Frank Mann
I have maintained a keen interest in vision and visual perception. I do believe that recognizing the value of art is linked to my experience of perception and that experience goes to the heart of extracting meaning from an image. The conscious effort to keep art at the center of my life performs a vital function of extending my perception.
Most of the paintings are an extension of my interest in vision and visual phenomena. The six major groups of work completed to date have been produced with these themes in mind. The most recent group is titled the Oculus cycle. Oculus is, simply, the Latin word that refers to the eye. It is also the name for the opening of the tip of the dome of the Pantheon in Rome and it is also a term used to describe other architectural elements that emit light, including round windows, openings, and skylights. Most of the work derives from an internal model rather than from a description of objects in nature or a virtual scene, it derives from the imagination. And the search here is primarily for visual language, and thus, to create images that I have not seen. The method requires a willingness to embrace that which is revealed through working. Ultimately, the paintings explore the mystery of seeing and realize that in a concrete way, in order to make it more real or tangible. I wish to represent vision only as it might be.
