Monika Steinhoff - Figurative Realism, Medium, Artists Solidarity

An artists' choice of expression is probably largely personality and culturally related. The ‘mainstream’, by definition, encompasses the majority of artists and has for some time consisted mainly of abstract, minimal, and conceptual art, while realism remained a small but active tributary (except regionally - Santa Fe, Taos and the category of Southwestern art where landscapes, still lives and some figurative art have been part of the regional mainstream.) My work is neither regional nor part of the larger national mainstream but rather a tributary of the larger national mainstream which ebbs and flows like a regular stream in nature, recently encompassing more realism worldwide. Figurative art is also experiencing a revival. Within the category of figurative realism there are many subcategories, besides contemporary figurative realism, my paintings have been categorized as Narrative Realism, Magic or Poetic Realism and also fit the category of ‘Outsider Art’.

To use the human body in painting is the most difficult, because is has to be ‘right’ anatomically (anatomy was not taught in the schools I attended - UCLA, Berkeley (even though David Hockney, a famous figurative artist, was on the staff) so I had to teach myself.) The figure can be abstracted, simplified, distorted or exaggerated expressionistically. I do some of that, but one has to start with knowing it, the old adage, knowing the rules before you break them. I use figurative art as a vehicle for expressing my engagement with our time and culture. While beauty and classicism are intrinsic aspects of my paintings, they reflect deeper truths of political, social and archetypal realities.

Egg Tempera- Used exclusively in the Middle Ages before the discovery of Oil Paint, it is experiencing a revival after falling into disuse for several hundred years. Like many in our society my body has been exposed to more environmental pollutants than a sense of well being can tolerate (oil paint began to make me feel very ill) so some years ago I switched to egg tempera which is the purest medium available - no solvents, only pigment (natural sources) and egg yolk (from organic, free range (happy) chickens) and am regaining my health. While everything is done with greater and greater speed today, including most art, egg tempera requires time and patience and total concentration. Antithetical to much current art that strives to make a ‘product’ which shows no sign of the human hand, egg tempera is totally non mechanical, a totally human endeavor. Lasting better than oil paint (not yellowing or darkening), after 3 -5 years of curing, egg tempera is indestructible and has exquisite, luminous beauty.

Solidarity
Check out aSEA (Association of Socially Engaged Artists) founded in February of 2000 to bring together and encourage artists who want to be or are mirrors of our time, through msteinhoff@cybermesa.com