Down the Rabbit Hole

American painter and printmaker Sam Francis understands our urge to stay in bed as midterms approach.

University students, bewildered that two months of the school year remain and a sea of assignments are yet to be completed, relate to the torn frustration emulated through his brilliant lithographic prints in his exhibit Black and White.

Black and White exhibits Francis's beautiful dedication to generating a powerful image by allowing the pure simplicity of black and white to exist. The basis of the collection is exploring the ideology of these two opposing colors, a concept that Francis was attracted to during his studies in Zen Buddhism.

The exhibit opens with his litho print titled 1973, which is the same year that Francis started reproducing his color prints and transferring them into black and white, testing how the depletion of colors would change the effect of the piece. Viewing both the original color piece titled Coral Poles versus the black and white version, we see how Francis's deceptive use of color is utilized to draw in his audience. At the same time, the black and white version keeps its viewer baffled by how two pieces with the same composition can deliver completely different sentiments.

Francis toys with the idea of internal emotions trying to break free from the confinements of one's external self. We are drawn towards the dark center of Francis's untitled 1974 piece, questioning where this black hole may lead and what answer will unfold if we continue to follow it down the rabbit hole.

We see much more structure in Francis's untitled 1975 piece. He uses thick black lines to encircle the piece as if attempting to create an unending obstacle around his emotions, waiting to explosively break free.

Born during the early years of the roaring twenties, the San Francisco native grew up around the end of World War I, yet found himself enlisting for World War II during the end of his adolescence.

A student at the University of California-Berkley, Francis left his studies to serve his country in the U.S. Air Force. Injured during deployment, Francis spent the next few years in the hospital, where he painted his bedridden days away. Returning to his studies at Berkeley, he enrolled as a student of art.

Francis was fascinated by the autonomy that abstract expressionism, surfacing in post-WWII art, afforded him. Drawing inspiration from the techniques of French and Japanese art, Francis began his artistic exploration by finding inventive and unpredictable uses of color, best seen in his early paintings.

Intrigued by printmaking, Francis lost himself in its techniques. He opened the Litho Shop in Santa Monica, Ca. as a forum for local artists and the public.

Black and White will run at the UB Anderson Gallery through April 6, allowing plenty of students to decide to take a personal day, giving in to that incessant inner voice saying, "forget it, you'll be late to class anyways, blow school off and go see some art."