Label
Label from 2014.Art for Social Change:
Acid Air II is part of Subler’s “Trouble in the Garden” series, a title that clearly refers to the biblical Garden of Eden. Regarding these works, the artist noted, “Gardens are not natural—they have been civilized by man. Yet, as man creates gardens, he kills them. The images in my collection are diverse images of pollution.” Indeed, the beige vellum paper of Acid Air II was colored to suggest the yellowish tones of polluted air. The woody supporting elements of the tree appear to have been weakened by this environment, causing it to bend precariously. Here Subler drew on both sides of the translucent vellum. Thus the image on the back is visible on the front, giving the work a sense of depth and richness. The contrast between the apparently discolored paper and the image’s dark tones recalls the aged coloring of Old Master prints, such as those by Rembrandt and Goya, artists Subler greatly admires.