Honoring the Artist: Dan Rizzie

By Marion Wolberg Weiss

Among the many images on the website of this week's cover artist Dan Rizzie, one in particular stands out and gives a clue as to the artist's aesthetics. The image can be easily lost in the accompanying text: a solitary bird in the foreground with alphabet letters floating in the background. The letters seem arbitrarily placed, and don't appear to form words.

For this critic, the juxtaposition of both the single visual and the letters constitutes Rizzie's "language," one that is disparate and segmented (since it's not clear how the bird and the alphabet are connected), yet also symbiotic in nature.

Put simply, Rizzie's aesthetics are influenced by diverse living experiences and environments. Yet no matter where he lives and works, those reflections are constantly with him. Such an observation may apply to other artists as well, but somehow Rizzie's influences are less obvious, signifying something close to stream-of-consciousness.

For example, a bird placed on a tree branch may represent a particular time and place, while a similar bird positioned differently in another print, painting or collage may symbolize a contradictory environment or experience.

Q: First, the obvious question: how did your living conditions impact your art?

A: I grew up overseas in the Middle East and India. Visiting the pyramids, for example, had a lasting influence on my life.

Q: I would imagine Islamic art also played a big role.

A: I went back to India this summer; the Islamic imagery and the inlaid floral designs all made a big impression. I brought one of my catalogs with me and gave it to the guide at the Taj Mahal. He was surprised, and so was I, at the similarities. I was kind of stunned, in fact, that I had kept the imagery in my imagination.

Q: When you moved here in 1989, how did this setting influence you?

A: When I first saw the house in North Haven that I would move into, I said, "This is my house." I made two moveable glass doors from my garage doors so I could look out and see the water, birds feeding, deer.

Q: Thus the presence of birds in your work. There are so many things going on at one time when you look out the window; that's in your art, too. It's like a stream-of-consciousness, at least to me.

A: Moving out here was good for me. I can control my work, all those things happening at once.

Q: How about the circular forms in your work? Where did they come from?

A: Alan Shields gave me an iron circular ball, which was a perfect sphere. That influenced me.

Q: What other setting has impacted you?

A: Italy. We go to Lucca every year; it's surrounded by a medieval wall and not far from Florence. The town's patina and color are inspirations. I feel at home.

Q: Are you involved with art that is more collaborative and less influenced by your environment?

A: Yes. I love making prints and working with the Cleveland Print Club. I also love to cook, using my grandparents' and mother's recipes.

Q: You've talked about subject matter, but how about materials? Has your environment impacted that?

A: I love "stuff" in Europe, which is so historical. And I love old paper, "ephemera." Also I like using local materials I find in flea markets.

Q: There you are, putting things together, not from what you see but perhaps from what you imagine. Be that as it may, how would you describe yourself?

A: I'm steeped in tradition. I am a traditionalist.

-Marion Wolberg Weiss

Mr. Rizzie's work can be seen online at www.danrizziestudio.com.

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