Fine Art Magazine - Spring 2010

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THE CREATIVE LIFE IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER

CHOR BOOGIE - STREET ROMANTIC

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Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010 • 3

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Homage a Honoré Daumier 1808 – 1879 • Printmaking Master The artwork The Uprising (About 1860) inspired contemporary painter John Pacovsky as he created this, one of more than 120 pieces in our Absente Homage to Great Artists Collection.

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The Alchemy of Creativity

By Jean Houston, Ph.D.

W

hether an artist or a witness to works of art, each person has access to a rich creative world that demands expression. Without it, life becomes a single note longing for its melody.

When we look at the lives of great creative souls, we find that they feel themselves to be hooked up to, guided, incarnated by or allied by a power that is beyond or deep within themselves. This power is felt as an inner spirit, a vision, an inward voice, a restlessness, or even a motivation for a quest for truth. There is a mystery here that verges on the paranormal, and shakes hands with the Infinite.

With the highly creative person, it is their degree of vision and availability joined to talent, motivation, absorption in the quest, formidable courage in the midst of the bleakest and most disempowering circumstance, an engagement with opportunity when it presents itself, and a willingness to go the distance with it­­—this is what makes for brilliance, for radical creativity, and sometimes even genius. It also means that they and you move out of mere humanity and into the realm of myth.

Creativity is not necessarily solitary or insular, though it may appear to others to be just that. It is resonant with stores of information felt as personal. It is love in its most emphatic aspect, passion in its most blatant form. Above all it is the dissolution of the membranes of the local self and absorption, communion, identity even with Reality itself. It is this capacity for communion that is the greatest of all hidden talents, the ability to be changed by the process of deep perception, contemplation into the nature of things.

The ultimate creative person perceives the hidden reality behind reality and takes it as his or her task to communicate this reality to others.

In this way, he or she extends the boundaries of the world, opens the doors of perceptions, gives us a larger, clearer, expanded universe, and sometimes an entirely new one.

Another gift of creativity is the awareness of guiding a visionary theme which recurs throughout our life, and when we attend to it as 12 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

an ally and helper, it gives us unique perspectives on working with the multi-facets of existence.

These themes stay with us because of their strong emotional component when we touch into them.

Perhaps, in some way they relate to the Beloved of the soul, the archetypal friend and companion, the one who is our partner in the depth world.

Just as we sometimes speak of Guardian Angels, perhaps we can speak of Guardian Themes which are gives us to help chart our path.

In addition to these personal themes, one often finds in the study of creativity that those engaged enjoy their emotional resonance with that which they are focused, having a much larger ability than most of us for understanding complexity. This emotional information loop activates continuously through all channels of the brain so that the feeling tones act as an organizing focus, allowing relevant data to continuously link up. This loop, when kept active, allows for a constant interaction between that which is coming from outside, information and perception, with that which is coming from inside—thought, reflection, internal imagery, memory, and dreaming.

To me, it is experienced as a state of amplified pure being. It is my belief that the ultimate impetus behind creativity is the establishment of an identity between the personal and the universal. This is the domain of the “mythic”, that which allows for a growing identity between the personal particulars of your human existence with the personal universals of mythic heroic existence.

One way of achieving a greater and more lasting creativity is by creating a relationship with a heroic archetypal hero or heroine. Perhaps you have one who comes to you in your sleep or day dreams. You have the imaginative ability to work, live, walk and talk from inside the archetypal pattern. This can often result in linking one to both a larger creative capacity as well as to the creative storehouse itself. If you are ever caught in wondering if you have missed your season, it is generally because you haven’t been codreaming your big dream with your archetypal hero or heroine. But now you must! The nature of creativity can be seen as one of being able to select from that potency of creative codings and then proceed to express it, to live it out, not in mere unrolling of the coding, but through the lens and skills of your own expression and talents.

The problem is that the way of human habit is to link oneself to a far lesser knowing of one’s own being. But that habit becomes a strong and high wall in your brain.

This is not to say that there isn’t uncertainty along the way. Just remember when you are tormented by unfinished projects, the agony of the great Leonardo himself who existed in a torment of self-hatred because of finishing so little. The turmoil that the creator feels toward the creation may be both the shadow and the impetus for the creative process itself. It has been my experience that whenever I was trying to do something truly innovative every bit of trivia

rose up to keep me from my task, every roaring self-doubt I had ever had loomed before me to vitiate my intent, to challenge my commitment.

As creator and innovator, one is required to prove the commitment to one’s pursuits, the power of one’s will and courage to create. After a while, the entropy relents and you are allowed to cross the threshold into new creation.

One response process is to take everything that is holding you back and write it out, play it out, turn it into satire, and make it interact with the wildest associations. One of the great hidden talents that all human beings have is for associative thinking, and there is something about the impossible association that breaks the hold of the resistance in us. Picasso, for example, whose wife spent four hours every morning just coaxing him to get out of bed and get on with it, could only actually do so after he had thought of an impossible association that would shatter all expectations.

The joy and spectacular path to creativity is to use imagination to create a vibrant, living container for it. Swim with the intensity of the absorption of your visions. Sometimes even emotional issues seem to disappear, replaced with an exhilarating feeling of transcendence.

Indeed, ego boundaries dissolve and you draw from the creative order of the Universe itself.

You can draw from a much larger mind field and heightened state of awareness. Perhaps the Selfing game is what Infinity does for fun!

Become boldly polyphrenic, and open up to the multi-levels of your own capacities to perceive.

Create as your spiritual, psychological, physical or emotional self. Situations or expression not only look, but feel dynamic when experienced from different perspectives of your own being.

Lose yourself in creative reverie, and release the pressure of time. I have come to the conclusion that the practice of suspended activity can provide a gathering of the seeds of personal and cosmic intention. When you become pregnant with the intention, creation then midwifes the child of your dreams.

And finally, if you long for the truly creative experience of living or creating, be willing to risk everything for the courage to create. Let the shape of things to be come toward you and reach to connect with it, even leaping into the abyss of the unknown to achieve it. Enjoy the weird psychological acrobatics to make that leap, because in your heart you know you cannot settle for anything less.

Savor the feast of creativity with all the spices of success and disappointment mixed together. The great joke is that you might eat heartily congratulating yourself for all your efforts, while all the time it was your being at the table that destiny had ordained as its great creative act.

Jean Houston is a philosopher, teacher, researcher in Human Capacities, consultant to social activists in over 100 countries, and a visionary activist. A founder of the Human Potential Movement, she has written 26 books and now offers Mystery Schools, training programs in Social Artistry and works internationally training leaders in human development. For more information visit jeanhouston.org.

By NEIL P. ZUKERMAN

I

n this essay I have endeavored to convey a bit of Fini’s persona as well as the placement of some of her painting into a perspective as to when (and sometimes why) they were painted. These are personal observations and extrapolations based on my relationship with Leonor Fini and my knowledge of her work.

Unfortunately, I did not meet Leonor until the last 18 years of her life. My conclusions are based on my experiences of our friendship during that short period of her life. In addition, I have called on, and am grateful for, many breakfasts at Café de Flore in Paris with ‘Kot’ Jelenski, conversations with Richard Overstreet, Arlette Souhami, Juan Bautista Pineiro, Michel Henricot, Lambert Monet, Jacques Carpentier, Leo Castelli, her cousin Oscar deMejo, Carol Curci and the many others who shared their memories and thoughts about Leonor.

Fini’s first solo exhibition in Paris was at the Galerie Jacques Bonjean during November and December of 1932. She was 25. This was a period of transition for Fini as she searched for her own visual voice.

At this time, the most successful living artist was Pablo Picasso. Some of the paintings used the colors from Picasso’s blue and pink periods and the loose laying of the paint echoed some of the more accessible of his works. I have been known to refer to the paintings as being from her ‘Picasso Period.’

Apropos to Picasso, Julien Levy, the American art dealer who introduced Surrealism to the United States, in his autobiography tells a story of something that happened when he was introduced by Fini to Picasso. At a sidewalk cafe where they met, Picasso, while explaining his thoughts on putting two eyes on one side of a profile, drew on a paper napkin. Fini took it from Picasso’s hand; looked and crumpled it up with the eloquent phrase, “Pourqoi tu toujours fait le meme merde?” (Why do you always do the same crap?). She proceeded to fling it into the gutter.

According to Levy, as much as he wanted to, he refrained from rescuing it. Picasso’s reaction is not noted in Levy’s telling of the tale. One would hope he laughed.

Fini is quoted as having said, “A woman should always live with two men; one mostly a lover and one mostly a friend.” That she proceeded to do so is indicative of her propensity to live as she believed. ‘Mostly a lover’ was the Italian Marquis, Stanislau Lepri, whom she met in 1941. He was, at that time, a member of the Italian Diplomatic Corps, from which he resigned when he moved in with Leonor. They formed an alliance that did not end until his death in1980 in Paris. While I became close to ‘Mostly a Friend,’ Constantin (Kot) Jelenski, I, sadly, never had the pleasure of meeting Lepri.

Leonor was consumed during this period with the theme of metamorphosis (a thread

Observations Of A Fini-Fanatic

Atelier, Paris 1945 with Homme aux Masques on the easel.

LEONOR FINI – 1907 - 1996

Photo © Richard Overstreet

Leonor Fini

Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010 • 13

Stanislao and Leonor, oil on canvas, 18.5” x 15”

that is found in much of her continuing work) and the correlation between earth, vegetation and flesh. Her intellect was prodigious and her exploration of philosophy and its relationship to her own life was frequently the sub-text of her paintings. It was during this period that she began to formulate her own landscapes which would continue to house the characters of her imagination.

Cesare Pavani was a personal friend, whom Fini met in Rome during the 1940’s. An Art Director and Scenic Designer for the Italian Cinema, he was probably introduced to her by the Director, Luchino Visconti, who frequently surrounded himself with attractive young men, a few of whom Fini painted along with a wellknown portrait of Visconti himself.

The identity of the man in L’Homme aux masques is unknown. He is, however, one of Fini’s archetypes; slender, dark and somewhat androgynous. A nubile young man, masks and cat faces....a veritable Fini Feast! The painting was first shown at the Galeria dell’ala Napolianica, Palazzo Reale in the Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy in November of 1952.

Cortège (Procession) was purchased immediately upon its completion from Fini’s atelier in Paris by William Copley (1916 - 1996) an American Surrealist painter of sweetly risqué images of naked women and men in starchy Edwardian suits. An orphan, he was adopted

by Ira C. Copley, the wealthy owner of 16 newspapers in Chicago and San Diego. William attended Yale University and worked briefly as a reporter for The San Diego Tribune.

Along with his success as an artist, he was also known to be a collector with a discerning eye as well as a major philanthropist. He acquired the painting directly from Fini, circumventing her current dealer.

Cortège presages the style and subject matter Leonor Fini further explored in her 1966 illustrations for Flaubert’s Tentation de St. Antoine.

In La Terre fermentée one can see how Fini’s ability to lay paint and her exquisite use of color 14 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

Voyageurs en repos (Travelers at Rest), oil on canvas, 26.5” x 33.5”

helped to set her apart from her contemporaries.

These talents are very well exemplified in this painting where Fini seems to be indulging and exploring her fascination with the earth and its living components. Creatures and faces can be extrapolated and the sense of being ‘in and of the earth’ is extreme. The beginnings of her ‘Floral Period’ can be discerned in both the forms and the colors.

La Victime est reine (The Victim is Queen) is one of the most enigmatic of Fini’s ‘Mineral Period’ paintings. The title alone suggests a dichotomy; which is better, to be the victim or the queen, or is it that being queen requires subjugation to the role of victim?

Fini’s choices over the years pose the probability that she knew that she was both the center of her own universe, but also, subject to what others attributed to her. Not giving in to what was expected of her as a woman, as an artist or as an individual became her norm.

Did she do things solely for effect? My knowledge of her says, ‘Yes she did’. However, all of her actions were governed by her own view of what she wanted to convey to the outside world. The queen is trapped by the very act of being queen.

L’Entre deux (Between Two) is a very obvious homage to the colors and patterns of Gustav Klimt. One of Fini’s most daring directions was to take components of other artist’s works and translate them into her own lexicon.

A young college student approached me and requested permission to study L’Entre Deux with the intent of writing his thesis on the painting. He would come into the gallery on Sunday afternoons and spend hours in front of it. One day I asked him to describe the painting.

He started by saying, “It’s that moment when two people find.....” I interrupted and asked him to come down to earth and simply describe what was in the painting. His answer was, “Two women.......” I, again, interrupted and asked, “Are you sure?” He quietly studied the painting for a few minutes longer and then told me that he would be re-writing the thesis as he couldn’t be sure if it was, in fact, two women.

Fini loved to obfuscate. She loved mixing the sexes and blurring the lines. Her women were often fierce, but also could be soft and yielding.

Her men, though normally less active and in need of protection and nurturing could, on occasion, also be strong and equal to Fini’s women.

This particular painting was part of the traveling erotic art exhibition curated by German sexologists, Drs. Eberhardt and Kronhauser.

It was displayed in a separate room with one of Fini’s other paintings and, “....shown only to special viewers.” It was deemed too provocative and too blatantly sexual for the average museumgoer.

Les Aveugles (The Blind) is another of Fini’s graphic depictions of possible lovers which obfuscates the sexes of the participants as well as the intent of the coupling. It was chosen by Fini as the cover of the first English translation of “Leonor Fini Peinture,” Constantin Jelenski, 1972, Olympia Press, New York City.

The book was selected by Bob Guccioni, of Penthouse Magazine fame, as his first entry into a Penthouse driven publishing project.

Known primarily as a publisher of softcore pornography, Guccioni also owns a large and important art collection. Fini found herself amongst masters such as Holbein, Modigliani, Picasso and Dali.

She once told me that she was color blind

La Chamber d’echo, oil on canvas, 35.5” x 46”

to various shades of red and this is why she gravitated to burnt umber and its derivative colors.

I met Juan Piniero, the Argentinean poet, who was a part of Fini’s ‘Inner Circle’ during the 1970’s and 1980’s, before I physically met Fini. In fact, it was probably Juan’s ‘approval’ of me that gained my entrance into Fini’s world.

I had telephoned Fini (yes, she was listed in the phonebook) during a visit to Paris in the early 1980’s. I expressed an interest in purchasing two of her books (Mirror des Chats and Les Etrangers). Little did I know that I had selected books by two members of her ‘family,’ Richard Overstreet and Juan Piniero.

Leonor told me to contact Juan and gave me his phone number. I met with him and over time we became friends. He must have told Leonor that I did not have two heads because shortly thereafter Leonor invited me to her summer home for lunch!

I would see Juan whenever I was in Paris and we would go to his bank vault where he showed me many gifts from Leonor and told me they were available for purchase. He asked me not to tell Leonor he was selling them.

Many years later Leonor ordered me to,” Buy something from Juan, I am tired of giving him money!” She had clearly given him gifts to help him survive financially.

Dithyrambe: an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility ... is one of a series of Sphinx paintings, oil on paper on canvas, 30” x 21.25,” that are iconic in Fini’s oeuvre.

The vibrant orange backgrounds for Fini’s mythical alter-egos evoked the fire that surrounds the hybrid creatures. Adorned in beautiful art nouveau jewelry the normally frightening

demeanor of the Sphinx is transmuted into a benign, desirable figure.

A sphinx from this series was my first introduction to Fini’s work. It holds a fascination for me that is inexplicable. Fini was first engaged by the sphinx image in Trieste where she saw the stone sphinx that sits on a jetty at Miramar, the castle where Maximillian I and Carlotta lived before they went to Mexico.

I once gave Leonor a photo-book that I created using many of the sphinx images that I photographed in my travels. She kept it by her bed and mentioned it almost every time we saw each other. One could say that the sphinx was the seminal tie between us.

The child’s eyes are the first thing one sees in La Chamber d’echo. The figure trying to ascertain the message of the woman on her right is obviously disconcerted by the intensity of the child’s gaze. Fini’s saw children as small tyrants that demanded the attention of everyone around them. They took the spotlight off of her and as such were not, for the most part, allowed in her domain.

1975’s Rasch, rasch, rasch, mein puppen warten......(Hurry, Hurry, Hurry, My Dolls are Waiting…) 45” x 57.5” is one of Fini’s largest oils on canvas. Although many words have been written about it, most of them have been misinterpretations which served only to further their author’s own agenda.

The painting is, in fact, a self-portrait.

Each of the elements of the work applies to various aspects of Leonor, the person. Viewing the figure on the far right we can see Leonor as “Earth Mother.” This was a part of her that few people ever saw. Those that were privileged enough to be the benefactor of her largess were indeed fortunate. At one and the same time Fini

Rogomelec (The King of the Jews) Oil on canvas, 49” x 22”.

was capable of great swings of temperament; from unthinking cruelty to equally unthinking generosity.

The intelligence, sexuality, innocence and curiosity present in the figures are all parts of her persona. The cross-dressed child harks back to her being disguised as a boy to thwart kidnap attempts by her father during her early childhood.

Nowhere else is she so obviously a painter of ‘women without apology.’ There is no coyness or flirtation in the sexually charged images as there was none in Leonor. One of the more startling things about Leonor is, that at a time when no other ‘female’ artist was able to rise to prominence without being aligned with a male - who was more famous - Leonor succeeded; the sole example of this departure from the norm.

It can be said that whereas Max Ernst had affairs with every female artist that came through Paris in the 1930’s, it was Leonor who had the affair with Ernst.

Adding to the authentication of the painting is a cat scratch on the back where one of her cats, all of whom had free run of her home, slid down the painting!

La Perle explores many of Fini’s reoccurring themes. The bound, yet unyielding, central figure recalls the drawings that seemed to fascinate Leonor; hanged figures - both male and female.

Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010 • 15

The title of the painting , begs the question…which is the pearl? Is it the girl whose opalescence dominates the canvas or could it be the trap in which she finds herself?

The trap being the genesis of a pearl which is that it’s center is actually only a gritty grain of sand. The pearl is, in fact, nothing more than an oyster’s attempt to sooth an irritation. Ambiguity abounds….again as Fini presents the concept that form, matter and purpose are joined by their very existence.

Rogomelec (The King of the Jews) is the title painting for one of Fini’s Surrealist tales written during the 1970’s. The story is a dream-like fantasy which involves rituals and sacrifices.

One of three books she wrote in that decade - the others were Mourmour Conte Pour Enfants Velus (Mourmour Fairy Tale for Hairy Children) and L’Oneiropompe - it proved to be very successful, especially in its German language edition . Leonor enjoyed writing and was also a voracious reader. Extremely literate, she read, wrote and spoke multiple languages including French, Spanish, her native Italian and German and, though she pretended not to, English..

One of a series of darkly colored paintings she executed during this period, Rogomelec calls to mind Fernand Khnopff ’s Sleeping Medusa which Fini had earlier used as the basis for the painting Extreme Nuit in 1977 For the The Metropolitan Opera’s New York City 1978 season, a gentleman named Stefan Lion suggested to the management that they ask eight famous artists to design posters for each of that year’s operas. Leonor Fini was selected to interpret “Tristan und Isolde,” by Richard Wagner. Other artists included Larry Rivers, Marino Marini, Jamie Wyeth, Richard Lindner, David Hockney, Paul Wunderlich and George Tooker.

Fini painted a beautiful miraflaged mixedmedia oil and oil-stick on paper on canvas as her contribution. Portraying the star-crossed lovers as androgynous portraits; one with eyes closed and one with eyes open, she captured the melancholy of their plight while glorifying their love.

The painting first came to my attention when Mr. Lion loaned it to my gallery for the Leonor Fini – La Vie Idéal retrospective in 1997, the year after her death. When it came time to return it to him, I was unable to do so. It had so entranced me that I purchased it rather then give it back!

Voyageurs en repos (Travelers at Rest) is one of my favorite paintings. I became involved and enraptured by it during a 1997 stay with Leonor.

She would spend each morning in her atelier working; her time that she jealously guarded and I would have tea in the living room while waiting for her to join me. When not catching up on the latest gossip with her housekeeper, I would sit and stare at the painting.

One of the mesmerizing qualities in Fini’s paintings is the movement that inhabits them. It is like seeing something out of one’s peripheral vision; something that moves within the painting causing it to be ever changing and alive. I find a 16 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

Agazia, oil on canvas, 21.5” x 17.75”,

sadness in the work….but also a peacefulness that transcends the sorrow and it leaves me, ultimately, at rest.

In Sphinx The Life and Art of Leonor Fini, Peter Webb, Vendome Press, 2009, the author, states, “She always refused to sell the painting because she thought of it as representing herself and Kot ‘eternally together.’ ” Marcalla Von Karnstein is a central character in Joseph Sheridan LeFanu’s tale, Carmilla. Written 25 years before Bram Stoker’s Dracula, it is the first known novel about Vampires.

A painting within a painting it stands as an anomaly. Carmilla was Fini’s only published English Language livre d’artiste (artist’s book).

A series of eight oil on paper on canvas paintings were used as the basis for the book’s silk-screen illustrations.

Le Corbeau (The Raven) was an illustration for The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, Leonor’s third time illustrating Poe’s texts.

The first time was Contes Mysterieux et fantastiques (Tales of Myster y and Imagination) in 1952. She then chose the six volume Oeuvres Imaginatives et poetiques completes de Edgar Allan Poe (The Complete

works of Edgar Allan Poe) in 1966.

The 1987 three volume book was to be Fini’s final illustrations for a literary work.

I first saw Agazia as a work-in-progress in Leonor’s atelier in St. Dyé-sur-Loire where I had been invited to spend a few days as her guest.

I had brought her two kittens to help assuage her grief at the loss of Kot Jelenski to a brain aneurism earlier that year.

Kot’s death threw Leonor into an eight year depression which rendered her almost impervious to any kind of social intercourse.

For me, the painting embodies all of the anger, rage, pain and loss that Leonor was feeling. It is still difficult to view the painting, but, perhaps in it, more than in any other, I can actually feel Leonor’s presence.

Her prices are rising rapidly at auction and it appears that she is finally well on the way to being recognized, along with Picasso, Dali, Chagall and Miro, as one of the most important artists of the 20th Century.

CFM Gallery, at 236 West 27th Street, 4th Floor, Chelsea, NYC 10001, is hosting the exhibition Leonor Fini Paintings (1932 - 1987) through April 24, 2010, for further information and to order the exhibition catalog, contact the gallery at (212) 966-3864; info@cfmgallery. com; www.cfmgallery.com

FAVIO (a.k.a Frank Milordi) has been exploring the complex mathematical

space of infinite structure for most of his professional life. “The more chaotic, the richer the artistic possibilities,” says FAVIO, who is well-known for images that not only exhibit the selfrepetitive nature of Fractals, but are unique artistic statements unto themselves. Collectors and curators agree and FAVIO’s works hang in ocean front homes as well as the halls of NASA headquarters in Florida and several museums. He has created his own form of computer generated art—Annihilated (or Fractured) Fractals™—starting with a traditional Fractal image and through many different types of additional mathematical manipulations, transforms them into a new realm of abstraction. Upon close inspection, the viewer will generally discover pieces representative of the original Fractal image, providing another mental challenge as one tries to reconstruct and envision F FAVIO’s original artistic vision. Both types of images yield beautiful, intriguing and mind challenging visual forms (see at www.favioart.com DNA, Alien Eyes, Chain Reaction and Tornado Spawning among other works).

Through many hours of seeking chaotic (or non-linear) regions within various types of Fractal spaces, FAVIO has developed a non-random process allowing the artist/scientist to focus in on certain mathematical regions that have a high potential of chaos. Once in a region, FAVIO manipulates the equations—sometimes changing a variable by only .0001—to further enrich the possibilities fo the image. The next step is the generation of a final color palette and the mapping of this color palette to the number of iterations associated with each image point.

The color variations are virtually infinite and depending on the color mapping and repetition frequency, an image will transform from a flat 2D image to visually intriguing 3D image.

FAVIO’s images are extremely detailed with file sizes ranging from 500 megabytes for a 40” x 28” piece to 2 gigabytes for the NASA commissioned 144” x 96” Fractured Worlds. As image production is critical to maximizing the visual impact, FAVIO uses a patented state-of-the-art high resolution laser printing process in conjunction with a “metallic” paper substrate.

Naming the image can be a challenge because most are “seen” differently. For example, one singular work evoked the following selection of possibilities: Eye of the Hurricane, Into the Worm Hole, Genie Out of the Bottle, Spaghettification, Waterfall and Triple X X. Such title variation means one will experience varying emotions and visual experiences in these intricate and varied images. If a FAVIO image provides that, “Then,” he says, “I have met a basic premise of art—which is to challenge one’s mind!”

In addition to NASA, FAVIO was selected by the Orlando Museum of Art Shop Gallery for a 20 image one person exhibit and will be exhibiting From Infinity to Abstraction at the Brevard Art Museum (FL) in June 2010. (For information, call 321-242-8884).

17 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

Reflective Sunset Skyline, ©2010

Beam to Infinity, ©2010

CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY:

CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY: CREATIVITY:

By LAURENCE GARTEL

D

epends on when, why, who. W hat decade and more importantly, what form? Where most people drop the ball is in understanding the true definition. Very often they are reactionary in a passive manner.

Meaning, they will go with what they think is accepted in society. In every genre there is always what is the status quo, and the accepted methodologies.

The true creative genius will dismiss the “norm” and strive for something different. First, lets check the definition of the word: “n. The ability to use the imagination to develop new and original FERRARI REAR VIEW, Courtesy of the Bob Rauschenberg, Gallery, Edison State College, Ft. Myers, Florida © GARTEL 2009 ideas or things, especially in an artistic context.” That said and that understood, how much of what we see in the Arts, and the New York State Council, along with private funds. There, I world is “creative?” – Answer: Very little. worked with analog system computers. The room was a giant warehouse People often use the excuse of “commerce” as the reason they don’t with a ton of wires and machinery. There were no personal computers, no try anything new. They want to sell something that is already accepted. hard drives, no commercial software applications, and no digital cameras.

If this is the case it is a vicious cycle that goes round and round. Nothing I had to photograph the resultant image with a camera sitting on a tripod. ever goes past what already exists. “Art for Art’s Sake” is another detriment.

Tweaking knobs and turning switches on/off, along with plugging into That means, “anything goes” which it doesn’t. Art through intense study, wire patches, which produced various effects that created imagery. I never deep conviction, exploration, coupled with persistence drives the train that knew what I was going to get so I had to make decisions on the “fly.” When fuels creativity. It is a cliche to say, one should study “The Masters” but I saw something that I liked I would photograph the screen. I had to do there are basic artistic skills that every artist should have—a sense of form, this several times because the phosphoric screen had scan lines running composition, color, and design. It doesn’t matter what medium is used, its at a different refresh rate than the shutter of my camera. Hence I had to weight form, function, etc. There is a sense of balance, which must connect photograph the screen several times below a 30th of a second. Otherwise, with the viewer however representational or abstract. In music there are I would get a giant “bar” across the video monitor and ultimately on the “one hit wonders”, people who create one great work. It is possible. And film image. There were many other obstacles to hurdle in order to make a it is so because it maintained all the basic elements of sensibility. Doing it quality image. In this way, one had to be highly innovative in maneuvering again and again is the real key to a long and prolific career. the technology.

Art crosses all cultural and religious lines. It can appeal to anyone After 30 years, I went back to my original computer systems in order who has a soul. Art pushes past any economic class as well. One doesn’t to create the new “AUTO MOTION SERIES.” I had the best of all current have to be rich to appreciate an artistic endeavor. Art gives an uplifting worlds because I was essentially able to use equipment that created things sense of being and thus being creative can be attributed to an artist’s skill nobody had ever seen before because the technology had come and gone. at being creative. The most important thing is that there is a message in Analog systems produced a retro/electronic feel without the detail that the art to which a viewer can relate. It can cross the span of time and still can be had when working “pixel on pixel.” Now it was possible to have have a meaning for someone of another time and place. “Good Art” can both. In this way the ART looks completely unique employing technology surpass the test of time. We already know that this art is timeless when art not possible with commercial, contemporary software, like Photoshop or with lesser “nutrients” has a shorter life. It is true. Art that keeps giving any other image enhancing programs. Creativity presents itself in making continues to thrive. educated and artistic decisions. How to merge the old and the new; what These, of course, are generalities, and personal opinions. The viewer kind of paper to use; and how to display the work. What will the end can add their own thoughts, negate a comment and contribute their own product look like? Often, creative decisions take much more brainpower ideas. That would be considered a “dialogue” and to a certain degree, that and thought process than most questions. is what “Good Art” does. It engages the viewer. It reaches out to the other In my case, I am always looking to push the envelope, always looking side in a silent way in order for the viewer to think and question: to add to create objects and specimens that people have not considered before. I and subtract. To allow others to put themselves into the work. In essence, try to put forth concepts that have not been considered by society. When to be part of it. one looks at the work, it is completely unique.

At the time I started working with the digital aesthetic I was only While the end result deals with technology; the aesthetic is the primary 19 years old. There weren’t any personal computers anywhere. I was concern. What does the actual art object do to the viewer? Hopefully, it introduced to a not-for-profit organization called Media Study located indicates there will be a tomorrow with a whole different set of questions in Buffalo, New York. It was funded by the National Endowment for the — gartel@aol.com and answers. It is how civilization moves forward.

18 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

THE CREATIVE LIFE OF

CHOR BOOGIE The in Ten Tions behind my arT work are To creaTe Timeless dynamic momenTs of imaginaTion, creaTiviTy, originaliT y, me aning, sT yle, selfe x pr ession, audience, Ta sTe, and The visual elemenTs of line, lighT, composiTion, form, space, and color.

The Silver Queens Of The Romantic White Tiger, spray paint on canvas.

This is what defines my work and defines me as an individual, and allows me to still keep an unselfish perspective on “Why do I do this?” Simply because it’s a talent I’ve been blessed with to give to you. Abstract Expressionism of a Romantic VooDoo with emotional landscapes and melodic symphonies through Color Therapy.

In my work I bring an understanding of the artistic perception of this spray paint culture…the STREETS are where I came from; the STREETS are my urban canvas; the STREETS are where I practiced daily.

Contemplating the influence of life in the streets is there and always will be, but so is realizing the horizon is much broader and stepping out of my box into new worlds. My mission is to uplift this spray paint element to a more visionary and fine artist perspective while maintaining a balance and keeping the respect of choice alive.

My artwork is derived from the colors of my soul. It is a therapeutic flow of colors, shapes, and movements combined into one. A movement of images that has adapted to space, giving it the significance of belonging to its surface, coming together as one to form images of creation. Expressing realms of colors that give a healing sense and encourages you to wake up.

50% mind + 50% heart = 100% body + 100% soul = 200% spirit, add an infinite universe it = a Chor Boogie creation.

From the diversity of the inverted can technique (upside down can technique) that gives life detailing to the images I paint, to the simple landscape drips that give conceptual meaning to “color therapy”, as well as metallic effects that illuminate the imagery from within outward and pull you into the piece, styles, colors, and techniques are as important as the movement of the body in creating this work.

So far, my work has evolved to national and international levels.

Simply that’s where it needs to be—exposing and motivating the world and creatively educating those interested. Yet, I am still learning myself what the future will bring when it comes to my life’s work. I paint from a higher source of purpose and pure genius in this era using biomorphic forms and caricatures through a color spectrum of imagery that gives birth to a mature style. I feel my artwork definitely has an attraction. I also feel its not going to be the answer for everyone. Objectively, I would like an individual or audience to feel when they experience the aesthetic of my work; to be a part of the piece, to become the piece, to be the piece. This ultimately gives room for your own definition of the piece itself. —CHOR BOOGIE www.chorboogie.com info@chorboogie.com 619.788.3671 www.facebook.com/ chorboogie01 twitter.com/chorboogie

19 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

Universal Connection, spray paint on canvas

a

NOTES ALONG THE WAY

By Lois Bock DiCosola

Lazule, acrylic on paper, 1998 Lois DiCosola with Willem deKooning at Guild Hall Museum, Easthampton, New york, 1963-painting, Swingthings, a 1961 oil on canvas by Lois diCosola

There does seem to be a body of forms that have accompanied me throughout my life—by drawing and painting, I can see what I have seen or thought I saw. What unfolds, however, is something I had never really seen before.A primeval vision, both dark and illuminated has been my companion. Many years ago my materials and I became friends; we have seasoned each other over time.

Growing up on the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan, I traveled in the subway to my art school, across the street from the Brooklyn Museum, and then, as a working artist in Manhattan…these are remembered images that have found their way into my paintings, both in the figurative and abstract works.

When I was nine years old, I lived on Long Island for one year (between 1944 and 1945) moving back to Brooklyn in 1945 when the War ended, and so, as a young artist, I carried the East End Long Island landscape with me.

Artists like Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Willem de Kooning and James Brooks began to take residence on the East End of Long Island in the 1950’s, when Harold Rosenberg coined the term Action Painting. My paintings hold the texture of this time, beginning with Emergence, an early abstract painting made in 1951.

Since then I have lived and worked between Brooklyn, Manhattan and Long Island, at my studios at the Hotel Chelsea, 30 East 14th Street, and presently, primarily in my Long Island studio.

In another ongoing more representative series, I sense my ancestors’ presence by way of portrait drawing and I feel a need to keep the work together—like a happy family.

20 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

Towers- 9/11, acrylic on paper, 2001

deKooning and DiCosola, Guild Hall, 1963

The faces become a kind of memorial, an expression of appreciation for those who have been in my life and also for the people I have seen in passing.

A work of art that is classic has an inevitability about it. There is a recognition, a beauty that lifts the spirit. It invites you into a

Rosso, acrylic on paper, 2002

new way of being. When you have worked long enough, you can lose that sense of effort. Your hands and mind are in unison, where—like a seasoned mountain climber—one has all one’s skills despite the danger.

It is all about discovering the pieces of the world we live in and know so little about.

The resurrection and beauty of Spring Jeanette Korab at Carnevale de Venezia

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By Jamie eLLiN ForBes

he Mardi Gras and the carnivals in Rio, Venice and New Orleans all transpire during two weeks prior to and currently culminating on Shove or Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent.

Dates each year differ based on the calendar date for Easter. Globally, these are the cities to see and be seen in to partake in the celebratory prespring festivals. Jeanette Korab revisited Venice this year to capture the pageantry, beauty, flavor and atmosphere of the Carnevale in her fine art photographic images seen here.

Originally, the masquerade in Venice started on St. Stephens Day, December 26. At times, masques were adorned and permissible during Ascension, Oct. 5, until Christmas.

Over time, this city evolved a unique history, instilling into the carnivals’ masks and costumes a distinctive artistic identity. The Carnevale became a rite of passage into spring.

The art of the Masque and costumes adorned by attendees participating in The Venice Carnevale historically is said to have originated in 1268. A ban forbidding masquerades in a game of Eggs, presumably an egg hunt, a pagan ritual, is documented at this time. The ban on masques and the attempt to stop immoral behavior or indecent activities, such as men disguised, masquerading like a nun, so they may enter a convent for a visit with a nun is noted in another recorder in 1458. By 1608, a decree limiting the

wearing of masques in Venice, and the declaration that all shall wear them in the streets limited the wearing of masques to only during official Carnevale. The Fun or party with grand masques and finery continue down the historical path, sometimes with opposition—other times without—until this day.

During this time, the art of masquemaking evolved in Venice, developing into a high art form. The Bauta, the whole face masque, is the focus of Ms. Korab’s images here, with one mask being of the Columbine half mask style, designed to reveal the beauty of the partially uncovered woman’s face. The gold leafing feathers and natural gems on papier mache, or leather and gesso used to enhance construction of the painted faces, are highlighted in these images.

“Carnevale is colorful, fun and a celebration of life,” stated Jeanette. “I was inspired to shoot Venice during this time on my recent trip by my prior visits during the festival. This time, I revisited to shoot the look I was going after—a transition or resurrection seen through color leading to spring. I played out in the images the accenting vivid flash of color, used in each costume featured in these photos, for the most part, to suggest the rising tide of color, as it blooms through the winter’s last gray, when the

Jeanette Korab “Masques,” museum quality archival prints

The Kiss

monotone of slate blue is still hung in the sky. I wanted to achieve an almost hyper-color, while catching the essence of the party reveling and astounding customary. I used the camera to instill in the photographic prints this intensity of color through my ability to catch the light of the moment.”

“I use the masques as subjects, because I was caught up in the celebration, resurrection of spring coming. I viewed the festival and color combined in these photographic images as fine art compositional statements, capturing the moment of abandonment and beauty related Korab said.

W h y Ve n i c e ? I continued to question.

The artist as photographer related she was inspired by the classical art history of the Renaissance displayed through out the city itself. The rich architecture being the perfect back drop for the color and pageantry as the passage towards spring, the issuing in of Lent, and the end of winter all seem to coincide uniquely in Venice.

For more on Jeanette Korab, visit jkorab.com Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010 • 21

Daria Deshuk, Musing, 20 x 26, oil on paper

“Your Heart Knows the Truth” The Creative Life 2010

By Daria DeshuK I have put together a weaving of inspiration that has been resonating inside of me—one that artists have understood and may have forgotten in the recent past where consumerism and desire for fame has guided many of our creative voices.

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“I have heard it said very often that an artist does not need intelligence, that his is the providence of the soul. If a man has the soul of an artist, he needs a mastery of all the means of expression so that he may command them, for with his soul in activity, he has much to say. All manifestations of art are but landmarks in the process of human spirit toward a thing but yet sensed and far from being posed.”

—The Art Sprit, by Robert Henri, 1865-1929 Harper & Row, 1923 (1)

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“The Great Mystery is revealing its sacred purpose as we live in these exciting times, but the excitement comes in the confrontation of the challenge. We learn through ebb and flow in this crazy world and in order for creation to evolve; inevitable is the challenge that change brings. God has ‘not’ for no reason gifted us with free will. The Great Spirit who is ‘God’ creates through us humans who are all co-creators of the collective ‘One Heart’ of our universe.

—Emerging Earth Angles, 2010 posting by Karen Bishop (2)

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“We each carry a gift. We have something that is necessary, otherwise we wouldn’t appear here. We have something that we came to learn and something that we came to share. That’s the way the Creation designed itself.”

Unleashing your passionate creative spirit upon the world.

—Rickie Byars Beckwith womenontheedgeofevolution.com

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In these Changing time we are being awakened by the energies of Aquarius who ask us, “Who are we? What is our unique expression of God (energy)? How can we effectively express our uniqueness?

“It is up to us how we feel to change but when you deny what your heart is saying to your spirit’s being, your journey will be difficult. You will soon realize that you are not your mind. Your mind will convince you but 22 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

Daria Deshuk, Spirit Body, 18” x 14”, oil on canvas

your heart knows the truth. According to the creation story that maps our collective consciousness we are nearing completion of the “Divine Plan” And the divine Plan is created for us to express God through our gifts our bliss. (2) “ It seems to me that before a man tries to express anything to the world he must recognize in himself an individual, a new one very distinct from others most people either by training or inheritance count themselves as no good or second-rate or just like everyone else’ whereas in everyone there is the great mystery; every single person in the world has evidence to give of his own individuality, providing he has acquired the full power to make clear this evidence.” (1)

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In 2010, I have decided to show up for this destiny with divinity in creation—acknowledging my gift with gratitude and a new respect for my connection to spirit through my uniqueness in its perfection and imperfection.

As I sort through dozens of ideas and source material, and start a new body of work, I struggle to quiet the voice of art history, my history, what the dealer wants, what the patron will buy—knowing if the work does not come from my heart it will be a labor and not a joy.

“What is my highest pleasure in this? And then, Why?” asks Henri.

“All the greatest masters have asked these questions. All outward success, when it has value, is but the inevitable result of an inward success of full living, full play and enjoyment of one’s faculties. The artist today should be alive to this deeper evolution on which all growth depends, has depended and will depend. The battle of human evolution is ongoing: there must be investigation in all directions. Go in and find. The future is in your hands.”

We are in an age when Remembering our Greatness is our obligation. To invoke the best in people, we must infuse our art with individuality and the joy of creating. Each individual voice is needed and makes a difference.

“When the Artist is alive in any person whatever his kind of work be, he becomes an inventive, searching, daring, self-expressing creature. He simply has to find gain in the work itself, not outside it.”

I feel the awakening to soul purpose. God created me for my joy, my destiny is to work as an artist and awaken to my true purpose and clear understanding while I exist creating art it is not about the struggle (which is undeniable in the process) the desired fame and fortune (which too is also an undeniable reality in our material and cultural existence) but that I have been given something greater: to be with my gift of creating art and the inner space that connects me to source and to follow that voice.

“You can do anything you want to do. What is real is the actual wanting to do a specific thing. Find out what you really like if you can find out what is really important to you. Then sing your song. You will have something to sing about and your whole heart will be in the singing. Don’t follow the critics too much. Art appreciation, like love, cannot be done by proxy; it is very personal affair and is necessary to each individual.” —Robert Henri.

“What is really calling me? How does that go out into the world? And how do I serve? Bloom where planted. Go create with divine source; let it flow. Open your heart and look at what is in front of you to do.” Download co-creation and follow your voice. Stay close to your center and the deeper center of listening to the partnerships of life. (3) The Awakening is to be be present in the process of creativity as opposed to the product. America, myself included, has been so engaged in the product that sells. Our individual part is connected to the whole of life, the cosmos evolving culture and humanity. We are being called to what True Artists have known for a long time.

In my past history I was fortunate to live and work closely next to a great artist. Whenever I felt frustrated and didn’t know what to paint or why continue, Larry Rivers used to say to me “Just paint, have fun and enjoy what you do “ Nothing new—be true to your inner voice, listen to what is awaking in your heart and receive what it means to be alive and express that voice with the “ART SPIRT” of soul.

PS: My mind is overloaded, concepts and ideas and a million

Daria Deshuk, Spirit Body, 30” x 40”, oil on canvas with canvas collage

references distract me continuously, opening my heart and connecting that voice inside is my journey, which is easier said than done!

Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010 • 23

CHARLES WILDBANK

Riding A “Hado” Of Luv

Luvin’ Wave, Charles Wildbank, 57” x 100”, acrylic on canvas. Wildbank strikes a rhythmic Astavakrasana pose, a variation of the crane poses in front of his painting.

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eauty, nature, and the sea in a dance of foam and form—that is just one facet of Charles Wildbank, a brilliant artist and an inspirational person who has been a long-time friend of SunStorm as charter member of the company art collection, dating to an exhibit at the Clarissa Watson/Joan Whitney Payson Country Gallery in Locust Valley, New York circa 1977.

Wildbank has since gone on to international acclaim and a recent visit to his home/studio on eastern long Island, which he shares with his partner, Mary McGuire, was a mini-retreat for us on a blustery, rainy, flooding New York day. Ms. McGuire, is creator of AmericanYogini.com to share and make accessible an incredible practice of yoga, juicing and cleansing online and the two have created a beautiful, timeless and pure environment, made all the more powerful and sublime by Wildbank’s huge canvases that are everywhere.

“The studio,” says Wildbank, “is taking on a new energy with The Hado Series.” Inspired by the work of Dr. Masaru Emoto, whose micro photographs of water molecules demonstrate how loving thoughts influence their structure into luminous and beautiful crystalline patterns, Cthe artist takes this spirit into action on canvas.

In Japanese, Hado means “wave.” “Thought,” adds Wildbank, “is after all a waveform and Hado means energy, emotion and the ethereal. I like to incorporate the elemental into the work:

24 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

“What imagination brings to set hearts afire!

Til heaven boils over!

Now please kindly move over!

I wanna fly higher!

If Icarus can do it, I can soar like a poet!

Life is A Dream!”

—Wildbank

earth, air, water, fire, and spirit—the everyday essences of life.”

While Wildbank’s early portfolio might best be described as an expressive emergence of his sight-rich “silent world,” his uncanny gift for capturing the depth and essence of his subject matter has been faithfully carried over into his current work. Wildbank’s large, striking canvases draw the viewer from a distance to indulge in a profoundly sensual and intimate experience as his images come crashing forth from their spaces as if to ‘soak’ one with healing emotion. From the massive tidal wave of hot pink love of Luvin’ Wave to the flowing emotive tunnel of Cool Wave in which aquamarine froth celebrates with fish below and wind above, the viewer is offered a glimpse into a unified and peaceable inner life.

Water has been worshipped for its element of cleansing, healing, and ever-changing flux.

As we engage in the artist’s creation, we are humbly reminded that each of us is like one drop, eventually merging with the great ocean.

“Never before has the spiritual quality of water been more needed, wanted and talked about as a precious commodity,” notes the artist.

In today’s challenging times, it is impossible not to recognize the spiritual rejuvenation and exhilaration of Wildbank’s newest work.

A native New York artist, Charles Bourke Wildbank delved into photorealism while at Pratt Institute, created a sensation on Fifth Avenue with a giant sparkling rendering of the famed Cartier diamond, and has painted portraits of David Hockney and the late Luciano Pavarotti.

He is well known for his versatility—a wide range of figurative themes including florals, still life, portraits and seascapes is his oeuvre.

Recent achievements include two 18-foothigh murals commissioned by the Cunard Line for the new luxury ocean liner, the Queen Mary 2. Wildbank is listed with some of his works in the book Deaf Artists in America: Colonial to Contemporary by Deborah Sonnenstrahl.

He has conducted workshops at Poppi in Italy during in 2002 and in Giverny, France, 2006.

Up to the present day, observable form and vivid color have long been attributed to Wildbank’s art. His recent works flirt with the abstract and the surreal. His studio iis now open to the public by appointment. The artist can be contacted at: wildbank@wildbank.com

Evening Reading, 56” x 70”, Oil/Canvas

Waiting for a Glance, 24” x 30”, Oil/Canvas

YUROZ On CREATIVITY

Love Under the Veil, 40” x 60”, Charcoal/Acrylic/Panel

Human beings are endowed with a creative potential that still remains an unlocked riddle to the scientific realm. As an aspect of the higher intellectual functions, creativity is one of the markers that differentiates us from the rest of the creatures. The need to create itself poses as a mystery too.

The craving to produce can be given rational justifications, yet it rather involves an inexplicable process. We create as we transcend into a state where we feel in touch with the divine energy. Consequently we create our new reality, our own world where we feel comfortable, a place where we are in touch with our utmost core. This adds another dimension to our existence, nurtures the vital need for our survival. In fact, it is only through our creative power, the self-actualization process that human beings move towards higher forms of civilization. “ Without artists there is no gallery, no museum and no critic. Unfortunately the machine (galleries, critics, and museums) has become too dominating on the artist’s mind and life and this affects what they create.

An artist’s obligation is to create and support his loved ones. To me, the person is considered to be successful if he can afford to wake up in the morning and do what he loves to do. Successful or not, I wish there were more artists in the world. I don’t remember any time in the history that the world suffered because there were too many artists “ “I think one of the greatest gifts of life is the ability to see everything around us. And for me it only gets better when I can create the impression of my own reality by playing with colors, canvas, and texture. “ “ I strongly believe that everyone needs to experience creating music, creating a painting, and creating his or her own poetry.”

“The creative process makes us stronger. It helps us to discover a dimension within ourselves that no one can take away from us. And that also helps us to enjoy being alive... appreciating life through these new dimensions.” For Additional Information: Stygian Publishing 1.800.423.1631 or 1.877.965.0101; info@yurozart.com www.yurozart.com

Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010 • 25

From The Publisher Jamie Ellin Forbes

John Bonghiovi and publisher Jamie Ellin Forbes at Ambassador Gallery, Soho, in the ’90s

While living and working with artists for over three decades, it has been my privilege to interview many to further understand the communicative dialogue that exists between an artist and their intended audience. In capturing the voice of the art/picture as a written icon, I have pursued my interest in dialoguing with artists through publishing this magazine and related materials—books, catalogs, etc. Seeking to see and experience the voice behind the art, I desired to put into words the special flow of intent of the artist. I lent interpretations to their visuals as a translator of the artistic vision of those I spoke with through the common denominator of words. Not to critique the artist’s mind-set, but to weave into an easily understandable language the ideas contained in the common thread of creativity.

As a student and young artist, I learned to employ the techniques of color and composition to convey an intended message; to go beyond the visual statement and develop a discourse in the language of dreamscape and the keys to understanding the commonality of the basic visuals present to forge a dialogue between artist and audience. I needed to know what the artist was saying, not only what I saw. I already knew that the artist was presenting the extrapolation of a mood or a suggested vision through their employment in the delivery of imagery.

You can see The Last Supper painted by twenty different stylists. A critic can debate compositional aspects of quality in 26 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

describing each version and each picture will be different as the artist employs the lens of perspective and focus toward the end goal of their vision.

If this were not the case, artists would not have the impetus to offer a sustained dialogue through their work.

If there were no philosophical need for expression, there would be no time spent to learn the skills required to produce such coherency. It is the internal view struggling to reach the outside that defines the artistic message in all artists.

Learning to dialogue with each individual has been an enduring effort on my behalf to understand the differences of the iconographic representation of the internal imagery within each of us.

Color and compositional values become a spoken langue in which I could hear the inflections of voice. I saw that if the images of the art could be decoded in this way, the language of universal iconographic communication would be apparent for deployment universally.

Robert Indiana at Artexpo NY

Why did Robert Indiana use the word LOVE to communicate so much more than just “I love you?” How and why was this icon so successful in communicating the artist’s intent? What makes the universal value of the symbolic stream of consciousness of the viewer unite with simple genius of statement so it can take on so many aspected individual significant messages? I believe the definition is found in the term simile. An artist synthesizes the subliminal message of the moment, then delivers this message. It is the delivery of the intended space seen in universal terms and then communicated as the transmission as an experience to be seen individually by all as something to which they can relate.

Through my interviews and exposure to internationally known artists such as Will Barnet, Louise Nevelson, Richard Pousette-Dart, Mikhail Chemiakin, Alfred Van Loen, Erté, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf, Mark Kostabi, Elaine de Kooning, Esteban Vicente, James Rizzi, Howard Berhens, Orlando Agudelo-Botero, Ting Shao Kuang and Hans Van De Bovenkamp (among many others), I began to notice the similarities that existed in their creative approaches. Among the many celebrity artists I interviewed were Count Basie, Kim Simmond, Billy Dee Williams, Tony Curtis and Carlos Santana. I noticed they all had an approach that was in common to one another. Whether they were realists, abstract expressionists, painters, sculptors, or multi-talented artists, in each interview I noticed that they were speaking in the same language—that of the visual metaphor. They just applied a myriad of complex and colorful artistic arrangements to make a composition for their particular point of view.

Starting in the mid to late nineteen seventies, I encountered Romare Bearden, Sri Chinmoy, and Francoise Gilot. Every artist I have ever spoken with has had to sacrifice something to get to where they wanted to be. Most have overcome tremendous barriers and hardship to their success. Poverty seemed to dominate the early part of their careers. A good deal of colorful stories of various debaucheries is always within the caches of their dialogue.

I learned that artists known or not so well-known only paint if they cannot do anything else. All would have chosen an easier avenue for making their way in the world if they could have. Each expressed this common thread of their personal outlook. After a while, I began to ask “Why an artist painted.” Some of the answers will be listed below.

Will Barnet was one of my first important interviews. At his invitation, we met at his home/studio in National Arts Club for lunch. Barnet related that he had been on the fringe of the New York School and had spent many years developing his print technique. The abstraction and color modules employed were reflective of his involvement in the Indian School of Painting. Will became suddenly in the mid-seventies, an important fine art print maker and artist.

His flat stylistically simple figures that comprised his compositional impressions were so uniquely his they were very easy to recognize and branded the images. He worked hard to develop his art alphabet and the line of his approach stood alone as was his stated goal.

Will Barnet was a quite man who was

Will Barnet in his studio, 2009, Carlo Buscemi, photograph

very happy for his success. He had worked hard and was deriving the benefits. He was not a fancy speaker or verbal at all.

He did engender a certain persistent interest in himself and his career during the luncheon. His contained simple approach toward his art and himself stuck with me. Not memorable, but not forgettable. Will’s impression lodged in the back of my mind and I used it to gauge in the future any incisive depth I could pull from an artist about themselves. If he had spent late nights talking to Bill de Kooning, Pollock and others, he did not relate these sojourns in the taverns of Greenwich Village to me.

Later on, I spoke with other artists from the New York School. Richard Pousettte-Dart, Balcomb Greene, Esteban Vicente and Sid Solomon. Each was well established in collections by reputation by the time I dialogued with them about their art. They were serious about their art and the importance of their statements.

Each of these artists had lived as painters during the Second World War. Many from the United States worked for the WPA in the 1930s Great Depression. Their styles and statements spoke of the visual implications of the atomic bomb and the dialectal avenues they drove down.

All were incredibly mentally active on their own thread of thought, winding their styles around the social topics and internal dialogues they had. Each artist I spoke to from this era related an inner panorama of conceptual art dialogue they developed as their unique style.

Ivan Karp, an early sales director in Leo Castelli’s and Madame Sonnabend’s NYC gallery referred Esteban to SunStorm

“My memory of my visit to the Vicente’s house on Long island is vivid, on assignment for Architectural Digest magazine. When I pulled in the driveway, Esteban was in the garden, bronzed, bare-chested and athletic—looking like Don Quixote. His gray hair was backlit by the sun like images of Albert Einstein and I grabbed my camera to take a picture, but before I could press the shutter Harriet descended on him, ushered him into the house and dressed him as though she was preparing him to go to a cocktail party!

Even so, I obtained some wonderful pictures of the two of them tending their garden, the article was a success, and we remained friends for many years.” —photographer Derek Fell

Arts magazine. Ivan was credited as being the person who first sold art to the taxi fleet owner who began collecting the NY School Pop painters. Ivan owned O.K.Harris when I first met him. He spoke of Esteban Vicente, who was a friend of Castelli’s who was doing very sensitive collages during that time (1950s) and for a brief period I know had quite a following around this very sensitive, intelligent work. Harriet Vicente, Esteban’s wife, called us to arrange an interview of Esteban through a magazine she had seen at Ivan’s gallery. The Berry Hill Gallery in NYC represented Esteban during those years.

Speaking with Harriet was like receiving the gospel of the early days of the New York City movement and Pop painters. She knew the key and essential information about the art world of her time. Harriet knew who had purchased what from whom and for how much.

She remembered who had lived with, drank with and slept with who over a large period of time. Her relating of these activities was as crucial as the art that was painted. She and Esteban were friends with an entire circle of art Who’s Who—de Kooning, Pollock, Kurt Vonnegut his friend Sid Solomon—anyone who lived on the East End of Long Island during the late forties through the eighties when I met her was in the mix of her recall. I found Harriet’s insight and background illuminating to the understanding of the developing movement of the artists.

She transmitted quite a feel for the

atmosphere, which broadened the fabric of my art experience. I knew and had spoken with many of these artists who were still alive at that time. Her insights gave me background into the emerging East End artists of the day as they pertained to the current art market and developing careers. I learned how they fit in the scheme of things to become the next generation of East End artists. Harriet explained the role of Elaine Benson and Dan Ratiner as cohesive glue to an art scene on the East End. The esteem Harriet held for Esteban and his art was more than personal. It was founded in her experience as an art collector and social leader during this time.

Esteban Vicente was a Spaniard who knew Picasso, and was befriended

by Joan Miro. He made his last major art expressionistic statement in color field school of painting based on his internal expression through his Paris school of art background. As great a color field painter as he may have been, Rothko was better known and over-shadowed Esteban’s work and public acknowledgement of his career.

This was always troubling to Esteban and Harriet. During my lengthy interviews with him at their Water Mill, Long Island home, Esteban was age eighty- nine and ninety-six or seven. He spoke in a thick Spanish accent in a very slow cadence.

He was difficult to understand.

In our first interview, Esteban stated he loved to paint and had transitioned by choice into the life-style after diplomatic service to Spain earlier in his life. He had Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010 • 27

a supplicated aristocratic background Metropolitan Museum of Art. According and was well educated. He was searching to him, as we ate apple pie in his upstate for the holy grail of painting and found New York home and studio, the banner it in color field expression. His large that was to hang outside the Museum was monochromatic work s were being not going to be as large as the one hung for executed in his studio during our first Picasso, therefore he declined the show. lengthy dialogue. The subtle colors and This story was told with great bravado. their undulating minimal change of hue I believed him. The museum directors gave the works great depth. They were later acquiesced and made the banner ethereal, cloud-like exactly as large as and out of reach Picasso’s. Richard at his intention. was an original like T h e i m a g e r y, I no other I have ever lear ned t hrough met. I ran into him interviewing at an ACA gallery Esteban, were opening on 57th expressions of Street. I walked up his sublime to him not knowing understanding of who he was and an internal plane said “Are you the and the visions artist? This is wild he recorded in stuff. You are one his paintings. He of the last cowboys believed that the of the frontier of painting must be the universe. What used to reach the a ride.” I guess he viewer and speak liked what I said, to his soul. From we became friends.

Esteban, I learned Fro m t h e re , we to respect my own developed a internal path and rapport. dedication to the While touring Holy Grail of art. his studio, he would My later pull out flat drawer Peter Max at Artexpo, NY interview brought after flat drawer me to a studio where many abstracted and display various paintings in the work s wit h slashes of black were making. Some of these paintings were interspersed with yellow and white. Gone started fifty years earlier. Mounds of paint was the subtlety of a large color field oil carefully built up in colorful concentric palette. A pronounced abstract expression rings emerging one into the next, created of emotional immediacy was painted in the artist’s intended vision. The pure this very primary palette now occupying rhythm of the universe was felt pulsating the artist’s studio and creative space. off the paintings. Richard explained that Esteban had changed due to advanced each work had a voice of it’s own and age and illness. I came to see him the when the vibrations of the universe moved second time at Harriet’s invitation just him, he would add paint. This was the because he liked talking with me. This reason some of his works took as long as was a positive reassuring complement they did. The vibrations were all different regarding my conversational abilities. and he knew when the impressions were We continued a dialogue started nearly finished. Therefore, he waited until the a decade earlier. Esteban related the right moment to call them complete. change in his motif to expressionism, Richard’s textural works have gained which, he said, lent definitional accent importance since his death. His art to his internal feelings. was displayed at a major posthumous I was given a piece of art personally exhibition at the Met. I have spoken to from Esteban. Harriet was working on his widow several times while I visited the summation and final catalogue with her over a cup of tea and some raisonné detailing Esteban’s art during nice sweet rolls. She related to me their his life Though he was in the process of interest in Eastern Philosophy and the dying. everything he said and felt, working search for the universal langue of art to and dialoguing with his creative spirit, be the compulsive drive behind his art. brought a great sense of opportunity and Richard’s unique view of the common freshness to him. thread was founded in the inner eye’s Richard Pousette-Dar t was an dispersion of colorful light according. important New York artist who was willing Pulsations that are kindred to Kundalini to turn down a one man show at the Yoga and are symbolically discussed in 28 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

the Kabala were reviewed by Richard in his readings. His artistic intention was to reveal his dialogue with this philosophical reading through his art.

The New York artists I met were interspersed with the Pop artists who emerged with great popularity in the mid sixties. Andy Warhol, Larry Rivers, Lichtenstein, Jim Dine, Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Helen Frankenthaler and Robert Indiana were all artists I encountered to some degree or another at museum opening, parties and for interviews. The art of differing schools of thought blurred in this social context.

They were not New York school artists— they were leading artists in New York.

Some were Pop, some were Expressionists others were just famous.

I met Robert Indiana for lunch one day with his art publisher, an old friend of mine, Ron Segal, over Oysters Rockefeller in the Palm court at the Plaza in NYC. Ron wanted an interview on Robert for our magazine to accompany the publishing of the prints he was about to release. Robert,

Romare Bearden,

an almost reclusive figure, gave us two hours of discussion. What I found most fascinating was his humility. He knew his works were stellar and iconographically important. He just did not know why.

Robert had painted the LOVE symbol and the tenor of its importance is as important as the Campbell soup can of Andy Warhol. Like Warhol, he had worked in advertising. He knew the value of a logo. That day, Indiana spoke of Timothy Leary and the love generation, peace and rock and roll as having given him his durability of fame.

The Love logo used at Woodstock in 1969 and emulated in clothing and other consumer goods, Indiana felt, was primary to his long lasting impact.

I observed in our conversation that

Robert Indiana, unlike the New York school artists who were internal dialogue and mission driven, was simply making an art statement through words. He delivered before his time. Word art, such as Barbara Kruger’s, had since come into its own as a symbolic sociological totem, which Indiana was one of the first to use to emphasize and emblazon the message of his projected concept, adding color and form to fundamentally deliver his basic and most simple idea. Transition in art and its impact summarized Robert Indiana for me. As simple as it looks, it is ingenious to deliver the art message in the artist’s vision and form.

Contemporary Pop artists Mark Kostabi, James Rizzi and Keith Haring had a very similar visual approach to the methodology of their works. This group of artists was seeking the comic book icon in order to tell their stories to an audience. Each of these men related to me independently of each other they had actively sought to break down their personal art alphabet to a character or group of symbolic characters in order to achieve a readily recognizable quality to their works. They wanted a simplistic pop culture entrance to the world of fine art through the stream of consciousness, giving a voice to the icon each elected to employ in their compositions.

These ar tists looped t hrough repetition of an on-going dialogue of their visual comic imagery to hook the viewer into the idea they chose to develop and the mental process they were in search of. In the way that Hanna Barbara used the Flintstones in simple repeat patterns in the early versions of their cartoon scenarios, these new pop artists used their own template forms. The colors and background choices were flat and bright, for the most part allowing the viewers to mentally develop their own interpretation of the movement. Much in the way Will Barnet grew his images and their visual rhythm out of the New York’s Indian School of Art. The art of this new Pop movement had the backdrop of an emerging electronic and digital game industry to fuel the public’s interest in their artistic interpretations and spin.

The intention of these artists was for their art to be interactive. Intentional marketing was a key part of their milieu.

Keith Haring was attending an installation of his sculpture in Stamford, CT, sponsored by the Whitney Museum of art when we were introduced to him. This I recall as being the first purchase by the Whitney of a Haring artwork. It was cold and damp that day and no one besides myself and a couple of others were at the site. I had never heard of Keith and the

James Rizzi cover, 1997

attending museum curator/spokeswoman assured me he was going to be great. I asked her the basis of her interpretation.

She said the simplicity of his icon. We spoke briefly with him. Keith was shy and arrogant at the same time, just a kid and very boyish. He said little I felt to be of any importance.

Later, I communicated with the Guggenheim Learning Center when we at SunStorm Arts Corp. Inc. produced a fund-raising original lithograph for their organization. The images were the same. Flat color and cartoon-like. Keith Haring, I know, personally worked on the maquette of his art twenty-four hours prior to his death. This act of courage explained the simplicity of the work, his dedication and depth an artist. Never be an artist of any kind, if you can be anything else.

Keith Haring could not be any thing other than what he was­—an artist of his time, a creative soul dialoguing with the universe, weaving a common thread.

I originally met Kostabi in Los Angeles during the mid nineteen eighties.

I went to his parents’ house in Whittier California while I was in town visiting my family to meet him. It was very average and suburban. During this meeting, he spoke of his intense desire to be the most recognizable painter emerging into the neo pop era. Mark Kostabi related he wanted to be seen as the “Boy Genius,” a title he awarded himself. As we spoke again at a luncheon in New York City later that year, he repeated the same mantra. I began to see the seriousness of his drive.

During our conversations, he stated

that all the works he did were reflective of his breaking down the icon in his imagination to the simplistic Gumby-like player he still features in his works.

Mark’s color palette was chosen to emphasize the simplicity.

James Rizzi was the most interesting of the new pop painters to me personally. I met him many times socially and did not respect his work which was glittery and three-dimensional. The day glow colors were similar to the palette used by Kenny Scarf and Keith Haring and seemed less organized and defined than Haring or Kostabi. All were reflective of the various Pop schools and painters that preceded them in dialogue with viewers. Will Barnet’s flat color, Warhol’s simplicity if icon, Indiana’s pop logos, Peter Max’s derivative analysis of the works of Egon Schiele and Klimpt, can be seen in his beautiful women, Peter Max related to me in an interview his source of inspiration. All of these artists were all part and parcel of the building of an art dialogue through their synthesis of individual language in a visual medium. I was privileged to participate in conversation on a very personal level with all of these artists and discern the common thread of their visions, to investigate their subtle differences and put to words and in commerce the envisioned meaning the artists had in mine.

Rizzi’s departure was in the use or the 3–D effect with cut-outs and panorama of the subject matter. Repetitious and almost chaotic, James was very popular at the time as official painter of the Olympic Committee and there was a very large installation to be completed in Germany as part of a building site during 1997.

We sat for over two hours, as I listened to James sum up the dialogue I had with the other pop artists excepting the fact that he loved what he did and had stumbled into his media. James Rizzi related to me, as Louise Nevelson did twenty years earlier, “The art had just happened.” James incorporated the same found-object tactile inner feel of establishing his composition that Louise had related in my interview with her in 1978. I was astounded. I stopped to think and saw both artists related in a raised 3D effect the message of their art. James with, color Louise in black, sometimes with an accent. Louise used abstraction of object. James made the cartoon idiom his structural context. Both artists engineered a raised braile-like effect in their artistic Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010 • 29

compositions. In conversation with these two vastly differing artists, I heard the same resonance in their differing conversations.

James and Louise shared a dialogue with me that revealed their mutual approach to the formation each was conveying artistically. In addition, the instigating factors for their involvement in art.

Rizzi has become internationally acclaimed for colorful cartoons of urban smiling landscapes, grinning suns and everyday bright people. James states.

“I draw from life I try to use universal subject matter, things that most people can relate to. I come from a very simple middle class family in Brooklyn and I always thought art should not only be for the for rich, but for the masses.”

James related his sympathy for his collection of imagery in a similar fashion that Louise Nevelson had about her use of found object art. James and Louise had sensitivity for the discarded in life.

Their art was a counterpoint to possible hopelessness that can be seen on the streets and was executed to uplift and offer another possible dialogue using one’s imagination.

James collects the pieces of material visually for his art walking the streets.

Louise had done the same as a poor child escaping the civil war in Russia. She transformed her memories to bits and pieces of objects seen that were assembled into her sculptures. Louise had no money for material. Her father, who discouraged her art, felt Louise could or should have been a music teacher so she could make a living. She was told, as Rizzi surmised, art was only for the wealthy. Rizzi reached a mass appeal. Louise reached a stellar position in contemporary art history.

Their art comprised the same internal identification yet they are considered opposite and one hundred per cent divergent in their artistic approach though their unity of ideas was and is quite evident Each loved what they did and found success and joy in their creativity.

Kenny Scharf was an artist I saw filled with wonder. His images were bright and colorful. He was showing at the Gagosian Gallery and I persisted in an interview. His drive was to become a major success in his field and he did so.

I experienced through these and other artists that they were carving out their visions through their various media and were doing so from a common point or view.

I learned to see the dreamscape window of the mind they were communicating from to drive home their individual artistic visions. My technique honed from just questioning; to cutting to the chase and dialoguing the common ground of perspective demonstrated in the use of 30 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

line that had evolved in each of their various works. A simple method of identifying concepts and theme the artists most need to discuss through their works gave me the ability to derive from my conversations an artist’s internal impression and purpose for carving out their imagery in art as a gift for the viewer as a reader.

All artists have an internal identity; the means of talking to themselves, in speaking into existence the visuals they were presenting their mind’s eye perspective to the viewer as art landscape.

I learned how to decode the dialogue as a listener with the possibility of writing or simply enriching my personal understanding of t he common t hread expressed through art.

Edouard Nakhamkin invited me into the world of Russian art in early 1983.

The time coincides approximately when I began to meet the New Pop artists.

They were radically different in their approach to a personal internal dialogue and visual language. These Russian and Eastern European artists had a repressed subliminal art dialogue, which to my eye was most in common with Latin American art. The only Pop artists I knew with an Eastern European background was Mark Kostabi, who was born in Whittier, California to Estonian immigrant parents.

In color balance, Mark’s work could easily have related to Oleg Tselkov works. In the beginning, this was the only link I found in common.

One of my favorite conversations was with Erté. It was my great pleasure to accompany the renowned artist to dinner one fall evening in the late 1980s. Erté was in his nineties at the time. Leslee Rogath, co-founder and co-owner of Chalk and Vermilion and Martin Lawrence Galleries was our hostess for dinner and seated me next to Erté.

“Read me the menu,” commanded Erté.

“I don’t speak French well,” I responded “It doesn’t matter,” replied the artist as he commenced his rhythmic corrections of my pronunciation with his hands beating out the metronome of time in the style of my Russian dancing instructress, resonating in my being. The same artistic need for discipline in art was shared by both of these listed tutors. Erté

Erté SunStorm Cover, 1988

being a Russian aristocrat, my dancing teacher, a prima ballerina taught by the last impresario of the Belsoile Ballet. I remembered my daily practice at that moment in time.

Later in the meal, I inquired of Erté how had stayed so active. “To what do you attribute the longevity of your creative spirit?” I asked.

“I exercise for thirty minutes at the same time daily. And have done this since I was a small boy in Russia. I enjoy two cocktails at dinner nightly,” added the master.

Most people believe art to be an accident of inspiration. Few realize that the discipline of daily experience and practice is one key to artistic success. I saw this in my conversations with Will Barnet, Robert Indiana, Esteban Vicente, Keith Haring, Kostabi, and Chemiakan among others. These artists worked in art because they could not do any other kind of work. They worked being old or young, sick or well. The volume of the works I saw in studios over time relayed the fact that the drive necessary to create was not enough. The discipline to work — refining a creative voice to form an expertise and precise message of creative result — was satisfied in success. Their art process was the result of their internal dialogues which, when collected, transformed and became notable bodies of artistic accomplishment. I was privileged to have conversations with many artistic notables and hope to learn continually why I need to do this. jamie@fineartmagazine.com

MICHEL ROUX

A Bastion of Creativity Carries on with Absente

A

By VICTOR FORBES

few short decades ago—and this is hard to believe—there were maybe three or four different brands of vodka in bars and liquor stores, unlike today where everyone who can grow a potato is fermenting and bottling. We can blame (or credit) this to a French gentleman named Michel Roux.

Michel was in America, working in the beverage industry at an import company called Carillon, which had just picked up a new brand to distribute, an obscure Swedish vodka called Absolut. As the sole representative of this product, it was Michel’s job to bring it around to various night spots to add to their stock. During this period, in the early 1980s, Michel became friendly with many of New York City’s celebrities, not the least of whom was Andy Warhol. As Michel tells it, Andy, who was a teetotaller, liked to spray Absolut on his face and clothing as an astringent or cologne. That was Andy. He and Michel became very good friends and Andy convinced Michel to commission him to paint an Absolut bottle. The resulting $60,000 investment was probably the best money any marketing company ever spent—even though for over a year they didn’t know what to do with the painting. It sat in a closet at the company headquarters until someone came up with the bright idea: ABSOLUT WARHOL. An ad was placed in Artnews and it became an immediate classic. Then came ABSOLUT ARMAN and ABSOLUT HARING, ABSOLUT SCHARF and so many others. Keith wanted the same money as Andy, but by then the beverage and the advertising campaign was the talk of New York and went from zero market share to millions of cases sold annually in the United States.

Absolut had one of the biggest advertising budgets in the US and Michel was courted by every publication imaginable with all kinds of gimmicks. Penthouse sent over Cathy Guccione with a Pet of the Month in a fur coat and nothing underneath to close the deal. The New York Times sat in on a few days of pitch meetings when every publication that ever put ink on paper lined up outside the agency doors to get their fifteen minutes with Michel and his advertising department. The resulting success spawned more than 300 ABSOLUT ads to date. During this period, Michel contracted many of the artists who were appearing in the pages of this magazine, beginning with Alex Echo, who had a billboard on Sunset Strip, sponsored

by Absolut, that read LIVE LIFE LOVE SAFE, which was the initial public service campaign. After it came down, the billboard was disassembled and components were sold to benefit AIDS charities. This was noticed by a major art publisher, who immediately signed the artist. As Chalk + Vermilion was a staunch advertiser in SunStorm/Fine Art at the time, we felt that a call to ABSOLUT might close the deal, as we planned a cover feature on Mr. Echo. We spoke to a lovely young woman at TBWA, Melissa Pordy, who authorized the first of what would be many Absolut ads in our magazine.

We met Michel shortly thereafter, at Artexpo where he was discussing ABSOLUT COLLABORATION with Ron English, who was beginning to make a name for himself as an underground revolutionary with a penchant for painting over billboards across the country, narrowly escaping the law on more than a few occasions. That show hung at Stendhal Gallery and we found Michel to be a genuine soul who had a real interest not only in promoting his product, but in the welfare of artists and people everywhere.

He put his money up for major charitable activities and created a campaign, ABSOLUT STATEHOOD in 1991, commissioning select artists from all 50 states in the U.S. and the

Michel Roux, portrait by Joyce Tenneson

District of Columbia. A limited edition of 300 lithographs of each work were sold to raise funds for Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. That was just one of many campaigns Michel developed. Artists became overnight successes and careers were established. A fairly unknown artist one moment would suddenly find his career blossoming after a back cover ad in The New York Times Magazine, garnering more exposure on one Sunday than he would get in a few lifetimes.

Today, Michel is pioneering a new brand, Grande Absente with the same gusto and fervor he puts into all his projects, beginning with the publication of a coffee table book, Absente: Images and Tastes of the Green Fairy containing hundreds of paintings by many of his old artist friends extolling the virtues of a beverage that, according to Oscar Wilde, is “as poetical as anything in the world.”

“Indeed,” writes David Carrier in the foreword, “the long love affair between the arts and this sublimely civilized drink, absinthe, is without precedent.”

Adds Jim Nicola in the introduction, Michel’s “uncanny knack for sensing tastes and trends well before they become recognizable and his ability to bring such ephemeral visions to life is astonishing.”

With almost 300 pages of art, drink and food recipes and a CD with THE ABSENTE SONG by William Stewart, this is one tome Two major ABSOLUT artists, Ron English and Kenny Scharf not to be without. Available at absente.com Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010 • 31

Susan Pillsbury, landscape, watercolor

Susan Pillsbury -- Once Lost, Now Found The record label, a fabled re-issue company out of England describes it this way on their website (www.sunbeamrecords.com): • Lost singer-songwriter classic • First-ever reissue • Five bonus tracks • Detailed liner notes • Rare photos Recorded in New York, Susan Pillsbury’s sole record was released in November 1973 and makes its long-overdue CD debut here. Deeply personal and spiritual, it touches on themes both personal and universal, with sensitive support from guitarist Jay Berliner and stand-up bassist Richard Davis, both of whom contributed decisively to the atmosphere of Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks (with which this shares clear similarities). Featuring five previously unissued bonus tracks (recorded soon after the album), detailed liner notes and rare photographs, it’s nothing short of a lost singer-songwriter classic.

‘One of the finest singer-songwriter efforts you’ll ever hear, up with the best albums in the genre... It appears simple, but layers of complexity unfold as the songs sink into your brain. She has an utterly beautiful voice, and Heaven and Love Never Dies are the most impossibly fragile love 32 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

Susan Pillsbury with Richard Davis, Town Hall,New York concert, 1973

songs you will ever hear’ – The Acid Archives ‘A folk-oriented singer / composer whose unaffected vocal style beautifully complements her simple, melodic songs, many of which express her personal spiritual devotion’ –Rolling Stone.

S

Susan Pillsbury and I met sometime in 1970-71 at Bronx Community College, 183rd and Grand Avenue, off the Grand Concourse.

She attended school with her mother, which was kind of unusual in those halcyon days.

We were introduced by a mutual friend, Mike Kanarek, a photographer and pool player, who knew we would enjoy each other’s company.

As I was never without my guitar in those

days, we immediately took to performing anywhere and everywhere — hallways, the school lobby, Central Park — and added singer/ guitarist Fred Martuscellli to form our trio, The Bottom of the Ninth. We enjoyed pretty good neighborhood success and circumstances, or fate, took over and Susan and I lost touch, until about a month ago when I noticed a commotion on the internet about her long lost album. I made a post on the “very good plus” website board and sure enough Suze herself responded, to the effect that “I knew a Victor Forbes way back when, in the Bronx…” and thus a long lost friendship was renewed. Susan is a minister now, a Rev. Dr., shepherding a flock of 700 in North Carolina, her husband, Lee Taylor recently shepherded her to New York City for Artexpo where her watercolors and prints are on view at the SunStorm Fine Art booth. Suze brought along her trusty Martin, just in case the occasion for song arises. The following are excerpts from lengthy conversations over the course of February and March, 2010. For more on Susan Pillsbury, visit our website www. fineartmagazine.com. The entire interview and unreleased recordings from 1972 are posted on the Susan Pillsbury link.

—VICTOR FORBES

The question people ask a lot is, “Where does the music come from? How do you write?

What makes you write? That’s such an odd question, because how do you talk about this process which in itself is mysterious by nature?

It comes out of the creative source. It is really creating because it is brand new. It’s not really creating if it is something that’s been done before, something that hasn’t been heard before. The fact that it is really created, means that it has come out of the creative source. How can you talk about that n the limits of our language?

I was influenced by the things in the 60s and Anglican church music, Charles and John Wesley, brothers who were called the singing Methodists. They learned a lot of doctrine and theology through their hymns, all about Christ and what Christ has done for us. Some of the Anglican folk songs are really quite regal. I was singing in front of people when I was four later that wonderful triangle that happened in the 60s, — Motown, Bob Dylan and the Beatles, and what was right in the middle of the tripod was good old fashioned rock and roll. What a potpourri. I don’t think we’ve had anything since — the Byrds, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young —it was like these people all got married and had gorgeous offspring. My mother played beautiful piano and as soon as we could stand up, we all harmonized, three and four part harmony. Stevie, my older brother would sing the melody and the notes that he wasn’t singing, our mother showed us, was the harmony. Ralphie, a year and a half younger, was born harmonizing. He was so good, people would come from Juilliard to hear him. I couldn’t get the boys to sing Joni, but they loved the Beach Boys. I started playing the guitar at 15, learned a couple of Peter Paul and Mary (“All My Trials”) and after that I just wrote. The writing came from a feeling in my spirit. Once in a while, I would get into a groove where people would say, ‘you’re such a happy kind of person, why are your songs sad?’ I don’t know why. I love blues. Townes Van Zandt said “Happy songs are like Twinkie songs.” I opened for him in Cambridge at Passims in the 1970s. I stopped writing for a while — Creativity doesn’t

Susan Pillsbury, watercolor

Susan Pillsbury recording her album, 1973

dry up. It’s a pool. All of a sudden I am interested and thinking “What is it that I really want to say.”

I want to talk about God in some way. But not in a typical way. He is too great for that. I found myself singing about how beautiful hope is — tulips through the snow.

I’m preaching this week about the extravagance of giving, how Mary uses her hair to wash His feet; there’s a time for giving extravagantly because it draws attention to the One you are giving to. This is important. How appropriate occasional, absolute extravagant giving is because it draws attention to the quality of the love. We have to be reasonable, we have to live in the world, but every once in a while, we have to show our faith. Give back, throw it all to the wind, and let the sower sow wildly, randomly.

Some of it falls on fallow ground, but everybody has a chance as long as we’re living, to reap and get the whole benefit. Somehow or other, God gives us these chances, right up until the very last minute. I’m not disappointed in God. “We live in a very fallen world, in terrible disorder. We’ve estranged ourselves. Christ

comes into any situation, I don’t think He brings anything bad; He comes into every situation and that is how it is transformed. If there is no choice, there is no love. To put it in simple terms is to minimize the Lord. It is not a philosophy, it’s a relationship. That’s when everything changes: it doesn’t mean you won’t get cancer, or have an accident or have a disaster in your hometown. It is not a Pollyanna way of looking at things. How is it that somebody who should be so depressed about what has happened to them could be the richest human being, and someone who seemingly has everything is lost?

I started in the lounges and hallways of Bronx Community College and in 1972 auditioned for a major New York music publisher (Larry Shayne) who heard some of my songs and recognized a clear cut commodity. They arranged recording sessions at CBS which reflected their thinking along this line. Their only influence as far as my music went was the pace on three of the songs and Mike Berniker and Jay Berliner’s jazz orchestrations, but mainly I just laid down the tracks the way I had written them. They were super sensitive to not changing who I was in essence or in their interpretation of the music. On one occasion I was trying to show them a song and Jay was writing down the chords for the charts for the next day’s session, and I didn’t know the names of some of the chords I was using. (I would figure out the notes of the chords that I heard in my head and just work out my own fingering), and Jay played them for me, but he had a few wrong, just minor differences, but they sounded too flat and normal. I remember Jay raising his eyebrows and making the adjustment, saying, “you are doing some out of the ordinary stuff here,” but he brought out these nuances instead of ironing them down in the end production.

This was especially apparent in I Thought I Knew the Answers, Highway and Goodnight. The Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010 • 33

whole experience of recording that first album really helped me claim my own sound and self as a performer.

I feel differently now as performer because I have done so much of it and explored a variety of venues ..such as singing torch music with Robert Peaco (pianist in the Village) and I did quite a lot of rock and roll with the Tom Russell Band for several years and co-wrote with Gene Gambardella (one of his songs is among the additional tracks on the reissue), but it was essential for me for the first few years of my life as an artist to develop my own sound.

In my life I haven’t had the privilege of being able to connect with long time friends. My father being a minister and now me, too, has meant frequent moves. Living with my adventurous, edgy brothers and growing up in a minister’s family I believe has offered me many benefits. I was given some social skills that have come in handy and I became accustomed to working in a man’s world. I think it made me feel special, but on the other hand it’s the only thing I have ever known, so it’s normal for me. My father was a strong community leader, and in retrospect it seemed that our house was always filled with lots of kids and our church was the center of activity.

There are very few people that I am still with that knew me at eighteen.

I remember Victor looked like a street light, tall and lanky standing over his guitar. He played well and he was quiet but underneath he was already spinning his artistic ideas. He accompanied me on a few songs in the student lounge, I recall, and soon after Victor introduced me to this beautiful young Italian songwriter, Fred. Fred had a passion for his own music, but I remember he seemed to be on the lookout for other talent as well. I didn’t know at first glance that Fred had this whole little opera he’d been working on about a tragic young performer who dies before he has a chance to really make it. Fred had a recording studio he had built in his parent’s apartment and lived so fully for one so young. I was impressed by him and I think even intimidated. But he let me know he liked the way I sang and before long we were singing together. I could always harmonize, and with Victor and Fred on guitar, it was a good sound. We called ourselves “The Bottom of the Ninth.” People started to check us out. What I really appreciated

about Fred and Victor was their interest in different artists, and this they shared with me generously. So, I was getting a two level education: BCC during the day and Fred and Victor’s rock and roll education during free periods and the weekends. Fred must have had an intuition about the possibility that these songs would one day become interesting to some people. I remember the recording session in his studio, but my songs that I recorded I didn’t remember as largely as I remember Fred’s songs. Victor had kept those tapes which I now am so grateful for. When I realized my old album I made with Sweet Fortune was being reissued, I started resurrecting additional recordings I had made after that album, but I had nearly forgotten those earliest recording sessions in Fred’s studio, at least as far as my songs went.

That area of the Bronx buzzed with a certain creativity. Anything could happen to you there. We all saw our share of both sides.

RONNI SIMON

PETER SIMON

Ronni Simon, a jewelry designer from Martha’s Vineyard, has ventured forth into the art world with her metal and bead wall sculptures. The inspiration for this art form was her signature cuff. The desire to go far beyond the size of anyone’s wrist, and to focus on form without function has proven to be extremely for this artist. The size and scale of her creations are limitless, and an asset for any hotel lobby, commercial building, or residential home. You can see more of her work by going to www.ronnisimon.com.

34 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

With Victor and Fred, Lehman College, Bronx, NY 1971

Internationally recognized photojournalist/artist Peter Simon has recently published one of his iconic images of Bob Marley in association with American Royal Arts. The photo was taken during a private photo session and interview at his residence along Hope Road in Kingston Jamaica in 1976. This edition of 275 copies which is printed on canvas, augmented with a reggaesque border, and stretched on a wooden frame sells for $650. Unframed (or raw), Peter sells it for $400. You can check it along with more of his images and products at www.petersimon.com. Peter has had more than 15 books published, three of them about reggae music. He (along with his wife Ronni Simon) own the Simon Gallery on Marta’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts.

Fernando Botero, Reclining Woman, Bronze

Mammoth Botero Paintings, Sculptures at Vered Vered Gallery will feature its first ever solo exhibition of the work of international sensation Fernando Botero. Botero: Paintings and Sculptures opens Friday, May 28th and will remain on display in the gallery until Tuesday, June 22nd. The exhibition will include mammoth paintings and sculptures from the master artist as well as some smaller paintings, sculptures and works on paper spanning four decades of the artist’s career. Included in the exhibition are twenty works that exemplify many of Botero’s most familiar themes including nudes, dancers and animals.

Columbian artist Fernando Botero’s unique style is recognized and renowned world-wide for the voluminous forms and sensuous figures found within his paintings, sculpture and works on paper. The monumentality of his images has made his work instantly recognizable.

“I studied the art of Giotto and all other Italian Masters, I was fascinated by their sense of volume and monumentality, of course in modern art everything is exaggerated – so my voluminous figures also became exaggerated,” said Botero.

Botero’s monumental sculptures have lined Park Avenue, graced Berlin’s Lustgarten, been exhibited in San Antonio, paraded on the Champs Elysses, graced the streets of Sevilla and delight vacationers at the Grand Wailea resort in Hawaii Also on display in Gallery II will be original works by Avery, Chagall, de Kooning, Fischl, Man Ray, Picasso, Porter, Rauschenberg, Rivers, Stern, Warhol and others.

Fernando Botero, Seated Woman, Bronze.

COMING THIS SUMMER

HAMPTONS FINE ART

The only publication in the Hamptons and North Fork totally dedicated to the art, artists and creative life on Long Island’s fabled East End get in touch with this great publication at www.hamptonfineart.com or call 631-909-1192 for publication information 35 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

The New Math Gallery in Alphabet City Adds Up

It was 2:30 in the morning, January of 1983. My phone rang. Mario was on the other end. He had eaten mushrooms and was tripping. “I just rented a storefront on 12th street between A and B, What should we do with it??”

“I have $250.00 left from my student loan. I can help pay rent. Lets open a gallery,” and that was the beginning of New Math Gallery.

We chose the name New Math because as children we would come to our parents with math homework and our parent’s response was often “I just don’t understand that New Math!” We would show new, innovative work. And we were sure that the response we would get would be similar to our parents response.

Mario and I were SVA students. We had a group of enormously talented friends. We certainly did not want to wait tables or bar tend. We just wanted to make art. Throughout all of our days as art students we had heard about how awful art dealers were. They would steal your soul and suck the life out of you and that was if you were lucky enough to get your foot in the door and show them your slides.

Opening New Math gave us the opportunity to show our friends, show ourselves and bypass snotty Soho and 57th street dealers. Best of all we would still be able to create our own work. We were 20 and 21 and hopelessly naive.

Mario and I had curated one show together at Club 57 in 1982. Titled Assault on the Senses. We used my mother’s EKG readout as the flyer. The show was a great success. We exhibited work by Barry Bridgwood, Artie May, Nancy Brooks Brody and ourselves. Some girl named Nancy did a performance piece , naked. Our friend Rene Cruz filmed the whole event . As far as we were concerned this event now qualified us to become art dealers.

New Math Gallery opened in March of 1983. Our first exhibit was called collectivism. We exhibited work by Barry Bridgewood, Artie May Thierry Chverney, 2BX, Anson Seeno , Nancy Brooks Brody and ourselves We showed a film by Rene Cruz ,Steven Tahjian did a wonderful performance piece in which he fed everyone cake. Our landlord took my painting in lieu of a month’s rent. We were mentioned in the east village eye. We were on our way.

Within a couple of months Mario and I moved into a tiny apartment above the gallery. We had no electricity in the gallery. We ran a huge orange cord from New Math up into our apartment through the fire escape.. Any time a fire truck or Con-ed truck drove down 12th street Mario would have to scamper up the fire escape and pull the cord. When the East Village scene exploded the Cincinnati museum did an East village tour. There they were standing in the middle of New Math when the fire trucks drove down the street and Mario had to climb up the fire escape and disconnect the lights.

Everyone was looking at art in the dark and they loved it.

Mario and I were the youngest art dealers in the world, it was a heady experience. The funniest part was that in that first year we were still SVA students that had classes to attend, homework, crits, and part time jobs.

We never slept.

Shortly after New math opened we met Craig Coleman through one of our collectors, Paul Bridgewater. Craig lived and worked in the basement of the gallery building He had a deal with the landlord and paid him in art.

The space was not insulated. He had no bathroom.

Craig was from California. He was a sculptor who was determined to be an instant art star. We visited his studio and fell in love with his work.

Eventually Mario and Craig fell in love and soon there were three of us in the 12th street apt.

There were so many great moments at New Math. Moments that really defined this tiny bit of art history. There was the time Mark Ashwill’s sketch book caught fire and flew out of the upstairs apartment. Craig found the sketch book and brought it to us and Mark became one of our 12 gallery artists. There were times that we were desperate and I would call collectors and say “I need a new lipstick, please buy a painting? sometimes it worked.

There was the excitement of discovering the next great artist and humor in looking at work that would never make it onto any gallery walls. There were late night installations and sleepless nights and a camaraderie and sense of community that can never be replaced.

And then we moved. We leased a huge space on Avenue A between 12th and 13th street and decided to take it up a notch. Pat Hearn had opened her slick beautiful space on 6th street and avenue B. Gracie Mansion had opened up a fabulous space in Avenue A between 10th and 11th. Piezo Electric was now in a new space on 6th street. New Math would have to move to keep up.

We opened our new space in the spring of 1985 with an exhibit of new work by Kiell Erik Killi Olsen. We had no windows. There was no floor in the back of the gallery. I stood back there with my arms outstretched as a human shield because behind me there was a sheer drop into the basement.

During renovation in those previous months we had run out of money, been shut down by the department of buildings for lack of permits and had money stolen from us by our neighborhood crack head construction crew that we had hired. Still we persevered. We mounted some incredible shows, discovered fantastic artists and grew up a lot in the process.

The financial struggles we encountered eventually undid us. In February of 1986 we had an exhibit of sculpture by Brian Sullivan and drawings by a Belgian artist who’s name escapes me. We had not paid Con Ed or rent in months. The morning of the opening Con Ed cut our lights.

Mario and I got a friend of ours to drive us over to Materials for the Arts. We told them we were a not for profit theater company and needed candelabras for a performance. We raced back to the gallery with six huge candelabras.

We took the track lights out of the ceiling. And lit the gallery with candles.

They looked beautiful with the neo classical images on the walls and Brian Sullivan’s bronze sculptures. Viewers were speechless. Very few people knew that this was a move made in desperation. I went to sleep that night with the weight of the world on my shoulders. I thought to myself. I want leave all of this behind me. I want to get married and have children and maybe even a few chickens in the yard. The next morning I opened the gallery door and said to Mario, “I want to close the gallery”.

Mario agreed. He had always first been a painter and he had not been able to make art in years. I was married in June. I raised six kids. I did have a chicken but I did have a backyard an now maybe I am ready to open that door again.

Nina Seigenfeld Velazquez, who wrote this piece, will be curating Concessions and Confessions, a group exhibit. Please look for information on the New Math Gallery page on Facebook.

ELAINE DEKOONING’S NUDE

drawings of her husband Willem deKooning were the hit of the Armory show in March, shown by Mark Borghi Fine Art Inc., 52 East 76th Street in New York City (www.borghi.org).

Elaine was a bastion of the New York School and well-worth seeking out. Far more than the spouse of a famous mate, her portraits of Bill were quite ahead of their time — rare was it for a female artist to paint the male nude. Anyone interested in a complete history of Abstract Exprssionism and the New York School ought to check out Elaine’s oeuvre. She was a wonderful person and great artist.

—VBF 36 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

Portrait of Bill #4, 1950, ink on paper, 8” x 11”

Portrait of Bill #5, 1950 ink on paper, 8” x 11”

NATALIE MERCHANT “Creativity is a Compulsion for Me”

By ARICA HILTON “One of the most successful and enduring alternative artists to emerge from the eighties –- intact and uncompromised.” —Vogue Natalie Merchant is poised for the release of Leave Your Sleep, her first studio album since 2003’s The House Carpenter’s Daughter. Out April 13 on Nonesuch Records, this recording is the culmination of seven years research and collaboration and is, in Merchant’s words “The most elaborate project I have ever completed or even imagined.”

A two-disc set, Leave Your Sleep is a collection of songs adapted from poems selected

by Merchant including pieces by both wellknown and obscure writers. Featured are works

by British Victorians, early- and mid-20th century Americans and contemporary writers as well as anonymous nursery rhymes and lullabies. Among the authors included are Ogden Nash, e.e. cummings, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christina Rossetti, Edward Lear, Gerard Manley Hopkins and Robert Graves.

In addition to a new method of lyricism, Merchant stretches out musically on Leave Your Sleep by collaborating with a broad spectrum of artists—some old friends, some she has admired from afar—including the Wynton Marsalis Quartet, Medeski Martin & Wood, members of the New York Philharmonic, The Klezmatics, Lúnasa and Hazmat Modine. “The sessions were recorded in live ensemble settings to capture a fresh and spontaneous energy,” notes Merchant. “They were some of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had making music.”

Having sold millions of records worldwide over the course of her recording career with 10,000 Maniacs and as a solo artist, Merchant has remained busy in the time since her last studio album by curating compilations for both the Maniacs’ Campfire Songs and her own Retrospective. Additionally, Merchant performed live to the accompaniment of Philip Glass, Dr. John, Pete Seeger and Wynton Marsalis and collaborated with British composer Gavin Bryars as part of The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Complete Works series.

Following is a very recent interview with the singer as she begins a whirlwind promotional campaign and international tour.

Fine Art: Natalie, can you elaborate on the music and poetry of Leave Your Sleep?

Natalie: The poems inspired vastly different musical settings with themes that ranged from humorous and absurd to tragic, comic and deeply spiritual. Five years of research and writing went into thia. Over time, my curiosity about the lives of the poets that I had included in my anthology grew. So I read biographical accounts and letters, searched archives and contacted heirs,

executors, or the poets themselves in an attempt to know more about my co-writers. Much of this information is included in the 80 page book that accompanies the collection of music.

Fine Art: Natalie, how do you feel about living a creative life?

Natalie: I feel pretty lucky, extremely lucky, actually, to be able to live a creative life. I became a musician when I was 16. I have never done any other work. I have had to live by my creativity. My parents were very concerned there was no security. Creativity is a compulsion for me. I need to be making something all the time. I am compelled to transform what I envision in my mind into something tangible.

That I can share with other people, whether that is music, poetry, dance or visual art. And

I would include gardening and cooking. Any transformative process that takes an emotion and gives it presence in the world. Hopefully a lasting presence.

Although, ephemeral presence is really beautiful, too. I find it exhilarating. I enjoy the ephemeral art of a live performance that exists in a particular time and space for a small group, to know that it is a piece of art that only exists for that moment.

Fine Art: That’s a very Buddhist viewpoint.

It is reminiscent of the Buddhist monks when they create their beautiful sand mandalas and sweep them up afterwards to show the impermanence of things. A performance reminds one of that.

Beauty that exists for that moment. And then it is gone yet remains in memory.

Natalie: We are a unique generation, living in unusual times. Through technology we have been able to capture transient moments and mass-produce them (film, photography, sound recording). We can trick ourselves into thinking we are reliving these experiences over and over. I think recorded music has come very close to the original experience but something exceptional happens when we play and hear music in communion rather than in isolation.

Every concert I’ve ever done has been unique, that’s what holds my interest.

Natalie Merchant will be performing at the Art Institute of Chicago on April 24 for the Poetry Center of Chicago. The Poetry Center of Chicago will be publishing a broadside of her poem, Motherland, a signed and numbered limited edition print on letterpress. For more information, please contact Arica Hilton at aricahilton@mindspring. com.

maggie and milly and molly and may e.e. cummings (1894 – 1962) American 1035 Photograph by Edward Weston © 1981 Center for Creative Photography Arizona Board of Regents.

If No One Ever Marries Me Laurence Alma-Tadema (1865 – 1940) Dutch Laurence Alma-Tadema & Sir Lawrence AlmaTadema (father), photograph by Hartmann Bayreuth from National Portrait Gallery, London Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010 • 37

Pouring Soul Into Canvas If you are a poet you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper. Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow; and without trees, we cannot make paper. If we look even more deeply, we can see the sunshine, the logger who cut the tree, the wheat that became his bread, and the logger’s father and mother. Without all these things, this sheet of paper cannot exist. In fact, we cannot point to one thing that is not here–time, space, the earth, the rain, the minerals in the soil, the sunshine, the cloud, the river, the heat, the mind. Everything co-exists with this sheet of paper. So we can say the cloud and the paper “inter-are.” We cannot just be by ourselves alone; we have to inter-be with every other thing.

-From The Heart of Understanding by Thich Nhat Hanh

Whatever it is that binds a hand to a heart or a soul to a dream Eternally binds a bird to a root blossoming from the foot of a stem to the face of a cloud.

Infinity has bounds only to infinity A dream is a dream only when unfulfilled.

— Arica Hilton

A

Libertad, oil on canvas, 30”x 40”

rica Hilton was born on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. As a young girl, she studied architecture and design and has worked as an art dealer, interior designer, poet and artist since 1985. Whether it is visual art through paintings or the poetic expressions of language and music, every aspect of Arica’s life is geared towards one form of art melding into another.

“As an artist, my interest lies in the expression of light and shadow, in the infinite and inexhaustible combinations of a visually aesthetic and spiritual language that transcends worlds. Specifically, I explore free organic forms through the layering and sensual deployment of color, as well as to bring pleasure to the eye by evoking the rich, spectral underpinnings of the simplicity and richness of the earth and its universal counterparts.”

“There is no set agenda for these ideas, as they are born of the immediate response of each brushstroke to another, catching the pure moment of expressionistic mixtures in harmony.”

The subjects evolve, transforming continuously in their meaning and complexity as the raw emotional presence that such techniques may evoke in the merging of hand, paint and eye. Thus, like the tonal qualities in music, her paintings attempt to touch something universally significant in all human beings, that meditative state of seeking their own light in the reflections and elements of nature and the universe.

Hilton’s life as an art dealer exposed her to the magnitude of the world of art since her mid 20’s. A single mother of two boys, she opened her first art gallery at the age of 26, not even knowing how to speak to a potential art buyer.

38 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

“I remember I was so shy, I would walk to the back of the gallery when someone walked in.

Then I realized I would not stay in business for long, so I pretended they came into my home and began a conversation with them about the beauty of the art. Each day became easier, because I was so connected to the works. I think the collectors felt that energy, that they were actually able to Maktub, oil on canvas, 60”x 36” become interconnected with the art.” response was overwhelming. I felt like, ‘Wow!’ I “Throughout the years, I became an art am creating something that speaks to them. And publisher and would work closely with the artists, then came the domino effect. The paintings began sitting over their shoulder, watching them paint. I to flow and each one became a lyrical, musical would tell them where to put the brush. This area sonata, an aria, a symphony.” needed light and this area needed shadow. I probably drove them crazy, but I knew how their canvas would look even before they were finished. Many of the paintings were collaborations between myself and the artist. I kept thinking, I need to do this myself, but raising two boys, running a business and traveling all over the world (I had flown to Japan 19 times during my career as an art dealer,) I knew if I did not pour my soul into a canvas, I would crystalize and die. It was that powerful. I had been writing poetry for years and even began a novel. My poetry book, The Seven Faces of Love was From The Elements Series, Water / Fire oil on canvas, 72” x 48” nearly complete, and I knew I had to Arica Hilton lives and works in Chiillustrate it. That was the beginning. Each poem, cago on Michigan Avenue across the inspired a painting. Then one day, my son came street from the Art Institute of Chicago. She wakes to a breathtaking over and went wild over my works. Don’t forget, view of the lake before she begins he grew up in the art business. He had met some to paint or write...In addition to beof the most famous artists in the world since his ing an artist/poet, she competes as a triathlete, dances Argentine tango, is a world traveler childhood and knew more about art than most and loves horses. Her last adventure trip took her to art historians. It was a milestone for me. Each Ladakh, where she traveled with a Tibetan monk in the time someone would come to my studio, their northern Himalayas of India

Thomaston Place Auction Galleries

Chris Parker

Located on U.S. Route 1 just below the village of Thomaston, Maine, Thomaston Place Auction Galleries is a premier auction and appraisal company that has garnered the respect of dealers, collectors, and museums around the world. This reputation is based on our ongoing success in discovering and offering fine art and antique treasures to this discerning audience.

Our thoughtful, discreet approach to guiding consignors through the auction process has resulted in an expanding base of families who entrust their treasures to us. We employ a stateof-the-art digital photo studio, comprehensive research library, and international marketing to help generate superior and often, world record sales prices for our consignors.

Kaja Veilleux, founder and owner of Thomaston Place, is the original creator of the President/Auctioneer, Kaja Veilleux Free Appraisal Day – one day each week when people can bring their heirlooms and precious possessions to the Gallery for a free valuation. Depending on the need, we also arrange “house calls” for in home appraisals of art or antiques collections. With over 35 years experience in the art and antiques business, Kaja has built a reputation for handling fine objects. He is a licensed auctioneer and professional appraiser, and his auctions consistently draw a lively and enthusiastic international crowd.

John D. Bottero, licensed auctioneer and Thomaston Place Vice President, has over 18 years experience in the antiques trade. A veteran of manufacturing and engineering, he has helped shape the high standards and excellent reputation of Thomaston Place Auction Galleries. John shares his extensive knowledge of antiques with thousands of people each year by holding auctions and appraisal fairs throughout the State of Maine.

“We handle fine art, furniture, porcelain, china, pottery, lamps, oriental rugs, mirrors, books & ephemera, coins & currency, silver, glass, folk art, antique toys, jewelry, quilts & samplers, marine items, sculpture, boats, automobiles, firearms, and much more,” notes Bob Grant, Auction Manager.

Contact him at (207) 354-8141 or visit www.thomastonauction.com

Antiqua Church

Untitled

Quaker Hill View

for gigs & art shows parkerdrum@aol.com www.chrisparkerdrums.com Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010 • 39

Sounds of Silence

HENRIETTA MILAN Tal Milan , Director

Milan Gallery

505 Houston Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102 Tel: 817.338.4278 • www.milangallery.com

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ZALUSKI CreativeLife On The

They say its the “agony and the ecstasy” — so far its been ecstasy for me being an artist. I chose not to be an engineer or scientist in college and dedicated my life to art and the pursuit of happiness...Being entrepreneurial, I’ve been self employed most of my life, at first with home improvement contracting and building props and sets for TV commercials in NYC, renovating bars and restaurants until I sold enough paintings and sculpture to make a living. The past 30 years of creating has been fun and exciting mixed with lots of anxiety, too. Always on the verge of going out of business is the hardest part, wondering if the phone will ever ring again and will I ever sell my art again...Like waves, the business cycle is up and down and with tons of luck and help from my friends, I’ve survived thus far...The ever changing art world has been stuck in obnoxious mode with installations of dead animals and piles of garbage called art, peeing and pooping called performance art. I’ve stuck with creating what I love and mixing my sculpture with music in my own rolling art form and selling just enough to squeak by...So many shows I’ve done across America, LI, NYC and even Hong Kong...my art has taken me around the world and has enabled me to meet so many people and to have great adventures. Even went to Fiji, where I built sculptures out of chunks of beach coral and played music with the natives...Even now I’m sitting at the beach writing instead of a 9 to 5 job...

Our latest venture is video production and my original videos are on the internet, you tube, myspace, facebook and my website, www.zaluskisculpturestudios.com The art world is a difficult place to navigate, you compete with lots of wealthy people who can easily brand their names...art dealers and curators who manipulate the market to benefit a chosen few...Art dealers come and go, the artist survives to create...I’ve always strived to make things no one has ever seen before, to be original, to make music my own way, improvisation, and to make art my own way and not to follow trends...3/19/10 Steven Zaluski 40 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2010

ZALUSKI WITH THE HUMANSHPERE

Michele Bramlett New Work, New Book, New Portfolio

Wolf Way, 18” x 36”, giclee on canvas

The Greyhound Band, 18” x 36”, giclee on canvas

The Longest Way ’Round, (cover) 18” x 18”, giclee on canvas

Michele’s illustrations adorn the forthcoming book, The Longest Way ’Round — the true story of a rescue Greyhound’s adventures on a twelve day sojourn in the rugged Adirondack Mountains of New York.

Available as singular prints or in a deluxe portfolio published by

SunStorm Arts Publishing Co., Inc. Bad Dogz, 18” x 18”, giclee on canvas

www.sunstormarts.com artspower@aol.com • 631-909-1192

Homage a Gustav Klimt 1862 – 1918 • Reality & Illusion The artwork The Kiss (1908) inspired contemporary painter John Pacovsky as he created this, one of more than 120 pieces in our Absente Homage to Great Artists Collection.

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Grande Absente is 138 proof so please enjoy responsibly. www.grandeabsente.com Grande Absente Liqueur, 69% ALC/VOL., Grande Absente and Grande Absente Logo are trademarks owned by M. P. Roux, Imported from France by Crillon Importers Ltd., Paramus, NJ 07652 © 2008