Jeffrey Sarmiento - Catalog
Encyclopædia
Jeffrey R. Sarmiento
Cultural Crosscurrents
by Trinh H. Nguyen
Artists addressing their ethnicity in their own work are often constricted by it. Jeffrey Sarmiento has keenly avoided this fate in the exploration of his cultural heritage. In Encyclopædia, the artist not only draws upon his Filipino-American identity, but also his reflections on the Old World cultures of Europe which he has engaged during his current fellowship at the University of Sunderland in England. Sarmiento utilizes the inherent transparency of glass by combining multiple layers of images, texts, and colors to create a stunning innovative body of work. He draws viewers intimately into these narrative-laden works, full of culturally complex yet subtle metaphors and symbols. Here, the viewers are able to extract their own unique narratives based on their personal experiences with each image and text individually or together as a congruent whole.
The exhibition opens with an immense piece entitled Fighter (2007). Wall mounted and consisting of some 20 white hand-blown, egg-shaped flat roundels, the piece is an assemblage of glass plates overlapping one another, creating a fragmented image of a rooster. What at first glance looks like an innocent barnyard animal gives way to a more complex image as viewers notice that one foot is tethered to the post by blue nylon strapping. The restraint serves not only to prevent the rooster from harming itself with possible nearby rivals, it functions as a visual signifier. This subtle clue reveals that there is a “barbaric” or “savage” spectator event about to unfold, or not, depending on the cultural vantage point. In the countries of South East Asia and the Pacific Islands cock fighting is a cultural pastime that is passed down from father to son as a rite of passage, though Sarmiento clearly understands it as a culturally specific activity.
This bold yet quiet usage of culturally complex metaphors are continued in a similar piece titled Fight/Flag (2007), a thick square casting about 16 inches across. It combines the same image of the rooster in the background with the primary colors of the Filipino flag arranged on top by sparse and subtle lines. The flag becomes more apparent as the viewer moves from one side to the next. The slightly curved surface of this piece reveals that image of the flag is constructed of blades to be attached to the fighting cock’s feet. These cropped appendages are incased between multiple layers of clear glass and these hairline images come into view only when seen from the sides. This visual effect is similar to the “motion cards” of collectible sports items. When tilted from one side to the other, new information and images appear, hence giving the appearance of movement.
Aside from the subtle usage of metaphors, symbols, and references to popular culture, Sarmiento borrows Jasper John’s concept of using the artist himself as the target for the subject matter. In Triple Self Portrait I and II (both 2007), the artist combines three generations of Sarmientos (all in their early 30s and all wearing thick black-rimed glasses), his grandfather, father, and himself together to form one distinctly familiar, yet eerie face. In Triple Self Portrait I, all three portraits are layered one on top another, to reveal the apparent genetic trait of the family. In Triple Self Portrait II, each image is sliced into thin silvers, stacked strategically in a vertical patterning between sheets of clear glass. Viewers are able to see each individual face and each generation separately, as they move across the visual plane. With their stark white background and clean back lines, these two images have the same feeling as ancestral portraits placed on family altars commonly found in Asian households.
The exhibition shows Sarmiento’s versatility in other works. In Sketchbook IV (2007), for example, he employs a layering of multiple images to form a 13 inch-long cast glass block. Here, Sarmiento repeats the same image of his father and behind it are series of concentric rings in primary colors, shades of grays and tints of whites. On the last layer of the glass are two images of the human skeleton set on top of a black ground. The image of death is not only a clear reminder of our own mortality, but also it symbolizes the sacrifices made within the creative process, not only by artist but also by their families. This unique process of layering of multiple transparent images bears a striking resemblance to the vintage “photo montages” of Man Ray’s early twentieth century works, in which multiple narratives are superimposed and viewed simultaneously upon a single print. By employing historic visual devices, Sarmiento is able to captivate his viewers and draw them directly into his work.
Sarmiento continues his layering and stacking process in the series Encyclopædia. The largest is a massive 40 inches long by five and six inch-thick arch, consisting of more than 200 carefully chosen “pages” of information. They range from a series of bird etchings that look like they date back to the earliest European explorations of the New World, to a chart of natural tangents from trigonometry, to figurative etchings of the Renaissance period, to a tuning fork and the sound waves it creates. The cultures of the Old World can further be seen in a Grecian urn with warriors adorning battle armaments, and sections of text written in German, Danish, and Old English. Finally, to top things off, all the hues from the blossoms in a botanical garden can be seen in this one piece alone. Such a crosscurrent of images, texts, and colors quickly become an overwhelming task to the wearying eye.
Fortunately, Sarmiento rescues us from the overload of information by breaking this epic amount of information into smaller chapters in a series of glass “volumes” entitled Encyclopædia v.1-8 (2007). Each eight by six-inch volume contains some of the same images and texts from the previous piece, though not in the exact order as before. The information takes on an intimate feel. With its clear and precisely polished surfaces, the viewers are able to extract the information that Sarmiento has skillfully chosen. He has set the stage, filled with his cast of characters, and he allows viewers to draw upon their life experiences to extract their own personal narratives.
As the artist redefines and questions the notions and dogmas of other cultures and customs that surround us, he offers a unique interpretation for the willing viewer to explore. More importantly, as Sarmiento continues to innovate, finding new ways to express ideas using the unique properties of glass, Sarmiento reminds us there can be much more to glass than the mere beauty of the material.
The Familiar and the Exotic: Glass, Identity, and Jeffrey Sarmiento
by Lena Vigna