Tulipia (Ribbon), Peaches, Lily Pad, and Tulipia by Dan Rizzie

Abstract

Dan Rizzie was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1951,1Biography: Dan Rizzie. http://danrizziestudio.com/danrizziestudio.com/bio.html. Accessed January 4, 2013.Google Scholar but as the son of an American airman and diplomat, he lived in many international places throughout his life, including India during his high school years.2Lerner R. The Geometry of Innocent Flesh on the Bone. http://danrizziestudio.com/danrizziestudio.com/essay.html. Accessed January 4, 2013.Google Scholar He obtained his BFA degree at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, in 1973 and completed his MFA degree at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, in 1975. In 2005, his undergraduate alma mater awarded him a “Distinguished Alumnus” award.1Biography: Dan Rizzie. http://danrizziestudio.com/danrizziestudio.com/bio.html. Accessed January 4, 2013.Google Scholar Rizzie currently resides in Sag Harbor, New York, where he maintains the Dan Rizzie Studio.1Biography: Dan Rizzie. http://danrizziestudio.com/danrizziestudio.com/bio.html. Accessed January 4, 2013.Google Scholar Rizzie specializes in collage, printmaking, and painting and experiments with chine collé printmaking (printing on a surface that has been glued to another surface).3Chine-Collé: The Enhanced Image. http://www.hiromipaper.com/newsletter/chinecolle.htm. Accessed January 9, 2013.Google Scholar Tulipia (Ribbon), Peaches, Lily Pad, and Tulipia, four 24 × 24-inch paintings, capture the essences of the favored spring flower, the cooling refreshment of the blue lotus, and the promise of the lusciousness of the end-of-summer fruit. Seemingly random placement of geometric shapes and handwritten texts frame the background of each painting, linking them together as an inseparable set. An incalculable proponent of symbolism,4Rosanne Cash Can’t Resist: Dan Rizzie. Magnet website. http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2009/10/03/rosanne-cash-cant-resist-dan-rizzie/. Accessed January 4, 2013.Google Scholar Rizzie uses simplicity of shape, color, and line to enhance his creations. Thus, the viewer can’t help but ask, “What do these 4 images represent?” According to floral tradition, the symbolism of the tulip is fame and perfect love but also varies depending on the color of the flower in question. In the case of Tulipia (Ribbon) and Tulipia, with Rizzie’s election to variegate the color, the symbolism is noted to mean “you have beautiful eyes.”5The Meaning of Tulips. http://www.livingartsoriginals.com/flower-tulip.htm. Accessed January 9, 2013.Google Scholar Tulipia (Ribbon), Peaches, Lily Pad, and Tulipia are located on the 18th floor of the Gonda Building on the downtown campus of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.