Carol Flaitz "Fissure"
Artist Carol Flaitz makes the unseen tactile in Touching One Billionth of a Meter
BEACON, NY, October 2011 - Infinitesimal landscapes of precious metals transformed by electric current come to enlarged life in Touching One Billionth of a Meter, a solo exhibition of recent works by multimedia artist Carol Flaitz at BAU gallery, 161 Main Street in Beacon, New York, from October 8 through November 6. Flaitz's tactile panels, which she encourages visitors to touch, are based on extreme magnifications of the insides of computer chips.
Flaitz, originally a ceramics artist, became infatuated with project images from an electron microscope brought home by her husband, IBM senior engineer Phil Flaitz. Cross sections of the metals inside layers of computer chips, originally used for diagnostic purposes, fascinated the artist while teasing her with nano-landscapes she could see but not touch.
Flaitz then began interpreting these images onto large wooden panels (the largest currently at 5 feet long) and building up reliefs using various materials to mimic the imagery she encountered; images of structures so small that light particles themselves were too large to capture with even microscopic photography.
Flaitz digs into her panels, creating "fissures" or deep crevices that hint at further worlds beyond, then builds up her surfaces with various compounds, salts, resins and glazes to bring to life geological landscapes that man has created but until her work could not truly inhabit. "For all the benefits of digital technology," says Flaitz, "the machines man creates literally shut him off from direct experience, reducing everything to the virtual world of light under glass. Within my lifetime, humanity has become beholden to a man-made world we cannot touch or feel. But once we get down to the molecular level, we find that the tidy clean chips and boards that run and rule our days are really organic minerals subject to the stresses of natural geophysics, and the illusion of perfection quickly breaks down, replaced by a natural beauty that is profound, chaotic and much more interesting."
While the final pieces themselves look like they occurred naturally, the work required to make them seem so is anything but a simple process. Single panels can take weeks or even months to layer enough to create the desired effect, and the combination of sometimes volatile materials often requires the artist to be as much chemist as painter or sculptor.
Flaitz has exhibited nationally and internationally, most recently in Cologne, Germany. She holds a Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Wales in Cardiff, Great Britain and a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the prestigious College of Ceramics at Alfred University in New York. She and her family live in Newburgh, New York.
The Beacon Artist Union Gallery was formed in 2004 by six artists as a place for member artists to grow, present and market their works. It also has collaborative curatorial projects and hosts events on related disciplines like performances, talks, music and film. The gallery is located at 161 Main Street, Beacon, New York and is open Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. For more information, please visit: www.beaconartistunion.com.
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www.carolflaitz.com
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