Valton Tyler
Tippicanoe and Tyler Too
1971

About the Item

In The New York Times Arts in America column, Edward M. Gomez writes of Valton Tyler, "visionary seems the right word for describing his vivid, unusual and technically refined paintings, prints and drawings, whose style defies convenient labels. Abstract, surreal, cartoonish, sci-fi fantastic, metaphysical, apocalyptic-Baroque - all of these fit but also fall short of fully describing his art." (The Living Arts, June 13, 2000, p. B2) Valton Tyler was born in 1944 in Texas, where "the industrial world of oil refineries made a long-lasting impression on Valton as a very young child living in Texas City." (Reynolds, p. 25) After leaving Texas City, Valton made his way to Dallas, where he briefly enrolled at the Dallas Art Institute, but found it to be too social and commercial for his taste. After Valton's work was introduced to Donald Vogel (founder of Valley House Gallery), "Vogel arranged for Tyler to use the printmaking facilities in the art department of the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where the young artist essentially taught himself several demanding printmaking techniques. 'It was remarkable,' Vogel says. 'Not only did he learn complicated etching methods, but he was able to express himself powerfully in whatever medium he explored.' Vogel became the publisher of Tyler's prints. Among them, the artist made editions of some 50 different images whose sometimes stringy abstract forms and more solid, architecturally arresting elements became the precursors of his later, mature style." (Gomez, Raw Vision #35, p. 36) "Tippicanoe and Tyler Too" is plate number 46, and is reproduced in "The First Fifty Prints: Valton Tyler" with text by Rebecca Reynolds, published for Valley House Gallery by Southern Methodist University Press, Dallas, Texas, 1972. In "The First Fifty Prints," Reynolds recounts Valton Tyler's description of this image: "'Tippicanoe and Tyler Too' takes place on a waterfront. The towers are like fish gills. This could be a weather station or perhaps a place where men are working on marine research. A wooden tower house, stairs and balconies take them to their different duties and lookout points. They come and leave in the canoe that is moored at the bank. Birds or feathery insects move up and around the water wheel and other floating particles lead the eye from structure to structure to suggest the life going on in and around the buildings. It is important to imagine the interior spaces and the life moving within them in the prints. The prints are more than surface designs." (Reynolds, p.128) Paper size: 27 1/4 x 36 3/4 inches Edition: 5 Artists Proofs Imp. 50 Signed Prints Imp. This print is neither matted nor framed. Bibliography: Edward M. Gomez, "Futuristic Forms Frolic Under Eerie Texan Skies," The New York Times, June 13, 2000, page B2. Edward M. Gomez, "Valton Tyler's Techno-Organic Landscapes," Raw Vision 35, Summer 2001, pages 34-39. Rebecca Reynolds, "The First Fifty Prints: Valton Tyler," published for Valley House Gallery by Southern Methodist University Press, Dallas, Texas, 1972.

Creator:
Valton Tyler (1944, American)
Creation Year:
1971
Dimensions:
Height: 23 in (58.42 cm)Width: 32.5 in (82.55 cm)
Medium:
Etching
Movement & Style:
Surrealist
Period:
Late 20th Century
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Dallas, TX
Reference Number:
Seller: VT-46-051stDibs: LU2571717733
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