by Dan Zimmerman

I make art quite a bit. My weeks are filled with art. But having a month-long assignment with parameters a bit more defined than I’m accustomed to (like deadlines!) proved to be inspiring. Idea rumination, trial-and-error, theme-and-variation; these are all familiar artistic processes to me, but it was invigorating to go through these processes with a project requiring sustained focus over a good stretch of time. There was a wonderful interactive element to this project as well. So much of the time artists find themselves working alone. This is certainly necessary, but having folks that you can talk about your work with is also necessary. Batting around ideas with others and discussing the various themes the art would bring up (particularly with my friend Joshua Stamper) was such fun and so helpful. The generous blog comments that came in were also a profound encouragement. I felt like I was back in school again!

It is funny to me how one little thing can be so ripe with implication. The thing that spoke to me about that first photograph was the stubble on my face. Little did I know that it would lead to ‘Branchface’ and ‘Leaveface’ (now that’s letting yourself go!). In all seriousness, this stubble served as a metaphor for the wild. . .for letting nature go about its business. Thinking about nature led me outside.

Autumn is a remarkable season. Just when leaves’ grasp on their branches is the most tenuous, as things are getting colder, as things are pulling into themselves and getting tighter - at that point - colors are at their most brilliant. The same kind of poignant reality manifests itself in movement. There is so much movement in autumn. Leaves are falling or flying, the wind is pushing through trees and streets and houses - all this movement just before the stillness of winter. These things speak to me about the nature of beauty, the nature of frailty, but at the same time suggest another place. There’s an other-worldliness to autumn that is intoxicating.

Now that I have started this series it will be hard to stop! Every painting or photograph seems to suggest new things. Here are the last two pictures (for now). Please enjoy. Onward and upward!

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007 - Dan Zimmerman, Works-In-Progress Month

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