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Show 5 I Man 1 and nature j meet in Seabourn paintings i I i i i i i 111 111111 " " . - "Vision (Juist" illustrates the union of man. bird and the environment. If you can't see the human lace, then turn the picture sideways. 15 : ' j J - J I . . ' .... ... mi ;:.V 4 -' ::;f :v:5;vj;:v by Kick Krough One of Bert Seabourn's paintings at the Kimball Art Center is titled "The Hawk and I Are One." That title sums up a great deal of his work. As a bird arches its wings boldly against the sky, a face emerges out of its plumage a i , oval, weathered Indian face full of mourning and wisdom. The painting doesn't ask "Can you find the Indian in this picture?" Man and bird flow together, sort of like yin and yang. In the current Seabourn exhibit at the Kimball, it seems as if nearly half his paintings are oil or watercolor variations on this theme. Seabourn is expressing a unique vision of the union of man, animal and the environment. Sometimes the manv and bird, " mei'ing together, are counterpointed by the moon. Sometimes it isn't the bird wing that juts outward, but a feather worn by the Indian. Always they fade softly into a background that looks like sun-baked earth, or old leather, or the sides of a teepee. The exhibit is shown with the paintings of his daughter, Connie Seabourn Ragan. There too, a painting titled "Cool Solidity" seems to express something about her whole body of work. With Ragan, her Indian figures also seem to be at peace with the background. Yet they stand out clearly against planes of color that are placid but clearly defined. One of the more interesting examples is "Tribal Strength," the picture of a mother curled around her child. In the background we have a sharply drawn red sun and a square blue background. But within ;. the mother's figure, one is cnnipd- led to look, at several shapes and ""colors' that flow easily fn to "each'' other. I am n ci' -simplifying here. This is not to say that both artists devote themselves primarily to each style represented here. There's a great deal of variety in the Kimball exhibit too. Some paintings show Connie Ragan can create color backgrounds as suggestive as her father's. Conversely, some of the Bert Seabourn paintings show stark solitary shapes, as in Ragan's work. (In his "View From Taos," a butte looks like a disembodied foot. ) Both exhibits are important, distinctive work on the theme of the relation between humans and environment. Bert Seabourn will create a painting live at the Kimbail this Saturday afternoon. He is scheduled to appear at 3 p.m. Seabourn and Ragan will also appear afan aHisPs reception' on " Sunday, Feb. 10, from 3 to 5 p.m. Their exhibits run to Feb. 27. In this painting by Connie Seabourn Ragan, the figures are bold, but also suggestively abstract. (Note black shape.) |