Renee McGinnis is one of the artists coming to Context/Art Miami 2013 with Chicago’s Packer Schopf Gallery. Her recent works juxtapose images of natural beauty with decaying (but still oddly beautiful) manmade structures, be the buildings or, in her more recent work, ocean liners.  She creates this work out of her love and concern for the earth and the delicate systems that sustain all life.  Yet why ocean liners specifically?

“With these stricken liners I hope to distill all I know of my species and the delicate and fallible systems that sustain us down to a gentle yet startling beauty. I have commissioned these liners as a metaphor for the earth and human activity to create a permanent human record of us,” she says. “These rusting, listing yet still beautiful vessels were filled with every luxury yet finite in resources adrift in an inhospitable cosmos bordered with beauty. They act upon the viewer like a Chaplin film or an opera. On one hand they're lovely and heroic, on the other doomed and sorrowful, each emotion enhancing the other.”

There is something sinister in the reality of the modern ocean liner: they pollute, they are homes to conspicuous consumption and throw away culture. But McGinnis’ liners are of a bygone, more genteel era but an era where all the excesses were still present. In the doomed beauty of these ships McGinnis wants us to find that metaphor of the earth but also something else—a visual caution.

“I hope they serve as beautiful warnings to us all, speaking visually about humanity, triumph, and tragedy and how these conditions co-exist.” says McGinnis.

McGinnis’ family history also comes into play. Her ancestors, from Norway, built luxury yachts for European aristocracy until the advent of steel hull construction.

“The 20th century luxury liner represents a benchmark of technology, human arrogance and great aesthetic attention. I also draw upon the sweetness and delicate imagery of fine china or souvenir collector plates that commemorated the launching of these great vessels,” she says.  “The image of impending disaster and human suffering is bounded by the security and beauty of the embracing border imagery that contains everything from kelp and roses to opals and all manner of sea creatures. One MUST get very close to these in the gallery to see the most important content.”

McGinnis’ work is also inspired by Caspar David Friedrich and his work “Sea of Ice.” It is her hope to “bridge the era of great paint handling with that of post modern expectation.”

McGinnis has an academic background in Sociology and Anthropology and says her advanced studies in these disciplines inform everything she does.

“In order to record human tendencies as an art form I must be able to observe our species with a schooled mind.” she says.

Her work is, indeed, a record of humanity and its relation to the rest of the natural world. They are more than aesthetically beautiful—they are a profound commentary on human beings, our impermanence and our often deleterious effect on the natural world.

“The exhibition resembles a row of portholes, each a microcosm of its own drama and beauty” says McGinnis. “One may wonder whether they are somewhere within a ship looking out or passing the vessel looking in.”

Her work is not all decaying ocean liners and dilapidated terrestrial structures. Some pieces use unconventional items—lemon rinds or condoms

“My works are always an attempt to stimulate and activate the intellectual overdrive I feel we all possess. My earlier work such as International Lemons Aid reminds us human hardship brought about by overpopulation,” says McGinnis. “The dried lemons are painted every color of human skin tone representing a female role in global family planning. Halved lemons were also an ancient form of birth control [highly acidic cervical cap] the found pearls fill in the gaps between the gold condoms and gold leafed diaphragms. It all celebrates being mindful of our resources and the choices we make as a species.”

The SS Narwhal and The Asphyxiation of the USS Princess are showing at Art Miami.

“The USS Princess is the first in this series. I painted a great decaying luxury liner crashing through dangerous seas with part of her lower bow missing.  Surrounding her in a carefully painted border of splashy water shapes are opals, pearls and aquamarine stones,” she says. “The opals are water trapped in mineral and of course these ships are mineral trapped in water. As the splashy shapes travel around the border they drop into one of the Princess' funnels, symbolizing her eminent demise though a beautiful one.”

Both paintings are oil on birch board on panel.

“The NARWHAL has scarring on her hull, as a whale has on its body. Every bolt and rivet is visible and the mast has fallen forward with twisted rigging suggesting the long twisted tusk of the Narwhal whale. The bow figure is a female pelvis [another fragile vessel that human life depends upon], the ribs opening up and becoming wings,” says McGinnis. “The border, a sinewy flourish of blue flow china shapes with vases, more fragile vessels. Surrounding the storm clouds an organic spot varnish. This changes as one moves their eyes across the piece.”

Teo Gonzalez, from Spain currently living in Brooklyn, is an artist who produces wonderful, provocative non-representational pieces. They are also pieces that, even more than is the norm do not seem to translate from reality into a photo and onto a website. His work is compelling on the page or online but it is much more so in person. He is showing work at Miami Project (December 3 to 8, 2013) via Brian Gross Fine Art at Miami Project (Booth 803).

How does an artist deal with this in an age where so much art is seen online?  Gonzalez just does his work and doesn’t worry about it.

“That is the nature of the work. I could always have done a type of work that looked great in photographs, but ultimately what is important is that you are true to yourself so that your work ends up in the hands of someone who will appreciate it, which pretty much means someone who will not rule it out based on an image of it,” he says. “So, yes, making shows is very important to me, but they are very important to every other visual artist because all of us need our work to be seen in person to really be appreciated.”

Gonzalez is correct that any art needs to be seen in person to be truly appreciated.  But, nonetheless, art enthusiasts and collectors should make sure to see his work in person. The depth of his work and its appeal truly need to be seen in person. You can get an idea and feel via photos and the artist’s description but be sure to see these pieces.  He uses canvas on board for his latest pieces—which are informed in part by his background in drawing.

“I use acrylic paint because it dries quickly. My work has a lot to do with drawing, and acrylic paint feels as immediate as a pencil to me.  The canvas over board arrangement started because I was placing thousands and thousands of drops of diluted acrylic enamel on my paintings,” he says. “And I needed a surface that I could set horizontally and would not bow down so that those drops would dry without running into each other.  A board under the canvas seemed to be the way to go.”  

What does the artist want, the viewer, the prospective collector, to take from his work?

“I think of a my work as a vehicle to communicate something that can only be expressed with images --in the same way that writing uses words or music uses sound. Therefore, the message in my paintings can't be put into words,” Gonzalez says. “But it can be understood and felt. What I want people to understand o feel when they see them is the same as I do. I hope that my work is intriguing to viewers and that it somehow compels them to look at it again.”

Gonzalez’ earlier work was, in some respects, self-referential. These days he moves beyond himself in what he creates.

“I started doing this work to get away from what I was doing before.  I needed to put some distance between my work and myself, and I wanted to do a type of work that wasn't a reflection of me, my ideas, likes or dislikes.  Looking for ways to avoid those issues, I started to work with geometry and later with naturally occurring events,” he says. “I appreciated very much how impersonal both could be, how they could emphasize reason rather emotion and yet make an impact at a human level. A little while later they fused into the drop work and the rest has been its evolution.  With respect to my influences, first and foremost is my teacher in Spain, Jordi Teixidor, who taught me to understand what I was doing.  Among the --let's call them-- classic artists, I was very impressed by Ad Reinhardt. I loved his endurance and tenacity to take things wherever they had to be.”

This year Gonzalez is bringing pieces from his last series—images with a lot of contrast between background and foreground. He is one of a number of artists being shown by Brian Gross Fine Art.

Brittany Nelson, an artist originally from Great Falls, Montana, often uses non-traditional methods and materials in her work. Of course, there is a long tradition of using non-traditional materials in art so perhaps she IS being traditional. She will be showing her work via David Klein Gallery at Art Miami 2013 December 3-8 in Booth A-5. You can check out their exhibition catalog HERE.

Nelson’s work begins in the dark room and has, at its roots, experimentation with the chemistry of photography.

“The work is initially created with analog materials in the darkroom. I've been experimented for several years with a chemistry combination that oxidizes the silver in black and white darkroom papers” says Nelson. “It was initially used in the late 19th century as a reversal process for film negatives. I've been cataloguing all the variables capable in this technique over several hundred experiments/prints.”

She is interested in the notion that in order to create these images she has to destroy the function and most costly component of the material—the silver.

“Particularly since silver is at its highest cost and the photographic material is becoming more costly and precious. The original prints are toxic, and constantly shift in color and appearance. I scan them at very high resolutions and the finished piece is a large-scale chromogenic print,” she says. “This functions to leave behind the nostalgia of the darkroom by putting the pieces into a tableau photographic dialogue, and also the shift in scale to allow the viewer to examine and experience the material as not previously seen before. “

Nelson is interested in creating a “formal” experience for the viewer. She wants them to stand in front of her pieces and have a visceral reaction to the relationship between body, form, color and texture.

“And by doing this with purely photographic processes and material. I'm also a fan of the idea of mystery in a piece, that the viewer is not sure what it is they are looking or how it was made,” she says. “The only clue is that the tag lists it as a c-print, placing into photography but they are no longer looking into an image space captured by the camera but instead examining the surface of the material.”

Over time Nelson has removed representational images from her work (“representational images” are things; a person, a chair anything you might see in the real world). She also stopped taking photographs.

“ (I) instead focused on finding any integrity the material in experimental or alternative photography possess on their own. Paired with imagery, they've fallen into a point of crisis where they've become no more than an analog Photoshop filter,” she says. “I find the history and possibility of alternative process amazing, but find it odd that the capabilities have never been fully explored outside of their traditional use. I'm very interested in the idea of misusing materials but also removing the romanticism and nostalgia surrounding them and replacing it with very calculated chemistry experiments.”

When asked about her “artistic future” Nelson makes you want to share a studio with her (well, except for the “toxic chemical” part).

“My immediate artistic future involves a Dickie's jump suit, a full face respirator, some toxic chemistry and a one- person dance party in my lab. Slightly more long term plans include several large pieces exhibited at Art Miami with David Klein Gallery (Detroit),” says Nelson. ”And also the showing of a large 6x6 ft image during Frieze New York this May. I'm currently still working on the long term experiments re-purposing and destroying analog based materials as well as many side projects that are still in development stages. Extended long term plans are always the same: don't die and make as much work as possible.”

Nelson was in Miami with David Klein Gallery last year as well and found it to be a rewarding experience.

“Art Week is crazy. As an artist I think it is invaluable to be able to see so much work, from so many well established galleries around the world all in one spot. It's overwhelming, but I love overwhelming,” says Nelson. “It's an exhausting assault on the senses. From a non artist perspective Miami goes all out on this event. There are amazing free concerts, events and parties everywhere. It's thrilling how much the city embraces the art community.”

Martin Bowes of Attrition has been making music for over 30 years. He is a musician, producer and mastering and mixing guru. The band recently released The Unraveller of Angels, their 16th studio recording. Bowes also revamped and opened his personal studio, The Cage, to the public for recording, mixing and mastering. He’s worked with an impressive list of bands so far.

Attrition has also been touring around the world to support The Unraveller of Angels and the two EPs connected with it. Dates are ongoing.

“For The Unraveller of Angels  I decided to go back to our real independent roots,  rather than work within the corporate anonymity of a larger label--they just shift boxes--I wanted passion back in there, “ says Bowes. “So I chose to work with a small but enthusiastic German label -Exglageto. They gave us 2 different CD versions of the album and a vinyl record too and I’ve been doing a lot of the sales myself.”

Bowes says it is harder to do some much on his own but that he’s found Bandcamp to be a huge help with his direct sales going through the roof.

“So it’s worth it.  It's going well. We even have a cassette version of the album planned with alternate mixes for early 2014.” says Bowes. “Ultimately it’s about how I feel about the album: I am proud of  'The Unraveller....' I took a long time with it and worked with some incredible people on this record. It’s had so many incredible reviews as well.”

The band has played, or will soon play, shows in: Greece, Canada, Germany, Belgium, the UK and maybe the USA. The maybe comes from the inherent problems with booking a tour.

“It’s always hard work sorting these things out. I book a lot of these myself.  Nothing too horrible you know I still love the adventures-- that’s what it's about--making these things happen. “says Bowes. “It’s a different form of creativity to recording but just as rewarding. I can’t imagine my life without all the travels. The people you meet and become lifelong friends; that I will always cherish.

One Horse Rider is a new EP, with music taken from The Unraveller of Angels. It includes the title track, remixes and a new ambient version.

“We also have a video for this being made by French film maker Daniel Gouyette,” says Bowes. “This will be out at the end of the year.  It’s not really hard on the heels as another breath of life for The Unraveller of Angels.”

In addition to Attrition Bowes is working on another musical project, Engram. 

“ENGRAM is a cross between Kraftwerk and Dolly Parton--no of course not! It is a project I started with my friend John Costello (also an electronic musician in his own right) in 1996. We did one song which was released on Brian Mitchell's Silber records' Alleviation compilation CD. Then things just got in the way and ENGRAM was put on hold. Until last year when we got to talking again and I said, well it’s about time we finished that album. So that’s what we have been gradually  doing. The debut 3 track EP, What am I?, is due for release on November 20th.  Then we follow with a full length album and the first shows next spring onwards.

Bowes describes the music as a mix of synth, minimal wave, dark ambient and experimental. He says it is a little different than anything he or Costello do solo. 

Find Out More About The Cage Studios HERE

As noted Bowes has opened his studio up to the public—after recording his own music for 20 years there. It was mostly used for Attrition but after remastering his entire catalog he started working more and more for other bands and labels.

“When I left the college, where I had taught music technology for 16 years, I set up The Cage Studios as a full time operation. So since 2011 I have been doing a hell of a lot of production, mastering and mixing/remixing for bands from all over the world ( often via file transfers these days),” he says. “And yes working with more and more music it has for so many more hours of the day influenced me and inspired me and I've learned so much too. I always want to do more Attrition material. Attrition is my own therapy rather than The Cage. Finding the time for this is sometimes a problem. “

When it comes to production Bowes says that the most common mistake is mixing music far too loud.

“In the worst cases end up with digital clipping. It’s always best if you leave plenty of headroom. For me or whoever masters the material later. It’s a constant battle even in mastering "the loudness war" if you like to call it that--and everyone has a different opinion,” says Bowes. “And that's the thing; this is art. There are technical considerations but this is whatever we want it to be in the end.”

Bowes also has a new project—interviewing the artists he is working with at The Cage.

“This is a really new thing for me, inspired by the old John Peel band sessions I decided to set up a series of these myself. The Cage Sessions, where a band or musician comes here for a day and records maybe  four songs and I and my wife Kerri interview them at the same time. I then mix and master the tracks and we are releasing these digitally through our official Bandcamp page, “he says. “We've also got a network of radio stations that are broadcasting these sessions. The first session, with Rossetti's Compass, a band with Mark Warner, Per Aksel Lundgreen (ex Apoptygma Bezerk) and new boy Martin Boweswas released on November 5th”

“The Cage Sessions are an opportunity for bands to do something a little different: new versions of old songs, covers, collaborations, whatever the hell they like really,” he says. “I am planning to release one a month. The second session is ATTRITION singer Tylean's solo work.”

Dana DeAno, an artist and resident of Chicago, received a B.A. from DePaul in Studio Arts and an M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She creates art mixing traditional media and media that many might not consider art material at all—hair nets, pieces of old tires and other discarded items.

“I am a collector of domestic throw-aways. I don’t want to say garbage but basically, garbage.” says DeAno.

She uses a flat surface, paper, but builds off the paper to make a three dimensional image. She refers to them as drawings even though when she draws she makes it a 3D sculpture.  It isn’t always easy, especially when the “found objects” get heavier.

“I was using paper that couldn’t take the weight. It was buckling. I moved up to printing paper." she says.

DeAno is a “stay at home mom” and in one way this is part of her inspiration. She says as a mom you are at home “surrounded by crap.”  As an artist it gives you an opportunity to explore the use of this “crap” in your art—this and the fact that neighbors often leave packages of bits of junk on her doorstep. Why this sort of art? Why is she, personally, driven to create?

“I make art in order to make my own rules, go where I want to go, be whoever I want to be and to be able to escape the here and now." she says.

And while creating art is a joy to her, selling it is not always so joyful.

“Buying a piece of art is nothing like buying a new shirt or a carton of milk.  Many do not make art a priority in their lives and act goofy about it.  Selling art is hard and really just feels the least me in the entire process.  I feel sorry for car salesmen, yuck,” says DeAno. “However, I cannot imagine my life without art all around me, the mere thought makes me incredible sad.  And I have always loved displaying work, that makes me smile, wide.”

Yet her art isn’t all inspired by household items. More recently she has been spending time in Wisconsin’s Driftless region. While she still works mostly at home the time she spends in Driftless is giving her work a new, less domestic direction.

“You can finish your sentences up there, finish your thoughts.” says DeAno.

Being able to finish a thought is, of course, an asset for an artist whose work has a pronounced conceptual component.

DeAno’s work has, as noted, a domestic background conceptually but when you look at it? This might not be so obvious. Her work appeals across gender lines. She says that while women often buy her work it her clients are as often men as women.

“A guy bought five pieces for an office building,” she says. “I don’t want to pigeonhole myself. Women might get the process more but the finished product is universal.”

She glues work on paper, sews on it. When she has had issues with paper she has worked with her framer to make sure the glues and papers match and so there is no buckling. But she still experiments with media and isn’t afraid to do what it takes to push the envelope with the materials she uses. Some recent pieces use bits of old tires—not something you would think of as easily glued to paper!

“The bottom line is to make strong work and take risks.” she says.