Brooks Cashbaugh: Demotic Emolument (of The People, a reward for Good Work)May 12 - July 7, 2012Artist's reception Thursday, May 10th, 5-7pm  Our Lady, the Convert 2012, acrylic and paint marker on canvas, 84" x 60" Actions can inspire. One's actions affect the world, creating change, but can also spur action in others. An energized person can act in a meaningful way that communicates a message powerful and timely enough to influence human communities exponentially. History confirms this: Jane Addams and Hull House in Chicago kicking off the Progressive Era; Tecumseh, the Prophet and the multi-tribal coalition they built in Indiana to stand up to the US invasion; Elizabeth Gurley Flynn's work with IWW and helping found the ACLU; Gus Grissom and the rest of the crew of Apollo 1 willing to die for the dream of rocketing off the earth into space and out to touch the Moon. Our heroes are determined and destined to go some where new, to not give up, to not accept the limitations set by the past, to built to something new, push forward and not give up. There is a spirit in these figures from history that seems to be forgotten. Many of their names are little known or unknown and I think that's a problem. Their legacies are ripe for revival. It's time to look back at these icons with new eyes in hopes of inspiring new ideas and spurring new actions. These paintings seek to remind us of these forgotten currents of American identity by utilizing misused or overlooked elements of different forms of visual art that complement the ideals of these figures. The palette uses pop sensibilities to articulate the energy, urgency and populous nature of these radical figures. The images float between different styles of representation, pulling from early black and white photography to early abstraction, religious art, Fauvism, comic books, album covers and other pulp sources as they seek to create a visual language that reflects the melting pot spirit of unity-through-difference that the figures depicted championed. The figures embrace their place in history with loaded grand poses. The compositions root themselves in religious (Byzantine to Buddhist to Aztec) iconography, but pull from political banners and 19th c. portrait and historical paintings. The work seeks to remind us of the exciting, inspiring and earnest side of America as well as the exciting, inspiring and earnest side of painting. They both have a lot to recover from. ~Brooks Cashbaugh, May 2012 |