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joanelle mulrain
EU: Why do you make art? In other words, what is your inspiration
or most prominent subject?
Mulrain: I enjoy expressing myself as an artist and author. I have
been blessed to be able to take a brush once again in hand and
put onto canvas some of the beautiful natural beauty of Northeast
Florida and, on watercolor paper, some of my photographs, which
inspire my paintings. I choose cattails for a number of reasons. One,
it could become somewhat of a signature for me, an iconographic
image. Two, cattails are beautiful, willowy, wispy, and in many
places throughout the world. They are used for many things,
including food and weaving material for baskets. Third, nature is
the ultimate inspiration for us all- its symmetry, colors, and smells
are a connection to the earth and sky above us. It is something to
celebrate, preserve and protect. Light, air and water are the primary
elements, and we must be more responsible for ourselves and
our environment. It is an ultimate expression of my concern of what we are doing to our land, our water and our
air- we must come together so we can give our children part of what we have enjoyed during our lifetime.
EU: What is it about your chosen mode of artistic expression that conveys your ideas better than, say,
writing or music?
Mulrain: I write. I can read music, play the piano and guitar. I do not write music, but perhaps one day I will. I
have chosen acrylic to paint my canvases. I often use large canvases, 3’x6’ or larger. I guess I see the world
with a large perspective. It gives me a larger voice, perhaps. I want my work to “stop” people and make them
think about the images they see. I want them to respond to the vibrancy of the colors I choose and the scenes I
paint. I like to use large brushes and large brushstrokes to show meaning and give clarity to my subjects. I hope
to please the eye and open eyes wide to my world. I want to engage the viewer and start a conversation. I want
to receive a smile from the viewer and smile back, knowing they “get” what I’m trying to say. I speak on multiple
levels- color and space- with hidden meanings through images only I know are within the lines, and vibrancy to
open eyes wide.
EU: Do you have a specifi c audience in mind when you create?
Mulrain: I have the family in mind. The individual. The corporation. The neighbor. I create for those who
would like to come along with me on this particular journey in my life. I painted decades ago, and I have just
reconnected with what I loved to do before I took the corporate train and worked hard to make it possible for me
to have this time to do my creative work. It takes me to many places. When I paint, I have no minutes or time,
no night or day. Sometimes I paint for a dozen hours or so, or even through the night. I go with the paint and into
the levels of the work. It has been a great healer and a place I can share with others. If I have a specifi c audience
in mind, it is a commission that is specifi c to a subject matter. People buy my work because they connect
directly with the image and/or with me on the level I bring them to visually.
EU: What do you hope viewers will see when looking at your work?
Mulrain: I hope they will see me as I am today, not as I was in the past, but as an artist. I am working hard and
setting new goals. I have enjoyed reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones who enjoy my work. First,
I paint for me. Then I paint for those who fi nd my work interesting and hope they fi nd a connection to it, so that
they want to own a piece and be a patron. I balance my home fi rst, then my consulting work, then my art. It’s
a balance; all of life is a balance. If someone enjoys and sees what I see in my photography or paintings, then
great. It’s all about the experience of art.
EU: What do you think would further improve the art scene in Jacksonville?
Mulrain: Conversation. It’s all about networking and connecting the different parts of the community-
museums, sponsors (banks, etc.), corporations, non-profi ts, galleries, Downtown Vision, Jax Beach Art Walk,
cultural councils and cultural centers- with the artists. It’s about making sure that when someone asks for
an artist to “donate” a work, they understand that we cannot take off the retail price of the painting on our IRS
statements- we can only take off the canvas, the brush, and the paint - not our time or the retail value thereof!
There needs to be more understanding regarding the role of the artist in a vital community. When a signifi cant
piece is given for a cause, the artist should be thanked and made part of the event, not just given a letter in
the mail thanking him or her for a major piece. Sometimes the value of the piece of art is higher than the cost
of a VIP ticket, or even more than what most donors even give to the organization in a year. The artist IS a
donor. Non-profi ts should understand that we are asked dozens and dozens of times to “give” and many of us
do give, and give, and give thousands of dollars every year. We must work together, not separately, in order
for us to reach a threshold in the community where artists are respected for their work and dedication to their
craft. We depend on our patrons, and our patrons depend on us. It’s symbiotic, and it takes balance and mutual
understanding. You have to work hard to make this relationship work in a community. Museums should have a
special “artist” level of membership- just show your business license, and become part of the artists supporting
our museums. If a museum is an art museum, then talk to, have a conversation with, plan with, and be sure to
moca jacksonville by donald dusinberre
Every few months, MOCA unleashes a barrage of new exhibitions and if you’re reckless about seeing
them, you can check them all out in one visit. Although it’s tempting, try to restrain yourself from doing
that. Your eyes will get overloaded but your brain will starve.
Think of it as a buffet. You can see everything right in front of you, but you can only fi t so much onto
your plate. If you try to put some of everything onto that tiny plate, you won’t really enjoy anything. In fact,
you’ll only come to realize that cantaloupe and Salisbury steak don’t mix too well in the stomach.
At MOCA, You have to make a choice to see one or two exhibits and save the rest for later. Trust me,
it’s the best way. Installation art and photography don’t mix well in the brain.
There are fi ve new exhibitions opening on September 14 th and running through January 6, 2008. To help
you decide which exhibitions you’ll want to see fi rst, I’ve raided artists’ websites and MOCA’s press
releases to give you a straight-up idea of what you may encounter.
coherent structures: recent silverpoint paintings by carol
prusa
(From MOCA Jacksonville’s press release) Carol Prusa’s paintings are inspired by her ongoing
fascination with science, alchemy, organizational systems, and botany. Highly fi nished elliptical and
round wooded panels serve as supports for an ethereal arena where Prusa’s depictions of ambiguous
microscopic cellular structures, fl ora and cosmological symbols take on monumental presence. The works
are meditative in the repetitive and meticulously drawn organic forms that hover weightless amidst the
fl uidity of the artist’s layered washes of suspended pigment. Prusa’s obsessively rendered drawings are
created in silverpoint, a medium that was utilized by Renaissance masters Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli,
and Albrecht Durer. The artist’s skillful blending of materials ranging from powdered sulfur, titanium
white, graphite and acrylic media, produce works that are subtle and complex in the same instance. The
silverpoint drawing that is later heightened with titanium is somewhat faint and partially obscured by the
transparent graphite veils. This exhibition features more than twenty works including a new installation
that consists of more than a dozen various sized circular disks that are arranged on the gallery walls in a
constellation-like confi guration.
essence and materials: sculptures by minoru ohira
(From MOCA Jacksonville’s press release) Minoru Ohira’s simplistic and elegant sculptures are
inspired by forms observed in nature. The artist transforms raw materials, primarily wood salvaged from
construction sites and roadside discards, into a dynamic assortment of meticulously crafted seductive
forms. The rounded and curvilinear sculptural forms, some over eight feet in length, exhibit a range of
highly polished to jagged, scale-like textured surfaces. Central to the understanding of these works is the
artist’s steadfast commitment to traditional woodworking techniques and a deep respect for the inherent
nature of materials. Many of Minoru’s sculptures are created not by the use of power tools, but by his
painstaking use of handsaws and hatchets. This exhibition features over a dozen large-scale sculptures that
survey the varied artistic approaches of this important Japanese born sculptor.
sculptures by duncan johnson
(From marciawoodgallery.com) Jerry Cullum states in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, March
2001, “The uneven, stairstep effect of many of the pieces is a little reminiscent of parallel contour lines on
topographical maps, but even that is a misleading comparison. These are, quite simply, abstract forms with
their own internal logic, and they give pleasure for that very reason.”
Catherine Fox writes in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, 1997, “This ambiguity of scale infuses the
work with a cosmic quality. It’s hard to decide which to admire fi rst - that almost spiritual aura or the
physical beauty of the surface patterns created by these little wood pieces and their tree rings and grains.”
raddle cross & dowsing: installations by martha whittington
(From creativeloafi ng.com) Martha Whittington’s “Raddle Cross” is like a persistent toddler lugging
on your shirtsleeves to get your attention. The piece puts out a sound like ping-pong paddles sending a ball
across a table that resonates through the gallery space. Wooden circles of varying sizes are suspended
from the gallery ceiling on long strands of yarn and hooked to metal gears that send the discs pinging off
the concrete fl oors at metronomic intervals. This quirky piece, both addled and soothing, comments on
the repetitive labors of weaving, though here the gestures are the opposite of productive, the necessary
intersections between the threads never occurring.
valuistics: the making of an installation by james greene
(From ewing-gallery.org) This printed installation is both a display of James Greene’s valuistics as well
as a printed history of the word itself. With “The Making Of,” Greene - a former grocery store clerk and
retail employee - reveals his own consumer politics (contradictions and all) by symbolizing and accounting
for each of his consumer decisions. The installation is a scale re-creation of Greene’s home, family, and
friends printed on pink insulation board.
eujacksonville.com | september 13-19, 2007 19