 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Painting Below Zero By Melissa J Wantuck  |
| |
Contemporary American painter James Rosenquist releases his autobiography Painting Below Zero (Knopf, 2009) on October 27. Rosenquist made a career for himself out of conveying his thoughts on canvas but despite writing his book with David Dalton, the message is clear that Rosenquist is not a writer.
Rosenquist begins his story at the beginning of his life and follows a mostly chronological timeline through the present. Currently he’s in his mid-seventies and still painting and exhibiting his work.
He was born during the Depression in North Dakota. He attempts to depict his early years as the formative years of his life, when he learned resourcefulness and the beginnings of his interest in art. Many members of his family were hard-working, down-to-earth people, spending as much of their time as they could earning a living. His mother was interested in painting and often took him to art museums near where they lived. She was talented and painted her own pieces but she was never formally trained. Money and time were not available to her for leisurely activities like painting. Rosenquist’s parents worked as much as they could amidst limited job availability and economic hardships.
Rosenquist doesn’t spend a lot of time on his childhood and quickly moves into his young adult years when he began honing his skills and then searching for his own style. He found it and labeled it “painting below zero.” Rosenquist’s purpose in painting is to depict his ideas. He developed his style to answer his own question: how could he give shape to his thoughts that otherwise had no substance, no form, were nothing, zero?
Throughout the book, it is more than evident Rosenquist’s art is inspired by current events. He was also influenced by images he saw in print advertising. He responded to these with his art using metaphor. Throughout Painting Below Zero, Rosenquist demonstrates the process he follows when working on a new piece. He begins with an idea he wants to express and looks around him for the kinds of images that relate to it somehow and a grouping that brings cohesiveness.
The use of contemporary images and concepts in art became known as Pop Art. Rosenquist was one of a slew of artists branded under this category and he didn’t accept this labeling for most of his career. He also didn’t label himself as political. The biggest metaphor Rosenquist made, ironically without intention, is how political some of his artwork was. It’s all about opinions and Rosenquist’s chosen images were the visual representations of his opinions in response to the events of his time from wars to presidential policies. He made statements but his primary purpose for using contemporary images was to demonstrate how they were reflected in his thoughts, not respond to them.
Sifting through the myriad of half-organized memories, the method behind Rosenquist’s painting emerges and his paintings are given greater meaning. He explains why he chose specific images for many of his paintings, providing an answer key for anyone looking to interpret his work.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|