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water works

    Believe it or not, it was my first visit to Jacksonville’s new Main Library. Located Downtown on Hemming Plaza, the Library sits next to MOCA Jacksonville, the epicenter of modern art. Little did I know that the library also houses some impressive works of art, all of them created by artists residing somewhere in Northeast Florida. 
    Entering the Library from it’s rear entrance took me through the belly of the building. As I walked down a long corridor, I found an exquisite display of photographs by such prominent area photographers as Jay Shoots, Anna Tomczak (more on her in an upcoming issue), Jerry Uelsmann, and Tom Hager. Already I was treated to some wonderful images, and I hadn’t yet reached the art I came to see.

    Rumor had it that there were paintings of cranes on the third floor. I’m not a huge fan of wildlife paintings, but I was assured that this artist’s work was interesting. And so it was.

    Trevis X. Geary did indeed have a display of twelve paintings on the third floor. And indeed, they were paintings of cranes; 150-foot tall container cranes used to load cargo ships at Jaxport. Definitely a pleasant surprise.

    Not only was I glad to see such unique subject matter, I was delighted to see them painted so interestingly. Using acrylic and charcoal on canvas, Geary’s cranes evoked an obtuse sort of impressionism. The classic Monet color palette was present, complete with light blues and yellows, but Geary’s brushstrokes leaned away from the dabs of paint so definitive of impressionism. Her cranes peeked through slashing brushstrokes that simultaneously obfuscated and defined the image. The charcoal beneath the paint tempers its voracity and renders depth through a bit of shadowing. It’s obvious that the straight lines of the cranes’ massive structures are on the canvas somewhere, most likely pre-drawn with the charcoal, but the actual image does little to remind us of their strength and rigidity.

    My three favorite paintings were “Fenders,” “Barge Cranes,” and “Ship Cranes.” Each of them offers us a stately image of machinery that typically gets no second look. Even Geary states that, “the idea of something so big going unnoticed is really amusing.”

    Through her treatment of line, color and texture, Geary was able to soften the cranes to life, depicting them in the same way a great wildlife artist might capture a moment in the life of a real crane. We are treated to the delicate snapshot of a container crane in its natural habitat- on the docks and hovering over a cargo ship.

    This exhibit runs through July 6th, so hurry to Jacksonville’s Main Library to catch them. Take the elevator to the third floor and take them in. While you’re there, bask in the pleasures and resources of our new library.