Brian Dulaney

Grant awarded Spring 2014

Website:

http://briandulaney.tumblr.com/

In the summer of 2014 I traveled to Turkey, Italy, France and Germany. I visited the cave churches of Goreme; the Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace in Istanbul; churches in Venice; the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua; the Chapelle du Rosaire in Vence; and the Pergammon Museum in Berlin. I chose these sites because I am interested in making paintings and drawings on three-dimensional forms and on architectural structures. I applied for this grant to further investigate the relationship between different kinds of architecture and images incorporated into this architecture. The sites that I visited all in corporate colorful images and designs on the interior of their structures in the form of fresco, paint, mosaic, stained glass or colored bricks. Most of the sites that I visited are Christian or Muslim places of worship. It was interesting to compare and contrast these sites with regard to their architectural structure and the materials used to inscribe imagery onto these structures. The cave churches of Goreme, for example, employ similar Byzantine iconography to the mosaic of the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul and St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice. The cave churches, however, feel entirely more intimate and meditative because they are smaller hand-carved spaces situated in remote locations to serve monks living in solitude. The mosaics at the Hagia Sofia and at St. Mark’s Cathedral use real gold and so imbue the imagery with political power and actual wealth.

One may also compare how these structures exist inrelation to their surrounding environment. The stained glass in Matisse’s Chapelle du Rosaire consists of simple lily shapes in bold greens and yellows. When the sun is shining, these colors wash over the white interior of the chapel. In this way, the lush vegetation of the French Riviera is invited into this space of mediatation. In the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace the intricately patterned dome and walls also suggest vegetation and complex natural design. And yet, the tightly ordered patterns in such dizzying array and on such a vast scale inspires more of a sense of awe and power than the quiet humility of Matisse’s chapel. I am currently working on an installation work in which I am creating a functioning diner in my studio. My research trip has been an important source of knowledge with which I am able to formulate how my architectural structure and painted designs will combine to create content.