Playing with the stark contrast between black, white and rich primary colors and surrealist themes involving animals, Ithaca-based artist Sylvia Taylor offers a refreshing take on the art of linoprints and woodcuts.
“You Can Never Go Back,” Taylor’s new exhibit in the Gelb Gallery, is based on a theme she chose about reminding herself not to dwell too much in the past and instead to live more in the present. Exploring ideas of longing, loss and transience, Taylor describes her work as autobiographical and draws inspiration directly from her own conversations, dreams and childhood.
As visitors walk through the gallery, the first things that catch their eyes are the strings of teal and grey rectangular papers hanging from the ceiling, almost like laundry drying on a rack.
At first glance, the installation that is made up of these strings of colored papers, “The Time Between the Dog and the Wolf,” appears to resemble prayer flags. In contrast with the otherwise flat exhibit, several prayer flags depict textures that resemble animal fur while others construct the narrative of a dog and a wolf.
Emily Trespas, Instructor in Art, who worked closely with Taylor in bringing her artwork to Andover, wrote in an email to _The Phillipian_, “When we considered [putting] [Taylor’s] art in the Gelb Gallery, I felt that it was imperative for the show that she bring these ‘prayer flags.’ I envisioned them occupying their current space as a highlight of her show. These rough-edged, layered, blue-black flags also add texture and contrast to her wall-hung work. I wanted viewers to experience printmaking in a different way, as an installation, than traditional framed and-hung-on-a-wall art.”
As displayed by “The Time Between the Dog and the Wolf,” Taylor tries to blur the line between fantasy and reality in her exhibition by incorporating playful, fairy-tale-like animals into a series of handmade, subdued prints rendered in grays, blacks and blues.
The meshing of natural reality and surreality is explored in “The Longest Night,” a piece that shows Taylor’s mastery of the intricate art of linoprint. While half of the print depicts a number of intricately drawn owls that convey the ambiguity, mystery and nocturnal nature of the scene, the other half of the print shows a girl floating in mid-air.
According to Taylor, “The Longest Night” was inspired by the experience of time and place being distorted.
Taylor wrote in an email to _The Phillipian_, “[Distortion] sometimes happens when life turns upside down, as when there is a profound loss or a shocking event. Time, as you know it, stops. It is disorienting. With this image, I was exploring that paradoxical feeling of being intensely alone, yet somehow eerily connected to everything.”
Sharan Gill ’16 particularly enjoyed looking at the prints and seeing how different artists layered the different elements of their drawings. “I thought it was cool how [Taylor] combined different elements in her pieces. I think, visually, it adds depth to the exhibit,” said Gill. Taylor became interested in art in middle school.
“A teacher I had in junior high school inspired me to become an artist. Sometimes he told stories about how art saved his life. He had been an orphan and was locked in a room. That was when he discovered lines, colors and shadows. It made sense to me. I remember thinking that if it worked for him, art could work for me, too,” wrote Taylor.
Taylor is an established artist who has received numerous awards for printmaking. She currently resides in Ithaca, NY, but was awarded Artist’s Residency status in Ireland as a part of Cork Printmakers in Cork, Ireland. Her works are currently being exhibited across the country and abroad.
The exhibition “You Can Never Go Back” is open to the public until early February.
