Toni Simon — Flowering & Watchful
“Flowering” from Motherboard Series
“Watchful” from Motherboard Series
Artist Statement on Motherboard Series:
In my paintings I have long been inspired by the beauty of machinery's mysterious complexity, as well as by the pataphysical and fantastical machines of early modernism. Now, in the digital age, I am drawn to the implicit, abstract beauty of circuit boards and by the intricate networks of interrelated shapes and patterns, all adapted to fit the rectangular background of the board. I am fascinated by the connectors, which function like bridges, carrying information between components. Each geometric shape encodes an electronic function, yet, beyond their designers, few other individuals understand these functions.
My imaginary motherboards are hybrids, incorporating fragments of electronic circuitry with visual elements drawn from the art of the past, thus linking past and present, and pointing to the future. These metaphorical machines might encompass imaginary processes that can enable us to communicate across time, with ancient civilizations, or with the afterlife, in the hidden realms that ordinarily elude our conscious awareness. -Toni Simon
Toni Simon is a multimedia artist and writer living in Brooklyn. She is currently working on a series of digital klecksographs derived from microscopic views of patterns derived from sumi ink drawings. The process of channeled, automatic writing led to Simon's illustrated book of experimental prose poetry Earth After Earth (Lunar Chandelier Press, 2012) and her supernatural odyssey Telescope Highway (Spuyten Duyvil 2022), accompanied by animated videos. Simon’s drawings have been exhibited at the Drawing Center and A.I.R. Gallery in NYC. Her visual art has appeared in many literary publications and poetry books. She received a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. See more of her work at: tonisimonart.blogspot.com