An Apple a Day: exploring health through art

An Apple a Day: Saturday. Phoebe Ann Erb.

Recently, DH and I enjoyed a local art exhibit with the engaging title of Healthful.   Eighteen artists, all affiliated with the community arts organization Unbound Visual Arts, explored the theme of physical and mental well-being in various media, including, but not limited to, painting, quilts, and photography.

The exhibit was curated by John Quatrale.

My friend Phoebe Ann Erb presented a series of collages celebrating the folk wisdom of eating an apple a day, but with a twist - on Sunday, just rest under an apple tree! It's a palatable message (pun intended) as portrayed by Phoebe's seven engaging collages, in which she melds her gouache painting with vintage fabrics and paper.

A collage a day...work by Phoebe Ann Erb.

The work below, by Ruth Rieffanaugh, offers advice even more directly. The density of the text is reminiscent of those package inserts which accompany medications, but the warmth of the wood and informal quality of the lettering suggests the inner monologue of someone confronted with, but not conquered by, illness or other challenges.  One of my favorite lines in this work: "You can become off balance seeking stability."

Musings, Ruth Rieffanaugh.

Musings, detail.

The fascinating pen drawings in the image above were begun by Dianne (Iyan) Freeman while she recuperated from surgery.  Beauty can rise from the most unpromising of circumstances.

Reflection, a Self-Portrait, Dianne (Iyan) Freeman.

I Have Hip Dysplasia, Grace Luk.

Humor was in evidence too. We are all familiar with the Snellen eye chart; a standard, reliable method of measuring visual acuity.  In the digital print above, artist Grace Luk uses the familiar chart to communicate information about another condition which may not be so easily "seen."

Seattle Garlic Cluster, Francis Gardino.

Since this blog began with an apple, why not end with another food associated with a healthy diet and good nutrition?  Garlic was historically used both as a food and a medicine, and the plump bulbs in the photograph above, glowing in their purple net packaging, look ready for the kitchen. 

Giving New Life - Collage at the Brookline Public Library

Accordion-fold book, detail.

Through February 9, 2015, the Brookline Public Library is hosting a small but delightful display of collages and hand-made books by Phoebe Ann Erb.  As the exhibit title implies, Ms. Erb gives new life to the material "remains of the day." (Quotations are from the artist's statement accompanying the exhibit.)

Ex-Libris collage, detail.

Many artists repurpose bits and pieces of books and printed ephemera into new creations.   Artist Ekaterina Panikanova reworks pages from old volumes into paintings; the new use of the pages underscores the archaism of their content.  Ms Erb uses "the ephemera of comings and goings," not of physical voyages but of the journey which objects, as well as processes, undergo in their peregrination from currency to obsolence.

The figure in the image above is kitted out in books - a literal constant reader - and surrounded by bits and pieces of the discarded systems of card catalog and manual book check-out.  As Ms. Erb says,

What better use for library discards? Old pockets with due-date cards? Antiquated card-catalog cards? Cut them up and put them in a collage.

Hand-made book.

Book with leaves of heavy fabric.

Ms. Erb's work is especially rich due her use of textiles as well as paper, giving her books and collages an unusual tactile appeal.  No material has special status - humble tablet paper forms a substrate for the artist's line drawings.

Collage on tablet paper.

Tiny hand-made books.

Every now and then, there is a special synergy between work and the container in which the work is displayed, and this is the case here, as Ms. Erb's art seems perfectly suited to the library's Foundation Case, with its pediment ornament of book, pen and ink bottle.

Foundation display case, detail. 

Although the Brookline exhibit is about to close, during the month of February there's another chance to view Ms. Erb's work, at the Newton Free Library, including books and collages which celebrate an ordering system which remains evergreen - the alphabet.

Alphabet book for all ages.

Pages of accordion-fold book.

Phoebe Ann Erb collage exhibit

Handmade book by Phoebe Ann Erb.

Proving once again that not all the good art is in museums or commercial galleries, the Brookline Public Library mounted a small but choice exhibit of collages and handmade books by area resident Phoebe Ann Erb, who has also published several wonderful design source books.

Whatever collage.

The exhibit, entitled Scraps and Snibbles, for the bits and pieces Phoebe utilizes, runs from July 7 until August 17. The artwork is in two cases in the main lobby (hence the glare in the photos) and in a large display case in the entry to the right as one faces the circulation desk - just ask, as the library is being renovated, so that entry is blocked from the outside but accessible from the interior.

Although layering of images is a common feature of contemporary collage, Phoebe's images do not necessarily overlap; like the vintage dictionaries and primers which are often her source and inspiration, images are visible in their entirety, thus retaining some of the didactic quality of the sources. Yet her compositions are lively and engaging, as the juxtaposition of images frees them from the rationality of the reference source.

Close-up of Whatever.

The quote in the close-up reads "Whatever interests, is interesting -William Hazlett" and captures succinctly the spirit of the artwork.