Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Aurie Ramirez

Inspired by this great article on outsider artists, I decided to do a post on Aurie Ramirez. Inspired by the Addams Family and the Band Kiss, Ramirez takes her influences of punk rock, 18th century dandyism, neo-Victorian decorum, and psychedelia and rehashes them into colorful, vibrant pieces. 


The wiggling lines in this remind me of the energy of van Gogh's paintings... Although her lines are definitely more deliberate, I think they both convey the feeling of movement, a flux that is communicated not only through the variegated lines, but also the diverse hues of color. 


I think a very big difference between these paintings is depth. With a lot of folk artists, you'll see a lack of perspective and everything is very 2-D and flat. With van Gogh's room, we have the angle of the bed and the chair to give us a feeling of roominess. It must be pointed out that although Ramirez's piece above is arguably flatter than van Gogh's painting, she does have the bedside table and the slight angle of the bed frame that let us know there is a level of sophistication to her work that shouldn't be dismissed. Also, if you're itching to know more about van Gogh... check out this amazing video on van Gogh! 

Back to Aurie!


Ah! Isn't this so great? I love the contrast between the woman and the outlet. It's the scale that makes this piece so interesting to me. A little more on Ramirez: She was born in 1962 in the Philippines. In a press release from a gallery, it was said that  “Aurie has a condition that shares many characteristics with autism. Notably, she both speaks and writes in a language of her own devising.” According to this very thorough biography of her: Matthew Higgs, who guest-curated the show at the Jack Hanley Gallery, has been careful not to present the work of Aurie Ramirez as a species of outsider or self-taught art. Indeed, such terms would not accurately describe Ramirez’s history or practice. Ramirez is one of many artists associated with an Oakland institution called Creative Growth Art Center whose stated mission is to serve “physically, mentally, and developmentally disabled adult artists, providing a stimulating environment for artistic instruction, gallery promotion and personal expression.” 


So, she's not exactly a "folk" artist. I think I would more define her as an intuitive artist. The tricky thing about folk art is that it is extremely difficult to define. But that's a whole different post.

I hope you enjoyed Aurie Ramirez as much as I did! 

1 comment:

  1. This is my favorite kind of drawing style. Anything minimalist and I'm all over it.

    ReplyDelete