Sunday, April 28, 2013

Tony Orrico


Tony Orrico



 

            Although I was not able to attend the workshop at CNU with Tony Orrico, I still find his work fascinating and I regret missing that amazing opportunity.  Tony Orrico creates his works of art based upon human proportion and symmetry.   Using quite large sheets of paper, Orrico uses his body and graphite to create extensive drawings.  The process he goes through is very intriguing.  For example, he will use the wingspan of his arms as the basis for size, and then begin making short, straight lines with his arms extended.  As he slowly rotates, these straight lines visually form an almost perfect circle.  Once a circle is complete, he will use calculated movements to move a certain distance away and create a new circle.  The process is very time-consuming, and also requires a lot of energy.  Not only is Tony Orrico creating visual art, but he also is a performance artist.

            I was inspired by the unique and unusual approach Tony Orrico takes when creating art.  One important thing I learned from him is the idea of performance being an integral part of the art-making process.  A lot of his art is created in the presence of a live audience, or on film.  If an audience is going to be present during the creation of a piece of work, it becomes a performance as well.  Another idea I like is that of human proportion.  Human bodies are all extremely different, and if several people were to follow Orrico’s calculated process exactly, they would still end up with vastly different artworks.  I am inspired by the variance in the human body as well as the mathematics that Orrico addresses in his art.  Also, human endurance is a big portion of Orrico’s artwork.  I can connect with this on a personal level.  While I do not have the type of endurance that Tony Orrico possesses, I do face challenges with endurance while creating art due to a problem with my tendons.  Connecting with Orrico on that level has made me come to appreciate what he does even more.

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