...we revisit
the extraordinary
by Rita Vainius
In Robert Forman's work,
skeins of thread replace the usual artist's tools of pencil,
brush and paint. He continues to explore and interpret the world
through a unique perspective, revealed through his medium of
yarn painting. A show of Robert Forman's work is currently on
display at the Hunterdon Museum of Art. Writing about this show
in the Spring issue of the Surface Design Journal, curator
of the show, Hildreth York, says, "His work is about the
journey - his, theirs ours. It is about the transparent shadows
of the real world, shifting as we shift, foretelling our own
ephemerality even as they document us for posterity...It is about
surface, but also about deeper layers and juxtapositions - of
thread, form, subject matter, symbol and meaning. Robert Forman
is a remarkable artist and a powerful trickster, who knows that
the external world is a surface to be penetrated to explore the
many planes of existence."
The most personal significant
event in Robert Forman's life recently, has been the birth of
his daughter, Amelia. Some of his newer works have focused intimately
on his own family. His grandfather is the subject of his painting, Grandpa Amel and in Points of View, his wife, Robin
is depicted reclining in the company of their pet whippet. His
newest painting, just completed and shown here, is a portrait
called Amelia, the newest member of the family.
Robert Forman's show, Narratives in Thread, will be on display at the Hunterdon
Museum of Art, 7 Lower Center Street, Clinton, NJ 08809 until
June 18, 2000. Gallery Hours are from Tuesday through Sunday:
11 am to 5 pm. Phone: (908) 735- 8415.
For more information, contact
Robert Forman:
studio: 412 Grand Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030
phone: (201) 659- 7069
e mail: Glueyarn@aol.com
Quotes by Hildreth
York, Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University, taken from the
Spring 2000 issue of the Surface Design Journal. For more information
on this publication contact:
Joy Stocksdale
Surface Design Association
P.O. Box 360
Sebastopol, CA 95473
phone: (707) 829- 3110
Website: http://www.surfacedesign.org
Robert Forman
What prompted Robert Forman to journey
to the remote Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico to seek out the
Huichol Indians? He was looking for the only people he knew of
who made pictures the way he did: yarn painting.
Robert began experimenting with art in high
school making collages combining paper and found objects. On
one fateful day, which would determine the direction his art
would take for years to come, he experimented with yarn on board
and ended up covering the whole composition with it. Attending
Cooper Union a prestigious N.Y.City College, Robert kept his
particular artistic medium to himself, thinking it was not suitable
to be considered "serious" art. Fortunately, an enlightened
professor saw his work and declared it not only legitimate, but
exceptional. It was all the validation Robert needed to pursue
his creative passion in this very unique way.
Robert's earliest pieces depict scenes
from his own home and neighborhood in Hoboken, N.J. and abstract
works using threads to describe concepts of time, motion and
music. (Shown top left: "Hoboken Station", 1988) As
if in direct contradiction to the feminine overtones that using
yarn conveys, his art displays themes with more traditional male
imagery: a policeman shining a light on a motorist, apartment
buildings huddled against an ominous night sky, a lonely subway
platform and still lifes with angular and architectural lines.
(Shown below:"Police", 1989)
Up until the late 80's Robert actually thought
that he had invented the yarn painting technique and concept.
He had already been using fibers on board for 20 years, when
a chance find of a Huichol yarn painting at a Greenwich Village
flea market, clued him into the fact that there were others,
albeit not close at hand. His curiosity piqued, he began researching
the culture of these Indians. Fortuitously, a friend encouraged
him to apply for a Fulbright scholarship to study with these
Mexican artists firsthand. He got it. Embarking on a pilgrimage
to this foreign mecca with several of his paintings and a Spanish-American
dictionary in hand, Robert set out to find these kindred spirits
and artistic counterparts.
The Huichol, though naturally suspicious
of outsiders, were nevertheless intrigued with this foreigner
and the unusual parallel development of this art in such divergent
cultures. Robert's own reaction was: "Suddenly I felt a
part of a group as if I had been inexplicably linked to this
living tradition without knowing it". During his interlude
in the Huichol village of Santa Catarina, he participated in
the daily life of the community, while exploring the origins
of their yarn paintings. True folk art, they are extensions of
traditional prayer objects. The designs show native animal and
plant life and encompass many aspects of day-to-day rituals,
both secular and religious. Robert watched the artists at work
(who are men whose wives often contribute to the work, without
receiving credit for it), and was allowed to try his hand at
the works in progress. (Shown below "Journey", 1996.)
Aside from subject matter, their technique
differed from his in only 2 ways. The Indians use beeswax to
adhere the yarn to the background, while Robert employs carpenters
glue. And in a somewhat incongruous reversal, the Huichol art
is composed of acrylic yarns while he works primarily with natural
fibers (cotton, wool, silk).
Upon his return to the U.S. Robert began
a large painting which would be a homage to the Huichol and their
homeland, and would reflect his varied experiences there. It
was a much more ambitious piece than any previous work and would
measure 5 feet in diameter when completed, with intensely complex
imagery and executed in an astounding myriad of colors. The central
image in the painting is the sun surrounded by a Santa Catarina
landscape, encircled by a border of Huichol people, intertwined
with images from their art. The name "Nierica" is derived
from a word meaning "to see" and symbolizes a visionary
ability, facilitated by a small round mirror, hence the circular
format. (Unfortunately the image was too large to reproduce it
with any justice here.)
Robert was able to return to the Mexico
on another grant 2 years later to continue his apprenticeship
with them. When a twist of fate offered him the opportunity to
visit the Ixil Indians of Guatemala to learn about their Mayan
weaving, he jumped at it. Some time before, Robert had encountered
an itinerant Guatemalan weaver, at the Brooklyn Museum, who had
invited Robert to his country to learn about their craft. While
serving as a translator for a Dentist from N.J. who was treating
these same Indians, Robert investigated their culture and traditional
weaving styles, later incorporating some of these design elements
into his own work.
In 1996 Robert's paintings were part
of an exhibition that featured Huichol art entitled "Converging
Cultures: European Influence on a New World". As a guest
lecturer, he recounted that through his experiences with them,
he has learned to view his own art as a passport into other cultures.
He elaborates: "Such international relationships can make
use of art to open communication and create mutual respect between
disparate cultures".
Amazingly, it was directly due to the Huichol
that Robert was to discover the Caron Collection of fibers. (Shown
right "Anna y Maria", 1997.) Earlier this year, he
was invited to display his work alongside the art of the Huichol
at a Symposium on Corn, which as both plant and symbol, is sacred
to the Indians. While acting as a guide and translator for the
visiting artists at Radford University in Virginia, the Huichol
who were making their paintings on site, ran out of yarn. What
to do, but head for the local needlework shop to replenish their
supply! It was there that Robert came across the Caron threads
and changed a long held belief that variegated yarns did not
mesh with his work. He had actually tried using commercial variegated
yarns as far back as the 60's, but had eliminated them from his
repertoire because the colors were too harsh and the gradations
in tone too severe and artificial looking. Thereafter, he preferred
employing solid colors and making the tonal changes himself to
better control the end result. The Wildflowers fibers, that caught
his eye, were a particularly welcome find as the subtle variations
of color adapt themselves to the effect Robert strives to achieve
in his paintings. 
Because of the inherent 3 dimensional quality
of the fibers that Robert employs, he can create images by pattern
alone, using color for other effects or vice versa. As with all
traditional arts, in the hands of a master, what might appear
to be limiting becomes liberating. (Shown left "Chair",
1992.)
Robert constructs his paintings on clay
board (masonite with an archival coating). He does pencil outlines
for the smaller and simpler pieces, but will make full size color
cartoons for the larger, more complex works. A piece such as
"Nierica" can take as long as a year to complete. Another
imposing painting, "Journey", shows barefoot Huicholes
crossing the Brooklyn Bridge for a prayer ceremony. There is
a suspension bridge outside their village in Mexico erected with
the help of the Brooklyn Bridge Authority. The Indians were in
New York to celebrate this connection. At the top of the painting
they are shown crossing their bridge at home. Robert Forman has
also crossed both bridges and neither one was a one way trip.
When you cross over, you become part of anothers' culture and
it, in turn, becomes part of yours. His paintings dynamically
portray both this real and symbolic odyssey.
If you are interested in more
information about Robert Forman's work, he can be reached on
e mail at glueyarn@aol.com
