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 2008 PASEO ARTS ASSOCIATION
OKLAHOMA ARTIST OF THE YEAR AWARDS |
Sue Clancy
Norman, Oklahoma
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Artist Statement – Sue Clancy
I’m fascinated by the relationship between words and images. Particularly I’m amused by how we use verbal and visual animal metaphors to communicate. “Cat got your tongue?” we’ll say. We use the shape of an animal in a corporate logo to imply strength or some other virtue. Animals also feature prominently in literature for both adults and children. Such use of an animal as a metaphor communicates certain concepts to the listener/viewer. Both metaphors and humor work best when we can rely upon a shared understanding of what the words and pictures imply. I’m interested artistically in such implications, how animal characters and humor enable us to discuss complex concepts in ways that are both memorable and accessible by a variety of people. Thus I’m using animals and humor in my artwork to create conceptual jokes which talk about aspects of being human.
Visual and verbal stories are woven into the fabric of our lives. We often use metaphors, puns, idioms, and other funny words or phrases to tell our verbal stories. We use colors, shapes and patterns to communicate un-spoken attributes, feelings and qualities. The way things look, or the words we choose, contribute to the meanings we give to the various elements of life. Humans are masters at recognizing patterns, associating patterns and turning perceived patterns into stories. Stories and metaphors – both visual and verbal - are valuable tools that we use to orient ourselves in the world. Yet patterns, language, stories and metaphors are seldom noticed. Much less noticed are the potential effects narratives may have upon our interpretations of the world and thus our personal happiness. Our mental life can even affect our physical one. So I’m exploring the relationship between words and images and how they give birth to the narratives that give our lives meaning, definition, shape and color. I’m interested in how layers of individual story elements combine to create worldviews.
Specifically I’ve utilized patterns, word-play, animal metaphors and humor to create my layered narratives. I create conceptual jokes in order to surprise our rational minds and provoke laughter while also making us subtly aware of the larger concepts of the uses of language and stories. This results in amusing and surprising twists upon our word/image perceptions as well as our understanding of the concepts within each painting. (My word-play titles are an important clue to the concept being explored.) My paintings are created by using cut pieces of handmade paper. This technique is a physical manifestation of the way the human mind combines and compounds isolated patterns of information into a new conceptual whole. Each paper I find or create starts life as a single handmade sheet. I dye it with a color, stencil a pattern on it, marble it, or block print a design onto its surface, whatever is required to create the necessary patterns for my visual story. Then I cut shapes out of the separate sheets of paper and combine those cut shapes into new ones which are then glued onto a two inch deep cradled wood panel. This technique creates layers of pattern and shape. There are often several hundreds of cut handmade and patterned paper shapes in each of my paintings. Like elements within a joke every pattern and shape I use individually contributes to the conceptual story. Once the story is constructed out of paper I add a highlight or a shadow using acrylic paint as necessary. The finished painting is varnished. Every paintings story/image continues around the four cradled edges of the panel. Often there is an additional joke on one or more of these edges for the in-person viewer to discover. As a result no matter where one physically stands to view my work there is always more to the story. Looking at it from different angles allows the viewer to truly appreciate the entire painting. My paintings have depth like all good stories
Sue Clancy’s Biography
Sue Clancy has always been fascinated by the world of words and images: how they work together, how we extract meaning and knowledge from them and how our mental life affects our physical world, our personal happiness and our society. While in college Sue began to notice the effects personal computers were having on society, language, business and education. She began to investigate other technologies that had similarly affected our mental and physical lives. Since stories (words) and visual images are some of our earliest technological advances Sue’s art techniques took a somewhat “retro” turn. The invention of paper most closely mirrored the changes that computers were currently causing. So the artist experimented with and mastered the arts of handmade and hand patterned paper. She incorporates these ancient techniques with newer ones and ‘mixes’ them together to create her modern conceptual jokes. Sue has been quoted “I suppose my art technique is a literal metaphor for old saying ‘The more things change the more they stay the same’” and then she laughs. Her art is often inspired by books she reads, people she meets, things she sees, by words she ‘miss-hears’, puns, idioms, and other funny words or phrases. From those inspirations she creates visual stories – humorous modern parables - that use animal characters to talk about various aspects of being human.
Sue actively pursued art in her youth and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1992. Clancy has participated in numerous group exhibits at venues including the City Art Museum in Washington D.C., the Whitney Museum in New York and in the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, Colorado. She's also had a number of highly successful one woman exhibits.
Clancy's fine artwork has been published in a number of books as diverse as college textbooks [Allyn & Bacon Publishing/Pearson Education) and calendar datebooks (Syracuse Cultural Workers). Most notably, the artist was selected out of over 6,000 artists from 32 countries for inclusion in the 224-page full-color "Fiberarts Design Book 7" which was edited by Susan Mowrey Kieffer and published by Lark Books.
Sue has won numerous awards: The Zolli Page Papermaking Award from the Handweaver's League of Oklahoma, the 'Neighbor' award for her achievements in art from the Norman Chamber of Commerce, and a wide range of purchase awards by institutions such as the The Wisconsin Historical Society, and The Empty Space Gallery in Bakersfield, CA. Sue has also received grants from organizations like the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition to pursue exhibition opportunities.
Her work can be seen around Oklahoma, other places in the United States, Wexford Ireland, New Zealand and Canada. Galleries such as the Istvan Gallery in Oklahoma City, Joseph Gierek Fine Art Gallery in Tulsa and Downtown Art & Frame in Norman regularly exhibit Sue's fine art. Her art has been sought out and purchased for the public collections of the Oklahoma School of Science and Math, the Youth and Family Services of El Reno Oklahoma and the Infant Crisis Services of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Her artwork is also included in the permanent collections of the International Museum of Collage Assemblage and Construction in Morelo, Mexico and The Wexford Ireland Arts Centre in Wexford, Ireland. Sue's fine art resides in numerous private collections which include the Kennedy family in Washington D.C. and the private collection of New York Times Bestselling author, Billie Letts.
“My playful images are created by hand making paper. Often I will hand-dye, hand-print or hand-marble the sheets of paper that are to be cut out into shapes and collaged together to create a painting. I call this 'paper painting' because the paper forms the color or patterned areas. I essentially 'draw' with my Xacto knife directly into color and pattern. Each paper is deliberately created or chosen as it relates to the painting's design.
I create paintings using handmade paper because it is a physical manifestation of the way the human mind combines and compounds isolated bits of information – words & pictures - into a new conceptual whole. Each paper I find or create starts life as a single handmade sheet. I dye it with a color, stencil a pattern on it, marble it, or block print a design onto its surface, whatever technique is required to create the necessary patterns for my visual story. Then I cut shapes out of the separate sheets of paper and combine those shapes into new ones which are glued onto a cradled wood panel. My images continue around the panel’s four edges. No matter where one stands to view my work there is always more to the story. Looking at it from different angles allows the viewer to truly appreciate the entire painting. Often there is an additional joke on one or more of the sides for the in-person viewer to discover. My paintings have depth like all good stories.”
– Sue Clancy
In Oklahoma City, Clancy’s work can be found at the Istvan Gallery, 1218 N Western. The gallery can be contacted at (405) 831-2874 or by visiting www.istvangallery.com.
In Norman, Clancy’s work can be found at Downtown Art and Frame, 115 S. Santa Fe, (405) 329-0309.
In Tulsa, Clancy’s work can be found at the Joseph Gierek Fine Art Gallery, 1512 East 15th Street, (918) 592-5432 or by visiting www.gierek.com
SOLO EXHIBITIONS (selected)
2007 – “Laughing Matters”, Joseph Gierek Fine Art, Tulsa Oklahoma Downtown Art & Frame, Norman Oklahoma
2006 – “What I saw when you said…”, Access-Meed Gallery, Miami Dade College, Miami Florida
2005 – “Seriously, You’ve Got To Be Kidding”, Downtown Art & Frame, Norman Oklahoma
Exhibitions (selected)
2008 – “Narrative”, City Arts Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2007 – Joseph Gierek Fine Art, Tulsa Oklahoma
“White on White”, Fort Worth Art Center, Fort Worth Texas
Youth and Family Services First Annual event, Norick Art Center, Oklahoma City Oklahoma (juried)
“La Voce Politica”, Invited Artists Gallery, Oklahoma City Oklahoma (invitational)
“100 Oklahomans by 100 Oklahomans” City Arts Center, Oklahoma City Oklahoma (invitational)
“Small Works” New Arts Program, Kutztown Pennsylvania (invitational)
“24 Works on Paper Traveling Exhibit 2006 – 2007” – Individual Artists of Oklahoma Gallery, Oklahoma City Oklahoma
2006 – Joseph Gierek Fine Art, Tulsa Oklahoma
Eleanor Hays Gallery, Northern Oklahoma College, Tonkawa Oklahoma
“Café City Arts” City Arts Center, Oklahoma City Oklahoma (invitational)
New Arts Program, Kutztown Pennsylvania (invitational)
Downtown Art & Frame, Norman Oklahoma
John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin (invitational)
Fiberworks – Individual Artists of Oklahoma Gallery, Oklahoma City Oklahoma
2005 – City Museum, Washington D.C. (invitational)
Collins Gallery, Portland Oregon
Murray State College of Oklahoma, Tishamingo Oklahoma
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (selected)
Kennedy Family Collection, Washington D. C.
Billie Letts Collection, Tulsa Oklahoma
PUBLIC ART COLLECTIONS (selected)
Youth and Family Services, El Reno Oklahoma
Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, Oklahoma City Oklahoma
Infant Crisis Services, Inc, Oklahoma City Oklahoma
City Museum of Washington D. C., permanent installation, Washington D. C. USA
Wexford Ireland Arts Center, permanent collection, Wexford Ireland
International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction, permanent collection, Morelos, Mexico
COMMISSIONS (selected)
Ms. Legal Beagles Bagel Brunch, May 2008, Carol Koss
Food For Thought, Sept 2007, Penny and Dr. Bob Hoke
Laurie’s Bar, January 2007, Pete Pierce
AWARDS AND HONORS (selected)
2008 – Artist Of The Year Award, Paseo Artist Association
2007 – Purchase Awards, Youth and Family Services, El Reno (Norick Art Center)
2006 – Artwork selected and used to raise over $58,000 for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
2005 – Professional Basics Grant, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition Neighbor Award for Achievement in Art, Norman Chamber of Commerce
2004 – Zolli Page Papermaking Award, Handweavers League of Oklahoma
BIBLIOGRAPHY (selected)
2008
Shahla Reynolds: “Sue Clancy, City Arts Center Narrative exhibit” Sonarta.com: video interview (March/April) 10 minutes
Grant Lacquement: “Sue Clancy,” Art Focus Oklahoma: Vol 23 No.1 (January/February 2008) Pg 5
2007
John Brandenburg: “Artists display vacation trips in Underground Exhibit,” The Oklahoman: Weekend Look; (Friday, July 27,2007) Page 11D
Katie Tracy: “Juntura-Drewsey News,” Malheur Enterprise; Vale, Oregon, (Wednesday, June 27, 2007) Page 4
Elizabeth Burr: “Sue Clancy: ‘DogMa and Other Creature comforts’,” The Norman Transcript Pop: (Friday, May 25, 2007) Page 10
John Brandenburg: “Exhibit Provides Creature Comforts,” The Oklahoman: Weekend Look; (Friday, May 4,2007) Page 15D
Sandy Palmer:”Funny Papers and Pieces of Life,” Kaleidoscope: Number 54, Ohio Arts Council publication (Spring 2007) Pages 33 – 37
2006
Elizabeth Burr: “Sue Clancy, Portrait of an Artist,” The Norman Transcript Pop: (Friday, December 1, 2006) Page 10
Susan Grossman: “Screen Savior,” Oklahoma Gazette: (October 4, 2006) Page 45
James D. Watts Jr: “Area galleries unite for a night of show hopping,” Tulsa World: (Sept, 2006) Page D6
Chris Jones: “’Funny papers’ but serious art,” The Oklahoman: (Monday, June 26, 2006) Page 1B and continued on page 3B
Anne Allbright: “Humor You Can Hang,” Art Focus Oklahoma: Vol 21, No 3; (May/June 2006) Pg. 7
Katie Prins: “Deaf Oklahoma Artist Exhibits in Miami, Florida,” SIGNews South Dakota: (February 2006) Page 15
2005
Rhonda Sonnenberg: “Layer upon Layer,” Fiberarts : Volume 32 Number 1; (Summer 2005) Pg. 48
John Parker: “Artist Sue Clancy A Woman of Her Words,” Nichols Hills News: Vol 9, No. 4; (April, 2005) Pages 81 - 88
Education
Bachelor of Fine Art in Art from the University of Oklahoma, 1992 |
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