Art on Capitol Hill

If you are like most people, the style of art you prefer is called Realism. You want things look the way they are supposed to look. But how real do you want things to be? The world can be a disturbing place.

What we call realism might be more about optical illusion than reality. The artist employs the tricks of the trade that make apples look like apples and cows, cows. The skill of transforming a flat surface into recognizable objects has always been appreciated. My Optometrist says he will not buy a painting if it looks like he could do it himself.

Most painters believe realism is more about emotions than optics. If a painting is nothing but a flat surface with pigment, then the physical perceptions you the viewer are bringing to the work obviously make the difference. But is it a physical response that makes the picture look real? Perceptions have long fascinated theorists. Leo Tolstoy believed that art is the direct transmission of the feelings of the artist. Freud said the artist and viewer are sharing a common fantasy. Michel Foucault believed that both have to share common knowledge about the subject. The Pragmatist, John Dewey wrote that art is organically based but culturally situated—insightful cognition.

Neurologists have also weighed in. They have been conducting research to find out just how the brain sees and reacts to art—the rendering of representational images. Curiously, the brain has more activity when viewers see faces with exaggerated characteristics. There is more recognition. Exaggerated faces seem more genuine, apparently.

Well, I agree with all of them. Perception of art, especially realism, is a conspiracy of feelings, preferences, experiences, knowledge and fantasy. Maybe, as Georgia O’Keefe said, nothing is less real than Realism.

Time disappears as color moves you in and among spaces that play with your fantasies. It could be somewhere from your world of experience or a place only imagined. It could be a dream or the uncertain memory of a childhood adventure.

Whatever it is, Alan Braley is going to paint it the way it feels, not the way it looks. If it feels red, he is going to paint it red. He is not concerned with detail; he thinks what you leave out of a picture is as important as what you put in.

His water-based images flow in both application and style. Each work is a personal statement reached through a private exploration of color, form and the division of space. Each work is also a learning process that both raises and answers questions. “Regardless of who your teachers are, you have to learn as an individual.”

Alan was taken to a Van Gogh exhibit when he was twelve and he was captured by the power of art. He had to be an artist. He got a BFA from the University of Cincinnati and has spent his life exploring visual languages. His professional career was in commercial art where color design and layout are the essentials of communication. Alan came to The Hill in 1971. He, and his wife, Claire Southerlin, opened “The Village” across from The Eastern Market five years ago. His work fills the upstairs gallery.

Alan’s time is now dedicated to teaching and painting—and exploring color, form and space divisions. If you stop for a minute and look, time will disappear. Alan Braley can be reached at The Village, or through the website at www.thevillageoncapitolhill.com. Email: thevillage@mindspring.com.

We think of art galleries as impressive if not downright intimidating places. At any size they are protective coves, safe places out of the frenzied currents of daily life: a quiet spot to let your thoughts sail through visual experiences before again facing the stiff winds of reality. Even the small ones can be quietly reassuring.

The small gallery in the front space of Michele Newman’s custom frame shop is such a spot, and a great place to find very good emerging artists at emerging prices. Mixed-in are a few printmakers and painters who are more established. In fact, some of the artists have already become quite popular and Michele has no doubt that she will be seeing many of these artists at name places at some point in the future.

Michele participates in the evening Capitol Hill gallery tour on the “Second Saturday” of each month. A new show is featured each tour and it is worth driving or walking the few extra blocks. Normal business hours are 10-6 Tuesday –Saturday. She is located at 513 11th St. SE. You can call at 202-544-7577, or email at: newmangallery@ aol.com. The images of all of the artists from both past and current shows can be found on the gallery website at www.gallerynewman. com.

Jim Magner is a Capitol Hill artist and writer. For comments, Jim can be contacted at magner414@aol.com and his paintings can be seen on www.magner414.com and in Gallery 325.