Journal

Donald G. Longcrier, Artist Journal/Blog

Facing the Desert and Thomas Merton

Facing the Desert and Thomas Merton

I owe a great deal to Thomas Merton. I chose the title of Facing the Desert, my exhibition at [Artspace] at Untitled, based on the quote from Merton in my artist's statement.

"In The Silent Life, Thomas Merton states that 'the monastic horizon is clearly the horizon of the desert…His [the monk’s] eyes are not turned towards the battlefields in the plain [rather] they gaze out upon the desert…' ”

-Donald G. Longcrier, Facing the Desert, [Artspace] at Untitled2001

Installation View:

Wooden Fish: Installation of Untitled (Whitehall Skiff) at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Wooden Fish: Installation of Untitled (Whitehall Skiff) at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Installation Wooden Fish and final assembly of some of the larger pieces was accomplished with the help of Sandra Longcrier, and Elizabeth and Billy Dyer.

Unloading the base beam for the boat cradle assembly of Untitled (Whitehall Skiff).

Front: Michigan Steel Boat Company 14' Whitehall Skiff

Back: Untitled (Tape Measure 2)

Installation view: Untitled (Whitehall Skiff), Wood and rope with objects,

Wooden Fish: Review, The Oklahoman

http://newsok.com/wooden-fish-swims-against-the-tide/article/3897129

Wooden Fish: Construction of Untitled (Whitehall Skiff)

Wooden Fish: Construction of Untitled (Whitehall Skiff)

Whitehall Skiff, photograph by Robert Ross

Fourteen foot Whitehall Skiff manufactured by the Michigan Steel Boat Company of Detroit Michigan in the early decades of the twentieth century. The rowboat has a steel skin and was procured in Massachusetts.

Delivery of Michigan Steel Boat Company Whitehall Skiff.

Construction of the boat cradle begins in the studio. Cradle measurements when completed:

70" H. x 192" L. x 104" D.

Construction of the rope net for the boat cradle. The cradle net is woven using manila rope that is 1 1/8" and 1 1/4" in diameter. The end connections are made by splicing the rope using a traditional fid.

The perimeter of the net is made with 1 1/4" five-strand manila rope.

Boat cradle net, approximately 60" x 96".

Wooden Fish: Construction of Tape Measure Pieces

Wooden Fish by Donald Longcrier

Contruction of Untitled (Tape Measure 1,2,3), 108" H. x 108" W. each, Tape measures on wood.

The Tape Measure pieces began with a two year effort to acquire enough yellow, cloth, carpenter's tape measures to accomplish all three pieces. My calculations estimated a need for between 7500' and 10,000' of carpenter's tape. The search required almost two years and yielded more than ten thousand feet of tape.

Tape measures exceeding ten thousand feet in total length

To prepare a surface on which to tack the tapes, panels were constructed of one half inch plywood, 108" x 108" each.

Tape measures were then attached to the panels with half inch nails. The process began at the center of each panel and worked continuously outward until the edge was reached.

The construction of each Tape Measure piece utilizes between 2200 feet to 2500 feet of carpenter's tape. There are approximately eleven to twelve thousand nails per piece.

Installation view: L-R, Untitled (Tape Measure 1,2,3), 108" H. x 108" W. each,

Wooden Fish at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Wooden Fish by Donald Longcrier at Mainsite Contemporary Art

http://www.normanarts.org/2013/10/oklahoma-artist-donald-longcrier-presents-new-large-scale-works-at-mainsite-contemporary-art/

Oklahoma Artist Donald Longcrier Presents New, Large-Scale Works at MAINSITE Contemporary Art

Posted on October 9, 2013

Longtime Oklahoma art fixture Donald Longcrier stays busy as Director of the Nona Jean Hulsey Gallery and as an adjunct professor at Oklahoma City University, but when it comes to his art, he likes to keep the peace.

“My work springs from a longtime interest in the contemplative life in both Western and Eastern traditions,” Longcrier said. “I work with materials that are familiar to me: rope, wood, beeswax, carpenter’s tools, and fishing tackle. Individual pieces are quiet. Objects are presented in the simplest possible way, without embellishment or decoration. The results are intended to be humble and contemplative.”

Wooden Fish is just that, a tranquil collection of new, large-scale works that opens to the public on Friday, October 11 with a reception from 6 to 10 p.m.

The pieces vary in media and scope, ranging from the massive, vaguely hypnotic wall pieces composed of thousands of feet of measuring tape to the Wooden Fish itself.

The wooden fish is a simple percussion instrument used in some Buddhist traditions to maintain a rhythm while reciting sutras and Buddhist scriptures,” Longcrier said. “Originally a large, carved fish found hanging outside temples along with the bell and gong; it was used to call monks to their assigned duties. The fish in Buddhist tradition never sleeps and therefore symbolizes wakefulness.”

Longcrier is joined by Norman Arts Council Individual Artist Award winner and printmaker Barbara Ryan, whose exhibit Play Is Practice will be on display in The Library gallery.

The Water Closet Gallery will house prints from Estonian artists, collected and curated by Norman printmaker Laura Reese.

The opening reception will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, October 11 at MAINSITE Contemporary Art, 122 E. Main, Norman, Okla. in conjunction with October’s 2nd Friday Circuit of Art. The exhibit will run through Saturday, November 9 with a closing reception schedule from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, November 8.

MAINSITE Contemporary Art is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Visit mainsite-art.com for more information on the gallery.

For more information on Longcrier, visit donaldglongcrier.com.

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Wooden Fish at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Wooden Fish at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Installation View: Untitled (Tape Measures, 1, 2, & 3), Tape measures on wood.

Wooden Fish at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Wooden Fish by Donald Longcrier

The wooden fish is a simple percussion instrument used in some Buddhist traditions to maintain a rhythm while reciting sutras and Buddhist scriptures. Originally a large, carved fish found hanging outside temples along with the bell and gong; it was used to call monks to their assigned duties. The fish in Buddhist tradition never sleeps and therefore symbolizes wakefulness.

My work springs from a longtime interest in the contemplative life in both Western and Eastern traditions. I work with materials that are familiar to me: rope, wood, beeswax, carpenter’s tools, and fishing tackle. Individual pieces are quiet. Objects are presented in the simplest possible way, without embellishment or decoration.

Wooden Fish at Mainsite Installation

Wooden Fish by Donald G. Longcrier opens at Mainsite Contemprorary Art in Norman, Oklahoma on Friday, October 11. The exhibition runs through November, 9.

Opening Reception: Friday, October 11, 6:00 - 10:00 pm.

Artist's Talk: Thursday, November 7, 7:00 pm.

Closing Reception: Friday, November 8, 6:00 - 10:00 pm.

Installing Untitled (Whitehall Skiff)

Wooden Fish (Big Lumber)

Wooden Fish by Donald G. Longcrier required a trip to Timber and Beam Solutions of Tulsa for some oversized lumber.

It is impossible to complete some of the projects that I attempt without the help of others. I owe a "Thank you" to Dean West, Leanne, Georgio, and the gang at Timber and Beam Solutions for helping me load up. Thanks also to Bruce Haynes of Haynes Remodeling and Construction of Norman, OK.

A really, really big "Thank You" to Sandra Longcrier for helping me unload at the shop. That's Sandra's steel toe in the foreground.

Sometimes you get lucky! If a water pump has to go out, at least it waited until we were backing the trailer up to the studio door.

Wooden Fish by Donald G. Longcrier will be at Mainsite Contemporary Art in Norman, Oklahoma in October 2013.

Blackwell Flour Mill

©Donald G. Longcrier 2013

For those of you in the Tulsa area:

"Tune in or set those DVR's tonight on NBC Channel 2 to watch "The List" at 6:30! West Construction will be featured on their national segment for our reclamation projects with the Blackwell Flour Mill and an 1850 Confederate Civil War era Tennessee Barn!"

©Donald G. Longcrier 2013

Blackwell flour Mill

Blackwell Flour Mill and Dean West of Timber and Beam Solutions of Tulsa, Oklahoma featured in story on News On 6.

NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |

Blackwell Flour Mill

I spent the afternoon at the Blackwell Flour Mill in Blackwell, Oklahoma. Timber and Beam Solutions http://www.timberandbeam.com/ and West Construction of Tulsa, Oklahoma are dismantling the mill and reclaiming all construction materials.

Tonight, July 24, on Tulsa News Channel 6, at 10:00 pm, Scott Thompson will have a feature story on the Blackwell Flour Mill.

According to their project website: http://www.blackwellflourmill.com/

"Timber and Beam Solutions, along with West Construction, has the privilege to reclaim one of the oldest and largest wooden structures in Oklahoma. The Blackwell Flour Mill was established in 1885. Western Oklahoma was built on wheat, and farmers for miles around brought their wheat to be milled. This iconic structure helped families to survive The Great Depression and The Dust Bowl by supplying bread to the hungry. Being an essential organ to the heartbeat of America, it would be wonderful to bring awareness of reclaiming this building to the public."

Thank you Dean West and crew for showing me around the site. Over the coming days, I will be posting a few photographs of the mill.

Art Now 2013 at City Arts Center

Art Now 2013

City Arts Center

GALA EVENT: January 25, 2013

Exhibition dates: January 21 – February 8, 2013
Curator Talk: January 28, 6:00pm

Untitled (Chalk Box), 60" H. x 60" W. x 6.5"D., Acrylic and encaustic on wood with objects

Art Now 2013

City Arts Center

"Art Now is the contemporary art exhibition for Oklahoma, showcasing work by the state’s top artists. City Arts Center’s premier fundraising event, Art Now has impressed audiences for more than two decades

2013 Guest Curator: Louise Siddons

Assistant Professor and Curator of Collections at Oklahoma State University, Siddons is an art historian specializing in American art and the visual culture of modernity. She received her Ph.D. in Art History from Stanford University in 2005 and joined the OSU faculty in 2009. Before coming to Oklahoma State, Siddons was a visiting assistant professor and adjunct curator at Michigan State University and the Kresge Art Museum for two years. Prior to that, she was an assistant curator of works on paper at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco for several years. Siddons continues to have a museological role at OSU, where she is curator of an art collection that has particular strengths in twentieth-century and contemporary American art. She is currently involved in the planning process for a new museum of art at the university."

http://cityartscenter.org/Web_v2/events/cafe-city-arts/

Untitled (Chalk Line), 60" H. x 78"W., Acrylic and encaustic on wood, Carpenter's chalk

Untitled (Fundamental Principles), 44" H. x 37"W. x 1"D., Acrylic and encaustic on wood with objects

FISH 2012: Artist's Statement

Native Trout of the American West

The Native Trout paintings represent a discussion of some of the American West’s most pressing contemporary issues, the first and foremost of which, will always be water and its management. One cannot speak about the West without discussing public land and private ownership, environmental and economic concerns such as mining and irrigation and farming arid land.

The native trout species I have chosen to paint were once common to most rivers and streams from the Pacific Ocean to the Rockies, from Mexico to Canada. Now, they number a fraction of their original population and many are only to be found inhabiting tiny, isolated headwater streams in small areas of their original range. Where some of these fish once grew to legendary size, Lahontan cutthroat trout were reported to reach sixty pounds, many now survive as six to ten inch specimens.

Wild, native trout populations are indicative of the environment in which they live, and reflect the choices we have made and will be making regarding the use of these watersheds. Native trout habitat has been affected by mining, grazing, farming, and irrigation needs. Blocked by dams, spawning runs have ceased. Many native species have been displaced by the introduction of non-native species.

Recovery efforts supported by, private organizations, government, and tribal agencies are underway throughout the region.

A simpler explanation of the paintings might have to do with the fact that research for the work requires me to spend as much time as possible, chasing after wild native fish in remote but untouched locations. Regrettably, the time spent on research is never enough. But, fishing is all about hope.

FISH 2012 Installation

Installation of large-scale Native Trout paintings in the entrance of the Fred Jones Jr. Art Center on the University of Oklahoma campus with Sandra Longcrier and Jeff Beekman, Assistant Professor of Foundations.

The paintings are being exhibited in FISH 2012, an international exhibition of art that explores the culture of fishing. The exhibit is curated by Assistant Professor of Foundations, Cedar Marie and hosted by the University of Oklahoma School of Art and Art History. The exhibition runs October 23 through November 7, 2012.

Installing Apache Trout, Oncorhynchus gilae apache, Acrylic and encaustic on wood, 54" H x 108"W.

Installation view:

Left: Apache Trout, Oncorhynchus gilae apache, Acrylic and encaustic on wood,

Right: Westslope Cutthroat Trout, Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi, Acrylic and encaustic on wood,

Installation view:

Left: Apache Trout, Oncorhynchus gilae apache, Acrylic and encaustic on wood,

Right: Westslope Cutthroat Trout, Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi, Acrylic and encaustic on wood,

The First Tape Measure Piece

Untitled (Measuring Tape,Tape) was the first piece in which I used a tape measure. The piece is constructed using a roll of Kraft Tape and a Lufkin 50' cloth tape measure. The tape measure is wound continuously around and through the tape roll creating a spiral of numbers that repeat almost every turn.

Untitled (Measuring Tape,Tape) , 7.5"Diameter x 3" D., Measuring tape, paper tape, 2002

Installation view:

Untitled (Measuring Tape,Tape), 7.5"Diameter x 3" D., Measuring tape, paper tape, 2002

Untitled (Steel Disk), 44" Diameter. x 3.5" D., Steel, cloth, wood, 2001

Untitled (Grindstone) Installed

Here are some Hipstamatic images of Untitled (Grindstone) installed at new location.

Art Now 2012 Video, City Arts Center

A new video about Art Now 2012 at City Arts Center www.cityartscenter.org by Christopher Hunt of Midwest Media and Marketing and www.chrisopherhuntfilm.com

Art Now '12 from christopher hunt on Vimeo.

Art Now 2012, City Arts Center

Taking down Art Now 2012, City Arts Center.

All packed up and loaded. Thank you to Curator Romy Owens, Mary Ann Prior and the staff and Board of Directors at City Arts Center, and those whose support enables City Arts Center to fulfill its mission of providing a free contemporary art exhibition space and educational facility in Oklahoma City.