Momentum Artist: Ron Clymer

Ron Clymer, Norman

Untitled and Untitled

Oil on Panel

Q: What was your concept(s) behind your work(s)?

RC: The inspirations from my work come from the human experience, the internal struggle with identity and finding self. All people live from day to day identifying with things that please the desire of what they want to be seen as. Marshall McLuhan, a twentieth century communication theorist once said, “You are a product of your environment.” That is the very mechanical process that is seen as the progression of existence in our contemporary society. People surround themselves with objects and ideals while striving to uphold the very image that is desired of others to see, even if it is internally destructive. My work attempts to communicate the severe exertion that is placed on individuals to meet the ideals forced on them.

Q: Explain the technique and/or process you used for the piece(s).

RC: My chosen medium is oil paint on panel. To compose that which does not have physical form, I attempt to make sense of the unconscious through cloudy portraits of oneself. I explain this by laying thin layers of paint that are, on a regular basis, removed and reapplied. By doing this, I create a foggy, ambiguous scene. I also employ many practices that hold traditional to the founders of surrealism. I utilize arbitrary foundation and intuitive methodology, combined with images of the unconscious. It is an attempted image, or an attempt to understand that which is most difficult to understand: ourselves.

Momentum Tulsa 2009 includes visual art by artists aged 30 and younger. The exhibition is free and open at Living Arts, 307 E Brady, Tulsa, until October 24. Gallery hours are through 5 pm TODAY.

Curators Scott Perkins & Frank Wick selected 93 artworks by 66 artists from all over the state for the exhibition. Also, three Spotlight artists created bodies of work on display, Nick Bayer, Dustin Boise, and Emily Kern. Intern Ashley Romano interviewed the artists to learn about their creative process. Watch for more profiles throughout the run of the exhibition.