July 8, 2010: Encaustic art at Montserrat College

NOT FAMILIAR WITH ENCAUSTIC

PAINTING?

YOU MAY BE EXCUSED.

IT'S A RELATIVELY LITTLE-KNOWN

STYLE, BUT IN LIGHT OF EFFORTS

BY MONTSERRAT COLLEGE OF ART IN

BEV EARLY AND THE SALE OF ONE

EXPENSIVE PAINTING, ITS

POPULARITY IS GROWING.

>> THE FLAG OWNED BY THE LATE

MICHAEL CREIGHTON SOLD FOR

MILLIONS.

>> HE'S THE FATHER OF ENCAUSTIC

AND HE HAS BEEN USING IT AS ONE

OF HIS MEDIUMS HIS ENTIRE, YOU

KNOW, CAREER.

>> POPULARIZED BY JOHNS AND NOW

PRACTICED BY A SMALL COMMUNITY

OF ARTISTS ENCAUSTIC PAINTING IS

A SINGULAR FORM WITH HISTORIC

PED GLEE.

>> IT'S PIGMENT SUSPENDED IN

BEESWAX AND IT'S AN AIN'T SHE

WANT MEDIUM THAT HAS BEEN

AROUND -- ANCIENT MEDIUM THAT

THAN AROUND SINCE THE ANCIENT

GREEKS WHO USED IT TO POLI

CHROME THEIR SCULPTURES.

>> NOW THEY HAVE A CHAMPION IN

THE MONTSERRAT COLLEGE OF ART.

AT THE MOMENT, IT ALSO HAS TWO

SHOWS OF ENCAUSTIC WORK IN ITS

GALLERIES.

>> THIS WAS A PLACE FOUNDED BY

ARTISTS FOR ARTISTS, AND IN

FACT, ENCAUSTIC IS THE SAME

THING.

>> NEW TO MONTSERRAT, HE HAS

PLUNGED INTO IT.

HOW FAMILIAR WERE YOU WITH

ENCAUSTIC?

>> I HAD NEVER HEARD OF IT

BEFORE.

>> NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK OF IT?

>> I WAS TOTALLY TAKEN BY IT.

>> IN IMMACULATE SILENCE,

THERE'S ONE WHO USES WAX CASTS

OF HER OWN BODY PARTS TO

ILLUSTRATE THE MEDICAL

ENCOUNTERS.

>> YOUR BODY WILL RETAIN THE

EXPERIENCES PHYSICALLY AND SHE

IS INTERESTED IN HOW THE BODY

HAS MEMORY, I GUESS OF ITS OWN

SEPARATE FROM YOUR MEMORY OF

CERTAIN EVENTS.

>> THE SECOND SHOW CALLED SLOW

AND CONTROL SHOWS THE RANGE OF

ENCAUSTIC WORKS.

BECAUSE THE WAX COOLS AND

HARDENS SO QUICKLY OFTEN LEAVES

THE ARTISTS NOT IN CONTROL.

>> IT IS A LITTLE FRUSTRATING

BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT'S

GOING TO HAPPEN.

THE MORE YOU DO IT, THE MORE YOU

CAN ANTICIPATE THE OUTCOME.

LIKE THIS TECHNIQUE TOOK ME

QUITE A WHILE TO REALLY PERFECT.

>> ARTIST JULIE SHAW LUTZ MIXES

OLD PAPER AROUND IMAGES ON WOOD.

>> ENCAUSTIC AND PAPER LOVE EACH

OTHER.

>> REALLY?

>> IT GIVES PAPER KIND OF A

GENUINE, TEXTURAL FEEL.

IT HAS A PATINA.

>> IT'S A DELIBERATIVE PROCESS

OF APPLYING WAX AND MEDIA AND

DRYING AND FUSING TO CREATE.

>> OF COURSE, IT IS.

IT IS BEESWAX, SO IT IS VERY

TEXTURAL AND SENSUAL AND

ORGANIC.

>> UP CLOSE AS MONTSERRAT HOPES

MORE ARTISTS AND PATRONS WILL

REALIZE IT'S RIVETING.

>> Emily: AND JARED BOWEN IS

HERE.

I HADN'T HEARD OF IT BEFORE.

IS THERE ACTUAL COLOR

PIGMENTATION IN THE WAX AND YOU

CAN SEPARATE IT OUT?

>> WELL, YOU CAN BUY IT WITH THE

COLORS, ESPECIALLY GOING BACK TO

THE GREEKS AND THE EGYPTIANS

THEY HAD TO CRAFT THE COLORS

THEMSELVES.

WITH JASPER JOHNS, WHEN HE WAS

WORKING IN THE '50'S CREATING

THE FLAGS AND ALL THE OTHER

WORK, SHE HAS NO IDEA HOW HE DID

IT BECAUSE HE DIDN'T HAVE THE

NEW PRODUCT AVAILABLE.

>> Emily: AND WHAT ABOUT THE

SHOW AT MONTSERRAT?

>> THEY SAID THEY'RE THE FIRST

GROUP HAVING AN ENCAUSTIC

CONFERENCE.

ALL THE ARTISTS ACROSS THE

COUNTRY, THERE AREN'T MANY OF

THEM, BUT THEY'RE SCATTERED AND

THEY DON'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY

TO TALK TO EACH OTHER.

THEY COME TO THE CONFERENCE AND

THEY LEARN.

THEY HAVE SCHOLARS LIKE JASPER

JOHNS SCHOLARS TALK TO THEM.

AND JULIE WAS TELLING ME THAT

SHE'S LEARNED A LOT JUST IN HER

OWN TECHNIQUE, ADVANCES THAT

SHE'S MADE AS SHE TALKS TO OTHER

PEOPLE AND REALIZES HOW THEY

WORK AND THEY SORT OF -- SORT OF

A MASSIVE BRAINSTORMING SESSION.

BUT THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE THEY

SAY IN THE WORLD THAT IT'S

HAPPENING.

>> Emily: YOU PIECE, YOU BEGAN

WITH THE JASPER JOHNS WITH THE

FLAG, $28 MILLION?

>> $28.6 MILLION.

MICHAEL CREIGHTON WAS A GOOD

FRIEND OF JASPER JOHNS

APPARENTLY SO HE BOUGHT IT IN

THE ARTIST IN THE '70'S.

HE BECAME A JASPER JOHNS EXPERT

AND THEN WROTE FORWARDS AND THEN

AFTER HIS DEATH IT WENT UP FOR

AUCTION.

OF COURSE, ENCAUSTIC ARTISTS ARE

VERY EXCITED, BECAUSE IT'S

HIGHLIGHTED THE IMPORTANCE OF

THIS TYPE OF WORK.

>> Emily: WOW.

JARED BOWEN, THANKS.

THAT'S IT FOR "GREATER BOSTON."

A REMINDER TO TUNE IN TOMORROW

AT NOON FOR OUR WEEK IN REVIEW.

AND TOMORROW NIGHT IT'S BEAT THE

PRESS.

WE'LL REMEMBER THE CAREER OF

BOSTON POLITICAL JOURNALIST AND

OUR FRIEND, JOHN HENNING.

I'M EMILY ROONEY.

GOOD NIGHT.