Friday, September 7, through Sunday, September 30
Opening Reception: Friday, September 7, 5 p.m.
Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
Delightful, fanciful, whimsical, and ingratiatingly goofy works of art will be showcased at Rozz-Tox from September 7 through 30, as the Rock Island venue and the Art Legacy League host the combined art show and sale The Crazy Heads Story, a collection of colorfully original pieces by artists trained by the late Father Ed Catich – Amy Nielsen and Paul Herrera – as well as the St. Ambrose University Art Department founder himself.
“Crazy Heads,” as Catich labelled them, are imaginative watercolor paintings and take-offs on the proportions of the human head, with only the basic concept of “head” remaining. The features are mutilated and forced away from their natural posture and human likeness to become abstract composition in which color repeats and contrasts, and patterning composition is stressed at the expense of realism. Writing on the medium of watercolor, Catich stated: “Watercolor is different from oil, poster, or pencil drawing. It has its own means of expression. Essentially it is water and color. Of these factors, wateriness is most essential. Watercolor cannot be worked over as a general rule. It is an immediate statement; a kind of shorthand impression. It is best when it is done directly without retouching or retracing over painted parts. It is unlike other techniques in that it is a spontaneous, though controlled skill.”
And as Catich wrote in his instruction to students on the making of Crazy Heads: “By removing the student from her/his preconceived concepts and forcing to see anew, he/she acquires the confidence to invent similarly other shapes. One reason for using the head is that it is the thing we see most and an object that can never become trite and sterile. There are always new ways of looking and seeing the head.
“Avoid symmetry in which one side of the head matches the other side or making both eyes the same color. Things to do: Look for the big shape pattern motif, be contrary to reality, and don’t hesitate to use purple, green hair, red eyes, green face, gray face, blue hair, etc.”
A 5 p.m. opening reception for The Crazy Heads Story will be held on September 7, and the art show and sale will take place during the venue's regular hours: 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is free, and more information is available by calling (309)200-0978, e-mailing artlegacyleague@gmail.com, or visiting ArtLegacyLeague.org or RozzTox.com.
