George Carlin and sarcasm for evolution

George Carlin, an original stand up who died last Sunday had the following to say about freedom, abortion, the weather and being cynical…

“If crime fighters fight crime and firefighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight?”

“How come when it’s us it’s an abortion, and when it’s a chicken it’s an omelet?”

“Tonight’s forecast: Dark. Continued mostly dark tonight turning to widely scattered light in the morning.”

"Scratch any cynic and you’ll find a disappointed idealist"

Sometimes, the biting cynicism got him into trouble, but it should be remembered that a cynic’s weapon of choice is sarcasm and recent research has shown that sarcasm is an essential evolutionary survival skill. Or, to stretch it a bit, sarcasm was actually good for the human race…

It's also easy to imagine how sarcasm might be selected over time as evolutionarily crucial. Imagine two ancient humans running across the savannah with a hungry lion in pursuit. One guy says to the other, "Are we having fun yet?" and the other just looks blank and stops to figure out what in the world his pal meant by that remark. End of friendship, end of one guy's contribution to the future of the human gene pool.

Fast forward a few million years and the network of human relationships is wider and more complex, and just as important to survival. The corporate chairman throws out a sarcastic remark and those who "get" it laugh, smile, and gain favor. In the same way, if the chair never makes a remark, sarcastic people are making them behind his or her back, forming a clique by their mutually negative, but funny, comments. Either way, sarcasm plays a role in making and breaking alliances and friendship.

Andrew Wyeth, 'Combers', Watercolor on paper, 22" X 30"

Eventide

Friday evening was good. The children and their friends played their little game of soccer interspersed with mock fights emanating from quick bursts of cold water from water guns while our one year old practiced the art of walking. Of course, we also did not let the wine rest cozy in its bottle. Miraculously, the children found a little time to paint too.

Hari, Age 4, Watercolor on paper, 5” X 9”

Gayatri, Age 6, Watercolor on paper, 5” X 9”

Aswin, Age 9, Color pencil and graphite on paper, 6” X 6”

Marvin Franklin at the New York Transit Museum

Every once in a while an artist toils in relative obscurity only to be discovered after her/his death. After their death, the world 'finds' out more about the person and their art, launches into a 'closer reading ' of the works through exhibitions and such and suddenly finds that there is more, much more to the individual - who has since passed on. The art and life of Marvin Franklin is an example of such an unfortunate circumstance.

“Art saved my life” - Marvin Franklin (1952 - 2007)

Artist and New York City Transit track worker Marvin Franklin lost his life in the line of duty on April 29, 2007 while working the night shift as he had for twenty two years. He leaves behind a wife and three children. The artworks (drawings, prints and paintings) are set in the subway system where he spent much time as both an employee and a commuter. Most of the artworks depict homeless people. The artworks are on display until the end of March at the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn.

The artist was once homeless himself.

From the blurb accompanying the exhibition: The night shift was 11PM to 7 AM. After work he would get on the F train at Jamaica/179th Street, the end of the line in Queens, sketch book in hand, and draw his fellow passengers all the way to 57th Street in Manhattan where he went to school. For more than a decade he attended school at the Art Students League from 9AM to noon. After school he would get back on the F train and sketch some more on his way home. With twenty two years on the job, he was three years away from retirement. Then he hoped to teach art, exhibit his work to raise awareness about homelessness and sell his artwork to raise money to help people in need.

The following lines from a New York City artist in response to an article that covered Marvin Franklin’s death is instructive of the close association between art, success in the artworld and money resulting in only a select few reaching the top.

Franklin’s tragic death also highlights the polarization and inequality that has intensified over the past several decades in the art world no less than American society as a whole. In today’s highly competitive commercial art market, in addition to the time and concentration required to develop one’s craft and artistic vision, artists must invest considerable resources in promoting their work. If they are lucky enough to get an exhibit, they are often asked to pay all expenses related to advertising, delivery and installation of their artwork, which can run into hundreds, even thousands of dollars. Salaried positions for artists are rare; according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage in 2004 was only $37,000. Sixty-three percent of artists list themselves as self-employed and their income is even more precarious. An artist lucky enough to find gallery representation must give 50 percent of the proceeds to the gallery, and so even an artist who does reasonably well, and sells $50,000 worth of work per year makes only $25,000, and that is before taxes.

The distortion that such pressures exert on the type of art produced, as well as the experiences and outlook that finds expression in today’s artwork is extreme, and mostly deleterious. Very few artists like Marvin Franklin are able to develop to the fullest of their abilities or even, literally, survive under such conditions. The result is an alienation from art by broad masses of people and a general cultural impoverishment.

Drawings reproduced from sketchbooks (2004 - 2007)

Untitled, Watercolor on paper

Untitled, Watercolor on paper

Untitled, Watercolor on paper

Late Rider, etching

Subway passenger, Etching

Untitled, Reproduction

Sketchbook drawing as preparation for watercolor below

Untitled, Watercolor on paper

Self portrait, Oil on canvas

Chelsea outing on a warm January day

Yesterday was one of the warmest days in January. I decided to take a quick jaunt through some promising shows in Chelsea and here is what we have...

Stellan Holm gallery had a group exhibition of oil and acrylic paintings from international artists that were larger than life titled, well: 'Larger Than Life'. The black and white face of Emilie (picture below) painted by Martin Borowski stood out from the other paintings on display there for its attention to detail and a Chuck Close type airbrushing that must have been done to attain this level of realism. Of course, it would not have looked any different from a large scale blowup of Emilie’s face using a high definition black and white photograph, but a self same attempt in acrylic takes balls.

George Billis Gallery is showing the works of Daniel Phill. The works are primarily wild flowers done in lush acrylic. For some reason, I tend to detest flower pictures because of the repetitious and cloying sense of the subject… However, this one stood out for its artful transition between the abstract and the figurative accentuated with the help of heavy impasto. The artist is said to pour, drip, smear and scrape paints of varying viscosities (that was from the gallery statement - sounded original and clichéd for some reason)... I guess too much of abstraction is not playing too well with a lot of people... hence, a safer and a more understandable bet for potential buyers might be to look for artists who work in the middle ground of 'abstraction and realism'. I see a lot of this kind of 'middle ground' work nowadays… All said, I did like these paintings a lot…

Gallery Henoch is showing the paintings of Stephen Wright. After seeing Lucian Freud at the MoMA last week, I must say that it takes quite a bit to be awed by more paintings of white peoples’ skin and flesh, but, I must say: I was still taken in by this one. White epidermal bounty with all of its attendant frailties, garnishes and warts reveled by the harsh gaze of the studio lamp rendered in full frontal display on canvas is in abundance here. His style reminded me of academic painters for some reason – just the right tones and the workmanship on canvas…

Kent Gallery is showing works by Mike Cockrill who continues his explorations of children’s psyche as they pass the transitions between youth and adolescence. The correct lingo for that stage is now defined by the word tweens – (guess they are growing into a market segment all by themselves – otherwise why coin a new term for them?)... The works are sexually charged and aims to bring back repressed childhood memories. With the ever present danger of advertisers trying very hard to get young pre-pubescent girls (and sometimes boys) to strut their wares, it is indeed a statement that the artist is making with these paintings. The effects of innocuous indoctrination of sexual mores veiled under adverts for items of mass consumption into the younger minds doubtless will have real consequences for the future when we would live in a world governed by them. Get ready for more cultural cataclysms in our old ages. Mike Cockrill’s style was a bit sloppy but high on ideas and surrealism.


Pictures from Group exhibition at Stellan Holm

Martin Borowski, 'Emilie', 2007, Acrylic on linen, 74" X 132"

Brendan Cass, 'Dutch Landscape', 2007, Acrylic on canvas, 84" X 132"; Note: Heavy impasto. Between abstraction and the literal. Full of color, the artist is said to draw from photographs in travel brochures. Not too sure what is up with the blue gash in the middle of this huge canvas. Not very appealing, but the rest of it was lush enough for me...

Till Gerhard, 'Holle der Saison', Oil on canvas, 90" X 118"

Pictures from Daniel Phill at George Billis

Daniel Phill, ‘Banksia’, Acrylic on canvas, 41” X 61”

Daniel Phill, ‘Frisson’, Acrylic on canvas, 37” X 61”

Daniel Phill, ‘Ipomoea’, Acrylic on canvas, 61” X 49”

Pictures from Stephen Wright at Gallery Henoch

Stephen Wright, ‘Figure’, Oil on Canvas, 66” X 30”

Stephen Wright, ‘Mid-Century Modern’, Oil on Canvas, 46” X 44”

Stephen Wright, ‘Figure, Robe, Sofa’, Oil on Canvas, 66” X 44”

Pictures from Mike Cockrill at Kent

Mike Cockrill, 'The Best Pumpkin', 2006, Oil on canvas, 56" x 44"

Mike Cockrill, 'The Broken Fence', 2007, Watercolor and pencil on paper, 19" x 25"