Post date: Oct 18, 2017 9:46:13 PM
Brother Reynolds has been at Iona since 2000. He is the former Chairperson of the Fine Arts Department and the moderator of Art Club and Stage Crew. You can find him at his cozy office in the Verni Center, always friendly and willing to help. I sat down to talk with him about his incredible art and his life.
When do you first remember having an interest in art?
I first remember doing art at home even before elementary school. Elementary school, however, is when I first remember really enjoying creating.
In your youth what kind of things did you create?
Well, sometimes in school when the teacher wasn’t too artistic, they would depend on me to do things like bulletin boards, display cases, and all that kind of stuff in the classrooms. However, in the high school I went to we did not have any art. We had stuff like art club and stage crew, but there were no art classes. My first official art class was in Iona College as a freshman. It was an art appreciation class and Brother Chapman, who now is at the Brothers’ residence at St. Joseph’s, taught me. He had gotten his MFA (Master of Fine Arts) from The Catholic University of America, which is exactly what I ended up doing. I was impressed by him, so in college was when I got serious about it. I started painting a lot and getting interested in things like interior design. Those interests have stayed with me to this very day. I mean you can see it with how I have my office laid out here.
Did becoming a Brother impact the kind of art you did?
Well I joined the Brotherhood two weeks out of High School and I do not think it had much impact on the art I created itself. But as a Brother there was more incentive to do art so, that made me improve. Originally, however, I had gotten a degree in history because in those days you were encouraged to pursue something like that as a Brother, but eventually I decided I wanted to teach art and I got my Masters. It was sort of starting from scratch because I was doing something pretty different.
Now mainly what is the style of things you create?
Well, you can call it pointillism, but I really just call it painting on a smaller scale. I mean compared to what I used to do, like that big painting outside the art room I did for my thesis. But I like doing pointillism because it is a sort of an impressionistic style so I feel like I’m getting to the essence of a picture or maybe creating an essence of a picture that is not there.
How would you say your creative process works?
For the last thirty years or so it has been based off photography. I take photos or somebody gives me a photo, and I don’t just copy it, I sort of interpret it in my own way.
How does your art affect you?
I live my art. It’s really my life; it is part of who I am. I feel a need to release it, and I feel very stifled when I don’t do art or something creative. Everyone needs a creative expression. I feel that it sometimes releases tensions while making you feel more accomplished. But I think people often do things that are creative without even realizing it. “You gotta have art!”
Would you say you are personally attached to your art? If so how?
Yes very much so. It reflects who I am in its spirituality, creativeness, and it gives me an inner peace and harmony.
Georges Seurat once said “Some see poetry in my paintings, I see only science.” Do you see poetry or science in his art?
Well he is saying that because he did art in a very scientific and methodical way. But still I do see poetry in his paintings, they are very close to nature, and there is a spirituality to them even though the figures are almost frozen in time, but to me they do emit a presence.
Do you find poetry in your art work?
Yes I do. I do definitely find some expression and emotion in my paintings.
Do you have a piece you are most proud of?
I always claim that my last piece is my best or favorite. I always want to move on to better things. Every piece I finish is like a culmination of all my skills and experiences. There are times though when I feel empty about it, and I feel like I could have done better with my art. And I tell this to kids all the time: when you feel that you created something too easily, and it feels too static, then it is time to move on. You should always challenge yourself.
You have a unique ability to make kids very comfortable around you and yet respect you. What do you think makes you able to do this?
The spirit of Edmund Rice, of course.
So tell me about your foot? How does it impact your life?
I got my foot infection about ten years ago due to diabetes, but I’m still kicking (pun intended). It gets me down though sometimes, but I think my art brings me out of it and kids bring me out of it too. I really do miss school during the summer, as strange as that may sound.
On a more historical note you have an original Kennedy for President pin. Are there any political events in your lifetime that you were deeply impacted by?
Kennedy’s election because I was in 8th grade, and it was a turning point in my perspective of history and politics. Even though now there are things he is criticized for, at the time it was a real refreshing turn from what I was used to. Before Kennedy I always looked at the presidents as like an Eisenhower, someone who was old and grandfatherly. But Kennedy was a refreshing forty three year old. And even later on when I learned that he was sick and had a lot ailments, it was inspiring to me that he had risen above them. Even though he may not go down as one of the greatest presidents, I still think of him as a turning point.
-Matthew Hono '19