Picking Up the Pieces

I attended the talk between Jim Condron and Ann Landi this past Thursday. It was interesting to hear the artist speak after viewing his work during class. For some reason I was under the impression that Condron was a student at Loyola, so I surprised when I saw him on stage. After viewing his cold and colorful artwork I created a picture in my mind of an artist who was gregarious and out spoken. This was not the case. Condron seemed timid and commented about how he was uncomfortable speaking to everyone on stage. He said that he hoped no one would show up so he wouldn't have to speak in front of a large crowd, but hoped people showed up and expressed their interest.

Condron gave a background of how he got to the point of creating this sculptures. He use to work at a bank, which was apparently obvious he did not belong there. He also shared how his mentor Rohini Ralby has had a strong influence on his art. She provided an outlet for Condron when he was unsure of his life and where he was going. He use to be just a painter, but slowly moved towards mixed media. It was interesting to hear that he use to be very against anything that wasn't painting. Condron expressed that he still isn't comfortable with labeling his artwork as sculptures. Ann Landi didn't speak much during the time I attended the talk, but she did ask the question of why his pieces tended towards the small/medium size. I was very intrigued by his response. He very directly stated that he doesn't have the ability to work on bigger pieces yet. I liked this because art is a process, and I feel like generally people focus on the final outcome. This response shows that Condron acknowledges that he is still learning and expanding his skills.

I was also very curious about the quotes that went along with each piece. It was mentioned in class that they all came from a book. Condron clarified that he actually kept a document of quotes from people, books, magazines and other material he came across. Each quote was suppose to suggest a way one could interpret each of his pieces. The fact that these quotes came from multiple areas of his life bring depth into his art work because they are representative of all aspects of his life. Condron shortly touched on how he was struggling during the time when he was creating these pieces. This adds another layer to his work because he was dealing with a lot while creating these pieces, and it is a reminder to him of that time of his life.