figures in motion

john ros; figure in motion (after muybridge), 2001
charcoal; 20 x 30 in.

don de mauro; victim series (study), 1968
pastel, charcoal, chalk on paper; 14 x 26 in.

this series of monotypes were initiated by my early obsessions with francis bacon, alberto giacometti, eadweard muybridge and franz kafka’s, the metamorphosis. hailing from a predominately figurative undergraduate pedagogy, i found increasing solace in the spaces that figures occupied — the space and air between me and the model and the tense shifting and movement of the model. countless hours of rendering the figure from life had me curious about the bodies’ own limitations and possibilities. bacon’s morphing figures matched the gripping, painful transformations i imagined gregor sampsa experienced in the confinement of his dark room. coincidentally, bacons’ sources for many of these figures where muybridge’s wrestlers from the photographic series on the human figure in motion. i was aroused by the intimacy and gruesomeness of the figures lusting for balance, beauty, love — normalcy within their own confines.

francis bacon, triptych – studies from the human body, 1970
oil and dry transfer lettering on canvas
each panel: 77 ⅞ x 58 ⅛ in. (198 x 147.5 cm)

bacon goes beyond the figure and meticulously lays out a scene, as if a stage designer. the air becomes subject and intensifies as we follow the figure through it, like gregor:

“groping clumsily with his antennae, which he was only now beginning to appreciate, he slowly dragged himself toward the door to see what had been happening there. his left side felt like one single long, unpleasantly tautening scar, and he actually had a limp on this two rows of legs. besides, one little leg had been seriously injured …and dragged along lifelessly.”

the tension of pain and loneliness can be felt in gregor’s attempts at movement. this motion is poignant and understood throughout bacon’s stage which helps to clarify the spaces as a whole while grasping for breath with the lonesome protagonist.

like the motion of gregor samsa or of bacon’s characters, our own movements through life can be restricted, unpleasant and equally gratifying — satisfaction, query, humility… no matter the specific journey, it is the act of the journey that is important. a to b. here to there. in to out. magnificent actions we prescribe to in our limited body — with our infinite mind.

eadweard muybridge, human figure in motion, 1884

my practice has changed throughout the years, however the constant and rigorous investigation of space has continued. though i am interested in different materials, actions and intentions, i look back at these pieces with fondness and respect. a to b — they have brought me from here to there. the importance of space has always remained. it is the air we occupy that fully devours our being and further allows us the ability to experience and see all the amazing events that happen around us.

this series represents an intense study of the muybridge photos over a weeks time in 2001. four pieces are missing from this group as they were sold at the time they were made. these remaining pieces are installed (left-right; top-bottom) in the order they were made. look for the similarities from each day (noted by a serial number on the bottom right) and the ghost image, or remainding image after one pass on the press, that repeat throughout the series.

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