Welcome to the world of
Barbara Oates
Mixed Media Artist
Gallery I: It's a Digital World
.jpg&height=250)
PCB Man
Digital print on canvas
36"w 28"h 2"d
GrannyWorld
Digital print on canvas
36"w 28"h 2"d
Afloat on the Sea of PCBs
Close-up
.jpg&height=250.721)
KiddiWorld
Digital print on canvas
36"w 28"h 2"d
My latest work...
is a reflection on the overwhelming impact of technology on our lives. Icons of mankind, babies and a senior citizen transverse their own maze-like landscape of electrical circuits, computer chips, screens and keyboards.
This new world elicits a host of reactions from us humans: determination, curiosity, amazement, irritation, and at times resentment for having to deal with confusing instructions and an invasion of our privacy.
Afloat on the Sea Of PCBs
Digital print on canvas
30"w 25"h 2"d
Gallery II: Journey of a Lifetime
.jpg&height=218.133)
Time Traveler Digital print on canvas and wood 61"w 43"h 5" d
.jpg&height=213)
Time Traveler close-up detail
Finding Our Place in the Universe
Digital print and wood on canvas
61"w 42"h 10"d
In Memory of My Memory
Digital print on wood and canvas
58"w 40"h 10"d
The Runner
Digital print and wood on canvas
49"w 37"h 4"d
Wrinkles
Digital print and wood on canvas
17"w 13"h 4"d
Younger-Older
Digital print and wood on canvas
20"w 20"h 4"d
Exploring and Celebrating What It Means To Grow Old
When I was younger, I used to watch "Star-Trek the Next Generation" on tv. One day it occurred to me that the show wasn't really about aliens and warp speed. The writers were exploring what it meant to be human: our hopes and dreams, our abilities and limitations, our fears, our loves and loathings. The aliens and strange worlds gave us new situations to help us consider and test who we actually are.
Here I am years later on a similar but narrower quest. The new frontier is age. I am exploring and celebrating what it means to be human in the last season of life.
How do I do this? I observe, experience and learn. I talk to friends and family. I remember past situations with my parents and their generation.
Themes and situations pop into my head. Then I create visual stories or narratives using photographs and 2-D objects I create on my computer. Some of my stories are humorous; some are serious. My digital pictures are printed on canvas, mounted on wood panels and framed.
To populate my canvases, I create 3-dimensional stick figures from dried ironwood branches and mesquite logs and attach them to the canvas. The sticks I choose have shapes that fit the various narratives.
I chose slices of trees to represent humans because I like the feel and look of wood. The rings also tell a history or story about the tree. Rainy periods caused wide rings, dry periods narrower rings. Draughts might cause no rings at all. Other marks or scars can be caused by insects or disease.
Stick figures are one of the earliest forms of artistic expression in human culture. The ancient figures once etched and painted on the walls of caves were a way for early people to communicate, to pass beliefs and knowledge from one group to another, or simply to express their own understanding of their own world at that moment in time.
Like the cave drawings, my images express my view of life in my part of the world as it is now.
Very few people will admit that they're old, but none of us can deny that we're getting old-er. Whatever age you are, please take time to "read" my stories and explore what is happening in the world around you. There are many stages in life, and all of them are new frontiers, full of problems to solve and experiences to share with fellow human beings.
Many of my canvases are large and detailed. Click on each piece or the menu at the top to see and read more about each one.
Family Tree
Digital print and wood on canvas
61"w 41"h 4"d
Warning Signals
Digital print and wood on canvas
25"w 31"h 4"d
Aging Is A Pain
Fabric, yarn, plastic, pins, Tibetan healing beads.
13-1/2"w 16"h 2-1/2"d
Close-up: him.
.jpg&height=413)
Close-up: her.
Gallery III: Candy Land
.jpg&height=157.333)
Sweet Revelation Acrylic, lollipop sticks, cellophane sleeves, fishhooks, LED lightbox 49"w 25"h 5"d
Yabba Dabba Do
Wood, mertal, plastic 18"w 36"h 16"d
Open 24 Hrs:Supply and Demand
Wood, neon lights 26"w 30"h 8"d
Please Me
Wood 6 "w 7"h 6"d
.jpg&height=480.8)
Manipulation
Wood, PVC foam, digital graphics
58"w 45"h 34"d
.jpg&height=426.666)
Sweet Revelation Detail
U.S. Mint
Wood, cellophane and vinyl 26"w 10"h 4"d
Love Me
Wood 9"w 9"w 3"d
Globilization: It's A Flat World After All
Wood, aluminum, polystrene
10"w 18"h 10"d
.jpg&height=331.2)
Sweet Tooth side view
.jpg&height=211.481)
Sweet tooth Wood, metal, PVC foam on canvas 88"w 48"h 8"d
Gallery IV
Our Lady of Perpetual Starch
.jpg&height=240)
Wood and other mixed media Iron: 34"w 75"h 40"d
.jpg&height=272)
My Father's Measuring Stick
Wood, metal 20'w 76"h 42"d
Portrait of the Artist
Candy, acylic sheet 30"w 70"h 2"d
.jpg&height=270.37)
Arizona Landscape
Wood, acrylic, metal 100"w 51"h 2"d
Testosterone Clock
Wood and mixed media 11"w 13"h 5"d
Voters' Wheel of Fortune Digital print 30"w 36"h 14"d
.jpg&height=160)
Meet the Artist
I became an artist later in life, after working in writing and marketing and raising a family. I decided to embark on a new career/adventure by taking art courses, including several at the Art Institute in Chicago. That lead me to Arizona State University in Tempe, where I earned my Masters of Fine Art.
After school, I exhibited work in various venues and was a finalist in a public art competition. I created a site-specific installation and a lollipop lightbox for a client. I made furniture and rehabbed a house. I traveled and visited art museums around the world.
While searching for a new direction for my artwork, I came across a recently felled mesquite tree and took home some of the logs. When I cut it into slices, the pieces resembled the shape of a human head. It inspired me to create my first stick figure and a history of his/her time on earth in "Time Traveler. " The stick figure in this piece started out representing my father and his generation. Since I chose all the newspaper stories, it became infused with my worldview as well. The experiences and challenges of aging are topics close to my biological heart. I am aging; we are all aging. We're just at different stages. Another topic I'm passionate about is the digital world we live in and how it impacts our lives. I use this technology daily in my life and my work. Let me know what you think!
After school, I exhibited work in various venues and was a finalist in a public art competition. I created a site-specific installation and a lollipop lightbox for a client. I made furniture and rehabbed a house. I traveled and visited art museums around the world.
While searching for a new direction for my artwork, I came across a recently felled mesquite tree and took home some of the logs. When I cut it into slices, the pieces resembled the shape of a human head. It inspired me to create my first stick figure and a history of his/her time on earth in "Time Traveler. " The stick figure in this piece started out representing my father and his generation. Since I chose all the newspaper stories, it became infused with my worldview as well. The experiences and challenges of aging are topics close to my biological heart. I am aging; we are all aging. We're just at different stages. Another topic I'm passionate about is the digital world we live in and how it impacts our lives. I use this technology daily in my life and my work. Let me know what you think!