5 (MORE) Questions With RON ENGLISH

One of the limitations of the 5 Question interview format, is that it doesn't allow for a lot of give and take. You have to try to cover as much ground as you can in only five attempts. It's a challenge that I welcome, but it inevitably leaves me with regret. Sometimes the answers just end up raising more questions. Such was the case with the Ron English chat we had back in March. He mentioned working with Chris Brown on a toy project. The release of said toy has caused some controversy, and even led some of his artistic peers to cry "sell out" and "hypocrite".

Look...Ron English didn't have to talk about this with me, or anyone for that matter. But he has, and I can't help but respect him for it. Here's how it went:

1) Back in March, you mentioned collaborating with Chris Brown. Now, even Rihanna has recently worked with him, but somehow I'm more surprised that you did. Tara McPherson (who you gave a shout-out to in the same blog) has been frequently tweeting her disappointment. Frank Kozik has joined in as well. Did you have any reservations about working with someone who has come to exemplify domestic violence?

Ron: When I was young I might have stolen a car or something like that but I was allowed a second chance and I believe I took advantage of that and my life since then has been pretty positive.Had I continued that behavior I would not have expected continued forgiveness nor would I be so forgiving of anyone who continued such antisocial behavior. I do intend to start tweeting this week, as much as I loath the inconvenience. I can't let Frank have the last word. (my tag is ronenglishart)

 2) Since we last talked, Thomas Kinkade and Leroy Neiman have passed away. Both of whom made vast sums of money by mass-marketing their "brand" of "art". Do you think it's possible for an artist to be hugely successful and still retain a modicum of integrity...or is success the art?

 Ron: Thomas Kinkade painted what people wanted to see; I paint what I want people to see. Both approaches have their own integrity, or if you prefer, lack of integrity. I'm put off by people who judge art by its price tag and also by those who equate poverty with integrity.

3) You've been sued by Disney, King Features, and KISS. Yet you've NEVER lost a lawsuit?! Who is your lawyer?

Ron: I think I have a great lawyer, but he's doesn't have to be great because his client hasn't broken any copyright laws.

  4) What was the last billboard you did? And are the billboard companies still unwilling to sell you space?

Ron: I did one in London over the weekend but they built the billboard for me at the London Pleasure Gardens and I painted it, no billboard company was involved. My obsession with billboards has dissipated to some extent.

 5) Are you Banksy?

Ron: I thought you were Banksy!

Thanks Ron. I hope I didn't put you off with the questions . I'm pretty sure I'm destined to a life of poverty, but I know that doesn't mean I have integrity.

Ron: Having art sell for a lot of money or not at all does not affect the quality of the art whatsoever. That's all I was saying. I'd rather be poor with my own sense of integrity than a rich prostitute.

'Nuff said!

5 Questions With JENNIFER J. JELENSKI

I will, for the rest of my days, be plagued and pricked by the thorns of a particular decision I made regarding Jennifer J. Jelenski. In August of 2008, my wife and I went to the "Cream Of The Crop" show at La Luz de Jesus. My better half was drawn to the work of JAW Cooper. I was pulled toward Jennifer J. Jelenski's paintings. One, in particular, I coveted, called "Teething Ring".

We admired both women's work, but after much discussion, we ultimately brought home a few JAW Cooper pieces. Leaving "Teething Ring" on the wall, to be purchased (I would find out later) by Morgan Spurlock. As much as I love Jessica Cooper's work, I still think about "Teething Ring"...with more than just a tinge of regret.

I've kept an eye out for Jelenski ever since. Fortuitously, La Luz seems to have embraced her with open arms. She has been featured in several group shows there, and was even selected to be in the stunning La Luz de Jesus 25 retrospective (show and book).

Jelenski's art seems to exist in the clouds, which is not to say a rarefied air, but rather a fluffy white bed of comfort. Inviting, yet mysterious and distant. The titles often raise more questions then they answer: "Purple Monkey Dishwasher", "Honey & Rutting Victrola". Her creatures may be armed and wrathful, but they are also pretty damn cuddly. She seems to constantly be playing two sides against each other. Not lowbrow, and not quite pop surrealism, yet both at once. Her paintings are complex, in a simple way. Chaotic, but orderly. Cute, and menacing. Fun, yet deadly serious. This is art obsessed with BALANCE. I'm a huge fan!

Jennifer J. Jelenski is an intensely private person, so I'm thrilled and honored that she would agree to do this (infrequent) feature on my humble little blog. Here's what she had to say:

1) Your images are often assembled in the shape of a Mandala, and seem to draw a lot of inspiration from Hindu art, and I know you practice yoga.What can you tell me about the bats, bunnies, and monkeys?

Jennifer: "Tibetan Art from the 12th -17th century is a tremendous source of inspiration for me.
This art shares stories. My hope is to bring people closer to finding these stories for themselves.
The animals I work with are meant to be cute. Endearing warm fuzzies invoke a very similar feeling as compassion.
Many people believe we naturally can not be compassionate and that work must be done to enable ones self to become compassionate.
My hope is to trick folks into unlocking this super power!
Yoga is a physical expression of my creativity, prayer in motion, as well as a great way to balance such a sedentary lifestyle."

 2) One of the astounding things about your work, for me, is that you paint complex, intricate fields of color that are bordered by head-scratchingly clean, and consistent line-weights.How on Earth do you achieve that crisp line?

Jennifer: "Thank you!!
A few things I do to achieve such a look are:
Never work wet on wet.
Wear jeweler's glasses while working.
I give my paintings plenty of time to dry.
Apply many many layers of paint.
Use sandpaper to remove any offending textures.
And I use the best tools I can afford and replace worn out tools often.
(I go through 4 dozen brushes or more a year)"



3) How long do you typically work on a sketch, before you're ready to paint, and (sneaking in an extra question) are you brand loyal with paint?

Jennifer: "I may work a drawing or idea for months.
They all start out small.
As a composition develops, I'll draw it over and over.
Until I feel it's problems are resolved to the best of my ability.

I use mostly Golden acrylics.
After an image is drawn onto a canvas, I'll mix my pallet.
Then pour the mixed colors into wee plastic pots.
The colors stay fresh for a year this way.
While I'm working I put a few brushes full of the mixed color into an Ink pot.
Mix this with a bit of gel medium, GAC, and water to begin painting.
I want a lite, creamy texture that is never runny or pasty."

4) I ask everyone this.What are you listening to while you work?

Jennifer: "My tunes!!!!!
Currently I listen to:
Lots of Biosphere. Lots of Lustmord.
Atticus Ross, Book of Eli sound track
Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sound track

My most recent fixation,
Ambient Metal!
For this genre I like:
Jakob, Subsets of SetJakob, Cale:DrewJakob, SolaceIsis, Panopticon (love the track 'In Fiction')
Pelican, What We All Come To Need (#1 fave tune of the moment, The Creeper)"

 5) You seem to be a big kid at heart.What's your favorite children's novel?

Jennifer: "I'm an avid reader, but I haven't read any children's books in a very long time.
Stories that I adored when I was young and still do today would be:
Benjamin Bunny, Beatrix Potter
The Hobbit, J.R.Tolkien

Keith, Thank you so much for this opportunity to share with your readers."

No...Thank You Jennifer!

Jennifer J. Jelenski is primarily self-taught. She is a former doll-maker, tattoo and make-up artist. While she steadfastly refuses to dwell on the past, she has begrudgingly permitted me to say that she has shown her art at Rosemary's Billy Goat Odditorium, Blue Rooster, The Hive, and Cannibal Flower, in addition to La Luz de Jesus Gallery. She has exhibited alongside such luminaries as Gary Baseman, Matjames Metson, Clayton Brothers, Nathan Ota, Chris Mars, Isabel Samaras and others...and fiercely held her own !

I will keep you all posted on any future Jelenski shows.

~KrossD
6/18/2012


All images courtesy of Jennifer J. Jelenski

5 Questions with RON ENGLISH

I have to confess, I'm guilty. I've surrendered my cash (and health) to just about all the monsters that Ron English relentlessly wages art war on. I haven't been to a McDonald's in years, but when I drive by one I can still taste the Quarter Pounder With Cheese, and the oily fries. I own a few Disney movies on Blu-Ray. I smoke. When I was thirteen, I was a card carrying member of the KISS ARMY. Guilty as sin.

Having said that, I'm also aware enough to see the blistering truth in English's work. As far as I'm concerned, he's one of the most important artists working today. I assume anyone reading this blog already knows who Ron English is. He's among the finest guerilla artists of our time. His solo show "Seasons In Superbia" at the Corey Helford Gallery was the best exhibit I saw last year. He was just immortalized on The Simpsons for chrissakes! So, you can imagine my excitement when he answered the phone and agreed to do "5 Questions". Here's the thing though, if you had a chance to ask Goya five questions, it wouldn't be enough. You'd immediately want five more, and five more after that...and on and on. So I may have to start a new "5 More Questions" feature soon.

At any rate, here's how it went:

1) Your transition from photographer to "hyper-realist" painter seemed to happen effortlessly, and at lightning speed. Was there much of a learning curve, or were you able to hone your painting skills without much struggle?

Ron: Someone once told me that if you can draw, you can paint. I had been drawing photorealistic pieces on cardboard and staging them as environments in my photographs. I thought painting would be easy. The first painting I ever made, I sold. It was of Saint Basel's Cathedral. I was eight. A teacher bought it to show her students what an eight year old could do. But as far as New York Art World level painting, I really wasn't on terra firma until I was around 30 years old, four years after I began my quest to become a painter. I still struggle.

2) Have Disney and/or McDonald's ever tried to hire you?

Ron: I did art for The ESPN Zone in NYC. It was a series of 30 paintings that were mash-ups of art history and sports history. I also did a colab Stitch figure with Disney and a colab Mad Hatter figure. I brought 40 clowns to lunch at McDonald's, but they didn't try to hire me then or ever. Do you have any contacts at McDonald's? I was just thinking my little fat Ronalds would go good in Happy Meals. I'm sure they would be all about that.

3) Are you a KISS fan, or do you consider them emblematic of the insidious culture of branding?

Ron: Well, they probably merched out better than any band since The Beatles. Actually they probably have more merch than The Beatles ever dreamed of and you can bet your bottom dollar Gene gets his fair share of the profits. If I were a young band I would study my Kisstory.  It's really hard to make money off your music these days and having a lot of collectable merch available could help a lot. Personally I love little collectable chotchkies and would be pretty stoked if a band I love like MSI released little characters of themselves designed by an artist like Tara McPherson or Jeremy Fish. That would be cool, right?  I have a toy coming out with Chris Brown and a bust with Slash this year. I would love to do something with The Apples in Stereo or The Dandy Warhols. I have a band too, The Electric Illuminati. Maybe I should listen to my own advice and do an EI toy!

4) There was a painting in SEASONS IN SUPERBIA that had a tiny little Warhol skull framed and hanging inside a doll house. There were these little white blotches across it. It's really been bugging me. Was that an accident...or am I missing your intent?

Ron: It is supposed to be reflections from lit windows in another building. Probably too confusing.

5) Assuming you have an iPod, what song has the highest play count?

Ron: The Eels' "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues".

Thanks Ron!

All photos taken at The Corey Helford Gallery by KrossD

KrossD at GALLERY 3

                                                                 Hey! That's me!

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS

5 Questions With LOU BEACH

If you don't know the name Lou Beach, shame on you. You haven't been paying attention. You probably have Lou Beach art in your home right now. Go pull out your copy of Brian Eno's Headcandy... or one of those Weather Report albums you inherited from your dad. Maybe you have some old issues of Mother Jones, or Wired in that growing stack of magazines (that you've been meaning to take to the recycling bin). Lou could be in there. Maybe you're a book hoarder like myself. Lou could be lurking on your shelves. Maybe you've kept a NY Times from the day your daughter was born. Lou might be in there. Lou Beach, much like Elvis, is everywhere! Lou Beach works. Somehow, somewhere, you have seen his work. His surreal collages, and graceful illustrative panache has touched your life whether you know it or not. His work is at turns droll, delicate, dizzying, psychic, and arcane, but never dull. He's also recently turned his hand to writing, with 420 Characters just published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt this month. If you didn't find it under your tree yesterday, go out and get it. It's a pithy collection of stories that have been whittled down to bite-size nuggets to satiate your social network attention span. I've been a fan (what a loathsome word) of Lou's since the late seventies, so I approached him for an interview with some trepidation (it's always so disheartening when these people turn out to be soul-less jackals). Breathe easy friends, he ain't one of those. The man could not have been nicer! 1) As surreal as your imagery is, everything seems to fit just right. I imagine you must use Photoshop to get the sizes correct. Can you share a little about your process, and materials? I'm especially curious about what you use as a binder. I've been playing with self-levelling gel (with mixed results).  Lou: What a mixed media question. I only use Photoshop for my editorial illustration jobs. It allows me to resize and edit quickly which is essential with many of the last minute deadlines. For my personal collage work I use Itoya O'Glue...archival, dries clear. As an editorial illustrator I am asked to solve a visual problem...to create an image that will draw the viewer in to read the story, or buy the record, or open the book. To that end I often think about the assignment before going to bed and quite often a solution will suggest itself during the limbo time between dreaming and waking. For the personal work I just play...bring images together and shift them about on the table and through some internal and mysterious logic they "click" into place and the piece sort of creates itself. There is definitely an element of chance in the process that I quite enjoy. 2) Of the vast amount of art you've created for records, books, and magazines, which are you fondest of, and are there any you regret doing? Lou: Really there are far too many in both categories to list.........I've been doing this for a very long time. I have boxes full of work that I wouldn't show because it is either  very dated or I had to conform to the wishes of the client and it didn't reflect on what I would have preferred to do. I'm proud of much of my work, though like any creative endeavor, you have peaks....it's a sine curve. 3) It seems that a bit of the well-heeled pretension inherent in "High Art" is seeping into Lowbrow, while the crude, wild abandon of Lowbrow is being seen in first tier artists (like John Currin). Do you see the line between the two schools blurring a bit? Lou:To be honest, I don't follow art too closely, it's more by chance that I'll come across work....I DO go to galleries and museums but I'm not up on trends. I don't read Art Forum or Juxtapoz. It does seem evident though that the lines have blurred and I think that's fine......as artists we are all image makers, art workers and where the products of our labors is shown is secondary to the making, in my opinion...the rest is politics. 4) A lot of "420 Characters" really reads like poetry. Almost like status updates from Bukowski. It's a lot of fun to read. Could you share one that didn't make it into the book?  Lou: Oh there are hundreds...we couldn't put everything in, and besides, I've kept writing since the book was initially put together. But here's a recent one: HE BROUGHT her over for our approval, the woman for whom he’d left his wife, children. We met her suspended between judgment and acceptance, offered her tea. She asked for vodka. Miriam hesitated; I waited for her to say that we had none. Instead she brought out a bottle from the freezer and we proceeded to drink Russian style. The next morning when they left, Miriam and I agreed that we did not care for her, or him. 5) You've been on road trips with Billy Shire. What's the most trouble you two got up to? Lou: Without a lawyer and marriage counselor present, I'm afraid I can't answer that. Frankly, Billy and I are getting a bit old for the kind of trouble that might be of interest to your readers. We saw some lovely sunsets. Thanks Lou! (He insisted I call him Lou) All photos courtesy (and copyright) of Lou Beach.

5 Questions With PAUL CHATEM

That Phineas Taylor Barnum may never have actually uttered his oft quoted maxim about suckers is somewhat fitting. He saw the potential in "branding" far ahead of the pack. He figured out a way to profit on peoples fears and depravities. The clown college that still bears his name is, by all accounts, harder to get into then Harvard. He was shrewd and brilliant. He was also a shyster and con artist, but more than anything else, he was the quintessential businessman. He rose to prominence at a time when great advancements were being made in agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation. Advancements that gave rise to new business models, and new Barnums.

I mention all this because, for me, the art of  Paul Chatem seems to reflect the era just after Barnums' death. The aftermath. The detritus, if you will. The dawn of the 20th Century. The decades when giants of industry were simultaneously propelling mankind toward incredible achievements, and gunking up the gears with unparalleled greed. Chatem's paintings depict hellish scenes rife with shady, mustachioed plutocrats, multi-faced Keystone cops, and damsels in distress.

However, these aren't merely "paintings". These are intricately designed vignettes with fully functioning gears and hand cranks. The viewer is no mere voyeur in these Carny nightmares, but becomes a willing accomplice. Chatem renders all this in beautifully aged tints and bold linework that loosely reference his most cited artistic influences (E.C. Segar,  Max Fleischer), and conceptually echo musical ones (Charlie Patton, Tom Waits).

 Although Chatem's work is immediately striking, and engaging, this ain't front-loaded stuff. This is the kind of art that sticks to you. These painting follow you home. Much like Todd Brownings "Freaks", you can't unsee these things. Paul Chatem is, hands down, one of the most compelling artists working today. Oh, and did I mention he's colorblind?!

 Naturally, I had some questions:

1) Your work is a combination of various skills (carpentry, engineering, and painting). How did this marriage of disciplines evolve?
Chatem:  "I've done whatever it took to pay the bills to get my painting career off the ground. For every job I worked, no matter how menial it was, I took that knowledge or skill I gained and and applied it to my artwork. Over the years I've worked as a carpenter, prop maker for films, scenic and mural painter, art director, ditch digger, truck driver, movie projectionist, and on and on. From all these jobs I've learned a little bit about a lot of stuff, and I try to bring it all to the table every time."

2) The paintings seem to seethe with oily businessmen who are unable to hide their innate hungers, all the while spinning their gears. Going out on a limb here, do you think the lessons of the Industrial Revolution (setting a new standard for greed and corruption, etc.) have been largely lost on us?

Chatem: "I definitely believe that most people don't think about how much the world has changed since the industrial revolution. From my perspective most of the problems we have these days has come from the greed of competition, where everyone is trying to top the next guy without thinking of the long term consequences. I love modern technology and what it has given us, but what scares me the most is how fast things have changed. Because of how technology has made our lives easier, the worlds population has gone from just over one billion people in 1900 to over six billion people just one hundred years later. We've come so far so quickly, like pulling a rubber band to its limit, eventually something is going to snap back or break."

3) I understand you're color blind, and see limited reds and greens, but the reds in your work are quite vibrant. How do you get around the color obstacle?
Chatem: "I had a lot of trouble when I first started painting, but it's gotten easier over the years. I still make mistakes, but I know color theory and I keep my paints labeled and organized. For the most part I just paint what looks good to me and don't worry about what other people see."

4) Your paintings have a wonderfully weathered, shopworn quality to them. Without giving away too many secrets, how do you achieve that aged look?
Chatem: "When I started out I had different techniques I used for various projects, eventually I started to integrate these techniques together and I came up with what I'm doing now. It's a mixture of washes, dry brushing, letting some paint dry half way then scraping it, some sanding and a little old fashioned splattering."

5) What's your favorite Tom Waits song?
Chatem: "I love it all, but my go-to song is 'Falling Down'  from the album BIG TIME. It was the first Tom Waits CD I bought and still my favorite."

Mr. Chatem is currently gearing up for his next big show at the SHOOTING GALLERY SF from April 14 to May 5, 2012.

All photos courtesy (and copyright) of Paul Chatem.