Had To Share - Wonderful Rant on Beauty and the Art Beast, by Judith Schaechter

This door ornament can be called "pretty"- but to me it is really "beautiful".

Just finished this essay by Judith. A must-read for all those who have ever been perplexed by the art world's compulsive need for "pretty" art. What we think or feel "pretty" vs. "beautiful" might be... and why does it matter so much?  Read it here. 

"Weirdo Noir", An Art Book Worth Having

“Weirdo Noir” by Matt Dukes Jordan, Chronicle Books

I just picked up a copy of this book and that means an awful lot; there is only so much room in my house! Great selections, solid curating, nice spread of styles and interesting interviews with each artist. This is a perfect compilation of many newbrow artists, whose work you may like to have on your shelves, if not on your walls. On the cover - the fantastic Ray Caesar and his “Sleeping By Day”.

Eclectix Artist Interview With Mark Bryan

"I heard a quote a few days ago which I liked very much. It was something like “ An artist’s job is to be a witness to the times he lives in”  I agree with that sentiment. There is nothing really new in human experience other than the times we live in. For me, art is about sharing our..."

For the entire interview click here.

The Lowbrow Tarot Show Is Coming Up! Halloween in the City of the Fallen Angels...

Curated by Aunia Kahn and a long time coming - this show will be well worth a trek for. You may remember some of the artists from past Eclectix shows - Cate Rangel, Patrick “Star 27” Deignan, Edith Lebeau, Jennybird Alcantara and lastly Aunia's work, from many exhibits and her beautiful solo show "Our Quiet Earthquake".

I so wanted to host this show, at Eclectix here in the East Bay, but alas it was not to be - the economy just had no mercy. Even Duffy's belting soul tune couldn't turn it around. :) Most the other artists included are long time favorites as well, notable newbrow artists of impeccable technique and imagination. Picking the pieces for this show must have been heartbreaking. Just choosing the ones to post here was hard enough. For a look at all the pieces and their creators go here.

 The Lowbrow Tarot Project will showcase 23 new works of art from the lowbrow art movement in an exhibition at La Luz de Jesus in Los Angeles on October 1, 2010. It will be up thru Halloween, October 31st, our favorite day! To accompany the exhibit, a hard cover tabletop book and full color tarot card deck are in the works. Hopefully this show will travel so that we all might get a chance to see it.

Featuring artists: Carrie Ann Baade, Christopher Ulrich, Edith Lebeau, Cate Rangel, Kris Kuksi, Chris Mars, Christopher Umana, Chris Conn, Brian M. Viveros, Claudia Drake, Heather Watts, Molly Crabapple, David Stoupakis, Laurie Lipton, Patrick “Star 27” Deignan, Chet Zar, Jessica Joslin, Danni Shinya Luo, Jennybird Alcantara, Angie Mason, Scott G. Brooks, Aunia Kahn and Daniel Martin Diaz.

"There are 22 cards in the Major Arcana, each showing some aspect of the human experience. The cards of the Major Arcana are focused on three themes: the realm of the material world, the realm of the intuitive mind, and the realm of change." - Aunia Kahn

Related posts: Jennybird, Chris Conn, Carrie Ann Baade, Aunia Kahn, Fierce Fashion exhibit, Cate Rangel Interview

Visiting "Art From The New World" in The Old World of Bristol

Personal favorite in the show is this stunner by Ray Caesar

A stroke of good luck came my way when I was able to see the "Art From The New World" show in Bristol, while visiting family in England. The exhibit's date had been extended due to it's popularity, bringing in lots of new visitors to the Bristol Museum. 

The museum is an incredible art piece on it's own- detailed Roman castle architecture, as many of the university buildings nearby are. Easy to spend the day just checking out the scenery- arched gothic churches and medieval looking spires abound. It's a nice college town and makes a pleasant day trip by train if you happen to be in London.

Walking thru the doors, the first art attack is a huge stack of books painted on their sides- a dark bride and groom appraises you.... by Mike Stilkey.

 

Loved this piece, a different and original approach.

Once inside the main lobby, a wonderful angel greets you with a paint can dumped on her head, gotta love it! 

This is an excellent show with an all-star line up, most with new pieces created for the show. The press for the exhibit described it as - "a big brash exhibition of the new American art scene". Many thanks and kudos to the Bristol Museum for having the balls to show this work in an environment worthy of it's vision. They gave Banksy a show a few years ago; that would have been fun to see. Only a very few American museums have stepped up and shown these artist's, the Laguna Museum of Art and the San Jose Museum of Art; maybe now some more will. Also a thanks to the Corey Helford Gallery for arranging it all.

Octopus chandaliers hover overhead, by Adam Wallacavage 

Camille Rose Garcia's "Sneewitchen" 

Pictured here are just a few of the best from the show. I have omitted some pieces that have been very publicized already (for example: Mark Ryden's "Snow Yak"), hoping to concentrate here on the less exposed ones and of course, some faves.

Marion Peck

Chris Anthony

Detail from Ray Caesar's "Love Letters"

Mia

Johnny Rodriguez (kmndz)

Melissa Forman

As wonderful as this show is, I can't help but dream of a "bigger and brasher" show of just the cream of the pop. An exhibit of the surreal masterpieces of the newbrow scene, the original best pieces by the best artists. Even if they have been sold, to get them all together on loan, for a  show to travel thru-out the States. It could start at LACMA and then to SF MOMA and then to MOMA in New York and onward to European museums. Perhaps the art list might read- Ryden's "The Creatrix", Ron English's "Abraham-Obama", Camille Rose Garcia's "The Night Greed", Shawn Barber's  "The Unsaid", Sylvia Ji's "Dona Dolorosa", Todd Schorr's "Wish Fulfillment From Another World", Isabel Samaras' "Gone Native", Brian Vivero's "EvilLast", Chet Zar's "Sallgood", Jennybird Alcantara's "Treacherous Gardens", Chris Mars's "Dichotomy", Ray Caesar's "Descent", Marion Peck's "Bouquet" or Colette Calascione's "Anarchist In Love"... I have to stop myself here, it could and should go on and on, but you get the fantasy... A show of shows so to speak, to blow that boring art world away. 

Participating artists include:

JOSH AGLE (SHAG)

JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER

CHRIS ANTHONY

VAN ARNO

GARY BASEMAN

RAY CAESAR

COLIN CHRISTIAN

SAS CHRISTIAN

LUKE CHUEH

COOP

DAVE COOPER

RON ENGLISH

NATALIA FABIA

KORIN FAUGHT

SARAH FOLKMAN

MELISSA FORMAN

AJ FOSIK

CAMILLE ROSE GARCIA

MERCEDES HELNWEIN

DAVID HOCHBAUM

SYLVIA JI

ERIC JOYNER

DAVE KINSEY

KUKULA

JOE LEDBETTER

HENRY LEWIS

LOLA

TRAVIS LOUIE

MICHAEL MARARIAN

ELIZABETH MCGRATH

MIA

BRANDI MILNE

BUFF MONSTER

MICHAEL PAGE

MARION PECK

JOSHUA PETKER

CARLOS RAMOS

JOHNNY RODRIGUEZ (KMNDZ)

GRETCHEN RYAN

MARK RYDEN

TODD SCHORR

KATHY STAICO SCHORR

MIKE STILKEY

GREG SIMKINS (CRAOLA)

JOE SORREN

DAVID STOUPAKIS

ADAM WALLACAVAGE

MARTIN WITTFOOTH

KENT WILLIAMS

A New Eclectix Interview With Isabel Samaras

"It all kinda whirls together - old movies, a pretty broad spectrum of art, music music music, all the sci-fi books I tore through as a kid, Ultraman and all kinds of Kaiju, fairy tales and fables, the absurdist humor of Monty Python, monsters of every ilk, and very most especially all the many permutations of love: unrequited, blazing out of control, thwarted, tender, forbidden, maternal, and inter-species. Often a painting will..." 

For a little life story, artist tricks and some gospel according to Isabel -

Direct link to interview page

Amazing Video of Morphing Masterpieces

Stumbled on this really wonderful video of paintings of women - all morphing together into each other. Someone really took some time to do this, they did a beautiful job and it works really well.


Sit back at least a few feet from your screen when you watch it, helps with the overall progressions. Grab a drink, kick back for a few minutes and enjoy. 
Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcmQpROaUEo

Eric Joyner Interview

Just got an interview in my email with our fave local boy, artist Eric Joyner. 
Written by the art bloggers, Chippy Coates and Richard Scarry
For a peek at it go here