EVENT 2: FORREST BESS

  Forrest Bess was greatly interested in the concept of the Tree of Life and how it may be further understood with respect to the individual human. This went in hand with his desire for eternal life and the possibility of one body containing both sex organs for self-perpetuation. Some of the ideas spoken about were definitely foreign concepts to me and it was new to see how he related his devotion to understanding the human body and its genitalia. When I first arrived I did not anticipate this to be one of the driving forces behind his work but after listening to Dr. Eric Vilain, I viewed the work with a better understood perspective.

  His work relates very much to that of the surrealists during the early 1920's. Dr. Vilain discussed how Bess made sure to record any imagery, vision or dream he experienced so that he may revert back to his notes at a later date and recreate his subconscious. The work he created looks similar to that of microorganisms, chromosomes or DNA. The title Bodies of Little Dead Children stirs controversial emotions within the viewer and causes the reevaluation of what he means by dead. I believe he addresses the child on a cellular level before they are born, respectively. This may also relate to the scale of which he primarily worked on, as he appeared to be more comfortable painting on smaller canvases. The work bellow is roughly 6x7 inches yet reminds me of Joan Miró.

  In respect to Miró, he too was known for recording his thoughts just before he went to sleep because he felt the imagery that actively worked through his subconscious were most intriguing. Similar to Bess' and his simplicity on the canvas, Miró was fascinated with the relationship between small objects in large space. His work envelops the viewer through its contrast of mural sized paintings with palm-sized subjects that the viewer must observe from less than a foot away. Blue iii stands roughly 9x11 feet.

Sources:

Miró, Joan. "Blue iii" Painting. Oil on Canvas. 270x355 cm. 1961. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.

Bess, Forrest. "Bodies of Little Dead Children" Painting. Oil on Cavas. 6x7 5/8 in. 1949. The Menil Collection, Houston. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.

Dr. Vilain, Eric. Flash Talk. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles Ca. USA. 21 Nov. 2013.