Humor In Art

To be in the throes of inspiration is a wonderful thing.  My heart races, my mind steam-lines, my mood is elevated - how exciting to know that the well has indeed not dried up.  Having lived a life in the arts for over 25 years, I have occasionally wondered if inspiration would always be a constant companion.  Sometimes, like a lot of artists, I think that the best may have come and gone.  I get tired, discouraged - and the doubts creep in.  No stack of books, trips to museums, or bottles of wine seem to charm the muse to come out of hiding.  Then — when I least expect it — an idea!

Stay tuned — photos to follow — the progress from thought to fruition!!   Elaine Brewer-White

I have been aware for a long time of the laws governing copyright and imagery for artists. When artists create a work involving an image of a known person, they trade on that person’s notoriety.  Generally speaking, an artist is allowed to create one original work with this kind of subject matter and it falls under the description of ‘Artistic Interpretation’.  Any other subsequent copies, etc…makes the artist liable if the subject of their artwork disapproves.  Years ago, one of my galleries featured works by a print maker who had created a series on Wayne Gretsky.  Someone from Mr. Gretsky’s camp happened to see the show, and the next day the gallery was served with a ’seize and desist’ order.  Either the artist took the work down immediately, or handed over a hefty percentage of salesto Mr. Gretsky for using his image.   My husband has been in the entertainment business for his entire working life, and also feels guarded when it comes to having his picture taken while at work (he’s done all kinds of performing - TV, movies, stage, and is currently he is working as a clown for Cirque du Soleil).  I get this.  For some people - their image represents a large part of their livelihood.  What I don’t get — is the other side of the copyright issue for artists.  For example, where I live, the Olympic Committee has just sent out a public notice to all artists about what they can and cannot include in their art when the 2010 Winter Olympics are in town.   Really?  Since art is a fundamental form of expression is a democratic society, I find it odd that this outside body has so much power and control to dictate how local artists can express themselves in their own community.   A while ago, when the Olympics was first announced in Vancouver, it gave me the inspiration to create a few pieces about everyday atheletes, you know…the guys who never make it to this competition.  The piece featured here, and another are currently on display at the Vancouver International Airport.  The airport authorities were pleased to show these works once it was determined that they had passed all the guidelines - the same ones set out by the Olympic committee… not allowed:  the word ’Olympics’, the ‘rings’, etc… Really ??  Apparently, no one but the Olympic organization can apparently benefit from these ancient notions of community and competition.  What a shame…  REALLY!!! 

** (The word REALLY is in the Websters English Dictionary and is not owned by a multi corp… but the usage is a homage to the great SNL news!!  REALLY!!!)

Close-up of subject

Mr. Finnegan reposes. ceramic sculpture portrait, 2009.

What’s the purpose of art?  To decorate?  To inform? To give meaning?  Sometimes all three.  This artwork was commissioned as a way of honoring and remembering a great dog. This client came brought in her beloved dog, Mr. Finnegan on the day the commission was initiated.  Mr. Finnegan was ailing, and his owners had informed me he did not have much time left.  Since he had been brought into the studio,  I thought it would be great if we could get an imprint of his paw,  I was sure I could incorporate it somehow into the piece.  The client took home a few small slabs of clay, and the next day brought back the imprints, along with some sad news that Mr. Finnegan had passed away during the night.  This imprint became a pillow in the piece, and gave even more meaning to a loving companion who brought so much love and light to his owners.

In the 18th and 19th century, it was common to have yourself immortalized by a portrait painter, and hailing back several millennia before that, the most important figures in history were immortalized in stone sculptures.  It’s important to have a lasting memory of preserved in time, and portraits and portrait sculptures are an excellent method to accomplish this.  Painters can capture all the unique details of color in your face, and create a portrait of how you would like to be remembered.  Portrait sculptors create a three dimensional model that makes a great centerpiece for a room.

It’s also common to be immortalized with your pets, or even have your favorite pets modeled as a portrait or sculpture.  Hundreds of years ago portrait painting and sculpting was reserved for the wealthy, but now, it’s affordable on almost any budget.  Just think about how you want to be remembered.

Reacting to color is an unconscious reaction for human beings.  Most people understand that blue is calming, but can also drive us to melancholy.  Pink is a happy color, and it has been scientifically proven that certain shades of pink can control agressive reactions. (Some correction facilities have instigated ‘the pink room’ - a room that they put unruley prisoners to calm down.)  Interior designers use color to manipulate specific outcomes.  Fast food restaurants are often decorated with garish colors so as to make patrons eat and leave - to not sit and occupy table space for  lengthy periods.  For me - color choses make my work come alive.  As an example - I was working on a wall mural for a family  - as seen above.  The piece had all the details the family had requested - in a plane, flying over the earth which exhibits all the places they have traveled to.  Somehow the mural was not working - until I realized that the color of the plane (originally white) did not pop and react with the rest of the colors.  After some contemplation, I took the bold move of changing the plane’s color to a shade of orange - the contrasting color of blue - and suddenly, the mural came to life!

Where does inspiration come from for an artist?  Some artists claim an inner voice, some point to a muse, but for me it is in my neighborhood.  People are endlessly fascinating.  Family and friends are my ‘familiars’, I know their stories -  but strangers passing in the street or sitting on the skytrain are endless fascinating because their stories are hidden from me.  When I have the time, I like to imagine their stories.  What has caused that woman’s worry lines?  Who does that old man work for?  Does that girl shave her head to have power over something?  What caused that man’s slow, sad walk?  It is endlessly fascinating to wonder what secrets people possess.  It’s endlessly invigorating to let my imagination out to play.

Where does inspiration come from for an artist?  Some artists claim an inner voice, some point to a muse, but for me it is in my neighborhood.  People are endlessly fascinating.  Family and friends are my ‘familiars’, I know their stories -  but strangers passing in the street or sitting on the skytrain are endless fascinating because their stories are hidden from me.  When I have the time, I like to imagine their stories.  What has caused that woman’s worry lines?  Who does that old man work for?  Does that girl shave her head to have power over something?  What caused that man’s slow, sad walk?  It is endlessly fascinating to wonder what secrets people possess.  It’s endlessly invigorating to let my imagination out to play. Read the rest of this entry »

I think one of the best experiences I had when I was in my mid-twenties was visiting an artist’s studio.  I received my college degree in mathematics, and was an actuary at a health insurance company.  I always felt like art was kind of at the opposite end of the educational and career spectrum.  But I had also been told throughout my life that I was quite creative.  I was introduced to someone through a friend who was a professional designer.  The artist, named David, told me that he often worked with architects and structural designers to create original indoor and outdoor sculptures.  I was fascinated, and asked him to take me to his sculpture studio.

In David’s sculpture studio, there were a lot of great sculptures, and quite a few also unfinished.  He had an entire collection of sculpted dragons, modeled after Chinese dragons, that I enjoyed.  When I was about to leave, David gave me one of the smaller dragons and asked me to paint it for him!  I spent a lot of time on it, using several different varieties of colored clay, and when I returned to the sculpture studio, David said he loved it!  I continue to paint for him now and then to this day, and it’s such a fun activity.

When something is funny - it is rarely taken seriously.  Who would have heard of  Socrates and Plato, if they’d have started their debates off with a joke?  Jesus and Mohammed -  would the masses have listened if they had used punchlines to hit home a message?  What about Leonardo Di Vinci?  If the Mona Lisa had just a little bit of hair on the top lip…

People who see  the funny are rarely recorded in history.  Of course, in the last century, we do have our famous comedians - noone can dispute the popularity of Chaplin and Will Rogers,  but rarely do the funny people in history get honored for their work.  They are the day to day soldiers of mirth who help to keep the dark at bay for the masses.

In today’s economy…there is still an economy, isn’t there?  Humour plays a more important role than ever - to aid the masses into momentarily forgetting their troubles.  Most movie studios are hard at work cranking out comedies to rake in the ‘dough of dispare’, and books about ‘how to kill your boss’ or ‘run with scissors’ are on the bestsellers lists. 

 Humouress visual art - (sometimes not apparent to the naked eye…) - still finds it’s appeal with the use of color and content (when used appropriately to bash the view over the head if they do not ‘get it’.) 

The human race needs funny - we always have and we always will - this blog was created to promote this idea and will explore the historical, little known facts about humour, and the contemporary contempt for it in all walks of art.

Just remember - a good hour of laughter produced the same feel-good hormones as a 5K race - belly laughs can save your life!!