Caught up in 'The Moment'

By Heather Wahle
hwahle@mscd.edu

Taking time to live in the moment isn't easy to do. Travis Parr achieves this by bringing in several elements into his art that encourages his audience to get caught up in the everyday moments and look deeper.

Parr explains his art as a "new way to tell a story to the world." His large-scale acrylic paintings take one scene that may have easily fallen out of a fairy tale storybook. Filling each painting with the ultimate amount of detail and pushing the art of illustration to the edge, each piece of art attempts to stand on its own. They are visual chapters in an adventure without words.

"The Hunt for Thought" begins the series of Parr's work on display at the Space gallery, entitled 'The Moment.' The piece tells a story of a giant, searching endlessly in a dark wood. Stumbling on a flower flourishing in the wilderness, he becomes preoccupied. While gazing at the uncommon beauty his light dwindles, his candle close to exhaustion. The look on the main character's face is one of puzzlement and awe; he is distracted and unable to continue. A butterfly perches overhead streaming in fluid movement looking on as the night envelops the bleak light.

"Mr. Schmit's Outing" ends 'The Moment.' Drawing on the previous piece,

"Buying the Farm," this work explores what would happen if a character named Mr. Schmit followed his heart. In the previous piece, the main character leers menacingly and becomes a symbol for rapid industrialization as he abandons the past and its ideals. On an outing, he seems to have become enchanted with his inner child and connects to an innocent inner energy. The scarf that coils around his body holds a degree of realism in its monochromatic clarity. The colors of the piece echo the change in the character's demeanor by highlighting heat and cold with warm and cool hues. Mr. Schmit holds his heart in his outstretched hand. It looms in the upper corner of the piece, exposed but not bleeding. Instead, it taints the portrait with a vivid detail and a true conscious thought.

A native of Evergreen, Parr attended the Laguna College of Art and Design in California. Parr came back to Denver to debut his first art show, finding it necessary to go back home and show art where he was first inspired. Parr says, "it's just something I had to do."

While starting "The Moment," the artist went through over 50 versions of the characters. Parr considers himself a picky director and spent many days and weeks scrutinizing particular details that wouldn't bother most artists. After at least two weeks spent conceptualizing the direction of the piece, he devoted time to selecting the necessary props to tell each work's story. After honing in on a feeling and the needs of the characters, his sketches eventually turned into color paintings. Months later, each piece of art was born.

Parr goes on to explain that in his work color tells 30-40 percent of his story. Everything he paints is vibrant and bright, giving the art a vivid scope. Parr also lets the landscapes dictate the narrative direction of the pieces. For example, he chooses to depict nature at the height of particular seasons because they display certain emotions and stages of life. The details in his paintings provide individual exploration. The artist makes it known that he wants an open relationship with each viewer of his work. Getting different perspectives and feelings out of his art is rewarding and becomes part of his goal.

In Parr's personal statement he writes, "I tell a story by first relating my message to life as a foundation, and then allowing my imagination to take over from there. I believe that my imagination creates a doorway for the viewer. I want people to create their own stories when they see my work by allowing their own life experiences to come through."

Through conveying an open message with his audience, Parr provides a unique dialogue with his art. His imagination brings perspective that can be shared and added to with his viewers. 'The Moment' is an exhibition that encourages introspection and enables the audience to find the magic in even the mundane.