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Nancy Lissaman
| 1991 | MA | Pacific Oaks College, Pasadena, CA | | 1986 | MSTC | Pacific Oaks College, Pasadena, CA | | 1954 | BA | Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA |
The inherent qualities of nature, perceived or intuited, is my primary interest as a visual artist. The dynamic patterns and rhythms which shape all organic systems of our universe are painted and collaged on paper and canvas as sense impressions.
My focus is the weave or web of interconnections between form, energy and heightened states of awareness. Within this web of interconnections, I seek essences that capture a reality within current political, social or even mythological themes.
I incorporate collaged materials into my abstract compositions. I rely on chance occurrence to dictate how I will proceed. Free association allows me to develop a meaningful dialogue between torn or cut segments and the actual underlying field of colors and energetic patterns. SEGMENTS ONE BY ONE is the title I chose for my exhibition in spring 2007 at the 1st Standard Bank Gallery in downtown Los Angeles. This title is a line from a story poem by Gerald Hopman called ONE BOOK. Hopman told me that my work artfully "reflects a poet's intuited understanding of how reality is pieced together...not by some mechanically ordained system - but by creative trial and error - segments one by one - until a wholeness is attained and speaks clearly."
Nancy Lissaman was born and raised near the shores of Lake Michigan. She earned her B.A. in History from Stanford University and began the study of painting at the Carmel Art Institute. Upon moving to Pasadena where her husband began his Ph.D. work at Caltech, Lissaman changed from oil painting on canvas to a 3-dimensional format to capture the essence of natural movement in space with metals and Plexiglas.
Applied arts and technology courses, plus special mentoring from sculptor, Claire Falkenstein, and a further year in the Art & Technology program at Caltech, equipped Lissaman to change her medium to casting resins. Her sculpture gained recognition with a solo show in 1974, inclusion in a prestigious New Talent invitational, several LACMA exhibitions, the Baxter Gallery and other institutions around Southern California.
Lissaman describes her current acrylic paintings to have descended from the vigorous innovation of the '70s, when transparency, atmospheric color, light and space predominated. Robert Irwin's articulation about perceptual awareness and realms of consciousness affected her powerfully as a practicing yoga student and daily meditator. Eastern thought entered into her art, giving her the impetus to offer the viewer direct participation in an ephemeral, spiritual experience.
Aside from exhibitions and active involvement with community organizations and art groups going back 35 years, Lissaman has also maintained a dual career in education. Starting in 1986 as a LAUSD teacher, she progressed through a master's program in Human Development to the Community College system as an instructor of Early Child Development with a special emphasis on creativity. Her current affiliation is with an Echo Park agency, the Central City Action Committee, where she runs a weekly art workshop for underprivileged kids.
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