Much of UA grad's art makes a statement
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.29.2007
In his tiny, white-walled studio, Austin Given blots dry the gesso paint from his newest work, "Somewhat Here. Mostly Gone." He is working on the piece for a series titled "The Day Before I Starved to Death." The charcoal covering his hands fits well with the somber images of people standing in lines.
Given, 24, who was a pre-med student before he switched to 2-D studio fine art in 2005, flips through an old textbook that features images of human limbs, eyes and bones. This is for ideas. He then picks up a black and white computer printout photograph of soldiers from the beginning of the 20th century carrying wire in big, wooden spools on their backs.
Given has plenty of images of people standing in line, all images from 100 years ago: people standing in bread lines, at soup kitchens, at internment camps.
"I started it mostly because I saw a lot of government programs here to help people, but they weren't really helping people," said Given. "These aren't war protest pieces, but are more kind of like, 'Why are we spending all this money when the education system is no good?' There are people dying here, too, and no one is setting off bombs," he said.
Given was the first Ugallery.com artist when the company started last October, and he has sold 10 pieces so far. He has spent his time creating pieces for his "Day Before . . . " series. He has finished 10.
At his home near the UA campus, he shows a series of self-portraits in charcoal. He shredded blocks of charcoal to create tiny flecks of black, for background, in a manner similar to grating Parmesan cheese. He sprays it with a water bottle to create running lines of dark charcoal for the background. When it's dry, Given sketches an image of himself, skinnier.
Two pieces from "The Day Before . . ." are online at Ugallery: "Walk Under Heavy Sky" and "Somewhat Here. Mostly Gone." He has two other pieces on Ugallery with the line theme: "Bread Line With Soldiers" and "The Line With Soldiers." Both are oil paintings on Bristol board and canvas, respectively, with dark colors starkly contrasted to the white of light snow.
Many of his paintings are lighter in tone than those in "The Day Before . . . " series, like "A Man's Shave #1," the painting of a German advertisement featuring his brother, a model. Or his "just for fun" acrylic on cardboard painting of his oven, twice.
Given graduated in August and works as a designer for SupplyOne Packaging. He says painting is "really just another job" and hopes to make a living from it.
Given's work can be seen on Ugallery or an upcoming show at the Kachina Gallery in the UA Student Union Memorial Center. Given will show many pieces from his "The Day Before . . ." series. The opening reception is at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
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