Anne Griswold Tyng

Alexandra Tyng · 09-05-2006, 05:45 PM

Many of you have already seen this in the making in the WIP section, but here it is in its finished state. The subject is my mother, an architect, who just recently celebrated her 86th birthday.

She is reaching up to steady a hanging tensegrity model made of four triangles held together by the tension of the string connecting all the points and forming an icosahedron. It's one of her many geometric discoveries. The models below show different stages of construction of her "Four-Poster" house. The house is entirely a space frame with living spaces created by the structure. In the background is the faint drawing of a city tower she designed with my father back in the 1950s. It was an idea that was never built. I tried to keep the portrait simple but still show some of her major designs and explorations.

I asked her to wear the Chinese jacket because she was born in China and spent part of her childhood there.

The portrait is the second of three portraits destined for the Architectural Archives at the University of Pennsylvania.

Allan Rahbek · 09-05-2006, 06:18 PM

Hi Alex,
I, too, wish that we shared neighborhood. I would look over your shoulder most of the time.
Fantastic value scheme and beautiful textures all over. The light on your mothers head is just right, it is perfectly balanced with the dark background.

Claudemir Bonfim · 09-05-2006, 06:18 PM

That's great! I loved it.

Cynthia Daniel · 09-05-2006, 06:44 PM

Beautiful, Alex.

Lacey Lewis · 09-05-2006, 06:49 PM

Yay! I have been in anticipation of this unveiling for some time. It looks great, Alex!

Could you please post a close up of a part of the jacket?

Alexandra Tyng · 09-05-2006, 08:28 PM

Thanks, everyone!

Allan, yes, it is too bad Denmark is so far from Philadelphia USA.! It is so much fun to pop in on people and see what they are working on in their studios. I like it, too, when other artists visit me. Someday I'm going to see your work in person.

Bonfim, thank you! You are always there to be supportive and I really appreciate it.

Wow, Cynthia, I rarely hear from you in this section. I'll take it as a good sign.

Hi, Lacey, thanks so much. Sorry about the delay in posting this. I'll post some closeups tomorrow.

Mike McCarty · 09-05-2006, 09:57 PM

Alex,

I looked up those big words and I thought my head was going to explodrahedron.

That's one fine painting, I bet you're mum is real proud of you.

Alexandra Tyng · 09-06-2006, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike McCarty

I thought my head was going to explodrahedron.

I can just picture all those tetrahedrons and octohedrons erupting from your skull! It's exactly how I feel when my mother starts talking about her theories. At least she knows what she is talking about!

Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco · 09-06-2006, 05:58 PM

Alex, she looks like a little woman who could be holding the whole globe rather then a balsa shape, so positive and assertive.
My feeling is also that you had to hold back your mother/daughter relationship in order to paint her in this more official and formal situation.
In a sense I see more ease in the couple of architects you painted lately. I tried to paint my mother last year, but I found it difficult even to look her straight in the eyes.
Anyway this is a very complex and elaborated work which shows off all your skill.
Beautiful
Ilaria

Alexandra Tyng · 09-06-2006, 06:53 PM

Thank you, Ilaria!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco

Alex, she looks like a little woman who could be holding the whole globe rather then a balsa shape, so positive and assertive.

Definitely true. I am glad this came across.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco

My feeling is also that you had to hold back your mother/daughter relationship in order to paint her in this more official and formal situation.
In a sense I see more ease in the couple of architects you painted lately. I tried to paint my mother last year, but I found it difficult even to look her straight in the eyes.

That is so true, also! I think you are right, that I made her more formal than the other architects, and it could be also that I have already painted her in a more "motherly" pose, so I was deliberately contrasting this with the other portrait. There is that dignified persona she presents professionally that is so "her." I did see the Venturis as more relaxed and informal, in a way. Maybe I did have to separate myself from her (as mother/daughter) in order to paint her this way. The expression in the other portrait tugs at me every time I look at it, and I always lean it against the wall in my studio and cover it with another painting. What does that say? Too much emotion? So I empathize with your not being able to look your mother in the eye.