Artist's Statement

My work is largely a result of creative accidents shaped by circumstance. Unlike many others, I never set out purposefully to become an artist: it is something that just happened to me, largely as a result of circumstances in my environment. Much of my work reflects my exposure to the enormous variety of cultural and physical environments that I have encountered while traveling; other parts reflect the dilemmas of contemporary existence.

The origin of my paintings on Japanese boards, miniature folding screens, and scrolls stems from my stay in Kagoshima, Japan (April l986 through May l987). I found myself with time on my hands and bought the boards and the paints (East Asian watercolors), sumi sticks and block, and experimented. Finding these materials complemented the Rotring technical pens I had used since 1978, I continued. The boards (shikishi or "ceremonial paper") are in common use for small paintings and have their origins in the boards used in fusuma (sliding doors) which were exquisitely painted in the past. I also began to use handmade paper including the rare Kamou Washi, made by an elderly couple in the area.

In creating the free form paintings, I generally apply ink directly to the paper. With the "mandala" type, I generally plan things out with a pencil on the paper before inking. In each instance, I have no clear idea of what the end result will be. Generally, in all my work, I let the tool take semi-automatic control and lay down the line. I may have an initial image in my mind, but the end product is always a synthesis between what I have a misty image of and what comes out on the paper. For the most part, I lay out a series of brushes and start painting.

Etching is a complex and little understood art. The wonderful thing about printmaking to me is not that one can make a large number of reproductions from one plate but that one can produce work which cannot be done in any other fashion. The methods employed (drypoint, line etch, aquatint, relief etch) each produce a different effect, and--as is the case with applying glaze to ceramics--there is always an uncontrollable transformational process at work which will affect the final result. An acidic foulbite may have an effect on my plate just as a spilled paintdrop may on one of my paintings.

I attempt to attain the effect of stone carving or petroglyphs with my prints and to create an almost paleolithic feel--but with my own whimsical 20th-century touch. Etching allows both for lines too narrow to draw by hand and tones (aquatint, softground) not obtainable otherwise.

As far as meaning in my work goes, it has the meaning one reads into it. I believe that good art stimulates the imagination, and I hope my work does that. Much of it derives from subconscious influences in my immediate environment. To me, art is a way of both entertaining myself and expressing my imagination. It provides me with relief from the surrounding environment and is a reflection of the world we live in. Unike many other artists' work, it is not autobiographical in nature.

Artistically, I would say that I am most influenced by the art of Asia, West Africa, and that of the second largest island in the world: New Guinea In particular, I am very fond of Javanese stone carvings, ancient Egyptian mural paintings, Benin bronzes, Asmat wood sculpture, East Asian hanging and folding scrolls, Tibetan bronzes and mandalas, and Persian and Indian miniature paintings. As far as more contemporary artists go, my favorites include Bosch, Magritte, and Duchamp.

Harry S. Pariser

San Francisco, CA. 1998.

Related Pages

Artwork

Artist's Resume

This page last updated: Wed, Apr 29, 1998.