Artist and professor Tom Grady opens exhibit at library
Emily Osgood
Issue date: 2/4/09 Section: Feature
Tom Grady is currently teaching Drawing and Studio Art here at Assumption. His collection Paintings In Transition is on display in the Emmanuel D'Alzon Library. A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, Grady became interested in art while taking art classes in high school. In his artist atatement, Grady states, "This body of work is a series of transitions. Each group of paintings focuses on reconciling the traditional with the contemporary." In all, the collection consists of 16 oil paintings.
The paintings are located on the first floor of the library. Upon entering, the first painting that a viewer sees is a stark entrance into Grady's work. Ode to the Image Maker depicts a skull, as it would be represented on a CAT scan. In the upper right hand corner where the patient's name would be located is the name Grady, and rightly so, because this is not only how he signed the work, but also a reproduction of a CAT scan taken of his father's head. This is more meaningful than a regular portrait because it shows "what was underneath and is an alterative type of portrait…and in a way that's what's meaningful," says Grady. What is underneath is the essence of who a person is. Along that same wall are two other paintings, Bugs on a Windshield, and 1 of 101156 Possible Outcomes Plus Brick. These paintings carry along with the same theme as Ode to the Image Maker.
Bugs on a Windshield shows the windshield of a car as if the viewer were directly in front of it, looking at the many spots on it that used to be living bugs. Through the rear windshield of the car, headlights from the other cars can be seen.
In 1 of 101156 Possible Outcomes Plus Brick, the painting is a pixilated image of a black and white photograph of Grady from his wedding. It is painted as if the pixels were distorted on a computer, with one twist. Directly in front of Grady's mouth is a brick, which is the only part of the painting that is in color, making it very striking. These paintings follow a common theme because; as Grady says, "they use interference patterns…and I guess they are sort of iconic paintings". This technique is used to layer one image on top of another and gives the viewer an idea of two spaces coming together. Also, these paintings also are tied together by giving the viewer a different view of something that would otherwise be very common.
The paintings are located on the first floor of the library. Upon entering, the first painting that a viewer sees is a stark entrance into Grady's work. Ode to the Image Maker depicts a skull, as it would be represented on a CAT scan. In the upper right hand corner where the patient's name would be located is the name Grady, and rightly so, because this is not only how he signed the work, but also a reproduction of a CAT scan taken of his father's head. This is more meaningful than a regular portrait because it shows "what was underneath and is an alterative type of portrait…and in a way that's what's meaningful," says Grady. What is underneath is the essence of who a person is. Along that same wall are two other paintings, Bugs on a Windshield, and 1 of 101156 Possible Outcomes Plus Brick. These paintings carry along with the same theme as Ode to the Image Maker.
Bugs on a Windshield shows the windshield of a car as if the viewer were directly in front of it, looking at the many spots on it that used to be living bugs. Through the rear windshield of the car, headlights from the other cars can be seen.
In 1 of 101156 Possible Outcomes Plus Brick, the painting is a pixilated image of a black and white photograph of Grady from his wedding. It is painted as if the pixels were distorted on a computer, with one twist. Directly in front of Grady's mouth is a brick, which is the only part of the painting that is in color, making it very striking. These paintings follow a common theme because; as Grady says, "they use interference patterns…and I guess they are sort of iconic paintings". This technique is used to layer one image on top of another and gives the viewer an idea of two spaces coming together. Also, these paintings also are tied together by giving the viewer a different view of something that would otherwise be very common.
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