Patty and The Conundrum

An eclectic collection of mixed media  from Secret Circus Studios…

Felonious Demeanor The Art of Robert Williams

Robert L. Williams II was born on March 2, 1943 in Albuquerque, New Mexico to Robert Wandell Williams and Betty Jane Spink at 5:30 AM. At a very early age he displayed an interest in art, drawing and painting with watercolors. He was enrolled in the Stark Military Academy in the first grade. Perhaps this led to his fascination and collection of World War One German Pickelhaube later in life.
Another love instilled in Williams at an early age was car culture. Robert the elder owned “The Parkmore,” a drive-in restaurant complete with carhops and frequented by hot rodders. Williams himself received his first car, a 34 Ford 5 window coupe, at 12 years of age as a gift from his father. References to this childhood environment can be seen throughout his work as well as in the custom hot rods he would later build himself.
The Williams household was one of flux as his parents would marry each other a total of four times and Robert would shuttle between New Mexico and his father’s in Montgomery, Alabama. Their final separation would come in 1956 with 12-year-old Robert staying with his mother in Albuquerque. His youth was spent delinquently and immersed in hot rods, high jinx, and gangs, which lead to his expulsion from public school in the 9th grade.
In an attempt to avoid jail and delinquent destruction, Williams headed to L.A in 1963. Floating on the allure of hot rod culture and affordable art school he landed in classes at Los Angeles City College and worked on the school paper, “The Collegiate”, contributing artwork. It was here he also met his future wife, Suzanne Chorna.
Williams moved on to a short stint at The Chouinard Art Institute where he was branded an “illustrator” in a derogatory fashion. Now married, Williams fled the Art School Tyranny and headed into the professional sector in search of work. Trying to find his niche, Williams designed containers for the Weyehaeuser Corporation and art design for Black Belt magazine before finding his dream job in 1965 in the far out figure of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth and his Rat Fink.
In the late 1960s, while doing advertisements and graphics for Roth, Williams was also a productive oil painter. It was during this period that he was creating his “Super Cartoon” paintings. Including “Appetite For Destruction” and “In The Land Of Retinal Delights” these paintings were meticulously created in the style of the Old Masters including hand-made paints and multiple layers of varnish. These works sold well but were very time consuming to produce, sometimes taking over a year to complete. Many of these paintings were owned by Williams’ patron, James Bruckner Jr., and were on permanent display at the Movie World Cars of the Stars Museum.[3]
As Roth’s studio came to a close Williams joined the ZAP Comix collective of artists and flourished in the non-conformist, anti-establishment movement with fellow malcontents R. Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, Spain Rodriguez, Rick Griffin, Gilbert Shelton, and Victor Moscoso. In 1969 he created his seminal Underground Comix anti-hero, Coochy Cooty. His creation was unleashed in 1970 in Coochy Cooty Men’s Comics and ZAP Comix #5 and is still alive today in Williams’ oil paintings.[3]
Many of these comix and “Super Cartoon” paintings were included in Williams’s first ground breaking book, “The Lowbrow Art of Robt. Williams” released in 1979. The title of the book was meant as a statement on the current “Highbrow” tone of the art world and how Williams’ work did not fit in with its ideologies.
In the 1980s Williams caught the frenzied vibe of the punk rock movement and found his next audience. The “Zombie Mystery Paintings” were born in the glow of after-hours clubs and slam pits. The book of the same name influenced and inspired a multitude of artists with the energetic, vibrant, sexy, and ultra-violent images it contained which were in complete contrast to the uptight and exclusive art scene of the day. These works were done quickly, on a rough canvas, and sold via a waiting list system due to demand. In addition to the books, popularity for Williams’ work was established in avant-garde galleries like Billy Shire’s La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Zero One Gallery, and the Tamara Bane Gallery.[3]
Visual Addiction was Williams next book of paintings. The works in this tome were rendered more tightly and began to contain detailed background elements and vignettes. This book also contained Williams’ “Rubberneck Manifesto” that claimed:
“Something dead in the street commands more measured units of visual investigation than 100 Mona Lisas!”
Williams released several more books as his work progressed in style, size, and content. His paintings have moved from the realms of zombie sex to quantum mechanics and command sold out shows on both coasts as well as a demand around the world. He has influenced generations of artists and has given them a voice through publications that feature Underground/Lowbrow works of art like ART? Alternatives in 1992, and later, JUXTAPOZ. Williams has also participated with other artists in such ventures as “The Art Boys” which included such notable members as Gary Panter, Matt Groening, The PIZZ, Mike Kelley, Neon Park, and Mark Mothersbaugh.[4][5][6] Other known collectors and contemporaries include Nicolas Cage, Timothy Leary, Debbie Harry, Anthony Kiedis, Von Dutch, Artie Shaw, Stanislav Szukalski, Ed Ruscha, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
The antics of Coochy Cooty and paintings like “Oscar Wilde In Leadville” and “Appetite for Destruction”, which was featured as the cover for the Guns N’ Roses album of the same name, before controversy forced record company Geffen Records to move it to the inside sleeve, have raised many an eyebrow. Here is his response from a 1992 interview:
“I do not believe that my representation of females aids in their oppression. It is my artistic right to render the images of woman as my imagination sees fit. Remember, I will gladly accept the title “Bad Person” to continue my expression. In other words, nothing short of death will stop me from painting nekkid ladies…”[7]
Of his paintings, Williams states:
“My paintings are not designed to entertain you, they are meant to trap you, to hold you before them while you try to rationalize what elements of the picture are making you stand there.”[8]
Of the moniker Lowbrow Williams steadfastly denies that the term was ever meant to define the movement, but was merely used in the title of his first collection.
“There was never any intention to make the title of my book the name of a fledging art movement but, over time, that seems to be what has transpired.”[9]
Williams began the magazine “JUXTAPOZ” in 1994 which propelled to fame many new artists and rose to become one of the highest circulated art magazines. 1997 saw the release of the to-date retrospective “Malicious Resplendence” as well as a one-man show at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New York. Two more Shafrazi shows followed in 2000 and 2003. These works were published in “Through Prehensile Eyes” in 2005. 2007 saw Williams as a featured interviewee in the movies “Independents” and “The Treasures of Long Gone John” as well as a collaboration with Vans for their Vans Vault limited edition sneakers line. The popularity of the shoes would lead to more collaborations including hand painted sneakers. In his 2008 lecture at the Oakland Museum of California, Williams states:
“The Art movement I go by is Conceptual Realism.”[10][11]
Williams had several pieces in the accompanying “L.A Paint” exhibition.
His next one-man show was in 2009 once again at the Shafrazi Gallery titled “Conceptual Realism: In the Service of the Hypothetical” and a catalog of the same name was released. This exhibition moved to California State University, Northridge in 2010 where Williams delivered a tour of the work,[12] and a lecture[13] defining his art movement, Conceptual Realism. 2010 also kept Williams busy with his inclusion in the Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York as well as the release of a feature length documentary on the artist. “Robert Williams Mr Bitchin’” premiered on Jun 16 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to a full house and standing ovations.[14] The film was produced by Rhino Films and Foundation Films and documents Williams’ rise to fame from his car culture and underground comics roots. On October 9, 2010 Williams was awarded a lifetime achievement award as part of the Beyond Eden Fair in Hollywood California.[15]
Williams lives in the San Fernando Valley in California with his wife Suzanne who is a professional artist in her own right.

11th Annual Halloween Art Show !!!

On the Wall @ joeyg’s- The 11th Annual Halloween Art Show. Works by artists Mary Jo O’Connor, Amy Vaughn, Eric Phagan, Chet Wells, Melodie Y. Ramey, beejay elles, Patty Cooper Wells, The Grand Conundrum, Kristen Croxton, Lou Knoble, Geoffrey Crowe,Teresa Waller, Victoria Cuffel, Paul Hassfurder and Cindie Underwood-Vanderbur. 

Works will remain on display thru November 1st.
Click on image for more info 

Extraordinary photography… Imagination… Real film!

Searching for Eternity: Paintings by Lou Knoble

“In my paintings you will find five little squares in succession hidden among the painted images. They have become a fixture in my paintings and now verify that the painting is indeed “a Knoble.” When I started seriously painting in my senior year of college, I was an abstract expressionist, a student and product of the 50”s. My instructor was Peter Busa, close friend and compatriot of Jackson Pollack. Life has been exciting and I find that the only dull moments are the ones you create yourself.”

Lou Knoble was born in Buffalo, served four years in the Air Force during the Korean War era, came to Madison, Indiana in 1964 to accept a position as art department head at Madison Consolidated Schools, and coached track and cross-country for over 40 years

Seen Abstractly: A Group of Pictures by Victoria Cuffel

Victoria Cuffel graduated from Butler University, Indianapolis, MA and Ph.D associate from Indiana University, Bloomington. She also studied art in Chicago at the American Academy of Art. She lived in Chicago for some time then returned to Indiana and taught for IUPUI, Fort Wayne and Indiana University in Bloomington where she was the editor for the Center on Global Change and World Peace. She worked at the Brown County Art Gallery for a time and studied with Fred Rigley.

Always extremely allergic to the materials used in oil painting,  she gradually stopped painting altogether. While living in Philadelphia during 2008 she resumed painting using acrylics, a medium she is still getting used to.

“Since I was trying something new in what I was painting with, I decided to do something new (for me) with what I was painting, so I have focused on exploring types of abstraction–mostly triangles and squares so far!” ,says Victoria.

Many of Victoria’s abstractions have a theme or tell a story. One can find simplified symbols and objects hidden within the triangles and squares. Here she is pictured with her painting “Twin Towers: 9/11″.

Photography through the lens of Marilyn Lewellyn

About Me…

I love life and all the simple, hidden objects of beauty that comprise it…

As far back as my memories take me I have always marveled at the beauty of nature and objects. I found myself then, as I still do today, focusing on the shapes and forms within everything around me. I became fascinated by the hidden beauty in the details unnoticed by most but visible to all.

Art has always energized and inspired me. At a very young age I began drawing, which naturally evolved into painting, crafting, sculpting, and graphic design, all of which led me to an exploding passion for photography. It is in photography that I have found the most effective medium to capture those elements that have fascinated me my entire life.

As a photographer, I wish to share my visions of beauty, those hidden elements that might otherwise be overlooked, and the excitement of discovery with you, my audience. It is my hope that you might see something in my work that will evoke a childhood memory, a feeling of contentment, perhaps a subtle reminder of heartache but mostly, the simple promise of love.

Artist Reception Saturday May 14th 1-4PM…

Enjoy!

Paintings By Travis Owens

Ever since i was a child i’ve been able to draw,but it was not until about three years ago that i started painting.

Trial Collection: Photographs & Mixed Media Work by Kenton Bradley

Madison native, Kenton Bradley, found his niche in producing imagery at MCHS, constantly photographing and creating layouts that only intensified his thirst for creation. This eventually led Kenton to Indiana State University where he spent a semester abroad in Italy studying fresco painting and photography at the University of Macarata, and back to the states where he obtained a Bachelors degree in Photography.

Kenton, now an Indianapolis resident, has displayed his works around Terre Haute and Indianapolis, Indiana and Bellingham, Washington. The pieces of his work that gained notoriety spawned a movement in Terre Haute called “Multism”, where artwork has to be produced out of any found object, any artistic media, and has to contain multiple recycled items. At this time Kenton had a solo show at the Bare-Montgomery Art Gallery atIndiana State University, where a distinguished member of the faculty gave the movement a fitting nickname of the “trash can school of art” due to Kentons dumpster diving and foraging for materials.

Kenton is currently a freelance photographer & a graphic designer for Etching Industries in Indianapolis. Kenton is also continually producing photographs with his Holga camera and his Pentax ist-D, and working on creating artwork with the simple message of being “green”. A consistent theme arises throughout Kentons works: Frugality, repurposing material, and the a surreal and sometimes abstracted view of the world around us.

If you would like to purchase any piece of artwork, please contact Kenton directly at kentonb@gmail.com include the Title of the Piece you would like to purchase and a shipping address.

“On the Wall” The 11th Annual Halloween Art Show

Works by Lou Knoble, Cindie Underwood Vanderbur,

Patty Cooper Wells, Jenna Watkins,

The Grand Conundrum, Melodie Ramey & Amy Vaughn

on display thru November 11th.