Joseph Lofranco's Exhibit @ BlueLine Gallery

Lofranco at BlueLine Gallery

Everyone is invited to visit the BlueLine Gallery for Joseph Lofranco's
one man show entitled "Alteration of Compulsive Lines". Works will
be available for viewing from March 15 - 29, 2008 at the BlueLine
Gallery, 4th Floor of Rustans Makati. For inquiries please text/call
09175347835.

Reading the Writings on the Wall
by Fay Gumba, UP Department of Art Studies

One's handwriting is a veritable individual distinguishing mark. As a way of personal identification, its truth is certain and undeniable. Handwriting is a distinctive consequence as it brings together an entire range of sensory, psychic and muscular power emanating from the 'writer'. And so is it with Joseph Lofranco's latest works in his one-person show entitled, "Alteration of Compulsive Lines". It is another albeit a different set of a characteristically abstract visual script.

A "compulsion" is a force that compels, an irresistible impulse to perform an act. For Lofranco the urge to paint manifests its initial self by drawing a series of lines, not unlike the typical doodle. From there, the sensory and intuitive energy of creativity takes over with the artist wielding his brush much as a conductor would wave his baton in an orchestral performance. But while a conductor's motions are largely measured and precise, Lofranco is held sway by a compelling force to apply paint with a considerable degree of improvisation and spontaneity. Not necessarily indiscriminate in his actions, this extemporization reveals the extent to which he allows himself to be surrounded and guided by a creative power. However, to dispel the common notion and mental image of the artist working feverishly as being totally engulfed and eventually overwhelmed by this power Lofranco has always been in control of his canvas. And since he is in command, he likewise exercises the
power to alter or to change anything as he wishes to.

Paradoxically, the idea of 'control' here does not operate within its narrow definition but goes beyond it by providing adequate room for chance and accidents which then form part of the creative process.

By declining to provide titles to his pieces and simply relying on codes to label each one, Lofranco inevitably opens them up to a multiplicity of interpretations. Embracing both the pitfalls and liberative nature of abstraction, he welcomes the entire range by which the viewers react to his art. The absence of any recognizable article in the paintings makes it more of a challenge to many in the general public whose imagination and creativity have been worn out by poverty and the daily grind of everyday life. But while one cannot find any identifiable item in the paintings, human nature would still drive our consciousness to attempt to find things that we can relate to. This we could do by harnessing all our personal resources as individuals, from our psycho-physical and cultural response to colors to a fond memory evoked by an imagined object on canvas. From this perspective the traditional limitations in the interpretation of art is summarily lifted and somehow
democratized.

Lofranco has come a long way from his days of photo-realism where he painstakingly rendered San Francisco leaves and arcade scenes as photographically truthful as can be. Going through several phases in his artistic career, these most recent works are authentic stamps of his development as an artist. It is his personal identification, his signature. It is his handwriting on the wall. And without distinction or discrimination, all are invited to 'read' them as they see fit.