Still Life–Eggs/Moth

When I had my own darkroom, and was splashing about with chemicals, I loved the richness of continuous-tone black and white prints. The ease and capabilities of digital photography are astonishing but, for me, some of the magic is now lost. However, I still enjoy photographing many things, including setups of objects.

Three Horses in Virginia

This photo was taken in what was at that time rural Virginia,

 but has now become Tysons Corners.

I learned to ride when I was a lad and belonged to the 

Junior Essex Troop in New Jersey. This organization was like the Boy Scouts 

but with horses and guns. We rode, cleaned the horses and tack, mucked out the

 stalls, fed and watered the horses, shot at targets with rifles, and marched 

around in our uniforms. The experience gave me a fondness for horses 

that I still feel, but not so much for uniforms or marching. 

Me at age 11, not sure how old Black Satin was.

Two Geishas in Kyoto

The limited palette, of predominantly red, black, and gray, plus the relationship of the figure to the poster, really intrigued me.

Washington Post 1967

In the late 1960s I was a partner in the design firm

tasi gelberg symons+associates. This article about the firm—actually a fashion spread—was in the Washington Post’s Sunday magazine Potomac. I’m at far left in the photo, with my foot on the bumper of my car, a 1934 Plymouth. 

Portrait Sketch

Remember back in the day, when museums were open to the general public? At that time the Luce Center, at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in DC, held drawing sessions on Tuesday afternoons. Anyone could come and sketch works in the Luce collection. This is a drawing I made of a 1898 portrait bust of Ellen Goin Rionde by Laura Dreyfus Barney. I tried to make her eyes more lifelike which, I think, gives the sketch an unsettling aspect.

Lost Glove in the Age of Covid-19

Photographing lost gloves has become an obsession (please see my posts for April 14 and 15). I now have hundreds of photos of lost gloves. 

This one was taken in the Metro in DC. 

There is something particularly poignant about a glove for protection being lost.

Le Roi Soleil/The Sun King

Le Roi Soleil/The Sun King

Lacquer on resin, wood, and hardboard.

43"H x 59"W x 9"D

This is another wall sculpture I made in the 1980s. (See posts for April 9th and 11th)

Being enamored of most things French, especially French art, history, life, and of course chausson aux pommes, I decided to create a work based on Louis XIV. My bust of Louis is modeled after an 18th century bronze at the National Gallery of Art in DC. This, in turn, was modeled after a marble by Bernini created in 1665. The panel contains Louis' last words to his successor, Louis XV, his great-grandson. In part he said, "Don't go to war as much as I did; be a peaceful prince."

Lost Glove

While walking to my studio one morning back in February of 2004, I noticed a child’s glove lying on the sidewalk. The relationship of the bright red glove to the joints of the sidewalk created an interesting composition. I took a photograph of the glove and went on my way. After this I began to notice other lost gloves and would photograph them. Early on I established a couple of ground rules for myself. The first rule was that the glove, or anything else near it, could not be touched or moved in any way. The second rule limited any post processing to minor cropping, a little tonal adjustment, and sharpening if necessary. Photographing lost gloves became an obsession. I now have hundreds of photos of lost gloves.

Lost Glove

While walking to my studio one morning back in February of 2004 I noticed a child’s glove lying on the sidewalk. The relationship of the bright red glove to the joints of the sidewalk created an interesting composition. I took a photograph of the glove and went on my way. After this I began to notice other lost gloves and would photograph them. Early on I established a couple of ground rules for myself. The first rule was that the glove, or anything else near it, could not be touched or moved in any way. The second rule limited any post processing to minor cropping, a little tonal adjustment, and sharpening if necessary. Photographing lost gloves became an obsession. I now have hundreds of photos of lost gloves.

Joy

A photo of a large steel plate, in the street, covering a hole dug by a utility crew.

Trying to find joy in these corroded times.

Resurrection

Eros Lost in the Wilderness (detail)

Eros in progress. 

(See April 9th post for final sculpture)

At this point in the process, working in clay, I had almost finished the figure of Eros. The next step was to develop the clouds. When all of the clay elements were completed, I made a plaster mold in which to cast the resin. The resin cast was then painted with lacquer.

Pray For The Souls

In an Irish graveyard. Especially now, an appropriate sentiment.

Eros Lost in the Wilderness

Eros Lost in the Wilderness

lacquer on resin

20" x 21" x 2" 

(private collection)

This is one of the wall pieces I did in the late 1980s, and, when shown in Washington, DC Touchstone Gallery exhibition Sculpture for Walls, it received one of my best reviews.

“The strongest work was that of James Symons. His lacquer on resin reliefs, such as Eros Lost in the Wilderness, effectively combine classical and Neo-Expressionist references with a conceptual underpinning. A classical putto—referring to Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise—flies through puffy baroque clouds across the top; expressionist chaos changes the lower half of the painting. In the center is an image of a city flying apart; a row of spikes marches across the bottom. Potent both formally and conceptually, the piece works well in the small format.”

Susan Platt, New Art Examiner

Baguette Series, Image #6

While living in a small town in France, Saint Cyprien, I took a series of photographs

of a baguette, from our favorite bakery, placed in interesting facades around town.

(These images are available as 5"x7" greeting cards)

Baguette Series, Image #11

While living in a small town in France, Saint Cyprien, I took a series of photographs

of a baguette, from our favorite bakery, placed in interesting facades around town.

(These images are available as 5"x7" greeting cards)

Baguette Series, Image #1

While living in a small town in France, Saint Cyprien, I took a series of photographs

of a baguette, from our favorite bakery, placed in interesting facades around town.

(These images are available as 5"x7" greeting cards)

Corrugated Cardboard Chair

I've always had a passion for corrugated cardboard. Peculiar, I know, but everyone has their quirks, right? Anyway, I have designed several pieces of furniture using it as a structural material. Back in the early 1970s, I created this chair made from a single sheet 

of corrugated cardboard which is scored, slit, and folded.

It is surprisingly sturdy for a cardboard chair.

Matin/Morning

Acrylic on Paper, 7-1/2"H x 5-5/8"W

While living in a small village in France in 2015, I painted a series of façades
inspired by the richly layered surfaces of the local architecture. 

Two of the paintings in this series are currently on display in the exhibition
Artists of Woodley Park at the Stanford Gallery in Washington, DC.

Truth/Trump

Autumn

Parc de Saint-Cloud

I think this is one of my best photos from the time we lived in Paris.

Splash

My daughter in the Mediterranean.

50 YEARS AGO

Acrylic on Paper, 15"H x 11"W

Like many who were alive on November 22, 1963, I can still remember where I was when I heard the report that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. I was at my first job out of college as a designer for a company in Alexandria, Virginia. Someone ran into the design studio with the news. Not much work got done that afternoon as we sat by the radio, stunned and grief-stricken. My first-time vote in a presidential election was for Kennedy. I went to his inauguration in January, 1961, and heard his famous "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." He created a real sense of renewal and optimism, especially among younger citizens. President Kennedy was a strong proponent of world peace. He initiated the Peace Corp, negotiated a limited nuclear test ban treaty with the USSR and UK, forged policies linking the US and Israel, and reinforced US commitment to West Germany. He also developed economic and social reforms, the "New Frontier,"  and promoted civil rights legislation and space exploration. Certainly there were many tragedies, problems, and challenges in his life and administration, but those were balanced to some extent by the intelligence, wit, and glamour that he and Jacqueline Kennedy brought to the White House. What might have been....

Fishing the Dordogne

Limeuil, France

Shutter

Tremolat, France