Donald P. Olsen
Donald Penrod Olsen | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 3, 1910 Provo, Utah, U.S. |
| Died | 1983 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
| Education | Brigham Young University University of Utah |
| Occupation(s) | Violinist, educator, painter |
Donald P. Olsen (December 3, 1910 - 1983) was an American violinist, educator and painter.[1] He played the violin for the Utah Symphony in the 1930s, he taught art and music at Jordan High School in Sandy, Utah, and he became an abstract expressionist painter in the 1950s.[1][2] Olsen passed away in 1983 in Salt Lake City,[1] and his work was exhibited posthumously at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in 2011.[3]
Early life and education
Olsen was born in Provo, Utah, on December 3, 1910. He completed his undergraduate studies at Brigham Young University in 1935, focusing on music. He later pursued further education in art at the University of Utah in 1950.[1]
Teaching career
After his studies, Olsen taught at several high schools in Utah, including Provo, Lincoln, and Jordan High Schools. He also served as an instructor at the College of Southern Utah, teaching both music and art, and at the Art Barn in Salt Lake City.[1] Olsen's student's include the artists Bart J. Morse and Donna Mae Peters Nunley.
Artistic Contributions
Olsen is among the second generation of Utah modernists. His dedication to modernism led him to explore various contemporary styles, including abstract expressionism and minimalism. In 1955, he held a solo exhibition at the Salt Lake Art Center. Later in his career, Olsen's work evolved toward geometric purism, drawing inspiration from artists like Piet Mondrian.[1]
In 1954, Olsen studied under Hans Hofmann in Provincetown, Massachusetts, which influenced his artistic development. He frequently visited New York, engaging with prominent abstract expressionist painters of the time, and then brought that new ideology back to Utah.[1]
Artistic philosophy
Olsen's philosophy of painting emphasized the authenticity of the medium. He believed that a painting should be true to itself, not simulating or borrowing from external realities, but expressing the internal vision of the artist. “Painting is not an illusion. A painting can only be itself; it does not simulate, borrow from, or pretend to be anything outside itself. It is a real thing and its reality lies in being itself. A painting reveals the internal expression of the artist and has nothing to do with observation of visual facts.“[1]
Further reading
- Haseltine, James (1984). Don Olsen, A Retrospective, 1940-1983: Salt Lake Art Center. Salt Lake City, Utah: Salt Lake Art Center. OCLC 10866339.
- Swanson, Vern G., Robert S. Olpin, William C. Seifrit. Utah Painting and Sculpture. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1991.[4]
- Olpin, Robert, S., William C. Seifrit, and Vern G. Swanson. Artists of Utah. Salt Lake City, UT: Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1999.[5]
- Dunbier, Lonnie Pierson, ed. The Artists Bluebook: 29,000 North American Artists. Scottsdale, AZ: AskART.com, 2003.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Utah Artists Project: Donald P. Olsen". J. Willard Marriott Library. The University of Utah. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ Swanson, Vern G.; Olpin, Robert S.; Poulton, Donna L.; Rogers, Janie L. (2001). Utah Art, Utah Artists: 150-Year Survey. Layton, Utah: Gibbs-Smith. pp. 85–86. ISBN 9781586851118. OCLC 716930174.
- ^ Wadley, Carma (January 8, 2011). "Appreciating abstract: Exhibit features 10 large-scale works of Utah artist Don Olsen". Deseret News. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ SEIFRIT, WILLIAM C. (1986-04-01). "Letters from Paris". Utah Historical Quarterly. 54 (2): 179–202. doi:10.2307/45061588. ISSN 0042-143X.
- ^ Workshop on Electrical Methods in Geothermal Exploration (Report). US: University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT. 1977-01-01.
- ^ Pierson, Christoffel. Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford University Press. 2011-10-31.