English's series "REVISIONIST MODERNISM" personalizes and recontextualizes pivotal masterpieces of the
twentieth century, the new configurations transubstantiating the original piece and highlighting the
transcendent nature of art and ideals. The process opens a larger dialogue with art history and sparks a
more inclusory dynamic with the public.
In all paradigms the extraordinary becomes the ordinary after time has affixed it to the accepted world
of ideas. English is offering us something new ( which we the public have traditionally found hard to
assimilate ) in combination with something we are already comfortable with, the idea of the masterpiece
(an instantly recognizable mark of good taste ). By grounding a new work of art directly into a
masterwork, Ron has conjured the socio-political implications of the original and balanced it with the same
considerations relevant to the postmodern age.
The artist positions his own likeness in much of this series as a focal point between historic and mythic,
and also, in a sense, to identify his lineage as an artist, exposing his symbiotic connection to an ongoing
heritage of the creative spirit. English believes that all ideas are in a constant state of flux, reshaped by
artists through an unbroken chain using a vocabulary of expression that enriches itself by layering its
metaphors but which depends entirely on the universal understanding of what has come before. It is this
understanding that the "Revisionist Modernism" series is based on, this collective assumption that serves
as a springboard toward a future narrative strategy, an interpretation of the original transposed from its
time and its intent, and in turn reaching a new cultural significance.
THE PAINTINGS
all works above are O/C except for SURREALIST SHOES, which are Plaster Casts painted with acrylic
1997 by chip sommer.... email to tracker@radix.net
last revised 12/14/97
