Local artist maps spiritual journey on empty freeways
(The following article originally appeared in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin on December 1, 2001)
By Suzanne Sproul
staff writer
Stark concrete roads project from different directions on the canvases.
Although they do seem to draw you in, where exactly do they transport you? There are no overt distinguishing marks, no signs. Are you getting on or getting off? On these freeways, the decisions are all up to you. There's plenty of uncertainty, but what a ride.
Freeways are a part of life in the Southland, linking home to work, city to city, region to region. And to artist John Margaris, they also represent a metaphor for life - they are symbols of passing through. His works, all in whites and various shades of gray, lack the comfort of road signs offering directions, designating destinations.
The idea of his present body of work came to him while he was commuting from his Pomona home to the Laguna Beach studio where he studies with artist Javier Alvarez. He started tape recording his thoughts while driving and the one saying or thought that predominated was the word "uncertainty."
"The freeways represent passing through. I think it's about finding the beauty of it, accepting it, and even embracing it," said Margaris. "I think the paintings come from my inner questions about the choices I make. The answers I'm looking for are solitary. It's sort of do I go up one freeway, down another or do I switch direction altogether. Personally, I think the paintings have deeper meaning for me and I'm OK with that."
Uncertainty has marked his career so far. He loved to draw when he was growing up in Michigan, but art was something he considered a hobby not a profession. At age 12, he decided he wanted to be an electrical engineer. He did and began a career at Ford Motor Co. until at age 34 he started having doubts about his job.
"I was seven years into my engineering career and then I realized how it wasn't for me. I knew I could go on, but I felt like a fish out of water. I wanted to be really good at what I did. I did not want to be mediocre. I was surrounded by people who really were into cars and got excited about coming up with great designs. I wanted passion and engineering wasn't going to give it to me," he said.
So he decided to take the plunge. He submitted his two week notice and left. He tried social work for a brief time. Although he valued his time working with troubled teens, it wasn't his passion.
"I could see kids working hard to overcome a lot in their lives and follow their dreams. Then it hit me. What about my dreams? I remembered how much I loved to draw and paint and that was that," he said.
He sold his Michigan home and headed to California. Margaris knew he needed help and instruction. If he was going to make art a career, he'd have to pursue it beyond the drawings he made as a youngster. He met Laguna Beach artist Javier Alverez and he continues to study with him."
"He said I needed to start with basics. That meant no colors, just grays. So he started me working on boxes and spheres and cylinders. He told me I had to see value in the works and that had to start with using whites, blacks, and grays. It was during those commutes from Pomona to Laguna Beach that it came to me - freeways have all the shapes I was working with," he said.
He started with grays but then introduced a few reds and blues to his works. The former Ford Motor Co. electrical engineer who spent a portion of his life working with cars found solace and inspiration in painting freeways devoid of any vehicles or sign of movement except for their own shapes.
Besides representing uncertain journeys, Margaris' freeways also explore a person's attempt at finding his way. After one giant move and several career twists, has Margaris finally found his?
"That's a hard question. Let's say I'm on my way," he said with a chuckle. "There are times when I think I've found it but then that sends up a red flag for me to be careful. I'm taking it day by day."
Visitors who have looked at his paintings seem to enjoy them, he said.
"I think they see them as refreshing. They sort of breathe a sigh of relief. The paintings don't have any congestion in them, no stress," Margaris said. "There is a sense of irony to the works. Typically, freeways are where we're going from Point A to Point B in X amount of time. And because everyone on them wants to do the same thing, the freeways actually prohibit us from doing that. On the freeways in my paintings they can go as fast or as slow as they want.
As the show nears its end, Margaris is thinking about a new series of paintings spot lighting freeways at night. He also is intrigued at views of Pomona he sees from his third storied loft in the downtown.
"When I look down on the city I see geometry of buildings and ladders that seem to go places and then just drop off," he said. "All those, too, seem to give you a sense of taking a journey. I like that. Although uncertainties can be alarming, they also can come with a lot of possibilities."