LET’s TALK ART : Mark tansey
Action Painting ii
Painting by Mark Tansey
Oil On Canvas
1984
Hi everyone and welcome back to the 03, today we’re talking art. I’m so excited to kick this one off with none other than Mark Tansey.
Earlier this year, I was in Montreal and I had visited the The Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal. As someone who only has recollections of The AGO in Toronto and knows it like the back of their hand, exploring a new art gallery in a different city was refreshing to the eye. A piece that was showcased in Montreal was this grand Mark Tansey painting titled 'Action Painting ll". At the time when I was standing face to face with this painting, I didn't know much about the artist, but all I knew for sure was that this painting was extremely well done. I was stunned at this artist's understanding of monochromatic scales which played such an effective role in the visual aesthetic of the painting. I also love green, it reminds me of money and if I were to run my own country and needed bills printed, this would be something I'd get printed on it - ASAP! PRONTO! Mark Tansey was born in San Jose, California in 1949. Influenced by stories and narratives from past centuries, he adds his own spins and twists to create his pieces. I believe that Tansey plays an important role in the contemporary art movement by allowing his personal styles infiltrate his art. Some may call it unconventional, others may say it's brilliant, but let's talk about the Action Painting II as this is the one that was love at first for me. Action Painting II is an oil on canvas painting with dimensions of 193 x 279.4 cm. It was donated to the museum by Nahum Gelber and rests on its own white wall in Montreal (as it should). So what's going on in this Action II painting? Well upon first glance, Tansey has captured the shuttle launch in the background whilst capturing the handful of the other artists in the foreground. Immediately, it tells the viewer that this painting is far more complex as the subject is not only the shuttle launch, but the other artists who try to capture that same event as well. But the real question is, how strange is it that they are trying to capture a shuttle launch? How long do these artists have until they can no longer see the space shuttle anymore? I mean, "Alexa, how long does it take for sp-" you get the point. The irony is that the focus here is to capture an event that will only last so long until the artists have to visualize the remainder of their painting, but it's as though they're already done. As each painter grasps the event from different vantage points, all the painters seem to omit and exclude the presence of two things: The American flag and themselves. The American Flag is present in Tansey's piece and can serve as a reminder of his American roots. Tansey paints his version in a photographic like way. He uses Cartesian perspectivalism, which offers up a naturalistic, and real life like experience. Without taking anything away from the event, he captures it all in its realest forms - with other people present, with a note of where it's taking place, in a contemporary, monochromatic, and antique like painting. The scene itself is frozen in time. Action Painting II exists in the realm of depicting the human experience and the remarkable events that has made a mark in American history. After seeing this one painting, I was introduced to more of Mark Tansey's work. 
THE KEY
PAINting by mark tansey
Oil On Canvas
1984
But this one is by far the most interesting one I've seen. Here is Tansey's depiction of Adam and Eve being locked out from the Garden of Eden - I mean how comical is this! The frustration is felt from Eve as she wears her white satin dress, posed agitated towards Adam who is I mean look at him - he looks so helpless. This again is evident that Tansey has an eye for applying surrealistic and monochromatic compositions to historical narratives and as well as religious allegories from different times. His representation is unique and gives the story of Adam and Eve being BANISHED a completely different look - one that has Eve slaying may I add. The ability to see beyond what a story could be is one of my favourite things about Mark Tansey. He is the narrator and he sets the tone by painting it in his own lens. A lens that is humorous, light, and yet makes a comment towards how us as artists can look at things in different ways because we are free to do so. That is what we need more in the community - a different perspective every single time. So this is Mark Tansey, he is one of my new favourite artists of 2024! Thank you so much for joining me here on the 03! Until next time folks :)
Please check his work out by following the links:https://www.artchive.com/artwork/the-key-1984-by-mark-tansey/
https://gagosian.com/artists/mark-tansey/
Love Vie,
333