Lost in the Supermarket - Art and Consumerism
Inspired by a strange mix of
Impressionism and a song by The Clash, this set of works includes some of my
very first paintings. Originally I was interested in having a small art show to
display these, but as the years went by I lost interest in the works. To be
honest, I have had no idea what to do with these paintings. I never felt they
were worthless, more like a little lost in regard to their ultimate purpose.
The idea came to me after seeing
the Impressionist at the Musee d’Orsay. I realized that much of the artwork
they created was about the appreciation of small moments in time and
celebrations of French Culture. Upon coming back from vacation I was inspired
to paint, but I had some trouble finding subjects, so I went to the
supermarket.
At first it started out as a tongue
in cheek critic of American Culture, but it evolved from a joke to a semi-real
study. I found myself painting still lifes of the supermarket aisles. I started
to notice the colors; how they all competed for dominance and I found an odd
appreciation of canned food and cheese. In all seriousness, I found myself
appreciating the value of
being able to go to a store and have food available
to purchase.
Soon I moved on to painting
people in the stores. Most of the time I was too afraid to ask the customers
and workers to take their photos so I moved on to painting people from advertisements.
Sometimes I had a pretty good idea of what I was trying to accomplish when
painting these people. Other times I didn’t have a clear message, just some
idea I thought was goofy. The idea was to use sensuality and go over the top trying
to sell a product. The end result was pretty ridiculous seeing how I was
pulling images and phrases out of the Sunday paper and Cosmopolitan magazine.
This series taught me a good deal
about being an artist. I learned through trials and some big errors that as an
artist you have a responsibility for your work and its message. Not that all
work has to have a message, but just know what you are working with because
sometimes it can be volatile. It is going to be seen by people and you are
going to have to explain it. Be prepared to defend it and be prepared for
people not to like it. Then get over it.
Most importantly, I learned how
to put paint on a piece canvas. I’ll admit, some of these paintings I despise (mostly the ones with people in them, so like 50%),
but if I had not created them, then I wouldn’t have learned anything. You can’t
be so focused on making everything a home run. If you do you will be too afraid
to even start. It’s ok to make crappy art, it’s how you learn.
