Laylah Ali, who's technique includes Gouache on paper and Drawings, was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1968. In her case, where she was born may have less to do with what influences her art, as when she was born. According to an article by Tisa Bryant, 1968 was a year marked by cataclysmic change, and that “maybe it’s just coincidence that Ali grew up to create an exacting visual art out of social and political commentary using similar gestures, but it’d be folly to chalk up the reflective precision of her paintings to her schooling alone.”
Bryant is referring to such work as “Untitled,” 2000, (left) which is Gouache on paper. About this painting Laylah Ali says: “I think when people say the word ‘violence’, oftentimes we think of the violent ‘act.’ In my earlier work it was more about the moment that somebody was getting strangled or hanged, whereas now there’s very little concentration on the moment when violence occurs. I’m more interested in what happens before and after. And the figure is the perpetrator of the violence, the victim, the negotiator. We understand or read violent acts through the characters and the figures.”
This the first image that came up when I searched her name on the internet, the one below (Greenheads) came shortly after. I found them very interesting and thought provoking, but also initially thought that they looked fairly simple to create. However, I soon read that “the precision with which Ali creates her small, figurative, gouache paintings on paper is such that it takes her many months to complete a single work. She meticulously plots out every aspect of her work in advance, from subject matter to choice of color and the brushes that she will use.”
Bryant is referring to such work as “Untitled,” 2000, (left) which is Gouache on paper. About this painting Laylah Ali says: “I think when people say the word ‘violence’, oftentimes we think of the violent ‘act.’ In my earlier work it was more about the moment that somebody was getting strangled or hanged, whereas now there’s very little concentration on the moment when violence occurs. I’m more interested in what happens before and after. And the figure is the perpetrator of the violence, the victim, the negotiator. We understand or read violent acts through the characters and the figures.”
This the first image that came up when I searched her name on the internet, the one below (Greenheads) came shortly after. I found them very interesting and thought provoking, but also initially thought that they looked fairly simple to create. However, I soon read that “the precision with which Ali creates her small, figurative, gouache paintings on paper is such that it takes her many months to complete a single work. She meticulously plots out every aspect of her work in advance, from subject matter to choice of color and the brushes that she will use.”
Her Greenheads series (left) is populated by her “signature androgynous figures” They contain stylistic references to hieroglyphics and American folk-art traditions, telling stories with maximum impact and minimal details. I feel an emotional impact from her work, torn between the bright colors and almost child-like scenes, and the dark subject matter, that speaks of “political resistance, social relationships, and betrayal.” I put that in quotes because it is a direct quote from the Art 21 site, however, I don’t feel it really needs to be. The subject matter of Ali’s work is not hard to decipher, although she does take a new direction in 2005.
In Untitled, 2005 (right), the figures, while similar to the Greenheads, have more detail and pattern, and are seen in situations that are even more “ambiguous and confounding.” I feel the violence in this painting, even though this is after the action, or event has taken place. According to one article, “as the image is rendered in Ali’s cartoon or comic book style, it is simultaneously infused with humor and absurdity.” I don’t feel any humor in this piece though. It feels like fear and pain to me. Not done in a way so as to make me turn away, but to make me think. Also in this piece, it is deliberate that they don’t have arms. This is a turn she took with intention: “In the newer work, they just have legs. They don’t really have the gift of arms. Removing arms, I can figure out what can be done without arms, what kinds of commands can be given through other kinds of gestures. There’s still a lot of power left in the body, and I’m trying to see how much I can take out and still retain a powerful or influential core, or one that can tell a story.”
Ali’s interest in representations of socio-political issues and current events drives her work, although her finished paintings rarely reveal specific references. Viewers are left to mine their own perspectives and imaginations for answers, and as Jef Koons said “There’s something imminent in the work, but the circle is only completed by the viewer.”
Ali’s interest in representations of socio-political issues and current events drives her work, although her finished paintings rarely reveal specific references. Viewers are left to mine their own perspectives and imaginations for answers, and as Jef Koons said “There’s something imminent in the work, but the circle is only completed by the viewer.”
Ali’s drawings, which she describes as “automatic,” are looser and more playful than the paintings and are often the source of material that she explores more deeply in her paintings. Pictured left is Untitled, 2002, which is Gouache and pencil on paper. It has the same characteristic as her paintings, but it feel more free, like a sketch. It still evokes the same emotion though, which I think says a lot about her work.
“In my new drawings, I aim to fuse recognisable types with question marks, fuse known narratives with things that are not as easily articulated. The inbuilt narratives within what is recognisable give the viewer a place to start. So, we might start with what looks like a kiss, but what kind of kiss is this? Who are these people?” Laylah Ali
Works Cited
Bryant, Tisa . “The Believer - Interview with Laylah Ali.” The Believer. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. <http://www.believermag.com/issues/200512/?read=interview_ali>.
“Laylah Ali.” http://www.pbs.org/art21/artist. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/laylah-ali>.
“Â .” ICA. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. <http://www.icaboston.org/exhibitions/permanent-collection/artists/ali/>.
“In my new drawings, I aim to fuse recognisable types with question marks, fuse known narratives with things that are not as easily articulated. The inbuilt narratives within what is recognisable give the viewer a place to start. So, we might start with what looks like a kiss, but what kind of kiss is this? Who are these people?” Laylah Ali
Works Cited
Bryant, Tisa . “The Believer - Interview with Laylah Ali.” The Believer. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. <http://www.believermag.com/issues/200512/?read=interview_ali>.
“Laylah Ali.” http://www.pbs.org/art21/artist. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/laylah-ali>.
“Â .” ICA. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. <http://www.icaboston.org/exhibitions/permanent-collection/artists/ali/>.