Tim Roby : The Moments We Share
3rd Floor Emerging Artist Series
January 29 – April 24, 2011
Atrium Gallery
Artist Reception and Gallery Talk
Saturday, January 29 | 7:00 pm, 8:30 gallery talk
FREE admission, open to the public
Kris Douglas in conversation with Tim Roby
Kris Douglas: In your work, you seem drawn to “the ordinary,” particularly in the arrangement of form within a distinct or specific context. You do state, however, that, “nothing we ever see is completely ordinary.” Can you describe more fully your interest in specific locations, objects, and their arrangements? Do you wish to privilege particular objects? Objects that generally go unnoticed?
Tim Roby: The things I am most interested in are how objects are observed, remembered and perceived. I read a book a few years ago called “the meaning of things” where the author talks about how no object, artifact, heirloom, etc, really carries any meaning at all. The reason we have valuable objects, and precious objects and meaningful objects is because of the value that we place on them.
I think we are conditioned to see beauty or value in particular objects and taught to ignore or discount it in other objects. My goal is to bring attention to the forgotten, or the things that are typically ignored or passed by. When I say that there is nothing that is completely ordinary, I mean that yes, there are ordinary objects, but through placement, juxtaposition, environmental factors and on and on…that there is reason to be curious and to not just look at the world around us, but to actually SEE what is around us.
KD: How does the memory of objects play a role in your artistic practice? You seem to approach your work with a reductive palate and simple arrangement of forms and/or objects. Can you describe your rationale or reasoning behind this? How much of a role does the viewer’s own perception play?
TR: Memory is a huge component of my work. Things are often not as we remember them being and are often changed in our minds based on biases. This begins to speak about perception, which is also a really important component in my work. It is interesting to me that viewers can read my work in different ways all based upon their memories, life experiences and perceptions. I can’t remember what it was in response to, but I wrote this down last year: My work is based on reality- it references reality but is disseminated the same way reality is given to us through news, radio, tv…. So it really has to do with “the other” similar to the allegory of the cave.
The reason I use such a reductive palate and simple arrangement is because I feel like in terms of what I give the viewer, less is more. When giving the viewer just a hint or an idea, the viewer is able to use their memories and act more freely, and they are able to run with it and “finish” the piece in their own minds and in a sense, they own the piece more. This is employed both in the simplicity of forms and the use of “local” color. Also, now that I am using a broader range of materials, some materials may become unrecognizable or blend into the piece, but others may lead to yet another reading of the object.
KD: You have said that your images should “walk the line between being comfortable and easy and being irrational and uncomfortable.” What about this tension is of interest to you, and how do you see the viewer of your work being affected by this?
TR: There are a few different ways to read that statement, but the main idea is that I think about it as almost a memory or a dream that is trying to be recalled. When the viewer approaches my work, in most cases, it will reference something that is somewhat familiar, but at the same time there may be a component that is unfamiliar, this being in the color, the way it is formed, the scale or proportion, which makes it unfamiliar.
KD: If your intention is to place more importance on particular objects or elevate their status visually or otherwise, how does this become justified with your “original experience” of that object?
TR: This goes back to an earlier question and leads into the next question. Yes, It would be easier to take a photograph of some of these original objects or scenes in the landscape, but it is more interesting to me to use those objects as a starting point. Not only a point of reference, but from there it turns into a new object that I make which to me starts a new dialog that I don’t believe could happen with a documentary style photograph.
KD: I know that you are fond of a quote from the French artist Jean Dubuffet, in which he states: “Instead of seeking objects that conform to elevated standards of beauty, if we came to realize that any object in the world may fascinate and illuminate someone, we would be in much better shape.” How do you want your work to function in this way, as it pertains to the viewer?
TR: My hope is simply that the viewer will recognize the outside world in my work and perhaps when they leave the gallery, be more curious to seek out and see things that aren’t considered traditionally beautiful. I think there are interesting things all over in what may be considered benign places, and there is beauty in more things than trees and mountains.
Kris Douglas is Chief Curator at the Rochester Art Center
Image: [ ] Scapes, 2008, Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Artist Biography
Tim Roby received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002 from Illinois State University, Normal, IL, and his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN in 2008. Recent solo and two-person exhibitions include Objects of Venerable Decay, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Buffalo, NY; Remnants, Olean Public Library, Olean, NY; See & Say, John Fleischer and Tim Roby, Bynton Health Service, Minneapolis, MN, and Free Association, University Galleries, Illinois State University, Normal, IL. Selected group exhibitions include Play, Bootleg Exhibitions, Indianapolis, IN; Flatlined, Sellout Gallery, Minneapolis, MN; Natures Way, John Fleischer, Stephanie NadeLau, Casey Roberts and Tim Roby, Unit B Gallery, San Antonio, TX; Miller, Roby, Ullanderson, Sellout Gallery, Minneapolis, MN; Open Door IV, Rosalux Gallery, Minneapolis, MN; Untitled, Unit 2 collective, Chicago, IL; Shared History, Southern Illinois University Gallery, Carbondale, IL; U of M Grads, Conklin Gallery, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Mankato, MN; Untitled 5, Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN, and Fresh Works, Regis Center For The Arts, Minneapolis, MN, amongst many others. Roby received a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant in 2009, was an artist in residence at both the Blacklock Nature Sanctuary in 2008 and the Chautauqua School of Art in 2001. Presently, Roby is Co-director of Dog and Pony Projects, an alternative art gallery in Buffalo NY, and an Assistant Preparator at the UB Art Galleries, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY.
Rochester Art Center 3rd Floor Emerging Artist Series
The Rochester Art Center continually strives to engage the community members of all ages in the creation, contemplation, and appreciation of the visual arts. As a non-collecting institution, the Art Center focuses its efforts on presenting temporary exhibitions throughout the year featuring established local, national, and international artists, as well as emerging artists from diverse backgrounds working in a variety of media.
In the fall of 2004, the Rochester Art Center initiated an ongoing exhibition series devoted to emerging artists working in Minnesota - the 3rd Floor Emerging Artist Series. Founded on the principle of critical engagement with new practices in contemporary art, the Rochester Art Center has since presented 20 exhibitions, all reflecting the broad spectrum of concepts and working methodologies of young artists in the state. By fostering experimentation and utilizing the flexible conditions inherent in the Rochester Art Center’s Atrium Gallery, the exhibitions have provided unique opportunities for the artist, the institution and the viewer, allowing for innovative and expanded possibilities for the presentation, discussion, and understanding of contemporary art. The 3rd Floor Emerging Artist Series has been instrumental in introducing the work of young artists to Minnesota audiences, and has helped to foster the early careers of underrepresented and under recognized artists.
The 3rd Floor Emerging Artist Series is made possible through funding by The Jerome Foundation.