For "OD Green", I take industrially produced military objects and give them the status of art through a process of selection and presentation.
Wool - represents Army Issue blankets at basic training
Parachute Nylon - represents parachutes at Airborne School
Canvas - Represents duffle bags from deployments overseas
CORE NEW ART SPACE (2018)
I began the OD Green project by experimenting with various materials and three 12" x 12" Baltic Birch Panels. I conducted this experimentation to answer a call for entry from the Colorado Chapter of the Woman’s Caucus for Art to an exhibition at the CORE New Art Space Gallery in Denver. I chose materials for OD Green as follows:
1. Wool - Represents Army issue blankets at basic training
2. Parachute Nylon - represents parachutes at airborne school
3. Canvas - Represents duffel bags from deployments overseas
The three green panels were among a select few works that were juried from over 300 entries
Exhibition juror Molly Casey (Center) during the opening reception
Promotional material from the exhibition
Byron Kim's "Sunday Paintings" series motivated me to explore beyond my figurative work and use an abstract color field to tell my story. During my 30+ years in the Army, my environment seems to have existed in the green portion of the color spectrum.
“Sunday Painting 1/7/01” (2001). Acrylic and pencil on canvas mounted on panel. Courtesy the artist and James Cohan, New York
In the Winter of 2018, I expanded OD Green by adding complex panels covered in discarded Army Surplus.
Duffle Bag
Field Jacket Liner
Poncho
Ruck Sack
Treat Gallery (2019)
In 2019 I began making photos of the surplus panels and entering them in exhibitions. A panel of an aviators kit bag was selected by The Treat Gallery in New York for a Satellite Art Show in Brooklyn, NY(October 2019) and the Pulse Art Fair in Miami Beach, FL (December 2019).
Surplus Aviator Kit Bag
Photo of Aviator Kit Bag
Photo of Aviator Kit Bag incorporated into a exhibition
AXIS Gallery (2020)
For the "Portraits Without People" Exhibition, the Axis Gallery selected my submission of four panels (below). Clockwise from the top-left: Duffel-bag for overseas deployments; Chemical Suite for protection; Aviator Kit Bag to store a parachute; and Ruck-sack to carry items on a patrol. With these images of mass-produced military gear; I invite the viewer to think about materials as story tellers.
Inspired by Byron Kim's "Synecdoche," I have a long-term goal to generate enough green panels to cover a gallery wall. Each panel should examine a different episode of military service - deployment, airborne school, etc.
Synecdoche by Byron Kim exhibited in the Whitney Biennial in 1993 Photo: Dennis Cowley
