An Interview With Ben Weaver
Benjamin F Weaver uses sets of nonorganic geometric elements to illustrate theoretical spatial relationships between forms. The forms are often incomplete and the completion of the forms give potential movement and resolution that needs to be solved. The geometry itself is less important than the movement, relationships, and the group as a whole. Weaver categorizes his work as Geometric Spatial Abstraction. The reductive elements are built within a system that is meant to be understood within its own context.
Can you tell us a little bit about you?
I am an acrylic painter studying structure, and relationships through color and geometry. I am self-taught and have a studio in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia, PA. I have worked in many mediums through the years; oil, watercolor, acrylic, carved wood, and cast bronze. I work on individual paintings; one at a time. I like to develop a few series of paintings each year. I graduated college in 1993 and have been creating since then. I have picked up the pace around 2009, and around 2012 I would say I found my voice.
What is your artistic process and how has it evolved since you began painting?
In the past I used to sketch directly on a white canvas, and let the painting develop as I go. Now, a scale drawing comes first and then I enlarge the drawing to a painted canvas. The initial ground of the painting is the underpainting line color. After the drawing is completed, I paint the background, and start refining the line color. Then I paint the forms, and refine the colors with thin layers. I do not use any masking, and paint to the line.
Where does your love of Geometry stem from?
I use geometric elements because they are universally understood. Forms can be viewed in their simplicity, but additional complexity can be hidden within and between forms utilizing that same geometry. Geometry is a language that communicates across cultures, and one that easily expresses structure and relationships through color. I am not a strict geometrical artist. I often use the form or structure and take a line away from the structure to provide movement around the painting and allow for different perceived perspectives of the forms.
What does 'Abstraction' mean to you?
Abstraction has come to mean non-objective thought. It is not the finished product but how it has been developed and viewed. How paintings have progressed has altered my thoughts on abstraction. When I first started painting I developed an idea and an aesthetic, then worked to complete the painting with a final product in mind. Now I start with a strong structural idea of a painting without a clear idea as to the finished product. The relationships are built into the structure of the painting, but how it is interpreted through color greatly changes the outcome of the relationships. I could paint the same structure of a painting multiple times and come up with many different outcomes that have different emphasis. This open ended way of painting color within a rigid structure has led to an internal process about abstraction that can only be referred to as non-objective, but hopefully one in which the viewer can also participate.
Is there one piece or project you are especially proud of?
I’m especially proud of my Cubes Divided Equally into Three series. There were many paintings in the series that I love, but the best part about the work was how it developed. There was a lot of behind the scenes planning, drawing, and development of the concept that has helped all of my work since that series. I developed different techniques and started applying more consideration to colors and layers that I hadn’t previously. It also helped me understand the ebb and flow of complexity in a series of work. This was the first series where I had smaller works that were easily digested; the concepts could then be understood more easily by the viewer in the more complex paintings.
Your earliest memory of art?
I remember seeing a Rodin reproduction in our local library when I was in kindergarten. At the time I didn’t know how it affected me, but I would occasionally think about it as I grew up. It was probably a consideration in my employment in a fine art foundry from 1994-2005. I also remember making my first ‘artwork’ in kindergarten. It was a laminated cutout of a bear on a kitchen chair on a piece of wood that I still have today.
Who or what is your biggest artistic inspiration?
Time is a strong motivating factor. I am constantly painting, but when I go back and look at drawings that I have developed I know that there are many paintings I have not painted, and many concepts I have not developed. There are also paintings that I work on and while I am painting it, I know that I could paint variations of the same concepts or even the same exact structure with different emphasis and color. I also strive to improve daily. Years ago this meant only when I was in the studio, but now it includes concepts that I think about outside the studio, and a healthy self-awareness about my work.
Are there any particular artists that you are currently enjoying?
Julian Stanczak, Gabriele Evertz, Li Trincere, Robert Swain, Nate Ethier, Paul Corio, Jesse Stilwell, Sanford Wurmfeld, Natalie Featherston, Lyndon Probst…..….there are so many. It’s hard to keep up.
What is your favourite book or film and why?
If I had to pick one of her works it would be Everything that Rises Must Converge, by Flannery O’Connor. I love the vague and precise nature of her writing. Her characters always seem to be developing with some sense of urgency.
Are you working on any projects you are particularly excited about?
I started a new series called Inner/Outer Interlocking Forms. This series builds upon the series Interlocking but adds complexity with additional forms. I am excited about the additional movement that I should be able to achieve. I am also working on some of the same color theory in regards to line that I was working on in my Inverse Cubes series.