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by Vanessa Conte
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We are surrounded by millions of images and styles on a daily basis; how do we choose which one suits us best? America's present obsession with design and the "look" of things in the midst of a national economic boom brings a new wave of art surrounding the subject of popular aesthetics. Whether contemporary artists are using repeated shapes or patterns as formal statements or as sentimental reflections, they inevitably refer to the barrage of visual material we consume on a regular basis.
Featuring the artists Tasha Depp, Margaret Clark and James Juett. |
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Tasha Depp |
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Tasha Depp's paintings combine fashionable imagery and elements of traditional realism to talk about the ideals presented in advertising. In Some Island Girls Bunch & Tie 72,000 Flowers in 1 Week, a lush poppy field is enjoyed by a happy flower-picker. The artist incorporates small paintings of floral arrangements in her picture, like the kind we might find in a Clinique perfume ad or a commercial for 1-800-FLOWERS. The work's sensationalist title adds another level of meaning, equating the flowers with hard labor. "The juxtaposition prevents any one conceptual interpretation of floral imagery from prevailing."
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Some Island Girls Bunch & Tie 72,000 Flowers in 1 Week (1989)
Tasha Depp |
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The repeated flip of long golden hair brings to mind decades of shampoo commercials and the wholesome image of American beauty. In Synthetic Blonde, Depp isolates a pattern of styled platinum locks to form an eerie abstract composition. Disembodied, the piles of hairs lose their sex appeal and take on an obsessive air.
Sign the guestbook of Tasha Depp.
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Synthetic Blonde (1991)
Tasha Depp |
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Margaret Clark |
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"I use images from the media rather than working from life because, as an American, I tend to experience the world not directly, but through the media," writes Margaret Clark, a painter who is acutely aware of her subjects and influences. This artist is both creator and product of the commercial images she paints.
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Clark makes direct comparisons between objects, personalities and landscapes from popular media and the history of decorative art. Justine and Louis XV Ormalu Candelabra equates the "glitterati" of the seductive talk-show hostess with the ornate style of the French candlestick. "The antique refers to a time past when value was placed on handmade objects. The figure, a television personality, represents what our culture values today: celebrity."
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Justine and Louis XV Ormolu Candleabra (1988)
Margaret Clark |
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Muscle succinctly captures what Clark observes about contemporary America. Rather than merely alluding to the notion of ideal beauty, the artist literally uses bold patterns to portray an image of perceived perfection. "This painting refers to how our culture evaluates physical appearance. The girl is painted with a wallpaper design to show that having a muscular body is more about surface decoration than about our health."
Sign the guestbook of Margaret Clark. |
Muscle (1986)
Margaret Clark |
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James Juett |
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James Juett celebrates the banal. A tower of Morton Salt boxes takes center stage in Archetypes, a painting created as a monument to American packaging. "With my keen appreciation for the Pop Art movement, this particular painting depicts my interest in the commercial product."
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Juett's preference for the mass-produced is a key idea to keep in mind while looking at his entire portfolio. In some works, his critique of contemporary life is not so blatant. Dettol, a work named after a brand of soap, is an exaggerated illustration of how much the media is a part of our daily routine. The title simultaneously implies the methodical aspect of washing, and jests at the boring nature of soap operas.
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Dettol (1996)
James Juett |
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Juett's witty paintings are plays on the ordinary. Dreamlike, these works are conglomerates of many images in the frame of a canvas. They disrupt our familiar reading of the polished realities that we see advertised every day.
Sign the guestbook of James Juett. |
Ever Ready (1999)
James Juett |
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