June Wayne at the PMCA

Yesterday, I checked out the new exhibits at the Pasadena Museum of California Art.  This was my first opportunity to be introduced to the works of June Wayne.  Although she was born in Chicago in 1918, she eventually settled in Los Angeles where she died in 2011.  She is described as an American print-maker, tapestry designer, painter, and educator.  She was born to Dorothy Alice Kline and Albert Lavine but the marriage broke up and she was raised by her liberated mother and grandmother. June dropped out of high school at the age of 15 to pursue her goal of becoming an artist.  Without formal training, her first exhibit was in Chicago in 1935, age 17.  Three years later she was employed by the Works Progress Administration as an artist.  She later moved to New York, married an Air Force surgeon in 1940, George Wayne.  After he was sent to Europe, she moved to L.A., studied at Caltech and later became a part of the art scene here.

In the late 1950's, June Wayne convinced the director of the Ford Foundation to give her money to revitalize lithography in the U.S.  With this grant she founded the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Hollywood in 1960.  This workshop became famous and used by many artists in L.A. including Richard Diebenkorn, Sam Francis, Rufino Tamayo, an others.  The workshop was moved to the University of New Mexico where the Tamarind Institute resides today.

I enjoyed learning about June Wayne and watched a couple of videos on her that were playing in the museum.

The museum is also showing Five Installations Exploring Natural Phenomena that is called "Time, Space & matter."  They explore scientific issues such as gravity, entropy, and the transmutation of matter in wood, glass, ice, metal, video and sound.  It is something to experience and watch in awe.

Here are some of June Wayne's artistic creations on display at the museum that I found on the KCET web site, as photos were not permitted:

"Anki," Cognitos Series, 1984, Acrylic and silver leaf on paper marouflaged onto canvas with gesso and gelatin.

"Burning Helix," from the Burning Helix Series, 1970 Color lithograph

"Cryptic Creatures," Kafka Series, 1948, Oil on canvas

"Delegate Dorothy," The Dorothy Series, 1977 Color lithograph
The Dorothy Series celebrated her mother.  She also created a documentary about her mother that was showing in the gallery.

"Dorothy, the Last Day," 1960 Color lithograph

"Final Jury," from the Justice Series, 1954 Lithograph

"La Cible," 1971, Tapestry

"La Journee des Lemmings," 1971, Tapestry

"Merry Widow" (State I), Next of Skin Series, 1980, Color Lithograph

"The Tunnel," 1949, Oil on canvas (inspired by the 2nd Street Tunnel in L.A.)

"The Witnesses," from the Justice Series, 1952, Lithograph

"Untitled (Mexican Woman Wearing Rebozo)," 1936, Oil on canvas

"Waiting for Newspapers," 1936, Oil on canvas
These last two paintings were done when the artist was not quite 18.  The description of this painting said that it depicted the desperation of unemployed workers grasping for a used newspaper to look for a job during the Depression.

June Wayne, Photo: Niku Kashef