Tel-Art-Phone at the Beacon Arts Building

This show just ended and the look on my face in this picture says it all… “Really? What am I doing? Are you serious? How did I get here?”

$ilent $cream

How I got here was a last minute idea by the curator Matt Gleason. He posted an ad on craigslist looking for artists to paint live during an art show opening. I knew – because of some of the other artists in this show, (Gronk, Mark Kostabi) that I wanted to be in this show and because of some of the artists I know, (Alex Schaeffer, Mike Street) that I would be going to the opening anyway – so… why not?

The Mark Kostabi painting

I showed up at the beginning of the show, got in the drawing to be one of the live painters and along with 11 other artists started to paint. The paint and canvas were provided and we were given 1 hour to do our own interpretation of a painting by Mark Kostabi. I started by just slathering paint on the canvas until it was covered. I was not sure what I was going to paint but I had decided to stay with the monotone b/w color scheme and as I started to make the head of the figure I thought of The Scream by Edvard Munch. The controversy around Kostabi’s paintings is that he often didn’t paint them himself and his assistants were often told to just “do anything they like” but “in the style of Kostabi” so sometimes the ideas for the paintings were not even his. After a disagreement with a collector, (Sylvester Stallone) where Kostabi insulted and then was involved in a fistfight with the collector – his reputation suffered and the value of his art declined.
The controversy with The Scream is that it has been stolen several times and although damaged by thieves – retains its value. The value of The Scream is thought to be about $60 million dollars while the most ever paid for any Kostabi painting is about $20 thousand.
As I was painting I thought about these two artists and how their art is valued in the art world. I thought of any of the artists I know, any artists that are showing in this show, who of us will ever see that kind of money in our lifetimes? Of course Munch never saw any of that $60 million… and I thought, “How can I express these thoughts with my art?”
In Kostabi’s painting the subject is tied to a chair, apparently forced to watch television. In my painting the subject assumes the posture of the character from The Scream and the television is turned toward the viewer to reveal the image on the screen, which is the almighty dollar sign.  Would Munch be horrified to see the amount of money people spend on art? I am not arguing that his work is not worth what they say it is. Munch’s philosophy was, ““I do not believe in the art which is not the compulsive result of Man’s urge to open his heart.” That does not sound like someone trying to make a quick buck. I am not condemning Kostabi for making money in his lifetime but you have to wonder what his philosophy was when he hired other people to create his art and then put huge pricetags on them. Mark Kostabi has said that he chose to be an artist partially because it’s an easy way to make money.
I do not aspire to great wealth and riches. I would be content to support myself though the sale of my art.