Seeing is Believing

I first discovered René Hugo Arceo’s El Poeta while browsing Etsy and finding The Serie Project’s shop. I marked it as a favorite, knowing I would soon return to make the purchase when financial circumstances permitted. Soon, however, turned into many months—not necessarily due to a lack of funds but simply because I forgot about it. Eventually I rediscovered El Poeta (scrolling through my “Favorites” one day) and finally bought the limited-edition print, which is now framed and hanging in my library.

Originally from Michoacán, Mexico, René Arceo’s body of work is remarkably diverse, spanning a broad spectrum of styles, subject matter, and media—from a whimsical figure with colorful acrylics on paper to an abstract watercolor on canvas. But this Chicago-based artist makes the most memorable impression through printmaking. In his brilliant linocut prints, Arceo blends hints of surrealism with various influences—from his Mexican roots to the students he teaches at Chicago public schools—to form his distinct brand of contemporary folk art.

With El Poeta, Arceo celebrates the importance of the poet and honors the power of the pen. As a writer, the subject of the work immediately resonated with me, and the bright, vibrant colors and fantastical scene only enhanced its appeal. As the Etsy description states,

El Poeta is a fantastic figure; he is a creator deep in thought and surrounded by his muses and characters he can bring to life with the power of his words. Like a plant, the poet is a vivid green and through him there is potential for growth, hope and new life….As an artist, Arceo feels a kinship with the poet, who also has the power to create worlds.

El Poeta is part of Serie XV, 2007-2008, celebrating The Serie Project’s 15th anniversary. Based in Austin, Tex., The Serie Project is a Latino-oriented nonprofit program dedicated to producing and promoting fine art serigraphs. Each limited-edition print (50 in this case of El Poeta) is a unique creation, not simply the result of reproducing a painting in large quantities. Thanks to serigraph printmaking, more people can enjoy original artwork at more reasonable prices. As Arceo puts it, “multiplicity can contribute to reaching larger audiences while subsequently making the artwork affordable or more accessible.” Amen to that, I say, as I attempt to summon the muse, staring no longer at a blank wall but El Poeta—a regular reminder of the power of the written word, of art.

On my first exploration of the Telfair Art Fair this past November, I had no expectations to leave with any art in hand. Well, to be honest, I had no expectations at all. So I wandered through the tented maze that overtook Telfair Square that sunny Saturday in Savannah, ducking in and out of the numerous nooks occupied by artists from all areas of the country (though Savannah and other parts of the Southeast seemed most prominent).

Eventually, I found myself transfixed by the delightfully disturbing work of Victoria Sexton. Despite the early onset of sensory overload in the midst of a somewhat hectic affair, her Burtonesque clay sculptures called out for attention. Each of the dozen or so thought-provoking pieces on display required rumination. As a writer, both Deadline (pictured below) and Mental Block possessed a disarmingly poetic appeal. In the end, I chose the lesser of two evils: As much as I detest a deadline—that “black bird” teasingly hovering about your head no matter how many times you try to shoo it away—it’s much easier to ignore than a mental block is to overcome. Prominently displayed in my apartment, Deadline now alternates, depending on when I cross its path, as a practical reminder, an inspirational catalyst and an agent of angst.

Non-Profit, Quarterly Arts Journal Launches in Savannah

One of the great things about Savannah—this big small town (or, depending on your perspective, small big city) on the Georgia coast that I’ve called home for 20 months—is its robust, ever-expanding arts scene, generating a palpable creative energy suitable for invoking the muse.

Despite this burgeoning arts community, and even with a fairly respectable assortment of local print publications, Savannah lacked an “offline” magazine dedicated solely and specifically to this community, its creative creatures and their admirers. I, for one, thought it obvious that such an arts journal could not only survive but thrive here. Luckily, I wasn’t alone. Read more…

In an effort to showcase the work of more artists, The Madness of Art is pleased to announce the start of a new feature: Exhibit A.

Each post in this ongoing series will feature a single piece from a visual artist, along with a bit of information about the artist, including where to view and buy his or her work. Obviously, the criteria I will use to make selections are subjective: An artist whose work I have discovered—perhaps locally here in Savannah, throughout my travels or somewhere on the Web—and find appealing and compelling, in such a way that speaks to me, qualifies. I certainly welcome suggestions of artists you think warrant inclusion in Exhibit A (send a message, with “Exhibit A” in the subject line, that includes the artist’s name and Web site).

During these tough economic times, artists and galleries need more support than ever. The intention of this feature is to shine a light on some interesting (and, most likely, unheralded) artists who might benefit from the attention.

To access Exhibit A, click on the button located between “Connect” and “Listen Up!” in the far right sidebar.

The long-awaited Spike Jonze-directed Where the Wild Things Are arrived in theaters on Friday, and the film—based on the beloved 1963 book by author and illustrator Maurice Sendak—topped the domestic box office over the weekend, grossing an estimated $32.5 million from 3,735 theaters, according to Variety.

Just like the classic children’s book, which won Sendak the Caldecott Medal, the PG-rated movie’s appeal extends far beyond contemporaries of its main character: those over the age of 18 comprised 43 percent of the audience this weekend, while families accounted for a mere 27 percent. While I’ve yet to see Where the Wild Things Are, it will likely get me to a movie theater for the first time in about two years. (So there’s no misunderstanding, I love movies and watch a lot of them, but I simply prefer to do so from the comfort of my couch with conveniences of home, i.e., wine.)

Obviously, Where the Wild Things Are is one of the hottest topics on the Web in recent weeks. More importantly, the book and the movie both seem to inspire creativity, awakening that sense of pure imagination that resides within all of us.

So, The Madness of Art offers this roundup of all things wild. Read more…

A Conversation With Marcelo Daldoce,
Celebrating Women, Wine and Words on Canvas

For Marcelo Daldoce, a mostly self-taught artist from São Paulo, Brazil, the maxim “bigger is better” definitely applies.

His preference for large-scale paintings (mostly on 98-inch-tall-by-49-inch-wide canvases) has resulted in a series of simultaneoulsy imposing and enchanting nude female portraits. Size, in this case, matters. But it’s not just size that will have you gawking. His unique style—influenced by such disparate artists as John Singer Sargent and Jackson Pollock, shaped also by his own experience as an illustrator—yields lively, seemingly three-dimensional celebrations of the female form, accentuating the sensual, hinting at the erotic. His paintings, many of which are inspired by his girlfriend (and muse) Ali, combine realistic-yet-idealized lines and figures with playful splatters of paint, fluid brushstrokes and vibrant-yet-soft fanciful colors. 

Daldoce’s portraitures evoke the essence of vintage pin-up artwork and echo elements of pop art. The latter impression can be attributed to the artist’s recurrent employment of words, as characters in their own right, in much of his work—perhaps the most visible way in which his “day job” influences his paintings. And Daldoce’s mastery of typography is immediately evident and unfailingly effective, his integration of words and phrases—sometimes nonsensical, others meaningful—always create another layer of suggestiveness, along with adding a distinctive stamp, to his portraits.

And while Daldoce is certainly adept with either watercolors or acrylics on his brush, it is another more unconventional medium that sets him apart, and what first brought him to my attention. Daldoce paints with wine. Yes, wine! He’s completed a series featuring his iconic female portraits using a variety of varietals—a different type of wine, from Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon to Chardonny (though he seems to prefer reds, and I couldn’t agree more), for each one. He also painted the portraits of four famous Brazilian sommeliers using wine to accompany an article in one of the country’s largest newspapers, Folha de São Paulo. Daldoce has also recently embarked on a new series of wine paintings. While the technique is unique, it is the amazing outcome that make his wine paintings noteworthy. Here’s the YouTube video that alerted me to this virtuoso (Bukowski would be proud, as long as a majority of the wine was consumed by the painter and not the painting, and Daldoce assured me that was indeed the case):

Marcelo Daldoce, who held a solo exhibition in a New York gallery in 2007 and one in Brazil the following year, is currently preparing for a show of his wine work in July. On the threshold of a major breakthrough, the 29-year-old artist recently took time to discuss the roots of his creativity, the inspiration for his ingenious work, his process and style, the struggles of balancing the demands of his job and his desire to paint, his ambition to improve, and much more with The Madness of Art. Read more…

Once Destined for Dump, Street and Traffic Signs
in Disrepair Upcycled by Savannah Artists

What do you think of when you see a stop sign? Stop, of course. What runs through your mind when you pass a speed limit sign? I better slow down. Such signs are intended to force instinctive reaction, with little or no conscious thought. Beyond the instructions they provide us as drivers, street and traffic signs are not exactly fodder for much musing. Unless you’re Miriam and Jacob Hodesh. Read more…

The Dead, in an innovative spin on the concert souvenir, have partnered with on-demand publisher Blurb to offer custom, collectible photography books for each show during the band’s current 2009 tour. Read more…

New Site Features Video Content
Produced By Various Arts Institutions

ArtBabble, a new site that went public this week, could very well become an online mecca for those interested in the visual arts. At least that’s what its creator, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, would like to see happen, as would its various partners—institutions ranging from The New York Public Library to MoMA and Art21.

Read more…

Musicians, Visual Artists Collaborate
to Offer Peek at Creative Process

Earlier this month at the opening of its “Seeing Sounds” installation at Gallery S.P.A.C.E. in Savannah, the Creative Force Artist Collective—a newly formed group of about 20 diverse local artists—pulled back the curtain on the seldom-seen creative process, revealing what is for many a mysterious enterprise. Read more…