| By the things we make, consciousness is either raised beyond the measurable sphere to that world we feel but cannot define, or else it is diminished. Art evokes thoughts and feelings that could not have been experienced otherwise, raising consciousness through mediation of structure and form. Art is affective artifact; its methodology, as Tolstoi said, is “to evoke in oneself a feeling one has experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movement, line, colour, sounds, or forms expressed in words, so to transmit the same feeling – this is the activity of art.” To be thus affectively expressive, the creative process for Norman is one of abstraction and visual organization. The laws of illusionism, realism, or naturalism are not part of the process. |
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Work being viewed at the Mennonite Heritage Gallery, Winnipeg. Photo by Terry Klippenstein.
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His is a primitivist approach. No attempt is made to replicate a conventional reality. Expressiveness depends, rather, on structure having degrees of exaggeration or distortion or omission; shapes becoming signs and illusion yielding to allusion so that motive energy exists in material and invented shapes in varied combinations, engaging the picture plane. Within a primal framework vivid and ornamental and semiotic expressions can be made through forms and counterforms in a mix of referents accreted in stories of culture and habits of tradition, along with those immediately derived from observation. The work is pieced. |
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Work in progress, showing how it is cut and pieced. The final step is to do the stitching. |
There is a natural affinity in this methodology to patchwork, and having always been attracted to the bold shapes and bright colours of traditional quilts, Norman began to incorporate quilt-inspired forms into his artwork as a means of pushing the traditional artifact beyond its expected use. The result is a form of collage with stitching – the paper quilt. Being a symbol of strength and unity, its stitching provides another dimension of expressiveness, and binds everything to the picture plane.
As in all of his work, in whatever medium, themes vary, some are traditional, some biblical, others are from nature or the imagination. Unlike fabric quilts, these works in paper are mounted behind glass and framed. Works can be found in various private collections across Canada. |
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“Prairie garden peas,” 35.5 x 35.5 cm. |
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“Morbus Meniérè’s,” 42 x 42 cm. |
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“To&Fro2,” 35.5 x 35.5 cm. Sold. |
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“Boustrophedon,” 35.5 x 35.5 cm. Sold. |
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“Rejected,” 42 x 42 cm. Sold. |
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