Sophia attributes the inspiration for this design to the ancient Greekplaywright Aristophanes. ![]() These two ambiguities create a startling immediacy anda striking vibrancy in Sophia's work.Ībove is a double portrait where two profiles make up oneface. Furthermore, it is not alwaysclear which is the central figure, since one may melt into two or even three,as in this case. All of the elements of the central figure and surroundingsymbols and patterns are together-intertwined, interrelated, and inseparable-and many elements seem to pulsate, alternately suggesting foregroundand background in relation to one another. The usual distinction between foreground and background isnot presentin Sophia's work. Itseems plausible considering the artist's origins that some may be thereto protect against the evil eye or as a talisman to ward off evil. Even in the patterns, there are many eye-like symbols. It appears she thinks of eyes as a mirror of the soul,since she emphasizesthem so much. Here she is expressing herself in her three "personas"(roles) or three periods of her life. It also brings to mind Picasso, wholiked to look at different aspects and angles of a single face simultaneously.Sophia uses this technique to explore the different facets of a person inher portraits. Her work is a tapestry of repeated symbols and patternsin an intense assortment of colors. Triple Self-Portrait is a very strong piece and shows the complexityof Sophia's art. She thinks a lot about heaven,and meeting up there one day with some of the world's finest composers ispart of how she pictures (her) heaven will be. Music is another great love ofhers, an essential component of her existence. You will likewise see the influenceof Sophia's love for tapestry in her rich, textured work, and you will findthere, too, tributes to Bach and Proust. The harpsichord lid is itsown metaphor for music as well as a medium for her colorful collage of pyroengravedautobiographical images and pyroengraved inscriptions, including many symbolsfor both music and poetry, both integral parts of her life and her family's.Birds as symbols and birds as motifs are found throughout Sophia's bodyof work, an example of which is "Birds as Proof of God" (not shown),her interpretation of Pascal's words. In the harpsichord lid, shown in the two pictures above,Sophia has includedmany, many elements of her life and her art. In English, "pyroengraving" is the most appropriate word for herhighly textured work. She feels that this terminology not only bestdescribes her technique but is the one by which her work is known. Sophia especially asked that the French words "Pyrogravure Colorée"be used to refer to her work. Joseph of The Palisades) in West New York,New Jersey. When she got to America, Sophia got her master's degree inFrench atMiddlebury College, and is presently teaching French plus Speech and Dramaat a private high school (St. On her own, she decided to add color and started selling herwork. Then one day, in a big craft store in Paris, Rougier etPlé, she founda pyroengraving tool-appareil de pyrogravure-and took up her pyrogravurein earnest. Since she didn't have a loom, she madea large needle tapestry, which she called "Wings' Movement," andwas successful in exhibiting at both the Salon Comparaison at Les Hallesand the Hotel Commodore in Paris. In Paris, in search of an artistic expression other thanacting and withso much of the world's finest tapestry around her, Sophia was once moreinspired to try her hand at that. Aftera few years in that profession, she left for America with, as she describesit, "a longish interlude in Paris," where she taught Drama ina private school, Cours Maupré. Sophia AlbuIonita had only "flirtedwith pyrogravure and tapestry" by the time she left her native Romania.She graduated there from the University of Drama and Cinematography, IonLuca Caragiale, in Bucharest, and became well known as an actress. Mural hangs above Oliver's own harpsichord ![]() ![]() Pyrogravure Colorée The Art of Sophia Albu Ionita Issue #6 E-zine Back to TOC | back to E-zine Home Page | MailingList Fine Art Pyrogravure by Sophia Albu Ionita
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