All best,
Ginnie

Hi Ginnie,

It’s good to hear from you! Yes, we were classmates all four years at Cornell. I still remember Jon’s drawings of a dead bird from freshman year and I recall working with you on the poster for our senior exhibition of full scale self portraits at the Johnson Museum. It’s funny how certain odd events endure in our memories.

Thank you for the quote from Robert Slutzky – it’s wonderful and I will read more on your website. I regret that I didn’t take better advantage of our connection to the Architecture program while at Cornell but it’s never too late.

Yes, let’s be in touch in the New Year and somehow get together. I recall that the last time we tried, our schedules didn’t mesh, but maybe we’ll have better luck in the New Year.

Have a very happy holiday!

best,
Caren

‘Judy introduced me to her friend and mentor, architectural historian Colin Rowe, who was working on his book, “Collage City” at the time.’

One of the better by-products of having Cornell’s art college joined to its college of architecture was that is allowed me to take advantage of attending numerous lectures there by Colin Rowe. These continue to exert an ongoing influence on my thinking and work.

As a part of my studio practice, I explore, in the medium of oil paint, elements that will appear as phenomenally transparent through the optical mixing of opaque pigments.

“Transparency may be an inherent quality of substance-as in a wire mesh or glass curtain wall, or it may be an inherent quality of organization-as both Kepes and, to a lesser degree, Moholy suggest it to be; and one might, for this reason, distinguish between a real or literal and a phenomenal or seeming transparency.” (‘Transparency, by Colin Rowe and Robert Slutzky)

Hence the dual phenomena of transparency – literal and phenomenal, real or seeming, substantial or organizational, actual or implied transparency.

Here is a 2013 post quoting from an obituary of Robert Slutzky, co-author with Colin Rowe of ‘Transparency’ on my website under ‘Visual Thinking’:

‘The essays in “Transparency” center on the ambiguity of the title word. “Transparent” can denote something that is literally see-through, like a window. But it can also denote something that is not, like the layered planes of a Cubist painting, discernible one behind another. Paint and canvas are opaque; the painter conjures transparency out of pure form.

The illusion of transparency defines architecture. Painters have two dimensions at their disposal; architects have three. Transparency mediates between them. It can give the illusion of depth to a flat canvas; conversely, it can flatten a building into an abstract arrangement of geometric planes. Transparency helps the built landscape meet the eye.’

Obituary by Margalit Fox, Published May 7th, 2005 ‘Robert Slutzky, 75, Painter and Architectural Theorist, Dies’

Thanks again, Caren and Larry, for a wonderful interview.

Happy Holidays!
Ginnie

Yes, thank you for all of the comments and to you, Larry, for getting me to think about and articulate my process. Doing the interview was informative for me as well!

Thanks, Susan. I’m so glad you enjoyed the interview. Thanks go to Larry for asking good questions and editing. Regards –

Thanks, Peri. Regards –

Thank you Nancy for taking the time to write such a wonderfully written comment. Also many thanks to Michelle, Susan, Calli, Peri and Joan for also taking the time to leave comments. It means a great to me and Caren that our efforts are reaching people who appreciate this fabulous work and want to know more about the art and artist…