Salvador Dali: Perennial Surrealism

Dali was well-known for his flamboyant mustache as depicted by El Bigote by Franky Agostino.  Prints of this piece is available at Thumbprint Gallery in La Jolla.

Written by Jocelyn Saucedo

Born in Figueres, Spain in 1904, Salvador Dali grew up to be one of the most famous and beloved artists of all time. Often recognized by many through his distorted clocks, he has become synonymous with the surrealism art movement, as well as his beginnings in Dada.

The Persistence of Memory, arguably Dali's most famous work, sealed him as a leader in the surrealism movement. Through the years, his style and mediums developed and changed as he ventured out of surrealism art and into themes concerning religion, science, and history, resulting in his “classical period.”

Although already well known in Europe in the 1920’s, showing a few of his paintings at the Carnegie International Exhibition in Pittsburgh launched him into the international scene. What may have also attributed to his worldwide fame is his move from Europe to the United States in the 1940’s, which gained him an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His European exhibits often featured many of his contemporaries, such as Andre Breton, who is considered the father of surrealism.

Hamseh by Jimmy Ovadia, Thumbprint Gallery artist, who was greatly influenced by Dali.

Aside from Europe, the Salvador Dali Museum in Florida currently contains the largest collection of his work. The second location where his work is mainly located is Dali’s Theatre-Museum, which he built in Figueres. The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida makes his work accessible to the North American public without the need to travel abroad. These two Salvador Dali museums are probably the most well-known of all the Dali museums.

Dali passed away in his hometown in 1989, but his legacy has remained through the century and is embodied in the various Salvador Dali museums. His limitless approach to art immersed him in many mediums, even including film, exposed him to many fields and to many people who grew to love his work.

Thumbprint Gallery often features artists who are greatly influenced by surrealism in their work, which demonstrates how Dali and other surrealist artists from many decades ago continue to be relevant in contemporary art. Artists such as Franky Agostino, Jimmy Ovadia, and Scott Saw keep the surrealists alive through their own work. Also a Spaniard, Agostino notes his fascination with surrealism art and the Spanish art culture, undoubtedly shaped by Dali. Ovadia in turn describes the effects of surrealism on his own art as “the mind through twists and turns perceived through levels of consciousness and mysticism.”

Source:

http://thedali.org/history/biography.html

David Choe: Comics, Prison and Salvation

David Choe started making art in the streets of Los Angeles
-- Photographed by Ken Wood

Written by Lucy Coker

Impulsive and provocative, David Choe is one of the most celebrated graffiti and street artists working in the Los Angeles art scene. His work, which he defines as ‘dirty style,’ is vibrant, shocking and reckless, combined with his fascinating life, every urban art gallery in Los Angeles now seeks after his work.

Slow Jams

Born in Korea town, L.A., David Choe was always surrounded by urban and street art. From an early age Choe’s desire to create just poured out on to whatever medium was at hand. As a child his nose bleeds that dripped onto his sketchpad would be incorporated into his work; the Xerox machine was his first publisher; park benches were a blank canvas for graffiti.

After dropping out of art school, Choe’s work first entered the public sphere through the self-published graphic novel, Slow Jams. Choe hitchhiked across the country scattering copies, giving them to bums on the street and hiding them in public toilets. The only way to get your hands on the work was to find one on the street. The comic’s success saved him from suicide, and opened opportunities in the commercial and graphic design industry. Soon enough Choe had sufficient money to concentrate solely on his own work and began creating murals and paintings.

Tokyo and Dirty Hands

In 2003, Choe travelled to Tokyo and, due to a violent misunderstanding with a security guard, was put in Jail for 3 months. During his time in prison he suffered mentally and with no access to art materials he created over 300 drawings with scraps of paper, a single pen shared with other cellmates, blood, urine and anything else he could get his hands on. (Choe is never allowed back to Tokyo, yet has managed to exhibit through Upper Playground in 2010)

Prison gave Choe a wake up call. On leaving he returned to the Los Angeles art scene a Christian. His art had become a way to release all his ‘dirty’ thoughts as stated in Juxtapoz, “ I feel like my art is disgusting and sick, and I feel like everyone has that evil disgusting creature inside them, I just want to get it out. It’s almost like an exorcism for me.”

From here on Choe’s work began to be successful in the Los Angles urban art galleries. In addition, the release of the documentary “Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe,” in 2008, created by his childhood friend, premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2008.

Los Angeles Urban Art Gallery

Today David Choe’s work is greatly sought after in the Los Angeles art galleries. A plethora of celebrities frequently fill his urban art gallery in Los Angeles, despite Choe’s frequent absence due to a hectic schedule contributing to urban art. He has now exhibited in art galleries all over the world and he has work on display in both the White House and was commissioned to do a graffiti mural at Facebook Headquarters.

Californian artists at Thumbprint Gallery, a prominent urban and street art gallery in San Diego, have been inspired by the life and work of David Choe. Thumbprint Gallery exhibits work from local urban artists, many of which, like Choe, and have not followed the conventional path to becoming an urban artist.

Sources

“The Redemption of David Choe” by Matthew Newton published in Juxtapoz

How the Human Brain Looks at Art (Part 1): The Law of Peak Shift

"Aerosol Abduction" by Grandlarsen

How does the human brain decipher art?  Renowned neurologist, Vilayanur S. Ramachandran claims to have the answer.  Ramachandran has developed a set of “Universal Laws of Art,” which attempts to explain what role evolution and survival instincts play in how the human brain deciphers art. 

Art and Survival

Humans use their visual abilities to detect what they need to be aware of for survival.  However, they only use a certain amount of mental attention on the most important elements of their physical surroundings.  This is the basis of Ramachandran’s first law, “peak shift.”  Due to evolutionary developments of the human brain meant for survival,  human beings find it stimulating when an artist depicts distorted or exaggerated features of a subject matter.

For example, when eating a steak, a person will use most of his or her mental attention on the important elements needed to accomplish the task.  These elements include the steak, fork, and knife.  If the person put equal visual attention to everything in the environment, eating the steak would be difficult.  The steak, fork, and knife would blend into the environment.  The person would have difficulty discerning the difference between the table, floor, dish, napkin, knife, fork, and steak.  The person may even try to eat the napkin or the fork. 

Peak Shift and Representational Art

Many artists use peak shift in their representational work by only depicting essential elements necessary to decipher subject matter.  For example, most stencil artists, such as Banksy and Shepard Fairey only use a silhouette of the subject matter.  In Faiery’s “Obey Giant” only the essential elements of eyes, nose, mouth, and hair are represented through contrast with background color.  The fine details of the skin texture and color are absent.  This technique is effective because it allows quick comprehension of subject matter without having to decipher extraneous information.  This also makes stencils especially effective street art tools.  

Multi-Layered Stencil Art

Some stencil artists have taken the medium to another level by using multi-layered stencils, which add more detail to the depiction.  Some of these artists include San Diego artists Keemo and Grandlarsen.  These artists have been featured in various Thumbprint Gallery exhibitions and have created stencil art using as many as ten layers.  However, due to the stencil medium’s limitations, only so much detail can be added.  Therefore, Ramachandran’s law of peak shift is still in play no matter how many stencil layers are used. 

To a certain extent, all styles of representational art are limited in capacity to depict detail.  Therefore, all styles of representational art use Ramachandran’s peak shift law to a certain degree.  Neither the most sophisticated camera nor the most skilled artist could replace “real” life. 


Part 2 coming soon.

Sources

A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness by V.S. Ramachandran, published in 2004. 

Spray Paint: From Industrial Tool to Fine Art Medium

Since the New York graffiti movement of the 1970s and the rise of Jean-Michel Basquiat in the 1980s, spray paint has become widely accepted in the art world.  However, spray paint was first invented as a commercial and industrial tool.  The first uses of spray paint have been traced back to the 1920s and possibly earlier. 

Bombing with Aerosol

The first portable spray paint can was shaped like a 19^th century fuse bomb, which earned it the name “aerosol bomb.”  The body of the can was made of heavy-gauge steel.  Known as the “ZACO can,” the first spray paint emitted a foul-smelling oil.  Unlike the spray paint cans of today, the nozzle was turned on and off by screwing a brass knob clockwise or counterclockwise. 

World War II and Aerosol

World War II not only shifted the international power structure, but it also furthered the advancement of aerosol technology.  American troops were falling ill to Malaria and other insect-borne diseases.  In response the government created a push-button spray can, which was used as an aerosol insecticide. 

Aerosol in the Domestic Realm: The Rise of Krylon

The push-button spray can was eventually used in the domestic realm for pesticides, car wax, household deodorizers, and various other products.  In 1947, Krylon began using the push-button spray can for a clear acrylic spray fixture that was used to protect artwork and print advertisements.   Krylon eventually became the leading innovator in the aerosol industry.  In 1952, Krylon adopted a lightweight, two-piece aerosol can with no side seam and no top seam.  This design, adopted from Crown Holdings Inc., became known as the modern day push-button aerosol can.  

Spray Paint in Fine Art

Today people not only use spray paint for commercial and industrial uses, but also for artistic endeavors.  Spray paint is now a popular medium for not only street artists, but also artists found in contemporary fine art galleries. 

"Heavy Vapors" by Miguel Godoy

Thumbprint Gallery has featured several artists who frequently use spray paint, including Eric Wixon, Monique Jenkins, Grandlarsen, Keemo, Isaias Crow and Maxx Moses.  Interestingly, Miguel Godoy’s upcoming solo exhibition at Thumbprint Gallery is based upon the actual medium.  The opening reception of the show, titled “Venomous Revelations Through AeroSoul Vapors,” will be held on February 4 from 6pm to 10pm.  

Source:

“History of Spray Paint” by Ian Sattler and Darrell and Ben Chapnick, published in Swindle Magazine.  

The Two Faces of Surrealism: Illusionism and Automatism

The Surrealist movement began in the late 1920s and early 1930s as a literary movement.  Surrealism was unified under several underlying themes.  These included the importance of dreams, free association and juxtaposition, and emphasis on the illogical.  Eventually, visual artists began to employ the Surrealist philosophy and motif.  The Surrealist art movement consisted of two different methods, Illusionism and Automatism.

Art by Franky Agostino

Illusionism

Illusionism attempted to create dreamlike paintings that used aspects of realism in an attempt to recreate the pseudo-realistic quality of dreams.  Illusionism usually incorporated aspects of realism, such as anatomy and still life. However, anatomy and body parts were usually exaggerated and morphed.  Many times limbs and appendages were elongated.  Bodies seemed to melt into other planes of existence, while seemingly unrelated objects would be juxtaposed.  Artists commonly placed in this branch of Surrealism include, Salvador Dali and Yves Tanguy. 

Thumbprint Gallery artists, Franky Agostino, Jimmy Ovadia, and David Joseph Gough may also be placed in this style of Surrealism, due to their use of anatomy and other elements of realism.  Agostino and Ovadia were Thumbprint Gallery’s featured artists in December 2010.  Agostino names Dali as one of his main influences.  Gough was featured in Thumbprint Gallery during March 2010. These three artists are examples of Illusionism’s influence on the contemporary art world.

Automatism

Automatism was created directly from automatic writing, which was a staple technique of the Surrealist literary movement.  In automatic writing, the author writes whatever comes to mind no matter how absurd. Words were juxtaposed without any logical connections, which inspired Illusionism’s free association of seemingly unrelated objects.  However, unlike Illusionism, Automatism ignored realism’s influences and instead drew more from expressionism and abstract expressionism.  Some well-known automatist artists were Joan Miro and Andre Masson.

Surrealism Today

Surrealism’s influence on the art world has been profound, with many contemporary artists incorporating the movement’s ideas and techniques.  Thumbprint Gallery has showcased various examples of contemporary Surrealism, such as Agostino, Ovadia, and Gough.  In Thumbprint Gallery’s upcoming show, “Volition Era,” San Diego artist Jordan Josafat will be putting his own spin on the surrealist motif.   The exhibition is set to start on February 12 and will run through March 6 at Thumbprint Gallery in North Park.   

Sources

Understanding Art by Lois Fichner-Rathus, published in 1998.

San Diego Artist Eric Wixon: An Interview

His artwork can be found in venues and cafes all over North Park and San Diego.  Check out Thumbprint Gallery's interview with Eric Wixon. 

Click here.

Acamonchi vs. Surge 2010

Two of San Diego's most well known street artists, Surge and Acamonchi, will be showing at Thumbprint Gallery in North Park on August 14.  Reception starts at 6pm and goes until 10pm.  Free wine and appetizers.  No cover.  Check out more info by clicking here.