Taylor Weldon Soderquist
Taylor Weldon Soderquist is a prolific artist. He has produced hundreds of works at the young age of twenty seven. The above work is entitled A Time is Was. The painting is on a 4’ x 5’ professional grade stretched canvas and it appears like a section of a gigantic beanstalk made out of stained glass windows. It is as if a photographer stepped in and took only a one section photograph of this colossal jigsaw puzzle of colored glass. Its large size testifies to its importance.
I have often wondered how the process of writing an art critique essay would feel. Is it difficult to speak about art with the written word? Most importantly is it necessary at all, when art by its very nature has no rules and therefore lies outside the confines of anyone’s judgment? Would this project be enjoyable I pondered? In addition would it be worthwhile, as well as worth reading?
I will say that I have always found that when reading about art, when I was not presented visually with what was being discussed, ended up being a fruitless effort. It seems axiomatic that it is very difficult to describe that which is unseen, especially when it is so unnecessary as in painting, living in the digital age. Writing and photographs are best friends and there are no reasons for these two not to accompany each other.
I chose this original art piece because I happen to own it. I bought this from my son a couple of years ago and it is waiting patiently for my art studio and library to be renovated to have its due place of prominence on the wall. I consider it a masterpiece and not just because this is my son. Any human being that crafted this creation would have my allegiance and admiration forever. A Time it Was pays homage to a litany of different artists, among them being Barnett Newman, Adolph Gottlieb, Hans Hoffman and Ashile Gorky. These great abstract expressionists led the way nearly seventy years ago and their profound influence on Taylor’s work is unmistakable.
Taylor utilizes attractive geometric patterns, shapes, and colors with a deft hand and spirited heart. The observer can find a cacophony of images and subjective feelings that give a nuance of joy and completeness. It is as if this painting existed, breathed and lived before actually being born of horse hair and tubes of distinct thick bodied paints. The background of this painting has the most miraculous shades of green, gray, purple and reds. Included also are some soft blends of brown. The technique he utilizes seems almost reminiscent of the “scrape squeegee paintings” that have been mastered by Gerhard Richter.
Moving in closer one is able to see three dimensional cubes that are mounted on hinges, a mysterious silhouette of a person shaded in gray, along with a pair of eyes peering out ominously at the viewer. These also accompany symbolic hands, forks, arrows, clubs, and a reverent pose of an individual kneeling in prayer. Any time an artist is able to use a flat plane and create a textured colored appearance of three dimensionality there is little mistaking that one is close to observing greatness. When I looked at A Time it Was the first instance, I was convinced I was in front of a tour de force. Every occasion I examine this work I see something different. Sometimes these visions are very pronounced and other times their minuteness is palpable. The work is alive. Those simple four words are the sum and substance of this work of genius.
I’m convinced that this feeling of vivacious can only be evident when one stands before the original painting itself in excellent light. Viewing an original art work may not be a sufficient cause of aliveness but it certainly is a necessary one. There is no greater lover of photography on earth than myself, yet I know the severe limitations when we try to re-create the magical power of a visual piece of art by photographic means. It just cannot be done, or at least done by the means and methods at most of our disposal. I heard recently that our eyes see at about 560 megapixels. That is the type of quality we can witness by being in the same room as the creation. When I sat and studied this painting yesterday in the natural sunlight I was struck at Taylor’s adeptness at picking out different hues and subtly changing them with blended whites. When one looks close, you can also see the individual brushstrokes and perhaps even some places that were missed, yet these give the enchantment and allure of being genuinely human. The same can be seen up close of a Matisse or a Van Gogh. Our digital realm will never be able to replace the power of seeing a work of art in person.
On the back of this painting Taylor left a request that people look at art and that they learn from it. Last of all he suggests that you love the art. My studying and learning from this work in order to write this essay has increased my love of it and my depth of appreciation for it even more.
