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Painter Elli Crocker has a special interest in depicting the human figure, often portraying it in a way that expresses interpersonal relationships. She mentors students such as geography and studio art double-major Christopher Graff, who explored the use of fruit as a sculpture medium. |
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Painting the town
Professor Elli Crocker's creative work
The circumstances that give rise to Professor
Elli Crocker's
paintings are varied. Sometimes she creates according to her inner vision only, and hopes
that the resulting painting will resonate with others. Sometimes she's commissioned to help
shape and give form to someone else's vision. Sometimes she knows where the artwork will be
displayed, and sometimes that information remains unknown at the time of creation. Each
scenario presents different challenges that ultimately shape her final product.
Find out below about Professor Crocker's paintings commissioned by the Allston Village Main
Streets Association, read an online interview with Professor
Crocker and senior art major Chris Graff, or go to her
Web site to see and learn more about her paintings.
In 2001, Professor Crocker was commissioned to paint "Windows on Allston," a set of twenty-one
panels intended to cover bricked-in windows in the facades of two adjacent buildings in the
Allston neighborhood of Boston. The project was sponsored by the Jack Young Company, owner
of the buildings, and the Allston
Village Main Streets Association.
The artwork was intended to restore a sense of liveliness and stature to the buildings
(one of which is a prominent local landmark), as well as to depict and celebrate the diversity
of the local people. In order to preserve the architectural integrity of the buildings,
the panels were painted in a loose "trompe l'oeil" (illusionistic) manner so as to imitate
the windows that might actually be there. Set in the "windows" were portraits of local citizens
and a few historical figures, among them American romantic painter
Washington
Allston (1779-1843), the namesake for the neighborhood.
The project required Crocker to work closely with the neighborhood association and the building
owners to shape a vision of how the panels should appear. She enjoys undertaking public
commissions because of the give and take process required to bring the project to a conclusion.
In addition, having lived in a neighborhood adjoining Allston for many years, Crocker felt she
could contribute a personal familiarity with the urban environment in which the panels would
be mounted.
The commission fit in well with Crocker's focus on a realistic style of painting and particular
interest in the human figure and portraiture. "The body is an incredible vehicle for
expression," Crocker explains. "It's something we all can 'read'. I see the human form as
a conduit for communication. I'm also interested in our relationship to the natural world,
so there is an aspect of my work that comments on our relationship to other living things,
too."
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Additional Resources
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The buildings featuring Professor Crocker's "Windows on Allston" paintings.
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Two panels from the "Windows on Allston" project. Copyright Elli Crocker. To see other panels, please visit Elli's web site.
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