M I C H A E L   M A R K H A M

CONTACT: markhamart@mmarkham.com

Arrows — c'est la vie!

While on the road I'm constantly being told where to go and what to expect. By arrows. So why not a series of artworks featuring the arrow?

Arrows represent direction, movement, route, course, bearing, orientation, trajectory and so on. Furthermore — as the ultimate signifier — the arrow is always referencing something else (perhaps a city 100 miles away; perhaps nothing more than another arrow guiding you on). We have all become culturally conditioned to follow arrows, and they can also be something that guides the eye around a painting or guides someone through a space. Accordingly, there is an abundance of references and possibilities for using the arrow as a dynamic object in art.

Generally, in these artworks, the arrow is an object cut from paper or board and embedded in the paint. With the arrow as a foil, the painting can then be undertaken in a fairly free fashion. The arrows remain more or less obvious in the final painting, often seeming like fossils frozen in time.

Around the Block
acrylic and paper on plywood
6 x 6 inches

Yellow Sign
6 x 6 inches
acrylic and paper on plywood

Two Paintings That Can be
Viewed as a Sculpture

These two paintings (36 x 36 inches) sit side-by-side. When photographed — and viewed in stereo and at an appropriate size — the arrows will project outwards, making the paintings a sculpture. To achieve the 3-D effect on this page, try staring through the paintings and let your eyes "glaze" until you notice a third image between them — then focus on that third image and, with any luck, the stereo effect will lock in. Try doing this from about a foot away.

Stereo Arrow Drawings
Pencil on Paper
each square measures 2.25 inches
paper size varies

A series of stereo drawings in support of the above painting. Eventually I plan to do some in color and perhaps also some more stereo paintings. Any new paintings will be of this smaller size so the stereo effect can be easily viewed.

Framework
9 inch elastic frames,
photo on plywood and cut to shape,
2004 (first conceived in 1976)

This photo shows one particular manifestation of this work.
Scale and composition vary according to installion.
Variations can be designed for any untextured wall surface.
The photo of the hand is scaled to be approximately life-sized.

Framework
Design for an installation.

Around/About

acrylic on panel,
15 x 15 inches,
2001

“Naturally, there are between the signifier, the signified and the sign, functional implications (such as that of the part to the whole) which are so close that to analyse them may seem futile ....”
                                                — Roland Barthes, Art and Modern Life.