Bird isle views

Cynthia Nartonis captures the grace and oddities of tropical pelicans

by Leon Nigrosh

NARTONIS: ISLE MUJERES NARRATIVES
At the Fletcher/Priest Gallery, 5 Pratt Street, Worcester, through October 4.

"What a strange bird is the pelican His beak holds more than his belican." -- humorist Ogden Nash

Artist Cynthia Nartonis brings life to Nash's words in her magnificent renditions of those large, odd looking birds. Her screen monotypes, 19 of which are on view at Fletcher/Priest Gallery, depict indelible scenes she witnessed during trips to the tiny Isla Mujeres, just off the coast of Cancun, as well as to the nearby seaside village of Akumal, Mexico.

What makes these majestic birds, shown soaring in the air or floating on the calm waters, intriguing is the complex technique Nartonis uses; after blocking out the basic composition on a stretched polyester screen, she applies a wild variety of viscous screen inks -- in the reverse of the usual painting methods. Because the inks are opaque, she must place the details first, and then she covers them with broader strokes until the final background colors have been added. The screen is then lowered onto paper, and then everything is transferred in one unerring pass with a squeegee.

The finished work has all the gestural energy of Abstract Expressionist canvases without any actual surface textures. Yet the bird portrayed in Nartonis's perfectly flat print Isle Mujeres Narrative No. 10 is as voluminous as any full-fledged sea bird. In the smaller print Isle Mujeres Narrative No. 6, we see another grand bird, wings outspread as it is about to land on a sandy beach. Here too, Nartonis makes her inks create the illusion of a dark, bulky fowl about to come to rest on a hot, shimmering seashore. Other animated prints show pelican pairs lolling on the gentle sea or communicating while in flight. While totally unlike any bird pictures by naturalist John James Audubon (1785-1851), Nartonis's images suggest more about the habits and activities of these feathered creatures.

Nartonis also observed how the locals got around. Included in the exhibit are three monotypes of island boats slowly putting along through the calm, blue waters. These prints have the same bearing as Nartonis's bird images but seem much more laid back in both artistic approach and subject matter. But Akumal and Akumal 2 feature blue-black trees and yellow, olive, and ochre skies. The latter shows a glowing sunset piercing the fingers of trees, while the former hints strongly of a brewing offshore storm.

In a departure from these color-filled works, Nartonis also presents us with two small monotypes of island trees rendered bamboo brush-like in deep maroon-black. Golden Bough No. 7 and Golden Bough No. 8 are set in contrast by intersecting squares of real gold leaf. A third print presents almost a complete reversal: the trees are overwhelmingly dense and allow only small areas of gold leaf to show through. This nearly impenetrable forest creates a dreamlike quality, which is strongly reminiscent of ancient Japanese gold-leafed lacquer work.

A group of small bird and dog profiles rendered in graphite on single-color backgrounds seems diversionary in both the artist's repertoire and the exhibition. It is the graceful and regal pelicans that demand your attention and will draw you back repeatedly, pulling you deeper into Nartonis's magical world.

The gallery is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from noon to 6 p.m. and by appointment. Call 791-5929.