In and Out of Context-Collages by Tm Gratkowski challenge the viewer

Art, like music, needs to be seen or heard, and thus written descriptions or analogies will never hit the bull’s eye, even when they do manage to hit the target. And so now, excuses aside, I’ll try to describe Tm Gratkowski’s fascinating work, its motivation and effect, with copious quotations from the source, the artist himself.

The majority of Gratkowski’s recent work, created over about 18 months for “Nothing Shocking,” a show that opens Saturday at Walter Maciel Gallery on La Cienega, are collages – in particular three large pieces under the collective title of “Good,” “Bad,” and “Ugly.” They’re about 7 ½ feet tall by 9 feet wide, and accompanied by another series – roughly two feet by two feet – of which there are about 26 pieces. Rounding out the exhibition will be sculptural blocks – an engaging merger of cement and crumpled paper. In total, we’re looking at 40 new works.

No one likes labels, since slapping labels on someone or something seems to minimize its reach, but these pieces are conceptual in the sense that they’ve been formulated and processed through a great deal of intellectual curiosity and experimentation. Each collage, for example, is comprised of various competing or complementary images or words, the result being like all of the sentences of a short story being thrust upon us at once. That is, unlike the linearity of a conventional short story, where we proceed systematically line by line and down the page, these collages are like whirling, gravity-free textual/visual snippets that linger in front of our eyes, inviting us to dive in from any point we choose.

Sense or nonsense?

Tm Gratkowski relishes the solitude and isolation of his South Bay studio: “When I’m here, I’m working,” and he seems to be working all of the time. We’ve seen his work at Zask Gallery, and he was one of the organizers of “Flag Stop,” a large group exhibition that included artists from overseas, held in Torrance a couple of years back.

Originally from Chicago, Gratkowski came west in 1994. “It was three days before the Northridge earthquake,” he says, and then laughs. “It was a great welcoming.”

Regarding education, he studied art and architecture and picked up various degrees, including an MA from SCI-Arc. “After graduate school here in Los Angeles I went to work for Frank Geary.” His initial goal was to practice architecture, presumably full time, but after a while he regretted not being able to do more art, which had been relegated to the sidelines. In short, he realized where his true passion lay, and he did something about it. Making art took center stage.

That was many years ago and now we’re in Gardena looking at sketchbooks, computer images, artwork in various stages of completion, and for the most part standing in front of a large bookcase containing art catalogues and biographies of artists, plus an imposing selection of literary fiction by the likes of Thomas Pynchon, Haruki Murakami, and Gabriel García Márquez. It need hardly be said, but a glance at someone’s personal library often gives a pretty good idea of what moves and motivates them.

But let’s get back to those collages and why they’re so intriguing.

Each of the three works that comprise “Good,” “Bad,” and “Ugly” has one large word across it: “good,” “bad,” “ugly.” Very simple words, actually, and yet each word has its own shading depending largely on what the viewer reads into the images and snippets of text that make up the collage.

The images aren’t trying to convey a particular story, Gratkowski says. However, “As you’re looking at this you start to put together the bits and pieces that will help you formulate your own idea or opinion about the work. And you’re the one that puts together your story. I just set up a context that I feel is kind of relevant.”

Specific words, phrases, and images mean something different to each of us, often due to our age or experiences, our education, or where we’re from. Despite Webster’s, words can be as flexible as Gumby. I joke that what Gratkowski has created resembles visual philosophy, and he seems to agree.

“I’m fascinated by psychology and philosophy, sciences and medicine. Research and study and sociology interest me.”

Contextualization, decontextualization

Much of Tm Gratkowski’s creative process has to do with context, and then surprise (yours, not his). Most of the images or snippets of text, about 90 percent, he says, come from magazines, that is, culled from the everyday.

“I’m taking these things that exist in one context and I’m removing them from that context” – before reassembling them in a new or similar context, to provoke a personal reading from the viewer.

“There’s a sensitivity to dealing with these things,” Gratkowski says, “rather than leaving it to chance or carelessness or recklessness. It’s very specific. In the collage, it doesn’t look that specific: It looks like a mess of ideas, but when you start to look at it you start shredding away that first impression; you start to find that rhythm and that structure and the idea.”

Any artist who truly wishes to engage the viewer will not connect all the dots, and Gratkowski’s ploy of using enigmatic silhouettes is one example of keeping the viewer guessing. What is this figure doing? How are we to relate it to the overall context of the work, which in itself is up for grabs with regards to possible interpretation?

“I’m trying to surprise the viewer,” Gratkowski says. When they walk into the gallery space, he adds, “I want to (welcome) them with this anticipation where they don’t know what they’re going to encounter.”

Towards that end, each series or body of work is slightly different than its predecessor. Artistic evolution is important. Gratkowski doesn’t want to show the same work, let alone the same styles, over and over.

When he uses the word “shift,” it usually has to do with moving forward, from one kind of experimentation to another, or employing a new combination of materials in ways that maybe we haven’t seen before.

As such, the new work is literally new, and not a rehash of previous ideas and images.

“If I’m not excited at the end of the day then you’re not going to be excited.”

As far as an artistic credo goes, that’s a good one – and it takes courage and willpower for the artist to stay with it, year after year.

Tm Gratkowski “Nothing Shocking”

Where: Walter Maciel Gallery, 2642 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles

When: Opening reception Saturday, 6-8 p.m. Hours, Tues.-Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Through Nov. 1.

Call: (310) 839-1840

Online: waltermacielgallery.com