lindhardt Escapes November 30 - December 29, 2007
Father and son, Patrick and Mathew Lindhardt, evoke fantastic allegorical landscapes through various techniques in drawings/printmaking and abstract photography. These images are steeped in tradition and burgeon into the avant-garde.
Opening Reception Friday November 30, 2007 6-9 PM
"I remember a time back in Minnesota," is the way I usually start a dialog: spoken, written, or expressed as visual language. I narrate the story without being overly exact or without giving an obvious conclusion or purpose the way I experienced as a youthful observer. The communication of a specific story's information stems from one or more events within: the recorded historical event, the personal or related memory of that specific event, and/or the combination of the two creating the desired language. As the stories unfold (written or developed into a printed image) care is given to the exact meaning of symbols, their relationship, visual presence, dominance, and the size and format of the piece. As the teller (artist) walks the tightrope of believability, it is of paramount importance that the observer be comfortable or safe in the story initiation. This allows the viewer to accept the given imagery without barriers and allows the story to proceed and achieves my objectives. Through the use of both written and visual language, I, as a visual artist, have interlocked the two as mutually needed or negated the text when not needed. When the printed text is included there is a bonding of the written and visual language and a more directed narration occurs, although the reader must beware that this could be an elaborate ruse to confuse and obscure the interpretation of the text or the images.
Something needs to be said about my choice of materials, processes, format, and design of the body of work. As an artist/ printmaker (Master Printer) I have chosen the processes that I am most comfortable and experienced with. Evaluating the voice of the conceived image determines the techniques that are to be used. At present my most commonly used techniques are mezzotints and monotypes laid out in a traditional bound book format. The book format was chosen for its obvious relationship with story telling although a number of works have been grouped in suites (five or more similar prints) of unbounded prints encased in a specially designed portfolio. The individual print size for books or portfolios range from 2" X 2" to 18" X 144". Most of my mezzotint prints are less than 6" X 6". Upon completion the prints are assembled and stitched in a traditional bookbinding pattern, then encased within cloth covered boards. Editions and one-of-a kind books are completed as determined by the story within that book.
"Wilderness, to me, is spiritually imperative. Ever since I was a young boy, it was to the wilderness that I fled, in hopes of rescuing my tranquility and stability from the social world. The inexplicable spiritual occurrence of being in close proximity to nature invigorated my adolescent soul. It was during these young years, I discovered some of planet Earth’s intimate vibrancies, which seemed to be so deluded in these modern days of fragmentation. I view my work as a form of conservation. These light-polluted images of urban environments are derived from a world, from that I retreat.
The exposure to such angelic beauty reinforced my sense of dedication to use my photographic art as a stimulus for the human race to work as one to conserve the life-giving natural environment for future generations."
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