The Canvas: Untitled-One

by Patrick Konesko
Vanguard Staff Writer

February 25, 2008 —

Untitled-One, a figurative piece by Robert Darabos, was put on display this week across from the Marshall Fredricks Sculpture Museum. The piece, also known as Woman and a Lightpost, is done in oil-based paint on paper.

Created for his introduction to printmaking class, Darabos said that Untitled-One took about four days to work through design, printing, matting and formatting. While the print didn't take as long as some of his work, it was still a big challenge for him.

"I have never worked with printmaking before, so the entire process has been a learning experience," he said.

Generally working with acrylic and oil-based paints and abstract methods, this piece represented a huge departure from Darabos' normal style.

In working on the piece, Darabos said that he was trying for a very specific look.

"I wanted to have a very emotional, German expressionistic quality to the piece where the viewer could connect with on an abstract, non-personal basis. The character has emotion and contains depth that the viewer can never truly know or understand but can still somehow relate to."

Mike Saloka, a physics education junior, said that Untitled-One is thought-provoking.

"I'm not unusually a huge fan of printmaking, but this piece is pretty cool."

Although only becoming serious about art in the past few years, Darabos said that he's dabbled in art for as long as he can remember. Citing such examples as Andy Warhol and Picasso, he said that theses inspirations acted as a great drive in his artistic life.

Darabos also has art displayed in Frankenmuth, the Bay City Gallery Walk, at the University of Michigan and at a small gallery in Chicago. The work on display at the University of Michigan contains two different sets of his work, including Geometric Abstractions and something he calls "flat cubism."

After receiving his BFA here at SVSU, Darabos intends to move to Chicago or New York and work toward his MFA in painting and drawing, eventually hoping to receive a PhD in art history.

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