Portrait of Jack D. Titus by Phil Choo
same plane keeping the piece entirely two dimensional. He continues to edit and rework surface details until the image has reached his desired point. In addition to the Fragments series, Titus creates a series of tall mixed media pieces that push much further into the realm of surrealism as opposed to his abstract Fragments series. The piece, Damaged (Portrait of Anna Vargas), shows again a nude, but not in a natural organic movement like that of the Fragments. This nude is highly detailed with precise anatomy, and doesn’t contain the improvisational aspect of the Fragments models. She appears more statuesque, less sensual, and simply straight forward. The missing limb lends to the name of Damaged, and makes the viewer try to connect the contents of the piece. This is still a two-dimensional piece, but it’s pushing us to see it in a highly realistic way, verging on three-dimensional. Titus starts out with a much more rigid idea and doesn’t leave as much up to improvisational chance. Titus works more tediously in this body of work going over the drawn anatomy, surface textures, and symbolism of the items composed in the pieces. We see some of the similar skin and background texture applications, but the images in these pieces are in a realm of higher clarity and focus. This series is a nice bridge between the Fragments series and his three-dimensional constructions. Titus’ other works are full of the forms of life through the human body and the textures of the earth, therefore, its a natural step for his work to go fully into the three-dimensional realm. Titus’ three-dimensional constructions hold true to his style of highly detailed surfaces, human anatomy, and alluring compositions. However, this series looses the formal representational nudes and goes toward a minimalist style of very limited anatomical features to allude to a human. Sometimes certain features are clearly male or female, and sometimes that is left up to the viewer. Savannah Altarpiece III (The Sacred Ground) is a compilation of watercolor, mixed media and found object. The once alive animal bones are now constructed among and juxtaposed with the faint imagery of human anatomy. The found objects are often from his family’s farm that
Jack D. Titus, Coyle, Savannah Altarpiece III (The Sacred Ground), Mixed Media, 30”x20”x3”
was once a fully working plantation. The bones and other found objects at the top of the piece are arranged in a composition that could be seen as mimicking the female reproductive organs. The constructions no longer have to allude to a three-dimensional form, and can explore into more symbolic imagery by actually using the life and death of things that Titus explores. All three bodies of work hold deep meaning to our life now, our memories of it, and to what is no longer living. His meticulous textures and tempting compositions leave the viewer with awe for the life and death that we all hold either in reality or in our minds. Titus is in his twenty-first year of teaching fine arts at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He teaches courses that emulate the same interests that appear in his own artwork. Titus teaches undergraduate watercolor and life drawing courses. Each fall Titus also teaches a course called Wilderness Studio. This class gives students an opportunity to work and live outdoors to create art on location and in nature. The content of his own art is very apparent to each student as they study watercolor, the human form, and nature with him. Titus received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from East Texas State University in 1975 and his Masters of Fine Arts in painting and drawing from the University of Illinois in 1980. Titus has exhibited his work extensively in national competitions, as well as group and one-person shows. Titus has already won two national awards for his artwork in 2010. Titus’ work was juried into the 2010 National Watermedia Oklahoma (35th Annual Exhibition). The exhibition will be held Norick Art Center in Oklahoma City through October 8th. n Kristin Gentry is a mixed media artist. She received her BFA from Oklahoma State University. Gentry is also the Children’s Programmer at the Stillwater Multi Arts Center.
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