Elisabeth is well known on the Provincetown art scene where for a long time she has captured the street scenes in town in a very realistic and whimsical way.
Pearl, who has been working on a series titled "Contemporary Icons-Mixed Media on Board" for at least 10 years has decided she is now ready to put these unique pieces of work on display for the first time. Pearl's process itself is a visual manifestation of the ideas behind her work. The icons become a juxtaposition of the world during the time of the ancient Masters until today, where one is constantly aware of the hi-tech world in which we live. Pearl collects obsolete circuit boards and then uses them as attachments to the icons themselves.
Of her work, Pearl says, "I have juxtaposed obsolete circuit boards with sacred imagery from Medieval and early Renaissance sources. I have always loved these periods of art history and the way in which forms and symbols are used to convey ideas." She continues, "What got me started was a trip to Italy in 2000 where I saw the glittering detail in the mosaics at Ravenna and the exquisite Giotto's in Padua."
Having collected these old circuit boards for many years, Pearl decided to use them to create this new series. She has always been fascinated by these boards because of, as she says, "...their intricate jewel like beauty. Making the Icons was a way of combining what seemed like to disparate interests."
Pearl carefully cuts her boards in different shapes and sizes, some hinged, some not, then laminates them to enable her to attach the circuit boards with a mixture of plaster, white glue and gesso. Once dry she then paints, lays down her collage pieces and gilds. "I then title the pieces after my favorite historical Iconic subject. I do not mean, in any way, for my Icons to be construed as religious art. I mean only for the imagery to serve as a symbol of our modern day beliefs. Technology, it seems has taken the place of religion in our times. Perhaps my icons could be seen to represent that devotion."
Elisabeth Pearl studied at the Brooklyn Museum School and received her BA from S.U.N.Y. New Paltz. Influential teachers wsere Isaac Soyer, Ilya Bolotowsky and Philip Guston. She was a recipient of a Massachusetts Arts Lottery Councile Grant and her work is included in many private and corporate collections.
For further information on Elisabeth Pearl and her work contact Dennis Costin, Gallery Director at 508-487-6700, 888-304-278 or our email address erndengallery@att.net.
