Exploring The Undertones Of Oklahoma City
Undertones
Showing through March 12th
IAO Gallery
706 W Sheridan Ave in Oklahoma City
individualartists.org
Lisa Jean Allswede’s work is all about learning to accept and, ultimately, love mistakes. Her philosophy behind each piece stems from her unending desire to mix snarls of thread with colorful paintings and whatever else she deems worthy to mirror internal chaos. She teaches her audience that beauty is found in mistakes as well as successes. In her current show at IAO, entitled Undertones, her work examines the beauty found in changing landscapes.
“It’s about paying attention to the environment I’m living in,” Allswede said. Each vignette documents a significant change in the Oklahoma City landscape. Throughout the past year, Allswede investigated the city, photographing the destruction of iconic buildings like the Hotel Black and the construction of parking lots and apartment buildings. Nineteen of the resulting photographs were transformed into dazzling water colors utilizing a concoction developed by Allswede that features hints of silver glittering throughout each piece. Allswede then embellishes the piece with metallic thread using her Husky 900 sewing machine to produce a seductive array of color and depth. Allswede described her art style, “I’m sort of Jackson Pollock meets Milton Avery on the sewing machine.”
The inspiration for this show is rooted in Allswede’s own diverse past. Throughout the years, Allswede has lived in and visited a myriad of different cities, from Florence to Chicago to Pittsburgh. Upon moving to Oklahoma in 2011, she noted OKC’s characteristic humbleness. “People here seem to be apologizing for being Oklahoma,” she said. “We are a good city too. Stop being apologetic.”
You’ve Changed Since the First Time I Saw You exemplifies the themes of both Undertones and Allswede’s work in general. The vignette stars the Devon tower shooting up from the city skyline into a turquoise sky. While the piece may be named after OKC’s tallest building, the foreground is host to a ramshackle bus station. This contrast between industrial shine and characteristic antiquity tells the story of the shift in focus from ghost town to metropolis. The focus on the bus stop and other automotive symbols in the show represent Allswede’s childhood connection to her father who worked in a car factory. Now, the iconic bus station has vanished into the city’s memory and is being replaced with a parking lot to accommodate population growth. The Devon tower still stands.
“When we decided to move to Oklahoma City, the Devon Tower was only half constructed,” said Allswede. “So I came to the city at a time of growth and change, and I noticed that the physical changes in the city were having a social impact,”
While most of the work is host to crystalline blues, a piece titled We’ll Always Be Here uses bright golds and yellows. The subject is two “Y” shaped street pipes standing in front of a store front. Behind each lively drawn pipe, the storefront window reflects a pool of sunshine. Upon showing the work, Allswede’s innate positivity leaked out as she proclaimed, “They look like my friends!” This whimsical aura pervades the entire body of work, allowing the viewer to see Oklahoma City as a wonderland.
In addition to the nineteen vignettes, Allswede plans to display forty-nine more photos through viewfinders hanging from the ceiling. Patrons will be invited to interact directly with these viewfinders, as well as a 24”x36” black and white poster of a bus stop. Art supplies will be provided for patrons to sew and draw on the mural. “I’m inviting participants to color and sew on the image,” said Allswede, “I want them to be part of the change.”
Undertones is a show about growth in demolition and pride in inconsistencies. Allswede brings her fantastical view of Oklahoma City to life with wonky lines and bright dots of unexpected color. It is her way of displaying her pride in OKC and its community.
