Agrarian artist Bass exhibits her abstract art at Bone Creek
Nancy Bass, a nationally recognized abstract agrarian artist, combines several historic art forms in new ways in order to express her feelings about her happy and humanely treated farm animals and the fragile existence of family farms and ranches. Portraiture, Impressionism and sculpture are popular art forms understood by most of us. Abstract Expressionism is a blanket term for various non-figurative trends in painting, in which expression and meaning are conveyed by color, form and manner of painting. Bass’s abstract work been applauded by museum curators from the Mint Museum of Art and the Chrysler Museum of Art, as well as by art critics from publications such as “New Yorker.”
Bass states that “[her] paintings explore personalities of farm animals by staging subtle and unexpected dialogues between them and the viewer. Set against bold bands of color or idyllic visions of the Virginia landscape, the scenes reflect on our agrarian past yet disrupt traditional animal paintings and seventeeth-century landscape conventions.” She goes on to say that “By displacing the animals from their natural landscape and situating them in the realm of abstraction, these images challenge modern culture to confront again the enduring legacy of agrarian life.” Bass’s paintings are not framed but are on thick panels that position the images off the wall like relief sculpture. She says, “The use of thick panels, which jut out from the wall, further heightens the physical engagement between animal and viewer.”
The work speaks for itself. Bass successfully combines Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism, and portraiture to heighten her message. This is best illustrated by some examples:
First, in the painting “Venus,” Bass draws allusion to the famous “Birth of Venus” by Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli. Bass substitutes one of her most lovely cows, Goldie, for the goddess Venus emerging from the sea as a full-grown woman. Bass playfully puts Goldie in an esteemed position of idealized beauty. She sees this beauty in Goldie and conveys it to us. This allows us to empathize with such livestock affected by disappearing family farms and ranches. She says that she references Botticelli’s work because “his subjects come alive, real and idealized at the same time, and that’s what I want to do with animals.” In this case, to engage the viewer with Goldie, Bass does a cropped and realist portrait of her close to the front of the picture frame. Here, posed provocatively with yellow roses falling from above, Goldie demands our attention and consideration. To further the effect, Bass isolates Goldie with an abstract background of flat blue and pink stripes that conjure up sky and water in the original Botticelli painting.
“Venus” is an example of a group of paintings in Bass’s exhibit called Color Fields. In this work, Bass uses abstract flat bands of color to impart background mood and isolation. By using this approach, the viewer is more aware of the dynamic forms of her friends in the foreground.
Second, in the triptych “Sublime Landscape # 1,” three paintings are installed in abstract sculptural combinations on the gallery wall, giving added meaning to the art. In this example, Bass combines the paintings in a cross shape to help the viewer meditate on the work. Two personal portraits of her beloved farm animals are placed on the wall looking wistfully at a third painting of her endangered family farm. The symbolism is striking. Without this and other family farms using traditional pasture, these happy and well-treated animals will join the increasing number of animals living in confinement livestock and poultry operations. By abstractly installing three paintings as one expression, Bass implies meanings beyond those in each single painting.
“Sublime Landscape # 1” is an example of a second group of paintings in this exhibit called The Farm. In this work, Bass looks at her family farm from unexpected angles and shows the importance of the farm to her domestic animals. The multiple panels jut out from the wall and relate to each other in unexpected ways to engage the viewer with the content of Bass’s work.
Third, Bass shows a group of 5-by-5-inch portraits called The Herd. Here she looks at individual cattle in her Virginia herd. Bass knows each of her cows and gives them names. A painting called “Goldie” is a close facial portrait of the same Goldie who posed for “Venus.” These portraits show the personality of each cow. This allows viewers unfamiliar with cows to empathize with them as happy and lovely individuals, not unlike our own family pets.
Bass is able to provide this content and integration of styles due to 30 years of experience both managing her cattle ranch and developing her artistic skills and sensibilities. Taught Abstract Expressionism in college, Bass developed a realist style for her early commission portraiture. Later in fine art she began depicting her Virginia cattle in Impressionist landscapes. Recently she began exploring Abstract Expressionism along with using her skills in Impressionism and portraiture. Now she’s compelled by disappearing family farms, such as hers, to paint intimate and evocative portraits of farm and ranch animals in the context of highly abstracted backgrounds. Years of artistic development combined with years of living on a family farm make Bass an expert on both her subject matter and her art expression.
The Bass exhibit shows us that making great art takes more than just talent and creativity. A combination of (a) passionately making art that stems from your own life experience and (b) using a well-developed personal style greatly improves the artist’s chance of making exceptional art. In addition, the artist must find the courage, time, place and resources to produce the work. Finally, significant venues must recognize and showcase the work in order for it to have a chance to stand the test of time.
Bone Creek is privileged to be the only museum venue for the few American artists who are making exceptional agrarian art. This art is generally not popular in America’s predominately urban culture. Yet what happens in agrarian American is so important to our food and quality of life that a few agrarian artists persist, in the face of great obstacles, to make this art. In spite of the demands of operating a cattle ranch and being a wife and mother, Nancy Bass gives us the incredible gift of her art. Without it we would be deprived of these unique creations showing the strong relationship between happy, well-treated animals, and nearly extinct family farms. Fortunately, Bass’s health and resourcefulness, along with her well-developed craftsmanship and strongly developed content, allow us to present her work here and now.
“Nancy Bass: Abstractions of the Virginia Farm” is on exhibit through Aug. 22 at Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art, 575 “E” Street, David City, Neb. Admission is free. The annual event “Agrarian Art and Poetry” is on Aug. 15, featuring Ted Kooser, Twyla Hansen and Marge Saiser, as well as a curator’s talk discussing in more detail the art of Nancy Bass. For more information, visit http://www.bonecreek.org.
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