When one thinks of earthwork art, the first thing that comes to mind would be: soil, rocks, branches or other tangible earth materials but the greater part of my attention is with the invisible / unseen forces that shape and mold all things.  My paintings are made in above and below freezing, high and low altitude and I must become more sensitive to things outside myself.   I take my rightful place and follow nature's lead; and learn to strike a balance between my inner and outer self.  Things are revealed to me through paint experiments that cannot be discovered by any other means.  The result is that I learn about paint and our planet simultaneously.  Basically put, I manipulate space, time and matter; and the matter is not just paint.

"Nature has her own best mode for doing each thing and has told us plainly over time;
and if we decide to choose our own ways as opposed to natures';
nature will not be slow in undeceiving us."
- RALPH WALDO EMERSON -

RIDING NATURE'S COATTAILS.

The elements help me in creating an illusion of the elements.
More importantly, I learn about paint and nature simultaneously.

    

Simply put, this is a physical investigation of our given planet and rather than see the world and paint, the opposite is true.  I witness the push-pull forces that shape and mold all things on a massive level; such as viewing the Red Oval of Jupiter or conversely, seeing the microscopic world that exists simultaneously.  Perceived as either macro or micro (as well as both), these places and characters are formed much like an ameoba would, by its surrounding space.  My art experience focuses on the actual and provides the strength of a triad. Nature does not offer opinions but facts about this world and my Speed Elements palette serves as a translator as nature reveals its every influence on paint and other objects. 

"Long Island and Connecticut"

"It is always to our benefit to follow nature's lead."
-  EMERSON  -

After nearly a decade of painting in many styles I felt a need to question everything, right down to the materials I was using.  It was my third year of college in 1980 when I stumbled on the palette that I continue to develop today; SPEED ELEMENTS.  I set my Speed Element paints into motion to mimic the push-pull forces and create satellite and microscopic views of the earth and places scattered throughout the universe.  These paintings are abstracts waiting to be called realistic, when technology “catches up”.  

"Lake Dwellers"                                                                                      2007

It wasn’t long before I realized that I didn’t need to go to nature to be an environmental artist because a hot, cold, wet and dry day affects the visual outcome of a painting.  There was a certain comfort in also knowing that I did not have to abandon painting to become an earthwork artist. Possibly more accurate, would be to refer to this as Atmospheric or Eco-System Art; which, reveals the intriguing dynamic between matter and "non-matter".  More importantly, it led the way for me to create a closer relationship with this earth as I learn something new with each new paint experiment.  Images and ideas are revealed through this direct relationship that can be revealed no other way. Just as scientists today experiment, for example, in zero gravity to see how an egg develops, I too am working here on earth to find out things that only a physical relationship can reveal.  

"Deep Blue St. Pete"  (48"x36")                                                                                                                  1994

* On display from January 6th - February 23, 2012 

Longboat Key Center for the Arts, Ringling College of Arts & Design.

SARASOTA, FLORIDA

This palette is not dependent on me to move; and  in fact, speaks to me about nature; seducing me like a siren's song while Ralph Waldo Emerson joins in this duet.  The past, present and future become one in the active moments of a Speed Element experiment.   This physical investigation of the actual forces a reactive improvisation.  Art books could no longer satisfy my search.  Soon, I realized that I could replace the words: nature, physics and such... for the word "paint", to create the art books I sought. In celebration of my 30th anniversary of working with "Speed Elements" and the 150th anniversary of Emerson's, THE CONDUCT OF LIFE, I will soon have completed a catalogue that offers greater details to my concepts about art and life, entitled - THE CONDUCT OF PAINT.   Emerson's thoughts has been the foundation that I have built upon for over two decades.  How could I not be influenced so greatly, with such thoughts as: "How something appears depends upon how long one takes to observe." and "What doesn't have the power to create life, has the power to redistribute in space and time".   Catherine McWeeney, a wonderfully talented writer will be editing the abridged and comprehensive gallery booklet.  If you would like to receive a copy of this booklet, or would like to be on my email list for gallery openings and other events, or you would like to visit my studio, please go to the "CONTACT US" tab.

RECENT EVENTS:

"The Music of Now"  MUSIC MARATHON  @ symphonyspace, NY, NY

MULTIPLE ONENESS
A TIME RELEASED PERFORMANCE

"Eight Hours of Songs, and Uncounted Influences"

Symphony Space, NY, NY February 21st, 2011

(Picture by, Ari Mintz for The New York Times)

NEW YORK TIMES - MUSIC REVIEW

By VIVIEN SCHWEITZER (Published: February 22, 2011) 

"... The most unusual work I encountered was "Mulitple Oneness",

an intriguing performance-art piece by the oboist Matt Sullivan and the painter Ken Cro-Ken. 

While Mr. Sullivan played a melancholy lament over recorded sounds, Mr. Cro-Ken poured liquids onto a canvas

projected onto a video screen.   The colorful liquids flowed through the painting’s raised surfaces

like yellow lava, swirling in strange tandem with the oboe’s melancholy tunes."

 To see this N.Y., N.Y. performance live,

*     please click on the link below:      *

www.youtube.come/KenCroKen

FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW,  PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/arts/music/23now.html

Δ

On 89.1  FM,   CITYWIDE,  WNYU, February 19, 2011

http://citywidewnyu.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/matt-sullivan-and-ken-cro-ken/

The desire to search for an alternate palette stems from the good fortune to have had conceptual artist ROBERT MORRIS as a mentor during his brief  artist-in-residence stay at San Diego State in 1980.  Though only 22, exposure to Mr. Morris and his "idea art" have had a lifetime effect on how I observe the world and therefore, how I approach and create art. Amongst many of  the ideas that Mr. Morris shared with me, one stood out most:  Robert did an ARTS-IN-PUBLIC-PLACES project in an Atlanta park where he took a few sticks of dynamite and stuck them in the ground and setting them off.  He then put up a sign that read  “ONE,ONE MILLIONTH OF A MEGATON BLAST". It was my 3rd year of college and 10th year as a painter.  In high school I was able to take three periods a day of painting.  Within that first decade I tried as many different styles and refusing to settle on one. I was young and knew that something would find me.  Of course, this great encounter with Robert Morris and other wonderful mentors, (such as sculptor and my mentor at NYU's Master's program John Torreano), set off a chain of mental and physical events that has me feel that I have barely scratched the surface of this planet using my Speed Element palette.

The flag above, on the right is one of three "ENVIRONMENTAL FLAGS",
that were shaped by the wind off the East River, Bklyn, N.Y.
(ART-IN-PUBLIC-PLACES, D.U.M.B.O. JULY & AUGUST 2007)

REVIEW:      http://twi-ny.com/twiny.08.08.07.html