| Painting and sculpting primates as a specialization
started for Tiso in 1985 when a Philadelphia Zoo Orangutan offered her part
of his lunch - a celery stalk. This genuine and automatic gesture , with
no hesitation or question, froze Tiso on the spot. Was this animal trained
to respond in this manner or were there other considerations? Was this orangutan
in need of companionship or was he just naturally kind? That moment created
her now thirty year concentration of studying, drawing, painting,
photographing, and sculpting nonhuman primates.
"Media" frequently dictates the category of artwork.Physical materials can
also dictate how something is viewed (a painting on velvet vs.a painting
on linen).It is consequently difficult to categorize this work with respect
to the changing selection of materials and media but you can count on the
impact being unique. The prints and drawings can easily be described as
illustrations because they singularly define an image within the over 200
species; while the paintings and sculpture are complex unions of realistic and
abstract concerns. Although originally trained (in the classical sense) as
a ceramic sculptor and painter, Tiso became a college Professor of Art (fifteen
years) and a bronze foundry mold-maker and enlarger. Because of this very
particular mixture of skills and experiences, there is a fascinating style
of no categorical boundary in this 30 year primate concentration.
passion for the primate flight
The aesthetic content in this powerful work floats between abstract
(environment), naturalistic, and psychological dimensions of the images.
The dimensions encompass animal freedom and innocence Vs. sometimes the darker
side, the more foreboding aspects. Regardless of scale (9 X 12 inches or
4 X 6 feet), each of the artworks have this deeper dynamic of combining physical
and emotional rendering. |
Picture of Tiso with Orangutan drawing.
Donation to Orangutan Research / Dr. Biruté Galdikas -1996 |
