Watching Artists Work

I don't know about you, but I love watching artists create, whether it's drawing, painting, sketching, doodling, pasting, sculpting, whatever. I love it. There's something about the process - the in-progress piece of work - and seeing it come about as it happens that totally appeals to me.

So, here's some videos of artists doing their thing:

Jackson Pollock:




Jean -Michel Basquiat (he's shown painting around :45):




Basquiat with spraypaint (From DOWNTOWN 81):




The great Picasso:




More Picasso:




Henri Matisse drawing:




Henri Matisse cutting out shapes:




Now, this is interesting. In 1985, Quantel invited David Hockney to try out painting on their Paintbox. Here's part 1 (of 5):



Part 2:



Part 3:



Part 4:



Part 5:

Culture Jellying

It's not often when I get out (freelance turns you into a shut-in, I'm afraid), so it was nice to get out and enjoy some art this past Thursday. In fact, it was extra nice, since it was fellow animation-pal Joel Trussell and his Culture Jam Jelly show at the Grassy Knoll Gallery (same place where I had my b-boy show) here in Portland. The show is a stunner, with plenty of colorful bearded characters. Joel promised beforehand that not all of the show would consist of vikings, but honestly? I wouldn't mind. As long as they had that unmistakable JT touch, I'm there. Oh, and just so you know, there are girls in the mix, too. Sans beards. One interesting feature of the show that can't be missed: a wall covered with faux fur.















To view the show online, as well as to purchase the artwork, click here.

To view the show in person, be sure to contact the gallery by going to Grassy Knoll's site.

I took some shots of the show opening, including the wall of fur: Joel Trussell's Culture Jelly Show Flickr set.

Another thing: you can nab yerself a limited edition show poster signed by Joel himself: Culture Jam Show Poster. Nice 2-color off set printing.

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The following night I was able to get out (again!), this time with kids in tow to check out the Grass Hut Gang show at the incurably hip Grass Hut, on E. Burnside. The show featured some gloriously creative work by Bwana Spoons, Martin Ontiveros (whom I met), and APAK. The kids loved it, but I found it incredibly hard to keep their mitts off the merchandise. If you have cool robots on view, Ezra will want to take them down and play with them.

At least Ava got to experience the Wonder Wheel! That's a must if you visit the place. (Probably not a good idea if you've been drinking, tho. One girl almost bit the dust while spinning in that thing.)

The passing

Photo: Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

I'm sad to say that perhaps the biggest influence in my life as an artist has passed away. Robert Rauschenberg died yesterday at his home in Captiva Island, Florida. He was 82.

I will write more when I have the time. In the meantime, you can read more about the man and the artist here:

New York Times Obit

Robert Rauschenberg on Wikipedia


From "An Interview with Robert Rauschenberg by Barbara Rose":

BR: It's interesting that in all your years of producing new directions in your art, you have never gotten into death imagery. A great deal of risk but not death. Is that something that you ever think about?

RR: Not often. I have always said that life has nothing to do with death. They're two separate things, and that's the way it ought to be. If that's innocent, so be it. Innocence is not like virginity. Virginity you can have only once. Innocence you have to nourish every day.

The Curiously Sinister Art of Jim Flora

Now that all the heavy news about us moving to Portland is out of the way, I want to get back to what I enjoy about this blog: posting about art and animation. I posted a review of the new Jim Flora book on Drawn! and thought I'd share it with you all here. Please buy the book. It's worth it. Here's the review:

I've been rendered completely numb for the past couple of days because Fantagraphics sent me a copy of The Curiously Sinister Art of Jim Flora, a book that I've been pining for a long time. I did a brief blurb about it last March, and since then I've dedicated a few more posts about Flora both on Drawn! (here and here) as well as on my own blog. Obviously I'm biased about his work, but I don't care -- I know that there are many artists, illustrators and animators who have been heavily influenced by Jim Flora. He was a master of contorted shapes, colors, and figures, all done with a mid-century deconstructive rebel mindset; an iconoclast in every sense of the word, never bowing to the usual editory convictions. I thought that one book on the master would be enough for anyone -- even for diehard fans. But, no. After going through page after page of beautiful long-lost Flora art and reading the breezy and insightful words of Chusid, Curiously Sinister is a must-have for anyone who loves wildly imaginative imagery and unbridled character design.

Often there are wary expectations for anything labeled as a "second collection" because the assessment is that the material contained within is probably, well, secondary or sub-par. A chance to cash-in on the notoriety of Flora's name, right? Not so here. Chusid writes in the introduction of Curiously Sinister that the contents of this book was material that they didn't know existed while compiling the first book. After discovering a storage unit filled top to bottom with oddities and unseen work throughout Flora's career (1930's - '90's), Irwin and co-author Barbara Economon both knew what they had to do: archive all of it immediately and get as much of it out there for the world to see.

And we all should thank them profusely for their efforts. While Jim Flora may be best known for his unique jazz album covers in the 40's and 50's, as well as for his amusing children's books from the 50's into the 70's, what Curiously Sinister does is sidestep the usual Flora fare with artwork that the artist did on the side, on his own time. It's fascinating because after thumbing through page after page of Flora's more personal works was like witnessing a mad scientist concocting incredible creations deep in his basement, no holds barred. Flora's professional work was already a mind-altering head trip, but man -- after just a few pages into this book you'll see that that was just the tip of the illustrative iceberg. And by publishing a second book of Flora artwork, Chusid and Economon offer us the full scope of who James Flora really was, discombobulated figures and all. It's a rare glimpse into the mind of Flora -- a mind that never seemed to concern itself with limitations, constrictions or constraints. Flora offered us more than just "jazz art" -- he gave us limitless possibilities when it comes to our own art.

Other links:

It should be noted that Irwin and Barbara have started up a Jim Flora blog, with some excellent insider notes on various works by the artist.

Support the family: buy original art and prints at the newly redesigned Jim Flora Art (with a nice jazz soundbyte to set the mood); buy t-shirts and other items at the official Jim Flora eBay store. I've got a "Jivin' Teens" t-shirt. Checkit, it's lovely:



Finally, the official Jim Flora site has also been recently redesigned and it looks mighty swanky. Be sure to check out the special gallery section on woodcuts, where they take a recently discovered Flora woodcut block (dated 1946) and bring it back to life.