Revised on: May 17, 2010
Erik Von Ploennies lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Erik Von what?
Ploennies: (Pronunciation: Play knee iss)
Select Exhibitions:
2010
Francesca Arcilesi Fine Art, "Running On Empty" - New York, NY
SPACE Gallery "Profile New York: Art and the Aesthetic Experience" - Burlington, VT
2009
Red Dot Miami/Francesca Arcilesi Fine Art - Miami, FL
U-Space Gallery, "The Sound of Violence" - Atlanta, GA
White Box/Francesca Arcilesi Fine Art - New York, NY
Edward Andrew Gallery - New York, NY
Destination NY - New York, NY
Imagine - Bronx Academy of Promise - New York, NY
One City Art Show - Newark, NJ
2008
Destination NY - New York, NY
Wytwornia Theater - HAJDPARK Arts Festival, Warsaw, Poland
Brick House Gallery - Sacramento, CA
GAGA Arts Center, "Outside In" - Garnerville, NY
World Culture Open Gallery - New York, NY
On The Bright Side Gallery - Jersey City, NJ
TRA Gallery - Brooklyn NY
Francesca Arcilesi & Gallery JAC - New York, NY
Stain - Brooklyn, NY
2007
Avenue A - Restaurant & Gallery - New York, NY
Bullet: Urban Artists Collaborative - New York, NY
Niagara/Antagonist Art Movement - New York, NY
Articles/Publications:
Gallery of International Art - Artist of the Month, Interview - September 2008
MungBeing - Issue #21, pg.5-9, Issue #23, pg.55, Issue #31, pg.47
Proteus Magazine - Issue #4, pg. 46-47
Biography:
Erik Von Ploennies began experimenting with art in 2004 (age: 35), after visiting the Guggenheim Museum - NYC and seeing Vasily Kandinsky's, "Painting With White Border". His formal education is in electrical engineering and has no art training. Erik moved from California to Brooklyn, New York in July 2007 to pursue his interests in art. He is actively exhibiting in New York City.
Education:
BSEE (Electrical Engineering), 1995 - California State Polytechnic University of Pomona.
Artist Statement:
My work is a collage of random thoughts and inspiration layered together through a series of improvisational sessions. Much of the content comes from my everyday life experiences. The end result is sometimes convoluted, and abstract. It’s similar to a dream, where things get mixed together in strange ways.
Technique:
My "paintings" are a mix of painting and drawing. I use both traditional painting methods of pallet & brush, and also apply paint straight from a tube and use my fingers. Mixing colors is a rough approximation, and I often end up with colors that are accidental. I use a mix of acrylic paint, colored pencils, charcoal, oil pastels, and newspaper on canvas or wood. Drawing is an integrated part of my style because it's a more direct connection with the painting and easier to create detail. I paint on both canvas and wood, but prefer wood since it provides a solid surface for drawing.
I use razor blades for scratching and etching into the surface. I experimented with this while living in California, but after moving to New York, it became a more prominent part of my style. The inspiration came from the advertisement posters around the city and subway stations that are torn, scratched up, and have graffiti on them. The razor blade marks also help me see images within the painting. Examples include The Eye Should Listen, Snake In The Garden, and Pagodas. I sometimes carve/etch into the wood to emphasize lines. Sometimes the wood is covered in newspaper, so the carved lines are deeper with rough newspaper edges. Examples include: Two Lemurs, One Green Lizard, Fish Can't Swim.
Color and contrast are a big part of my style. I like bright colors and try to simulate the bold colors of oil pastels. I transition between using colors in their pure state, mixing, and layering colors. There is ongoing experimentation with color vs. black and white. In 2008, I began experimenting with black & white (or silver) and also combining black & white with color. Examples include She Has Silver Hair In The Moonlight, One Green Lizard, and She Knows Words.
Process:
I usually start with paint and sometimes newspaper collage to develop a foundation and establish a color scheme. The foundation is abstract and has little definition. I transition to drawing and begin doodling and scribbling with pencils, charcoal or oil pastels until some kind of direction is established. I continue moving back and forth between painting and drawing until the artwork is complete. This process can go on for a long time and typically involves a lot of trial and error. I look at the painting each day and decide what to keep and what to paint over. This process continues until I am happy with every section of the painting. I have a difficult time knowing when a painting is complete and usually put it away for a few days. I use my later judgment to tell me if it is complete or not.
My paintings always have an abstract nature to them because I don't have the ability to sketch things realistically. I like abstract, child-like representations of recognizable objects so I have little motivation to "improve" my drawing skills. Many of my 2006 paintings were pure abstract, but everything from 2007 to the present has abstract, yet recognizable objects. I am happy with this direction and will continue.
The doodling/graffiti/scribbling/scratch marks are present in nearly all my art. It's inspired by Cy Twombly, and it's one of my favorite parts of creating art. It brings me back to childhood, and feels liberating, especially when I start thinking too much about what I am painting. Sometimes it is pure scribbling, and other times it's stick figure people, animals, or engineering/mathematical equations, symbols, or random graffiti that resembles Egyptian or alien hieroglyphics.
The images present in my artwork are almost always seen within the painting. The scribbling and razor blade scratching help with this process. If I see an image I like, then I will extract the image using paint, pencils, and pastels. A great example is the monster/evil spirit in "Pagodas". There is an early photo of the painting where you can see the silhouette of the monster before I drew it in. Another example is the yellow barn in "Imagine". If you scroll down and look at the top right photo, you can see the image of the barn. In the next photo, you see where I paint it in. I believe there is a simple explanation for this. The brain recognizes patterns (images) that you are familiar with. It's the same idea as the people who see images of Jesus in strange places such as their oatmeal. They aren't crazy; it's just a pattern that their brain is capable of recognizing.
Poetry:
In November 2008, I started experimenting with poetry and sometimes mixing poetry collage pieces into my paintings. There is one poetry example below with more on the Poetry page.
I have been using the Brooklyn Rail newspaper as collage material in my artwork since late 2007. I would sometimes underline or circle words or phrases that caught my attention, but it was kind of random and insignificant. Egyptian was the first painting where I took a group of underlined works and turned it into a simple poem. It is now an integral part of my artwork, with the poems gradually getting stranger, more complex. The poetry sometimes intentionally or unintentionally influences the artwork. Examples include: Non-Stop Mastermind From Left Field, The Eye Should Listen, and Fond Memories of the Misunderstood.
The concept of taking something that already exists and turning it into something new has been on mind ever since I saw the Richard Prince exhibition at the Guggenheim - 2008. His re-photography, nurse paintings, and deKooning woman, collage paintings were especially inspiring.
If you read through my poetry, you will notice a few things. The poetry tends to read like random gibberish that occasionally borders on making sense. This is because I'm more focused on the rhythm/phrasing and sound of the words rather than the meaning. It's similar to lyrics, except I don't have to worry about melodic content and music. The Brooklyn Rail articles sometimes include words that I really have no clue what they mean, but if I like the way the word sounds, I will use it. There are a fair number of people in NYC that can be found rambling endlessly to themselves in parks & subway stations. I try to mimic this with my poetry. My intention is not to make fun of people that talk endless gibberish to themselves, but rather see it as an abstract form of poetry. Maybe it's a little like Outsider Poetry. I don't read much poetry other than what's in the Brooklyn Rail, so the street ramblers are my primary influences.
What I especially like about this method of creating poetry is it parallels how I paint. I begin with no direction or preconceived ideas, and it just kind of comes together sooner or later. You will notice that the poetry often ends up having a different tone and subject matter than the article it came from.
Example: This is a partial page from the October 2008 Brooklyn Rail. The article is from the In Conversation section, "David Opdyke with Phong Bui". Click here to see the full article. Below is a copy of the edited article on the left with my poem, "We Are All Americans" on the right.
The interview articles work especially well because you have dialog from two different people to work with.
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We Are All Americans
It's sort of extending into the absurd.
We are all unified?
Everybody is adopted?
I wondered.
Our vision of reality.
It makes sense.
The equation is clearly revealed.
What was the impulse?
Two pieces,
Fractured and broken.
People talked about being,
Split into parts.
The pieces all the same.
The idea of many people.
So many people.
It's a brilliant idea.
Very efficient.
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You will see examples of other poetry in the larger close-up photos at the bottom of each page for the experimental artwork. I have 100+ poems and counting. My poetry is not on this website because I don't have a practical way to organize them. I post new poetr on ErikVP.Blogspot.com.
Documentation:
My website is a living diary of my work. In 2007, I began a process of documenting each painting shortly after it was complete. I also did this to the best of my ability for older paintings from 2004-2006. Maybe it's my engineering nature, but I believe there is great value in documentation, not only as a way to accurately capture data, but also as a learning tool. When I am creating a painting, I am just focused on making a great painting. I try not to think about or analyze what I am doing. Once the painting is complete, I begin the documentation process. I create a file for my website and capture my thoughts and also include any photos I have of the painting in development. During this process, I begin to understand any meaning behind the painting. This also helps me to choose a name. Sometimes my wife contributes, especially when it's a painting that makes little sense to me.
I also want to make as much information available as possible for anyone who desires a deeper understanding of my work. In 2007, I also created my first video which captures the making of "When It Rains". You will see the video link if you scroll down below the photo.
When I research other artists, I always prefer to read or hear about the artwork directly from the artist. Reading or listening to art critics, curators, and authors is also interesting, but I find there is no substitute for the artist's own words. I don't mind people creating their own interpretations and theories of my artwork; in fact I find it very interesting.
Influences:
Paul Klee - I consider Paul's artwork to be the model for what I want to achieve. Most of his paintings have identifiable objects, yet they are abstract. You can have a pure abstract painting, and add the simplest identifiable object like the sun or moon and it changes everything. His artwork was diverse, innovative, and always evolved even in the later years while he was ill. Klee was also a master of experimentation, and mixing mediums together. www.paulkleezentrum.ch
Charles Schultz - My biggest inspiration for combining art & humor together. Snoopy and Woodstock are my favorite characters in the Peanuts gang. I have my own gang of characters slowly evolving. www.SchulzMuseum.org
Jean-Michel Basquiat - I like the raw, spontaneous, street graffiti, yet child-like feel to his art. It's very New York. I also like how he used mixed media, and mixed drawing with painting and his innovative use of found materials. 342
Wosene Worke Kosrof - Wosene is Ethiopian, so his artwork has a raw, primitive feel. I like his use of layering, color, abstract use of symbols, and the overall complexity of his work. It takes time to absorb his paintings and appreciate them. My two favorite paintings are "Fishing for Words", and "Tribute to Alvin Ailey". www.spiritsinstone.com/wosene/home.html
Cy Twombly - I didn't understand his artwork at first. How can scribbling be considered art? As it turns out, his scribbling became a significant influence on my artwork. This also helped me see artistic value in things that were not intended to be art. Examples: electrical schematics, mathematical equations, street graffiti (the non-artistic version). I have incorporated this into my own brand of scribbling/doodling.
Vasily Kandinsky - I was inspired to experiment with art after seeing "Painting With White Border" at the Guggenheim, NYC. I was drawn in by his use of color, and the overall abstract compositions of his work. I especially like his early works (1908 - 1912) when he made the transition from objective painting to abstraction.
Robert Rauschenberg - I didn't care for his work much until I rented the video "Man At Work". His philosophies on art are well thought out. The video helped me develop a real appreciation for him and his work. The way he thinks about art and approaches it are what have influenced my art. Robert absorbed everything around him like a sponge and incorporates this into his art. He welcomed uncertainty, unpredictability, mistakes, and experimentation. He also tried to stay out of comfortable routines, and maintain a progressive approach to creating art.
I was fortunate enough to see his final exhibition at Pace Wildenstein, NY just prior to his death in 2008.
Wolf Kahn - I like the color and style in his pastel drawings and his abstract interpretation of landscape art. I'm not a big fan of landscape art, but Wolf helped me realize that landscape art can be done creatively. I recommend his book "Wolf Kahn Pastels". www.wolfkahn.com
Children's Art/Primitive Art/Graffiti - You may find good artwork in galleries and museums, but the best artwork lies elsewhere. The cave walls and rocks containing the artwork of the Native American Indians, and the walls of children's classrooms are where you will find true art. I also like street graffiti especially the really raw graffiti that isn't intended to be art.
