NOHTHRIDGE
ON TEE ROAD
.Art Dbstract su:bmi tted in part:i. .s.l sat5.sfaction of the
requir emen.t s for the degree of r-'iaster of 1\J: ts in Art.
by
Heli Arja Sairanen Dayley
June 1977
T~
abstract of Heli Arja Sairanen Dayley is approved:
CALI:B'OHNIA S1' A'fE UNIVEHSITY, NORTHHIDGE
Harch l977
:Li
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Ab::3ti'DCt
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Flat~E s
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ABSTRACT
by
Heli Arja Salranen Doyley
l•1aster of A.rts in Art
For the HorJ.;: I havE: chosen <em often obscl'Ved, but seldom
painted subjco ct, the California fre<:v.rays.
asphalt
~nd
rJ:hsy h::we elvress
concrete, sometimes very dreary and ugly, yet
somettmes very beautlful and reca1, has eroused my intu:Ltion
and emotional imaginc=ttion.,
They
rK:lVG
beml painted in a
manner that has intensified the personal illusion that I
attribute to them.
'
•'
TL1e extcr1or \Wrld has proviced the m.odel and the
. have been changed and rec:r1 anged, IJ.sj_ng the tools of coJo..,._.,
1
sbo.pe o.nd shadcM unt}.l tb.e
thc~t
\Wr~-:
fits the intcr1or moclel4
the objective.
has coms to a resolution
Irnj_tc:ttion of natu.re
vJClS
not
Instead the achievement of a clear represent-
ation of the emotional and innE.r needs '-'Thich asslgncd the
.va1ucs to cDch p<3.rt of cvEI'Y corL[JOsit:Lon \·::::s the r:;oul.
1
SOill1 C'E.:
paintings are direct results of actual experiences.
T~
1'he images \vere collectt_'d ma ln.ly \vhile dri vin.g alone on the
freevray
time.
bet~tJeen
Los fmgeles and Napa for long stretches of
The aloness is almost oppre ssj_ ve and there is no
.escc::pe from :Lt.
I
arn forced to look at the road 11JhU.e tt
continues on <:Jnd on, re le.nt le ::; sly and very j_n::d stECntly.
~:;;uj.te
often, the sound of the rmHo f<:1.des.
I turn im.•rard to my thoughts.
To save
mysc~lf,
I begin to stare at the road
and the time becomes irrelevant because of the monotony.
kind of dull hypnosts envelops the mind and there is
tightness in tbe bD.ck of th3 head.
A
D
I can really feel the
eerie loneliness and the soli tude of the road.
The San Joaquin Valley fades all into one.
the side of tbe highv.;ay becorr.e indistinct.
awareness is riveted to Interstate
5.
The crops at
Tbe total
The landscape
simplifies itself into shapes and shadows.
The color of
the day ch2nge.s in almost imperceptible stages as the miles
drone on.
Some times, in the middle of the day·, \·!hen I fee 1 that I
can no longer tolerate the monotony of drlving, I 1 11 pull
2
to the side of the road and stop under an overpass to
escape the
heat~
1'he bridge throws a povrerful shadcr1.v ·
across the road, yet, there is no coolness in it.
The heat,
r:i ses from the p.e:tvement Dnd tbe air is sui'focating.
With
every breath tbB air is s1.1cked around the face like Saran
Wrap.
shade.
There is no clear reli.ef betv.reen the heat and the
The mind is muddied by the fatique and the f)Ody
refkcts the dullness within.
The only way to escape the
ordeal is to survive it.
From the road have cowe tbc j.nspirations and the feelings
that have evolved into pc:dntj_nss.
At times the mood bas
beE:m invwrdly rebellious.
"No, I don't \·Jant to be here!
Let me get away from this!
I can't stand it any longer!
Good God!
Will I ever get tb..e re~? 11
\'Jhile going through
this turmoil, tber·e is no choice but to act sensibly and
quide the vehicle in a responsible lliafiner to keep from
doing anything \·Ihich 'i'JOuld
o~ly
causE regrets later.
Eventuslly, the mlnd stops buttiD.g up ag8inst a brj.ck
wall and gives up.
A calx follows.
An acceptance of the
s5taltion, an acceptance which slowly builds to optimistic
anticipation and outright joy the closer I get to home.
It. is all of these moods ,,rhich have affected me strongly
and \,rhl ch have provid cd tbe subject for my 1.-JOI'k.
3
CO LOH AND SHAPE :
In the beg inn:lng, there ·vrere pro blsms
tended to be naive and inconsistent.
VJj_
th color.
It
i
By trial and r,:;rror
thE: color difficulty evolved to a very basic fact
0
Some
colors such as orange, yellow, and red orange, even in
small amounts, helVE c:m un.denia ble tendsncy to !)roje ct to
the foTeground.
tracUtionally
11
On the other band, the· blue tones,· the
cooJY colors, recede.
'di th indiscriminate
use of all colors, the atmospheric areas of the canvas
lost 6epth an0
~he
solid forms seemed to simply dissolve
into air.
Being Rltlare of this
11
color-distance 11 , and selecting more
conscientiously each particular color used, I've been able
....
to more clearly emphasize particular elements of a palncJ..ng
to better serve my needs and intentions.
elements
haV\:3
The pictorial
been simplj_fied and streamlined.
I have
removed all distracting details to make the pain as clearly
and d:Lre ctly as pas si ble •
For example:
In canvas //1, the ground is represented
by flat,horizontal bands; one for the road, one for the
fields and one to represent tt:e air.
4
'l'he stabilj_ty of the
bands is calm and restful&
is not seen from a.
side.
movin,~
It is as I v6sh
w;hicle.
j_ t.
The road
It is observed from the
It 5-s stable e:md static, ubereas tn contrast, the
b:ticl ge overh; ad seems to svrecp up•,.,rards tmvard th.::; sls:y.
trlangular shape
dlrectj_on.
carl~ i.e s
thc movement of ths
GJ!3
The
in that
Tbe color in this pa:inting is not very pretty.
It is ov t=;nwrked and dragging, lil<::e the mind dulled by the
exhausting monotony of Interstate
San Joaquin Valley.
5
as tt cuts through the
The color reflects the sandy eyes, the
muscles maL::Lng a ..f'1st 5-n U:;e n::ck and the: ungodly hes.t of
·the desert.
Both the
In canvas #
5
rson and the palette are worn out.
the mood and the color are different.
The
time j_s late afternoon, \"Tell past the halfway point on the
way home.
The feeling is good, the lBn.dscape has a.
wc-~rm
glow, ma.de warmer by my mvn excitement of approaching home.
The frecHay bridge is not an ugly
object~
but gaj_ns almost
a scu.lptD_-re1 quc1lity v!hcn poised i:n th" slanted rays cf the
composition, but this time i.t represents the road itself.
It is a dynaml c shape.
going
home~
It signifies motion; going for\vard,
It suits ·my purposes very \vell.
The lcmdscape
has been simplified again to eliminate all that is not
necess<U'Y.
a scu1pti...1.re.
The bridge bas been elevated to tbe. level of
It is even 11ainter'l
"1rJjth
· silv c.r to .:;1ve i. t a lmili.nous. qu2lity.
.and rcfJ.e cts my feelh1g s.
'J~he
5
th;::: fn:intest tLlt of
'Ihe color i.s uarm
shadovr :Ls cc.drr: and eent1e
and the color is peaceful and calr.1 'to reflect the feeling
'\vJ.thin myse:li'.
The bridge has personal drarila as it stands
in its simplified environment.
In other canvasses, such as 1/:6, =ill and ~f8, the color has
corns to a. reso1ution.
It still has an atmospheric quality,
but i.t has cJ;:criflcc! and settler] to a point that enh;:.mces
canvas 5 but in eecl-J OJ;lG, tt'(J color has been the main vehicle
to convey the personal interpretation of the momEmt.
The compositlon hD.s been consj_stently sj.mplified to
the uork.
The triaDE', ular
sh<:1 r:e reappears sEveral tj_rrws fro:m one canvas to the next,
each time having a different degree of 1.mportance :L:n the
pie~e.
In each case, it has been used to signify
and p:cogress.
Along vJith color
5
it is the chief element
used to portray tbe rnany facets of the freeway.
6
motio~
CONCLUSIONS:
'l'hToug h trial and erTor ard much frustration, the
paintings have corns together.
important
one~
The color issue was a very
By lE::arn5cng the subtle v:l.sual pov1ers of .
and by
r·es~"Je
cting their p::n'ticul.:u· pcculio.r:Ltiz:;s,
the problem began to resolve itseJS.
The surface of the
canvas can still be glazed over several
•
can oe kept clear and fresh.
ti~es.J
D.?.1c3_
tb.e cc]_Ol~
It does not have to becooe
The later canvasses prove this.
it for a particular psychologj cal effcct ~
The slmplified shapes servE: my prcc poses vie 11 and kept
·the intent m·Jay from the purely rr::presentational image.
ThG rsmoval of many clutte_ring detc:d1s c:clJm,Js the;
JnOrE3
pccsonal e:;_spects of tre \vork to cot·:e through, such as the
use of glazed lc1 yers of paint and thE': personal mood given
to the situation.
The difference between light and dark,
though sornstj_ms s very slight, gives elrama to the scene.
The freeways are grand and magnificent in their way.
They can inspj_re a\ve.
Sometj_mes I even toy vJith the idea
of 'l'lhat another person would feel if he \vere to discover
them, thousands of years from novJ, buried under layers of
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