iARTistas SPRING 2021
MUSIC/MAN
This call asked for artwork that explores the male of the species with a musical twist: the work had to be inspired by a song about men or masculinity. It may seem indulgent for a call like this to come from me since I almost exclusively paint men and title all of my paintings after songs. I admit, I was curious to see what other artists would do with the same set of conditions. However, this concept reaches deeper, beyond curiosity and towards alchemy. In my experience, something magical happens when you connect an image you’ve made with a song that you like, they become married to one another in your mind and it’s rare that you can then think of one without the other. As I was reviewing the submissions for this call I found myself reconsidering work which hadn’t initially caught my eye once I properly listened to the song. In the end, I felt that the chosen songs elevated the artwork and vice versa. Like I said, magic. It’s been a real pleasure to curate this call and see the thought and skill that went into creating the work inside. Thank you to all who participated, to my invited guests (Jack Hughes, David Gilmore and cover girl Liz Evans) and to Didi Menendez for asking me to come up with a concept and then letting/making it happen. A good song, like a good painting, takes you on a journey and asks you to consider another point of view if even for just a few minutes. Experiencing this issue is a journey I hope you will take your time with, consider seeking out the full-length songs and playing them while you look at the artwork. Cheers, Alessandro Tomassetti
David Gilmore Los Angeles, USA @davidgilmore The song connection is, “The Man” by The Killers especially with the lyrics: "They kiss on the ring, I carry the crown Nothing can break, nothing can break me down” The subject of this painting seems like a fierce youngster who’d say something along those lines.
Adam Lavandria, 2021 Ink, gouache, and pencil on paper 24 x 18 in
Adam Holzrichter @adamholzrichter
"Death Song" is a portrait of the guitarist Christian Bland from a favorite band, The Black Angels. The liner notes from their first album contains a quote made by Edvard Munch: “Illness, insanity, and death were the black angels that kept watch over my cradle and accompanied me all my life.” I based this composition on Georges de la Tour's painting of the blind hurdy gurdy player (c.1620-25), where a musician is lost in song and unaware of his appearance. I wanted to give the painting a backstage quality, so I included the plastic party cups from the photo shoot.
Death Song, 2021 Oil on acrylic panel 24 × 18 in 61 × 45.7 cm
Erin Ruffino @erinruffino
Inspired by Americana singer KaiL Baxley’s song “Boy Got It Bad,” I created a series of three drawings in which a boy sails off for better horizons on a raft of his own making. Rooted in blues and gospel, the song’s deep resonant humming compels my protagonist through the grueling efforts of chopping down trees to assemble a raft, then dragging the heavy log raft through a vast landscape towards a distant river, where finally, in the third artwork, the boy “rides that river out of country lane.” I intended the drawings to pay homage to the singer’s southern heritage through the boy’s unrelenting determination to go on and the artworks’ overall gritty appearance created through layers of dark graphite. My muse, a friend who kindly posed for these drawings, embodies the unyielding spirit of the boy who not in spite of his inner-nature, but because of his inner-nature, forges his own path in life.
Act II: Prayer Like A War Cry, 2021 Graphite on Paper 5 × 9 1/2 in 12.7 × 24.1 cm
Kelly Birkenruth @kellybirkenruthfineart “I said there’s somethin’ bout the bad boys, that makes the good girls fall in love”. This piece was inspired by a lyric in the song Bad Boys by Zara Larsson. Maxim, my model, was so handsome I knew I had to paint him. Although he was very sweet, the leather jacket and graffiti background give him an air of mystery with a little danger sprinkled in the narrative. And what woman hasn’t fallen under that spell at one time in her life?
Something 'Bout The Bad Boys, 2021 Oil on panel 24 × 12 in 61 × 30.5 cm
Daire Lynch
@dairelynch
Chapter II: Hunger is the very first song I heard of Shawn James. My friend and fellow artist Michael Frizzell introduced me to his music. Shawn's music spans many genres, rock, soul, americana, but this song holds a dear place with me. I flew to Berlin to photograph Shawn before one of his shows while he toured Europe, such a warm and kind human.
The Bear, 2020 Oil on panel 30 × 20 in 76.2 × 50.8 cm
Daggi Wallace
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@daggistudio The song that inspired this piece is War Paint/Soldier Boy on the album American Warriors: Songs For Indian Veterans by the Black Lodge Singers. My muse is my son-in-law who is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe and has served in Afghanistan in the U.S. Army. The song starts with spoken words telling us that the color red symbolizes the heart, expresses humility and shows the spirits that you're ready for anything. It demonstrates that your heart is good and you're going to fight for your family and whatever you believe in. So often boys and men are brought up to feel like it's their duty to fight, to become warriors but the fight is not always for what they personally believe in. Yet they fulfill their manly duties even if it goes against their own values which can have lasting consequences on their minds and lives. While the warrior is the ultimate universal symbol for manhood we forget the fragile humanity under the armor. This warrior shows us the war paint of his tribe on his face and the pain of war in his eyes. The Soldier Boy came home a changed man looking for new horizons. Warrior, 2021 Pastel and acrylic ink on mounted paper 6 × 18 in 15.2 × 45.7 cm
Vicki Sullivan
@vickisullivanartwork
This painting was inspired by the Bob Dylan song “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts”. In my youth, Bob Dylan songs were the background sound tracks to my life. Dylan’s imagery has always inspired me. My favorite album was “Blood on the Tracks” and Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts, was for me the best song on the album. My Muse is Simba, a Holistic Health & Movement Coach & Fire Performer With his lithe muscular figure, he is both strong and graceful making him a wonderful model to paint. I have kept his face incognito as I think the Jack of Hearts had quite a bit of Mystery about him.
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The Jack of Hearts, 2021 Oil on linen 15 7/10 × 11 4/5 in 40 × 30 cm
Lorena Lepori @la_uollas
Inspired by Rolling Stones’ ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ I’ve depicted what could very well be one of Lucifer’s many appearances. We all have met him, that charming guy with his uncanny stories, being the party starter. We think of him as attractive, yet we suspect a hidden reality behind that eccentric look. Curious and mesmerized we accept his invitation and end up suffering whatever his plot was. For my version of that cheeky devil I dressed my muse ‘Tim Burton-ish’, half way between a circus manager, a party animal and a gypsy. Colorful yet dark.
Pleased to Meet You Oil on canvas 47 × 31 in 120 × 80 cm 2021
Barbara Hack @barbara__hack
“This is a man's world, this is a man's world but it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl”. In my painting I wanted to show that delicate balance we have as humans. Regardless, we need both masculine and feminine to make humanity whole.
It's A Man's World, 2020 Oil on canvas 22 × 22 in 55.9 × 55.9 cm
Cheney Lansard @cheneylansard
Jeff Mills’ music has always been built on concepts of futurism and the mystery of what the future holds for humankind as it explores and wanders the universe -in mind and body. The “Man from Tomorrow” was both an album and film that premiered at The Louvre back in 2014 with the original “Man From Tomorrow” track coming out in 1994. A mix of wonder, inspiration, fear of the unknown and all the mystery that a visitor from the future might bring.
Man From Tomorrow, 2021 Oil on birch plywood 15 × 12 in 38 × 30 cm
Alessandro Tomassetti
Dual Portraits, 2021 From bleached Fujifilm negatives
11 × 14 in 27.9 × 35.6 cm
Editions 1-10 of 10
Modern Boys (Suede)
@sosayssandro
Family Man, 2021 Ink on paper 11 × 7 in 27.9 × 17.8 cm
Elizabeth Barden @elizabeth_barden_artist
Human existence is not easy, being a man is not easy, being a good man is harder for some than others for a myriad of reasons. Sometimes, in spite of adversity, depression, and pain, self-inflicted or otherwise, an individual can find a way to keep themselves when all else is lost. To be still right here. When Johnny Cash recorded his version of HURT, he was near the end of a long and eventful career, his health was in decline. He gave this song a raw emotional sincerity, singing as an older man with a broken voice - it was powerful and poignant filmed with Cash surrounded by disintegrating mementos of his life, the result is stunning and enduring.
Hilary McCarthy @hilary_mccarthy
The man in the painting is not perfect by any means. He is a young man living in America in the year 2021. He works two jobs and is striving for the “American Dream” of one day having a family and owning a home in the future but is cognizant of the prevalent income inequality. He holds the door open for the whomever is behind him. He has dinner with his mom every Sunday. He has friends of different races, and different gender identities. When he sees a beautiful woman, he might shyly smile at her but there is no cat calling. During his breaks on his job in construction he doodles architectural drawings of his dream house. On the subway commute home, he writes poetry with his hands stained with grease and dirt from the day’s work. He listens to Otis Redding on his headphones. His favorite color is purple. His magic is unassuming, down to earth and honest. His sensitivity is
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seen in his translucent blue eyes.
Magic Man, 2015 Oil on Canvas 30 × 18 in 76.2 × 45.7 cm
Jack Hughes
John Grant is unashamedly open about his sexuality and his mental health struggles and he ties these two facets together perfectly, ‘Glacier’ is the best example of that. He references the struggles of homosexuals in society and the bitter beauty of the song is you can’t tell if he’s talking of our history or our present. The song is about embracing your sexuality and love who you want to love despite society telling you otherwise.
Jack Hughes Illustrator | London, England www.jack-hughes.com @jackmrhughes
Jackie Edwards @jkeartist This call really caught my attention and my mind immediately started to think of every conceivable title and tune by males that I could think off! So many songs stood out, but I kept going back to the song ‘Big, Bad John’ by Jimmy Dean, as it has this deep tone to it that is so masculine and humorous. I can relate to it way back into my childhood and remember singing it laughing with friends. As well as that, I have a muse who, in my mind is absolutely perfect to fit the description of Big John! He stands at least 6’4’’ and has deep moody eyes. I just had to paint him, and hope that people can see the narrative in this piece that ties in so well with this tune. Altogether a very enjoyable experience.
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Big, Bad, John, 2021 Oil on linen on wood panel 22 2/5 × 15 7/10 in 57 × 40 cm
John Hyland @john_hyland_71
This is a portrait of a friend of mine, Garrett Bair, a model from Ohio, who was recently in town and posed for me with a Wild Cherry Berry Tootsie Pop that I positioned on his chest, with his head bowed in thought. I used varying degrees of that cherry color throughout his skin tone, especially in his ruddy cheeks. I had fun with his hand, too, which absorbed much of the light, and also with the variety of shadowing throughout. So it was an interesting one to do, from the posing session to the painting. The inspiration is “The Candy Man,” the 1972 song by Sammy Davis Jr., along with “My Boy Lollipop,” the 1964 hit by Millie Small.
The Candy Man, 2020 Oil on canvas 10 × 10 in 25.4 × 25.4 cm
JuliAnne Jonker @juliannejonker_fineart
The song that I chose to go with my painting Dionysus is “The Crying Game” sung by Boy George. My subject is a young man who I instantly connected with when he walked in my studio. The song was going through my head even while I was painting. In researching a title I found some words about Dionysus that resonated with the feeling I was trying to portray. The ancient Greek god of cultivation, fertility, ritual madness, theater, and religious ecstasy. In later images the guide is shown to be a beardless, sensuous, naked or semi naked androgynous youth. He is described in literature as womanly or “man – womanish”” In his face I see a sensuous, carefree yet longing soul. It resonates with the “bluesy” feeling that I get from the crying game song.
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Dionysus, 2020 Oil and wax on artboard 30 × 22 in 76.2 × 55.9 cm
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Kristen Santucci
@kristen.santucci.art
The title of my painting is “Solitary Man”. I chose this song because it has a lot of meaning these days. Dealing with a global pandemic has been hard on everyone, especially those who have had to adjust to working from home. Some rarely leave their homes, and have fallen into depression. This is a portrait of my husband Chris. He is a musician himself. It has been a great blessing that he has been able to give guitar lessons online, but it has also been quite hard...as he has become a “solitary man”.
Solitary Man, 2021 Oil on Canvas 24 × 24 in 61 × 61 cm
Liz Evans
Liz Evans Photography Portrait artist based in Barcelona Spain www.lizevansphotography.com IG/FB @lizevansphoto
Dual Portrait of JD, 2021 From bleached Fujifilm negatives 11 × 14 in 27.9 × 35.6 cm Editions 1-10 of 10
Alessandro Tomassetti
@sosayssandro
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“Off Axis”, a painting of my son, is my attempt to record, distill
Nicole Finger @fingerpaintingart
and further understand some of the tumultuous mix of emotions he feels at the cusp of adulthood and as he reaches a pivotal crossroads. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Every Mother’s Son” relates to the intense highs and lows and lends some perspective and a reminder for a sense of gratitude.
Off Axis, 2020 Oil on canvas 24 × 36 in 61 × 91.4 cm
Rachel Pieters @rachelpietersartist
This painting of my husband was inspired in part by the Eurythmics song “Missionary Man,” though the root of it started when I was young. I’d found an old black and white photo of a great uncle in a priest’s collar, whom I was told was a Dutch missionary. I always wondered what his life was like and wasn’t really sure what a missionary was, so I was a little confused whenever I heard this song as a kid. Recently, I saw the Gerard Butler movie Machine Gun Preacher, based on an actual badass missionary in Sudan who saves children. This was the moment these three ideas collided in my head, and now I think I know what Annie Lennox was getting at. TAP ON IMAGE FOR DETAILS Don't Mess With A Missionary Man, 2021 Oil on canvas 12 × 12 in 30.5 × 30.5 cm
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Sarah Kaiser-Amaral @sarah.kaiser919 Man In The Mirror, 2021 Oil on canvas 29 × 42 in 73.7 × 106.7 cm
I was inspired by Michael Jackson’s song, “Man in the Mirror” when I made this painting. I depicted a policeman looking into the mirror at himself from two different angles. My painting is a response to police brutality and the use of excessive force. About 1,000 civilians are killed each year by law-enforcement officers in the United States. Black men are 2.5 times more likely than white men to be killed by police during their lifetime.
This painting is a political statement. After participating in several Black Lives Matter marches in Chicago, I was motivated to make this painting. I have been appalled by the lack of consequences many white policemen have faced after committing such horrific crimes. Many of them have not lost their jobs, and are still at work. It’s actually quite rare for police officers in the US to face legal consequences for using excessive force — or even fatal violence — against civilians.
Stephanie Spay @stephaniespayfineart
Burying our hurts and covering our scars, instead of dealing with them and facing them head on will never serve us. Healing and growth start with the baring of the truth, the sharing of our pain. Here my son bares his scars from a traumatic birth due to a heart defect and pulmonary complications. He bares the scrapes he endures as he struggles to achieve his ten-year-old goals. In this painting, he is still standing, ready to survive whatever life deals him, because he buries nothing. This painting was inspired by Boys Don’t Cry by The Cure. The song acts as juxtaposition to the intended narrative.
Bare Don't Bury, 2021 Oil on aluminum 20 × 16 in 50.8 × 40.6 cm
Teresa Brutcher @teresabrutcher
Father and Son, 2021 Oil on canvas 16 × 16 in 40.6 × 40.6 cm
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Traci Wright-Martin @tracimartinstudios We tend to have a clear idea in our minds when we picture a fan of a specific genre of music or a corresponding pop star. Where does that idea come from? Why do we react when that expectation is disrupted somehow? What drives us to define a “norm” for fans or to create exclusive clubs, identities, and/or limitations for these genres? Isn’t music one of the very creations that sets out to break barriers and provide profound connections for any and all? So, why do we find it funny when a semi-professional wrestler is a huge fan of a nineties teenage pop icon? Couple that with the sarcastic use of the traditionally “feminine” color pink, and that is the visual question I ask in this portrait. His intimidating and self-assured expression says it all. Both in the look he gives the viewer and in the title of the piece, we borrow a famous phrase from the icon herself. TAP ON IMAGE FOR DETAILS
“It’s Britney, Bitch.”, 2019 Charcoal and pastel on paper 28 × 20 in 71.1 × 50.8 cm
Yvonne Melchers
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H’s Eyes/Unfathomable Blues, 2000 Oil on linen 12 × 34 in 30.5 × 86.4 cm
Publisher Didi Menendez
Website www.iartistas.com
Publishing House GOSS183
All media remain the copyright of the artists.
Curator Alessandro Tomassetti Gallery 33 Contemporary, Chicago TAP ON IMAGE TO OPEN THE PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY
Front Cover Liz Evans
Check the full version of the music from online outlets or stop by Spotify for the full playlist. This is an interactive publication produced with Adobe Indesign and created by Didi Menendez. This publication is classified as a digital work of art by Didi Menendez and should be archived as such. ©iARTistas and Didi Menendez, 2021