Austine Wood Comarow (November 10, 1942 – July 31, 2020) was an American artist known for inventing Polage art, an art medium using color created out of polarized white light and clear cellulose.

Early life

Austine was born in Louisville, KY, daughter of diplomat James Morgan Read and artist Henrietta Morton Read. She lived in Germany when her father was Chief of the Division of Education and Cultural Relations of the

Allied High Commission The Allied High Commission (also known as the High Commission for Occupied Germany, HICOG; in German ''Alliierte Hohe Kommission'', ''AHK'') was established by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France after the 1948 breakdown of the Alli ...

for Occupied Germany, (HICOG). The family moved to

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

in 1951, when her father became Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

. In 1960, Austine returned to the United States to attend Swarthmore College, completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Russian Language and Literature at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

in 1964. She studied art at

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...

in Santiago from 1970 to 1973 and later earned her Master of Fine Arts degree at Syracuse University in 1981.

Career

In 1967, Austine began developing a new

light art Light art or The Art of Light is generally referring to a visual art form in which (physical) light is the main, if not sole medium of creation. Uses of the term differ drastically in incongruence; definitions, if existing, vary in several asp ...

medium she named Polage art using polarizing filter and a collaging method of building images from cut pieces of clear cellulose. The medium produces brightly colored images without the use of pigments or dyes of any kind, and when manipulating materials in the viewers’ hands or within the workings of the art itself, the colors shift and morph the visible images. Her work is included in the permanent collections at the

Museum of Science Boston The Museum of Science (MoS) is a science museum and indoor zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, located in Science Park, a plot of land spanning the Charles River. Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, the museum features a number of live presentat ...

, the

New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science is a natural history and science museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico near Old Town Albuquerque. The Museum was founded in 1986. It operates as a public revenue facility of the New Mexico Departmen ...

, and Swarthmore College, along with hospitals, museums, public spaces and private collections the world over. In 1998, Austine began a continuing relationship with

Maui Jim Maui Jim is an American sunglasses manufacturer based in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in Lahaina, Hawaii, in 1980, the company designs, develops, and manufactures a wide variety of sunglasses marketed under the eponymous brand name. As of 2015, it ...

, which specializes in high-quality polarized sunglasses.

References

External links

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Official Website

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Maui Jim, Inc. on its collaboration with Austine
br> {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood Comarow, Austine 1942 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists Artists from Louisville, Kentucky Indiana University alumni Pontifical Catholic University of Chile alumni Syracuse University alumni Swarthmore College alumni