The Art Kitsch(en)

One Way Street

2009-10-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is a mixed media painting based on Walter Benjamin's essay "One Way Street."

"One Way Street," mixed media, 64x66 inches, 2000

M-set Buddha

2009-10-06T09:00:00.001-05:00

As you may or may not know, I have a solo show at the Brookline Art Center in August. I'm using fractal geometry and the perception of patterns and how they fit into the "larger picture." When working with fractal geometry, the most obvious visual imagery to use is the Mandelbrot Set. Most of you may know the Mandelbrot Set, or M-set, from those funky, tripped out posters of wildly colored patterns often found in college dorms. The focal point of the M-set is quite recognizable and has been described in many ways, such as... a tortoise that's been crossed with a swordfish in seaweed with its babies in tow. (Go check it out, you'll see it immediately.) Every time I see it, landscapes emerge.

...and silhouettes of Buddhas.

So I made a sketch of what it would look like if it were not a shadowy figure. So freakin' cute. I like how he's so fat he has trouble getting his legs into the full lotus position. Unfortunately, I feel this view takes away too much from the M-set form.

Next, I tried it from the back side. I like this better because it keeps the silhouette mostly true to form. (...and you can see his butt crack. Ha!) Mind you, these are only sketches and better versions of these will turn up as works of art.

Humor

2009-10-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

"One Dog's Shit's Another's Delight," mixed media on paper, 11x14 inches, 2000

Pop quiz! Which statement is FALSE about this drawing?

a.) This mixed media drawing is about people's tastes.

b.) The brown stuff is poo.

c.) Jokes are in a non-hierarchical relationship to feelings.

d.) Like Plato's cave, it's all shadow play anyhow.

If you picked "b" then you are correct. You get a gold star for today.

Lo-Fi

2009-10-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

"Lo-Fi," pencil on paper, 11x14 inches, 2000

"Lo-Fi," pencil on paper, 14x11 inches, 2000.

These are continuous-line drawings. I made these by whittling down a pencil to its lead and made each drawing without lifting the lead from the paper until the drawing was complete. Very lo-fi.

My First Monochromatic Painting

2009-10-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

"The Ghost of Hamlet's Father Cries for Revenge," acrylic on linen, 14x24 inches, 2000

This is my first, true monochromatic painting. A precursor to the White Rabbits, this piece contains the phrase "SEE ME" having the areas around the text built up with layers of titanium white paint.

Open Thoughts

2009-10-02T10:29:00.000-05:00

I made this watercolor when I did the paintings for Lauren Zettler's "Call Me Out" EP but never showed it.

Ad Infintium

2009-10-01T10:15:00.003-05:00

Put a crease in a Mobius Strip and this is what you get.

One September Morning

2009-09-11T08:00:00.006-05:00

Joe Kitsch: "One September Morning," mixed media, 45x72 inches, 2006

I sold this work of art for a song... well, a poem to be more exact... to my very talented, literary friend Anne. I wanted to share her work with everyone and have posted it here.

ONE SEPTEMBER MORNING
by Anne Champion

Inspired by an art piece of this title by Joe Kitch made as a memorial tribute for the 5th anniversary of 9/11. An image of the New York skyline was created using a rubber date stamper and ink pad from an office supply store. "SEPT 11 A.M." was imprinted over the entire image using a stipling technique to create shading and gradation. The towers are cut out revealing emptiness and the usual unexposed sides of the art work.

The blank space, cut from
canvas, or even these white margins—
where art swings at meaning
like gnats in the air, hoping to strike
all our implications before they sting us,
unknowingly, too late, and we rub
the wound until the soreness subsides.

This aching, ponderous gap,
impregnated with the massive disruption
of what can never be articulated,
reveals the artist,
enduring through entire nights, straining
to see the skyline recreated
with his small tool
of the same breed that rained
upon New York City.
Curved body bent
over easel, each meticulous push
of stamp scrapes the way
towards monument,
restructuring pained memory—
a tedious task, the brute work of it,
balancing forceful recollection
alongside tenderness, wrestling
craft and tribute like a rubber band
stretched taut, threatening
to break or go slack.

Of course, collective memory
will always rush in, of unfettered American flags,
heralding a grey day, the numbers 9-11
flashing across television screens
like comet tails splayed
across a black night.

Alongside this is your own solitary coping, staring at stars
so intensely you thought you might wear away
the enamel of their luster with your gaze,
carry their fire in your eyes
from then on, bending your own body
towards prayer, and finding no words,
only able to pray for their being something
outside of yourself
that you could pray to.

Years ago now, and yet, every year
you’re more acutely aware
of nature’s crying out
against dying seasons, how the fall
will linger long and stale, denying
the arrival of snow, the brittle crack
of dead leaves swept into lawn bags,
the stifling memory undigested,
churning in the coil and twist
of your intestines.

And how your own flag turns
to tatters, unraveling
like tangled hair,
the sharp outcry
of gnarled knots combed out quick
with one swift twist.

In sleep, your dreams,
which can’t speak, show
what you have now:
Every skyline you’ve ever witnessed
stamped inside of you,
and with that,
everything our skies can hold.

Watercolor Painting

2009-07-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

Two of my favorite things in the world are 1.) taking traditional what-have-you's and tweaking them and 2.) experimenting with materials. Oh wait, three things! 3.) Coffee!

Traditionally, watercolor paint is not much more than pigments and guar gum diluted with water. Or something like that. Basically, pigment in water. Pigments range from metals to ground earth to the ashes of bone. Van Gogh used paints that contained ground bugs for his magenta.

So, back in 2001, I use to drink a pot of coffee everyday (at least a pot, that is) in the morning. My favorite, even to this day, is Starbucks coffee. On the way to my studio, I would often stop at Starbucks and pick up a Venti or two for the duration of my work session. I don't remember the thought process exactly but I was thinking art and popular culture. Add too much caffein to the mix and and and... Use coffee as a watercolor.

"Coffee," coffee on paper, 28x20 inches, 2001

I made this watercolor by applying coffee in layers using a sponge brush on a flat surface. First, the entire piece of paper was coated then set aside to dry. Then, another layer was applied, allowing a three inch band of the first coat to remain. Allowing the new coat to dry and proceeding on with another coat, leaving a three inch band of the previous coat. Repeat until completion.

Coffee makes a good stain up to four layers. I noticed the layers stop retaining their pigment dispersion after that. The coffee particles lift up and gather toward the edge of the liquid's meniscus.

"Decaf," decaffeinated coffee on paper, 28x20 inches, 2001

I don't understand non-alcoholic beer or decaffeinated coffee. What's the point? Using decaffeinated coffee, I made this watercolor. By placing the paper on a board and propped on an incline, I applied the layers of coffee in a similar fashion as "Coffee," layer after layer. Only in "Decaf" I allowed the watercolor to run and drip. Hopefully you get the visual pun.

"Starbucks Coffee," coffee on paper, 28x20 inches, 2001

In this watercolor, I drew the Starbucks logo but cutting off the words "Starbucks Coffee" to read "Star Co," like in my painting "Eternity for Atheists." Then I tacked the paper to the wall and painted with the coffee in layers, just as I had with the two previous pieces. These watercolors may be an archivist's worst nightmare due to the high acidity of the medium, but, hey, they look great.

Look, Ma! One Color!

2009-07-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

"Big Wheel of Life," acrylic on unprimed canvas, 38x42 inches, 1999

For a while, I was doing large, highly textured, all-over paintings. I went completely non-textured, and added recognizable visual images. This grey painting was the first break from it. I was still in the Clement Greenberg school of thought regarding painting and I was reading quite a bit of Buddhist literature.

The Greenbergian ideology required that paint do what paint does: be flat and non-illustrative. The Buddhist readings lead me to use grey because it was a middle ground, neither here nor there, not one extreme or another. It just was. I also came to use the circle as an abstract visual representation of the Eastern Philosophy.

For this painting, I combined the two. First, I stretched unprimed canvas and left it as such. Next, I mixed one large can of grey acrylic paint and thinned it with water until it was thicker than what Kenneth Noland or Morris Louis would have used, but thinner than Jackson Pollock's drippy house paints. I covered the canvas in blotchy areas with the paint I mixed. Allowing it to dry, I painted over it again but forming the circle. Layer after layer, in meditative process, the painting took form.

When you look at this painting, the dark grey circle actually has the least amount of paint on it. The lighter grey areas have the most. Both are derived from the same exact paint; only the layering caused the difference in color.

Souvenir

2009-07-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

"I Went to an Art Show and All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt," screen printed cotton t-shirt, one size fits all, 2001

Art is not the easiest thing in the world to understand. Every artist has a form of visual language that the viewer has to learn and adapt in order to formalize it. Unless the work is just pretty pictures, it's going to get some blank stares.

On the other hand, art is also very expensive. There's only a handful of people that can afford it. THEN, how much art can a person cram into their home? Here's a quick math problem for you: Let's say, for the sake of argument, that an artist cranks out a masterpiece a week, taking two week breaks- one in the summer to go to the beach and one in December for the holidays. That's 50 works of art per artist. Did you know there are 10,000 artists living in Manhattan? That's a lot of art. And did I mention it's expensive?

So I made this art print (let's not call it a t-shirt, that's crass) to poke fun at the art tourists and made it affordable so everyone could get one at my show. Ha!

A Wasted Life

2009-07-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

"Wasted Life," ball-point pen on paper, 9x8 inches, 2005(?)

When pen meets paper, a lot can happen if you try. You could write a story, you could draw a picture, you could write your to do list. Blank paper is the potential of your life. Attempt nothing and, well, you get the point.

Need to borrow a pen?

The Good Times Are Killing Me

2009-07-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

"The Good Times Are Killing Me," cigarettes and acrylic paint on canvas, 24x30 inches 2005(?)

This piece, which is named after a Modest Mouse song, is covered with over 1,200 cigarette butts! I collected them from guests to my apartment during the typical late night excursion. If you can't be a rock star, at least party like one...

Advertising in the Arts

2009-07-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

"Your Ad Here," vinyl letters and latex paint on canvas, 11x14 inches, 2001

There's product placement on TV shows, so why not in the arts? I made this knowing it would get a stir (and quite a few giggles) when placed in shows among other works of art.

Conversation Piece

2009-07-25T10:00:00.000-05:00

"Conversation Piece," mixed media, 19x21 inches, 2000

I don't make much differentiation between language, objects or images. I try to treat them all as found objects and figure ways to incorporate them into my work. For this painting, I took a statement a friend made during a conversation we were having and made it the focus of the piece. I used an upside down American flag, officially a naval (?) signal of distress, but when seen it typically arouses distress in the viewer because they see it as a sign of disrespect. I painted the piece as etherial as conversations are and titled it with a double meaning. The first meaning being that the piece originates from a conversation and secondly that people will be having conversations about the piece due to its confrontational imagery.

Starving Artist

2009-07-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

"Attrition Can Be Funny," mixed media on canvas, 12x12 inches, 2000

I enjoy food. A lot. Almost a decade ago, my artist lifestyle conflicted with my enjoyment of food. I learned it's not called being a starving artist for nothing. I made this piece with that in mind and entered it into a show. For the price, I listed a steak dinner.

No Means No

2009-07-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

NO:

–adverb
1. (a negative used to express dissent, denial, or refusal, as in response to a question or request)
2. (used to emphasize or introduce a negative statement): Not a single person came to the party, no, not a one.
3. not in any degree or manner; not at all (used with a comparative): He is no better.
4. not a (used before an adjective to convey the opposite of the adjective's meaning): His recovery was no small miracle.
–adjective
5. not a (used before a noun to convey the opposite of the noun's meaning): She's no beginner on the ski slopes.
–noun
6. an utterance of the word “no.”
7. a denial or refusal: He responded with a definite no.
8. a negative vote or voter: The noes have it.
–verb (used with object)
9. to reject, refuse approval, or express disapproval of.
–verb (used without object)
10. to express disapproval.
—Idiom
11. no can do, Informal. it can't be done.

"No," mixed media on board, 6x9 inches, 2000

I used limited visual representations for this study of "no." First, and most obviously, is the word "no." Next is the color red which is often used to to prohibit, as in traffic lights. I also used an "x" shape, a mark of negation. Last, I used the paint of the artwork to express meaning.

In "No," the word is written in capital letters and underlined to emphasize the absolute nature of its meaning. The "x" was made by removing the paint from the surface of the piece. With my finger I negated the presence of the media in that particular area, its denial reenforced by the shape from which it was removed. Red oil stick covers areas where white oil stick became undesirable.

"NoNo," mixed media on paper, 14x11 inches, 2000

"NoNo" is more about negation through addition. "No" is reemphasized with another "no." The "x" at the top is made by adding white paint over red surface. At the bottom, three cells were negated by three "x" marks which in turn were negated by being painted over. (Would that be a double negative?)

No Artists Were Harmed

2009-07-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

"No Artists Were Harmed," mixed media on linen, 24x18 inches, 2000

I'm a big fan of recycling. It's easy to do and I can sleep better at night knowing I'm making an effort to make the world a better place. Not all things I recycle are bottle and cans or paper. Take my hair for instance.

I started cutting my own hair in college. It wasn't always successful but it saved an off-campus trip to the barber and cash that I could be spending on booze and pizza. After graduation, I realized I could use the hair in some way in my work and began to save it. Presently, I have jars and jars of hair in reserve.

My post-undergrad days were... rough. I was working for slightly above minimum wage in a bookstore and refused the financial help of my parents. My folks did more than I could ever ask for up to that point and were willing to help even more. The life of the artist is rough. I knew it and chose it anyway.

So one day, I was giving myself a haircut and looked down. The splay of hair on the floor made my mind wander to thoughts of animal cruelty in product testing and quickly snapped to the idea that art is a product and the lives artists lead can be self-imposed cruel.

I gathered up the hair and made this piece.

Don't Be Such a Square, Josef Albers!

2009-07-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

"Crayon on Paper," Crayola crayon on paper, 14x16 inches, 2001

I made these drawings while reading "Interaction of Color" by Josef Albers. I have mixed feelings about the work of Josef Albers. On one hand, I respect and admire the seriousness and devotion he put toward the study of color and color as the subject matter of the works. On the other hand, the dryness and lack of inventiveness drives me nuts. The majority of the work for which he is best known is a series of squares within squares. One painting after the next- squares within squares. The colors differ in each, that's really about it.

But how long ago was that? In the context of 2001, color study is second nature for artists. Looking at Albers repetition makes me think that the Impressionists were doing color study much earlier and doing it much more visually stimulating. However, the Impressionists were also dealing with composition and movement and other subject matters. Albers, using the square and repetition, was able to distill it as THE subject matter and focus on the study of color. Because of Albers seriously dry sensibilities, the study of color is second nature to artists in the present day.

As an homage, I took up crayons and made child's play of color study.

All the drawings have the same dimensions, with the same, literal phrase drawn on with a variety of colors. Pictured below are the other drawings in the series I made.

A While Ago This Could Have Been Good

2009-07-20T12:00:00.002-05:00

"A While Ago This Could Have Been Good," mixed media on canvas, 48x36 inches, 2000

I was looking to make something bold and visually striking and I was trying to find my artistic voice. This painting started off looking completely different. Under the red is a series of abstract shapes and lines and a hodge podge of colors. It was garbage and I knew it so I painted over it with gesso and ceiling texture, which is a hardware store bought paint additive that gives texture to... ceilings. The round projections on the bottom were there from the first attempt at this piece. I counter balanced them by nailing a 1x4 to the top. The textured area was then painted cadmium red, my favorite color back then. It looked good. I felt like I was getting somewhere.

I went to work at Barnes & Noble the next day. While shelving books in the art section, I randomly flipped through a book on Minimalism and came across...

Donald Judd.

Sh*t. There they were. Five works by Donald Judd... textured, cadmium red with industrial looking objects protruding from the surface. F*ck. I thought I was getting somewhere. I thought I was onto something. It was slightly crushing. Had I been the age I was but in the 1960's, I would like to think that could have been me.

When I got home that evening, I stenciled the phrase that is the title of the piece across the 1x4, painted in the silver and was done with it.

White Noise

2009-07-19T12:00:00.002-05:00

Text in art became a big point of interest for me. I enjoyed how the use of words can be the same as abstract imagery. Text has rhythm. Words have poignancy. A picture can be worth a thousand words. One word can hit home.

So I took the word "yap," as in 'shut your yap' or 'quit your yapping.' I wrote it countless times with old school pen and ink on paper. It looked like static on a TV and it clicked...

study for "White Noise," ink on paper, 11x14 inches, 2000

It looked like static, which is a white noise, and yapping is similar to static in that it can be a wall of undistinguishable, droning noise. I did the literal artistic thing and decided to make the work from layers of white on white.

"White Noise," mixed media on canvas, 56x54 inches, 2000

I painted the canvas with off-white house paint and scrawled the word "yap" in pencil over that. Then came the titanium white oil stick writing the word over the pencil, smearing it, covering it. Next, taking cue from the Impressionists, I applied oil medium and titanium white paint straight from the tube. Into that, I inscribed the word "yap" into the wet painted words.

Spoon

2009-07-18T12:00:00.000-05:00

"Spoon," mixed media on linen, 20x24 inches, 1999

One day in Connecticut, I was tooling around my kitchen probably wishing I had something good to eat because back in those days it was mostly Raman Noodles and cheap coffee. I didn't sleep much back then either thanks to the high concentration of sodium and large amounts of caffeine. So there I was tooling around in my kitchen and I discover this plastic spoon. It was gold and plastic, not white and plastic or clear and plastic like every other plastic spoon I had ever come across. It was fancy.

And yet, it was cheap and disposable.

It was very much how I was feeling at the time. As I held it, I remembered a line from a Sex Pistols song: "I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth." Silver spoons are for the up-and-up. This plastic spoon was me, no doubt about it.

I decided I was going to bastardize Renaissance painting. I gave the spoon visual substance by enclosing it in a circle and added wings. Instead of gold leafing the surface, I used metallic bronze paint. Finally the halo and feet were added with oil stick, cartoonish a la graffiti like Keith Haring. Lastly, the word spoon was added, in a nod to Basquiat, and to draw attention to the star of the work... that cheap yet fancy plastic spoon.

Wine Cellar Session notes by Austin Ward

2009-05-29T11:35:00.003-05:00

Wine Cellar Sessions: Notes from the Underground

Metaphysics

featuring Joe Kitsch

White Rabbit in a Snowstorm, grass and paper on paper, 11x14 inches

Craggy Range, "Fletcher Family Vineyard" Riesling, Marlborough, 2008

Paired with "White Rabbit in a Snowstorm" #1,#2,#3

The motto of Craggy Range Winery is: Single Vineyard, Single Minded. This Riesling from the Fletcher Family Vineyard expresses its origin. Like each of the three "White Rabbits" there is a uniqueness to the wine that cannot be recreated elsewhere. The rich texture of painting 1 is echoed by the silky minerality in the Riesling. The piercing red eye of painting 2 is reminiscent of the bright, piercing acidity of the wine. Painting 3 shows a rabbit near a patch of grass, this is representative of the subtle earthiness that Riesling is known to display.

Nude (female), acrylic in canvas, 30 x 20 inches

J. Lohr "Wildflower" Valdiguie, Arroyo Seco, 2008

Paired with Nude (Male), Nude (Female)

The Nude has been a classic subject of artists for centuries. These two nudes are a new take on an old classic. Such is the way with the J. Lohr Valdiguie. This wine is very similar to Beaujolais, the famously delicious Red Burgundy made from the Gamay grape. Light, fruity and refreshing when slightly chilled, Valdiguie is also known as "Napa Gamay." We will leave the more senual parallels of this pairing to your own interpretation!

Triskaidekaphobia, cigarette ash and mixed media on paper in found frame with rabbit feet, 28x23.5 inches

Tablas Creek Mourvedre, Paso Robles, 2005

Paired with Triskaidekaphobia, White Rabbit in a Snowstorm

Mourvedre is a grape which originates in the Rhone Valley of France. It is known for its gamey, earthy and smoky flavors. There is a smokiness to to both these paintings that is echoed in the tobacco and mocha aromas of the wine. One tasting note I have heard for this wine in the past is "roasted meat." There is something about Triskaidekaphobia that evokes these roasted qualities, or at least a slight morbidity that is alluded to by the brooding fruit character of the wine.

White Rabbit in a Snowstorm, acrylic on canvas, 30x20 inches

Crios de Susana Balbo Rose of Malbec, Mendoza, 2008

Paired with White Rabbit in a Snowstorm

Apart from the clear color association taking place between the wine and the art in this case, there are other parallels to be drawn. This is a wine that has elegance and depth while being light and refreshing. Joe Kitsch's art in general is fun and lighthearted, but as many of you have probably discovered by now, there is more than meets the eye with these beautiful works of art. Aromas of strawberry, raspberry and roses abound from the glass. Any of which a white rabbit in a snowstorm would love to discover.

Eye Candy (medium), store-bought, computer-mixed latex paint on canvas, 30x20 inches

Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes, Mendoza, 2008

Paired with Eye Candy

Torrontes is a grape variety with a very colorful character. Peach, tangerine, tropical melon and floral aromas make this wine taste like candy in a glass. This pairing explains itself.

-Austin Ward, wine steward, Legal Seafoods, Park Square

You're invited to Wine Cellar Sessions ft/ Joe Kitsch

2009-05-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

Wine Cellar Sessions: Notes from the Underground

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 6:30 PM $25 per person

The Wine Cellar @ Legal Seafoods

26 Park Place, Boston, MA 02116

LIMITED AVAILABILITY... reserve your spot today!

Call (617) 530-9436 or email award@legalseafoods.com for reservations.

"Metaphysics- The foundations of Art and Wine featuring Joe Kitsch."

Week 3 of the Wine Cellar Sessions presented by Austin Ward, Park Square Wine Steward. Tasting notes from the artist, wine paired with works of art. Molecular gastronomy presented by LSF area chef, Chris Cowen.

Expanding My Social Circle

2009-04-21T23:30:00.005-05:00

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