Unknown to me before, visual (infovis?) artist Ward Shelley [wardshelley.com] comes as a refreshing surprise.
Shalley’s impressive oil paintings and pencil drawings use real information in an attempt to depict the understanding of how things evolve and relate to one another, and how this develops over time. Usual topics range from art or cultural history, such as the arc of an artist’s career and its influences, or the effect of particular ideas in an aesthetic or political movement. The paintings are interpreted as being “wide-screen”, as all information is available to the interacting eye at every moment.
These works are full of compact information, which takes months to collect and organize. The designs are done with pencil on paper because each piece goes through constant revisions during this time. 3 different versions of the painting are made from same information. Normally the pencil drawing goes through minor changes from version to version, and the painting is entirely different, using different colors and brushwork.
Thnkx Irene.