Review by Christopher Kendalls

   Misha Bittleston is a wonderful abstract artist. There is much to say here about her work. First, I just love the way she uses black and white for her abstract works; it rather gives abstract art a different perspective. Different than Pollock or Picasso, for example, this is not overly loud, bright work that is carelessly or randomly splattered on the canvas this is something totally different, more involved, and less narcissistic.

   If I can actually say that this work is perhaps more accessible, in a sense, or what is associated with abstract art. Take for consideration "2004-03-28-Untitled-Ink on Paper" which the reviewers of the web site gave a 7, interesting because there is something phenomenal in the way the inhabitants of earth attempt to reach into the heavens, something "Babel" about this work. You can see the disconnect between what is below and what is above, and you cannot really see here these columns are reaching towards, which is what I believe is exactly the point here.

   Or what about the violence behind "2004-02-22-Untitled"; it's like people walking up this ramp into this nothingness, or perhaps crossing a river of sorts into this frightening abyss with weird plant life that, in all of it's enormity, is both menacing and romantic at the same time.

   I did not quite understand the "Dream" (2004-01-27); it was like this enormous graffiti mural dwarfs at the bottom of something where you can look up towards these trees in a distance. Moreover, it is all in this big pit.

   I love the "Joy Nandy 00011a" (1999-12-12), great melancholy with this fish in this nothingness, with nothing but the lights above and below for comfort. Trapped in this space of sorts; Interestingly enough the other Joy works are not consistently with this level of abstraction. "Joy Bunny 00024" is a rather interesting reworking of a photograph yet it is more the literal subject that interests me rather than the technique.

   Of the other digital media, be sure to check out "Goldenidol2" (1999), while it is obvious what this is. The usage of red in monochrome is what really puts this image over the edge.

   Overall, Misha combines dark cynicism and social commentary with fun abstractions of mundane subject matter. There is something here for everyone, including the usual jump into existentialism and other spiritual matter. Yet not everything is to question, sometimes life is just what it is at the time, and you may find yourself coming from a different place emotionally, than the person next to you. Other times, you are completely and totally alienated, and living experiences that no one else should ever have to.

   Perhaps the idea of what abstract art is has changed significantly since the days of the pioneers. The most recent work, "2004-05-24-Untitled B", shows movement from the left to the right and back again. What does it mean? Is this what happened with the ideas, with the execution of them, the methods used? Back and forth, Bittleston has tried different styles, used different materials, interesting that the most recent work available is on pen and ink, again, metaphorically, as a writer uses paper to convey their ideas. Perhaps Bittleston's best efforts are on standard, mundane paper, where some of the best ideas through time exist for all to see.

Author Christopher Kendalls (Dayton, Ohio)
I write a lot of poetry, and am writing articles about fashion. I have always been interested in fashion; I went to school for computers, which did not work out, as I never finished my degree. I was turned on to writing poetry in college, and won an award for an essay I had written. My poetry is very unconventional. I do not have an articulate, or educated opinion about any of the arts, I just like what I see when I see it. My approach to fashion is the same; I may be one of the few who perceive fashion as being a kind of abstract art. I cannot understand how someone can not be fashionable, and this also makes me wonder where he or she is mentally and emotionally on other issues.

Not everyone is motivated the way I am. To me the world is very visual, and not just literally, but I am speaking of an aesthetic that goes into my thought process, the way decisions are made and executed as well, on some level everything is a function of art to me. I can't separate one from the other, I mean I choose to write because it is what I do best, and am at most comfortable with, but I'm pretty much for anything. Perhaps my existential ideas about art are what are most weird about me, the way I see myself through art more so than through anything else.