Jim Peters
American, born 1945The Spiritual and Physical/The Pull (for Joseph Bueys), 1986
Not on view
Oil, wood, sticks, wax, glass, and tin on canvas
Dimensions91 × 77 1/4 in. (231.1 × 196.2 cm)
Gift of Ellen and Richard U. Levine, 1999.23
The Spiritual and Physical/The Pull (for Joseph Beuys) is typical of Jim Peters' constructed tableaus. The surface combines the traditional painting materials of canvas and paint with such unconventional materials as wood sticks, glass, wax, and tin. Peters likes to compare the process of making his paintings to filmmaking. Like a film, they are composed of many different frames, often layered over each other. The placement of the figures frequently changes until the "final frame" freezes. The process of making these paintings is revealed in the pentimienti (layers of paint) and uncorrected surface changes, a device Peters uses to heighten the drama between the artist, the artwork, and the viewer.
Peters's enigmatic subjects often focus on a disturbing balance between opposites: familiar and unknown, dreamlike and real, male and female. His women are often portrayed as heroic, but seem to exist in a play where the values are uncertain. In The Spiritual and Physical/The Pull (for Joseph Beuys), the protagonist is Peters’ wife. A young mother, she rarely has time to herself after dealing with the demands of baby, husband, and home. Standing in a tub, preparing to bathe, she is momentarily alone. Joseph Beuys, was an older artist, whose work influenced Peters, and had died while the painting was in progress.
