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Summer 2010

The ongoing struggle/challenge to live up to the expectations of a dual Artist, (Performance & Visual) keeps things interesting. Persuit of materials and venues of expression coupled with medical issues is a dance gone polyrythmic. Visual art shows provide instant gratification in the form of comments made on work shown. My base, (Theatre performances on a daily basis) keep me sane. Have you ever been Critiqued by a 5 year old? Producing wall art is the fuel that keeps me going! COLOR, FORM, EXPRESSION, TEXTURE, LINES, and GRADATION are mere expressions of what my third eye is perceving. Gotta go, gotta go, should I leave that gnat stuck in the acrylics as a deliberate texture additive to the stroke of applied…?

09 Thoughts

We Visual Artists love the challenge of producing new work. It’s the ongoing challenge that creates the rush of finishing pieces and getting them prepared for the public to view. I am currently working on 26 pieces simultaneously. I couldn’t have attempted this two years ago. Now I have mastered a process that allows me to go through all 8 steps of producing my art on this new level of profeciency.

 

I am always trying to master my technique so the line I am drawing in wood to produce my works is profecient and of a quality that I am proud of and satisfied with. I am my hardest critic because only I know what I am trying to do. You the public judge my profeciency and provide the feedback necessary for my survival. Critique is crucial to my survival.

 

Many of you probably don’t know that we Artists that do festivals and fairs are judged on our work and either allowed to do the shows that we apply to or not. They, the festival and fair committees judge us on a criteria of accomplishment that changes from area to area, state to state and area to area of the country. It is a humbling experience.

 

I am encouraged and priviledged by the beauty of acceptance that the public has afforded me. My observations and dreams shown visually are actually appreciated. It is an honor I am most grateful for.

 

fred

“A Glimpse”

Art for Art’s sake or Art for Commercial gratification… The questions abound with conscious reckless abandonment. What does an Artist aspire to? The questions push the limits of my inspirational boundaries. Whew,,, now thats stated…

 

Quite a year I’ve had… Recognition, productivity, lots of press, TV, interviews, cable access shows and commissions. I worked hard and steady for it all and it has been delivered. Really it has been a "Tale of Two Cities" experience "The best of times, and the worst of times. A duality of existence realized in the visual recording of some images that broke through. I can only show what I have lived. Life is the greatest/ultimate artistic experience. The personal stuff is the ultimate! Wish I could visually show you. I’ll try.

 

Stay with me… I haven’t even scratched the surface. I only partially cut through.

Artist Statement

 

“Ancient man was utilitarian in his existence. Plant life provided food, shelter, tools, art and medicines. Earliest man, the African, in reverence and homage to the cycle of life and as part of the ecological evolution of life, would, after childbirth, pick a favorite tree and give back to the plant-God of the Universe by burying the afterbirth under the roots of a tree….to give back to that which sustains you, I humbly produce original Art CUTZ from the wooden roots of nature”                             

My name is Fred Gardner…. I am African-American…. Iam a Texas native, raised in Corsicana by parents who were educators…… I am an Artist by profession, love and passion. Matriculating from an agrarian background, my love for the earth was nurtured in the center of East Texas soil, majestic cedar and oak trees and pastoral country visions. These childhood memories placed an indelible mark on my soul which influenced my love for art and beauty. 

I am a founding member of The Afro American Players, Inc., which is the oldest Black Theatre Company in Texas, established on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin during the Civil Rights Movement. My thespian involvement in theatre, as an actor and set designer during my undergraduate years, rekindled my love for wood. I have been on stages around the world as an accomplished actor and have developed a love of people that I skillfully scroll with a saw in my visual art medium I simply call, CUTZ. This divine inspiration came to me on his birthday, February 24, 1992 as I began to sketch pictures from my perception of the richness of worldwide cultures,  cut them out of wood, paint them in vivid colors, mount them, and display them. It is a unique, rare and intensive format which culminates into a story of  ‘fine art  ensconced in wood.’

Currently I perform multi-cultural plays for children with my wife Glo Dean every month through our company, BaGar Productions. I also produce plays with the Afro-American Players in major theatres. I have one son, Tre` and two grandsons, Langston and Lincoln who I proudly hold as my most precious piece of art.