Acre of Green (2007)
Nathan Slate Joseph (b. 1944)
Acre of Green, 2007
Pure pigment on steel
23 × 32 inches
Private collection of the author
Some artists have a very distinct visual language. Whether that’s due to the materials they use, the colours they prefer or simply the repeated use of recognisable forms, some artists dance to a rhythm that becomes a core part of their identify. It makes their art easily recognisable once you know what to look for, and if you like their style then you’re probably going to like most of their work. And if you don’t? Well, there’s plenty other artists in the world.
Nathan Slate Joseph is one artist who has a style that I like. In fact, I immediately fell in love with the weathered patina of his metal sheets, spot-welded together into abstract colour tapestries. I first encountered them at a show in Singapore and while all the works were visually aligned, each successive piece presented an enticing variation or subtly different detail. The experience reminded me of being a teenager discovering the opposite sex. Everything I saw was something new that added to the excited swirls of emotions in my head. The problem was that I couldn’t find everything I really liked in one perfect package, so I walked away empty handed. But I knew this was an artist I had to have in my collection.
Most artwork descriptions are distilled down to their medium and canvas. In this case “pure pigment on steel” is both a materials list and succinct visual descriptor. Starting with large sheets of steel, Nathan Slate Joseph douses them with pigment which he then washes around with water and a broom before leaving them outside to set and dry. Subjected to the elements, each of the plates takes on a unique, weathered look. The sheets are then cut into smaller rectangles and squares which are layered together and held in place by spot-welding their corners. The heat from the process wipes all trace of pigment from the edges, resulting in a Harry Beck style Tube map that zig-zags across the facade. You can see the steps of his process in a video by the singer Joni Mitchell, a fellow collector of his work.
The piece I finally ended up choosing is aptly titled Acre of Green. It’s one of the works in my collection that most frequently draws attention. Maybe it’s the lush green colours. Sometimes I glance and think it could be soft crushed velvet, but the welded corners with their bumps and burn marks remind me that this work is made from a much more industrial material. I want to touch it. So does everyone, but most are left green with envy when I firmly tell them no or politely slap their hands away.
I have touched it, though. The first time I did was also the first time I saw it with my own eyes: when I took it out of a box. Because this work wasn’t on display at that show in Singapore, I picked it from a gallery catalog. That’s less of a risk than it sounds. With an artist with such a distinct style, as long as you’ve seen some work in person then you can more confidently know what you’re going to get when picking from an image. Plus, the gallery helped by photoshopping it into photos of my flat to help me understand the scale. When the shipment arrived it was exciting in the way that Christmas morning is still exciting even though you’ve told Santa exactly what you want. Until you see what’s in the box with your own eyes, you just don’t know what you might get.
That’s why I like it.
No return policy was required.
Additional reading:
Previously, on Why I Like It:
Sep — Fire! Fire! (1963-4), Enrico Baj
Aug — Self (2001), Marc Quinn
Jul — Red Radish / Scalion (2012), Jen Violette