George Bush Sr. Senior Skydiving
Matt Cheney, Pink on Black, oil on canvas
I have always wanted to sky dive. Lately, it has been on my mind with the 83 year-old George Bush Sr. jumping out of a plane this weekend and also due to the paintings of Matt Cheney.
Cheney who is a self-described “action artist” graduated from the Art Institute of Boston where I am currently pursuing my undergrad. I sadly didn’t have the chance to meet him and only heard about his work almost as a myth in itself.
His skateboarding paintings in which he builds a ramp between the canvas and skate back and forth while making considered swipes across the canvas. What I find most compelling beyond the obvious references to a skateboarding Jackson Pollock is his dedication to process in taking his art to newer genres.
This is demonstrated clearly in Cheney’s newest series where he attempts to paint the plane he just jumped out of while skydiving. My own interest as a photographer is the quick, reactionary process he is involved in something which i pine for sometimes in making my own photographs.