Introduction Post

 La Luz De Dr Seuss Gallery

     Welcome to the most influential and innovative gallery in Los Angles, that has become the envy of art galleries across the nation. We have built a reputation with artists, collectors, and art enthusiasts world wide, speciallizing in Lowbrow and Pop Art.

Location:

1234 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA. 90027
(323) 789-7777

The gallery is currently ran by the ghost of Bob Ross.

The loyal soldiers of the Bob Ross Army are as follows:

Donald Nadziejko
Eric Gonzales
Lauren Larkins
Mai Thao
Sabrina Astran
Patrick Bouye

(This is an fictitious exhibit done solely for educational purposes.)


Posted By: Don Nadziejko

Exhibition Introduction

Welcome to The Circus De Los Sueños

     Come one, come all, to the finest Circus Art exhibit on earth! For your viewing pleasure we have gathered some of the most exquisite works of Circus Art known to man. We have done our absolute best to capture the majesty, mystery, and excitement of the circus as it is depicted by 12 amazing talents. Each spectacular masterpiece displays the artistry of the circus as perceived by these ringmasters of illustration. 
    
     We painstakingly hand picked artists who have created works that express the essence and dream-like nature of the circus. Each piece showcasing these elements is selected by one of our six curators. The dedicated staff scoured the internet for many sleepless nights and carefully chosen the following pieces for your ocular pleasure. So hold tight to your socks before they are knocked off as we present:

The Circus De Los Sueños

Staring:

Circus, By: Jill Bergman

The Lion's Tamer's Daughter, By: Jennifer Li

The Bearded Lady, By: Helen Detroyat

Circus Horse Rider, By: Mark Chagall

The Beast, By: Mark Bryan

Circus, By: Tom Frost

The Circus, By: George Seurat

Come One Come All, By: Phillipe Fernandez

The Circus Barker, By: Norman Rockwell

Clown, By: James Jean

Clowns Abound, By: Robert Owens

 Ringo the Clown, By: Arthur Sarnoff



Posted By: Don Nadziejko

Jill Bergman: Circus

Circus 

Jill Bergman

Circus 

Linocut with Watercolour done on Rives BFK paper; edition of 7 (pictured is edition 2 of 7)

8x11 in. 

2012

Jill Bergman is an illustrator and printmaker from Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She is influenced by nature and it's beautiful landscapes. She sells her work online and in gift shops, and has been featured in art galleries. She lives with her husband, child, and dog. 

"Wouldn't it be great to be lost in the circus?! This was really fun to paint. It's still a little confusing to look at with all the black and white stripes, but overall I like it." - Jill Bergman. 

Bergman is a wonderful illustrator with a lovely style of painting that compliments her linocuts beautifully. The print, which is all the tens and figures, show a very sense of perspective and lets your eye travel from tent to tent, to see what is inside. Some of the tents are tall, some are short. It all gives to a moving landscape of sorts. Then there is the night sky, the stars are bright and happy, it feels like it's moving, and that there are different colours, the night feels as alive as the festivities going on below. The colours are soft and warm, even with the dark night sky. Her linocut lines are sharp and are very precise. Her precision lies in how much detail she was able to capture within the small human figures within the tents and the wispy lines that move across the piece. 

I chose this piece for the theme of circus, not only because of its convenient title, but the magic within the piece. It is alive and moving, like how the circus is. There is fun with each event happening at the same time in the piece. Large tents, bright lights, mystery and magic in every different tent, it is a whimsical piece that you would want to visit just to sneak a peek of what might be inside all the other tents. 

Posted by Sabrina Astran 

"The Lion Tamer's Daughter" by Jennifer Li

Artist: Jennifer Li
Title: The Lion Tamer's Daughter
Media: Oil on panel
Dimensions: 9"x12"

Artist Biography: Jennifer Li is the product of New York City. She lived and studied art in New York for almost 20 years before deciding to move to the more relaxed and scenic woods of  northwest Montana. Li has been painting professionally since the year 1999, and has studied painting for 12 years at the
Art Students League in New York. Jennifer Li is a well known artist and has numerous works at galleries in Washington, Montana, New York, and California.

Statements: "Straightforwardly beautiful" "An element of weird" - New York Times.
http://www.jenniferli.info/biography%20page.html


Background Information: Jennifer Li is known for doing beautiful and weird work. She has many paintings dedicated to the circus scene. Many of her works are portraits. In almost all her paintings, there is only one focus. Li never bothers to distract her viewer by making them search for who the piece is about. She does this by always placing a wall as her backdrop. Even with the simplistic background she is able to convey a story. Among many of her circus works, the tightrope walker and lion make it into numerous pieces.

Analysis:  Li has this excellent ability to make all her human portraits look as though they could be porcelain dolls, in this, the viewer can clearly see that. In this painting the work is simplistic. The ballerina and lion being the only focus for the viewer. The ballerina's face is at ease and shows no fear as she sits atop the lion. The lion's face and stance makes him appear as he is of high importance. Though, his stance is strong and face is stern, the lion is relaxed as he let's his master's daughter ride him without fear. If you look closely at the intensity of he's eyes, you can infer that he is able to flip a switch if need be.

Theme Connection: This painting connects to the theme because circus elements are presented. Both the daughter and the lion are the main attraction at every circus. The audience comes to see the tightrope walker achieve the incredible and the Ring leader tame an unruly beast.

Why this piece was picked: The reason for choosing this work is because, it IS what the circus is; it's doing the unbelievable.

By: Lauren Larkins

'Femme à barbe tenant un éventail en plumes d'autruche' (The Bearded Lady) by Helene Detroyat

Artist: Helene Detroyat
Title: "The Bearded Lady"

Media: Oil on Canvas

Dimensions: h: 117 w: 81 cm

Province: Is in the Foyer of Castel in Paris, France.

Date:1932

Artist Biography: Helene Detroyat is an artist famous for her oil painting technique. She lived from 1889-1951. Many of her works have been sold at auctions. The bearded woman holding an ostrich feather is one of her more famous works. Helene had an eye for detail, and a way to make colors stand out.

http://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Helene-Detroyat/B6ED09466AE34614

Statements: "The oil work is amazing, the amount of detail, especially on the face is exquisite. For something that should be masculine, this artist is able to make this woman appear elegant and pretty." -Cinthia Gomez (Art History Major)

Background Information: Detroyat was notorious for her paintings in Castel, France, better known as her home. Her paintings hung on the walls of many cool and exclusive clubs. One of these clubs founded in the 60s, was actually Detroyat's home. Between all the glits and the glam in this particular club, this painting added to the atmosphere. Thus making the Castel club the hot topic of the time, and well known in all of Paris.

Analysis: The Bearded lady represents the daring and charismatic women of the roaring 20s. With her flapper style appearance, Detroyat is an expert at detail. Detroyat focuses deeply on the shading on the walls, and the texture of the tile, skirt, and feather, to the realistic look of the chair and the bearded lady's face. Each stroke in the beard is delicately placed, while the feather and skirt show movement from the shading. The pop of color in the shoes and the feather also bring this painting life. This portrait of the bearded lady tells a story. This woman's come hither look tells there is more to this woman than meets the eye. 

Theme Connection: This work fits into the circus theme because it is representing a bearded woman. Even though this bearded woman is more beautiful than the regular seen at the circus, she still is able to bring a circus like essence. With her temptress stare and bigger than life ostrich feathers, this bearded lady could turn every head; she could be the main attraction at the circus.

Why we picked this piece: The reason for choosing this piece to be a part of the gallery is simple. It is beautiful and intriguing to look at. This painting embodies the circus even if it's simplistic. When you look at her, you see the circus and you immediately want to go.

By: Lauren Larkins

Mark Chagall: Circus Horse Rider

Mark Chagall was born in Belarus in 1887. He was a Russian-French painter, printmaker and designer associated with several major artistic styles, synthesizing elements of cubism, symbolism, and fauvism. Chagall studied painting in St. Petersburg at the Imperial Society for the Protection of the Arts. Over Chagall's decades-long career, his use of color captured the attention of viewers. Marc Chagall died in Saint-Paul de Vence, France, on March 28, 1985, leaving behind a vast collection of work in several branches of the arts, as well as a rich legacy as a major Jewish artist and a pioneer of modernism.

"In our life there is a single color, as on an artist's palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. it is the color of love." - Marc Chagall

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/marc_chagall.html

Marc Chagall's influence is as vast as the number of styles he assimilated to create his work. Although never completely aligning himself with any single movement, he interwove many of the visual elements of Cubism, Fauvism, Symbolism and Surrealism into his lyrically emotional aesthetic of Jewish folklore, dream-like pastorals, and Russian life. In this sense, Chagall's legacy reveals an artistic style that is both entirely his own and a rich amalgam of prevailing Modern art disciplines. Chagall is also, much like Picasso, a prime example of a modern artist who mastered multiple media, including painting in both oil and gouache, watercolor, murals, ceramics, etching, drawing, theater and costume design, and stained-glass work.

I chose this piece for it's eye-catching use of color. His use of color captures the majesty associated with the circus.

Mark Bryan's "The Beast" 

Mark Bryan was born and raised in southern California. As a child of the fifties and sixties, Bryan could not avoid soaking up the pop culture and angst of that time and place. Although most known for his political work savaging the Bush administration, Bryan also directs many of his efforts inward, producing work from the imagination. He has exhibited his work throughout the US, Canada, Europe and Japan. His work appears on numerous satirical and political websites across the US and internationally. 

"I believe all of us have endless landscapes to explore within ourselves. Probably artists are more inclined to got to these places and remember what they see. We take our sketchbooks with sand bring back pictures to show our friends. Hopefully these pictures say something about all of us."

www.artofmarkbryan.com

This piece is from Bryan's circus gallery, in which the works contain humor, parody, symbolism, satire, pop surrealism, as well as social comment.

I chose this painting because it portrays the darker reality under the mysticism of the circus.

Tom Frost: Circus

Circus 

Tom Frost 

Circus 

Screenprint on Heavy Arboreta Paper

42x59.4 cm

Tom Frost is an illustrator who works in screenprinting, acrylic paints, wood, pencils, and many other mediums. He blogs about his work and sells many of his screenprints online. He lives in the United Kingdom in Bristol. 

"Elephants, giraffe, lions, and ghosts...what more could your walls need!" - Tom Frost 

Tom Frost is a talented man, working on the whimsical style of a traveling circus, from the circus to the stalls where attractions are held at. The colours are simplistic and the style is blocky, having a more cartoony style. While the colours may be more muted, it shows a clear palette which can be played in several ways, showing nothing has to look the same, even when not everything is a different colour. All the faces in this piece have different expressions, and the carts have unique designs. The piece also has a good line of vision, leading your eye from the big tent at the top, all the way down, from the cars and trucks, to the different carts and trailers that follow behind. 

A big tent, wild animals, and performers? What more could you ask for from a circus? When it comes to the circus, it is all about the show you bring to people! I chose this piece for the theme of a circus art gallery because of the youthful nature of the style and the individuals drawings, making it a whole fun circus. 

posted by Sabrina Astran

George Seurat: The Circus

Title: The Circus
Artist: Georges Seurat
Medium: oil
Style: Pointillism
Dimensions: 73"X59"
Date:1891

Georges Seurat was born on December 2, 1859, in Paris, France. He was the youngest of three children in the family. His first art lesson was from his uncle and later on he began his formal art education around 1875. George Seurat was abstinent from alcohol, or any substance and stayed devoted to his art. His piece The Circus is famously known as his final art before his death in March 1891 which was left unfinished. The circus is currently display at Museum of Modern Art in New York.

"Painting is the art of hollowing a surface." -Georges Seurat

http://artquotes.robertgenn.com/auth_search.php?authid=2315

When the painting was exhibited at the Salon des Independants in 1891, one critic observed that "everything in Circus achieves harmony through analogy, through the conciliation of opposites, conspiring towards a sense of gaiety: ascending lines, successive tone contrasts, pronounced dominance of orange, highlighted by a frame which creates an oppositions of tone and color with the whole."
http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/cirque-7090.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&cHash=4d71123a71

This piece is showing a show at the circus with a lady on top of white horse and a man with a clown entertaining the audience, it fits well with our circus theme.

Posted by Mai Yia Thao

Philippe Fernandez: Come One Come All

Title: Come One Come all

Artist: Philippe Fernandez

Date: Nov 2010

Size: 20"W X 16"H inches

Media: Acrylic on wood panel, sides 1/inches

Style: Realism/Impressionism 

Philippe Fernandez was born October 30, 1976 in Long Beach CA. He was an only child and he spent his years in La Mirada, CA. He is a passionate self taught visual artist and have love for fantasy and fairy tales. He is self representing and has managed to grace over 1000 private and corporate collections worldwide, and has garnered a devoted following by collectors of all ages.

"My art is not a memory or a thought. It's what I hold in my heart and hands. My art is me. It's who I am. It's where i wish to be." -Philippe A. Fernandez

 http://www.jacketflap.com/profile.asp?member=FairyTales

 This piece shows a beautiful scene of a fantasy circus with the bright red balloons flying in the air and the bushes cut into an elephant and giraffe shape, it all ties into a circus theme.

Posted by Mai Yia Thao

Norman Rockwell: The Circus Barker

Artist: Norman Rockwell

Completion Date: 1916

Style: Regionalism

Genre: genre painting

Technique: Oil

Material: Canvas

Created for a cover of the The Saturday Evening Post magazine.

The Saturday Evening Post was a publication that published current events, human interest pieces and editorials. The Saturday Evening Post printed issues bi-weekly and ran form 1897-1969 and would often commission famous artist such as Norman Rockwell.

Norman Perceval Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was a 20th-century American painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of American culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios.

In 1962, Rockwell was quoted in Esquire magazine as saying: "I call myself an illustrator but I am not an illustrator. Instead, I paint storytelling pictures which are quite popular but unfashionable." 

Rockwell was a master of using gesture and facial expressions of the subjects within his paintings to captivate his audiences. His use of expressions and gesture conveys emotions  that are easily identifiable.

In the Circus Barker two youths assume the rolls of archetypical circus characters, the Strong Man, and the Barker. This illustration depicts the adoration children have for the circus and is why it is a perfect choice for our exhibit.

Posted By: Donald Nadziejko

James Jean: CLOWN

Tittle: Clown
Oil Painting on Board
16"x20"

This piece was painted in 2000 and it appears it was done so for personal satisfaction.  No commissions were found or reasons given.

James Jean was born in Taiwan and raised in New Jersey.In 2001 he graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York. He is known for both his commercial work, fine art gallery work, and in the American comics industry as a cover artist for various books published by DC Comics, as well as for his work for Prada, ESPN and Atlantic Records. His work, which has been collected in numerous volumes, has been compared by The New York Times to that of Maxfield Parrish.

James Jeans states his design philosophy as "a concentration of aesthetics, virtuosity, profanity , and exploring the whole spectrum of visual communications" and stresses the importance of creating art that he is interested about.

This illustration depicts a strong sense of whimsey as two hybrid monkeys applaud a clown whose hat has levitated off of his head. The viewers eyes are locked within the composition and drawn to the expression of bewilderment upon the clowns face. The composition forms a strong triangle around the face of the clown to help achieve this effect.

Wonder, whimsey, oddities, and bizarre animals are just some of the hallmarks synonymous with the circus. James Jean's illustration of the Clown captures all of these elements and is why this piece has been chosen for our exhibit.

Posted By: Donald Nadziejko

Robert Owen: Clowns Abound

Clowns Abound

Artist:Robert Owen

Piece:Clowns Abound

Media:Painted Canvas
Date:1970-1989

Dimensions:26"x 38"

Robert Owen was born in Polk County, Missouri on September 2 1930. He has been painting for 35 years professionally. For 30 years he has been delighting people with clowns. Robert Owen paintings can be found among many of the International "jet set" community's distinguished art collections, and in private homes all over the nation.

"His portrayal of life seen through his canvas touch on all aspects of life, from Politicians, Athletes, Doctors, Lawyers, Businessmen, and of course Clowns themselves."
http://www.rogallery.com/Owen_Robert/Owen_bio.htm

Clowns abound was painted on canvas between the years of 1970-1989. The dimensions are 26" x 38". The painting captures the emotions on the clowns faces which shows the true pain and diversity of each individual clown. The different clowns help intensify what the artist is feeling or trying to express to the viewers.    

The painting was chosen for its unique style and detailed art work. The emotions on each face express the thought and feelings of each clown. This piece blends in with the circus theme exhibit. 



Posted by: Eric Gonzales

Arthur Sarnoff: Ringo The Clown

Ringo The Clown

Artist:Arthur Sarnoff

Piece:Ringo the clown

Date:1979

Dimensions:17"x 21"

Arthur Sarnoff  was born in 1912 in Brooklyn, New York. He was an American artist. Prior to working as an illustrator, Sarnoff studied at the Industrial School and the Grand Central School of art in New York city.

"His work was whimsical and engaging, and relied heavenly upon themes of Americana and slapstick humor. One of his paintings, "The Hustler", was one of the best selling prints of the 1950's. He was also known to have painted portraits of famous individuals such as Bob Hope, and John F. Kennedy. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Sarnoff

Ringo The Clown was produced in 1979, the dimensions are 17" x 21". The bright colors and facial expression intensify's Ringo's portrait. These features bring Ringo alive with the detailed art work and bright colors. 

This art piece ties in with the circus theme that was chosen for the art gallery. The painting was picked to show that not all clowns are sad but are also happy.



Posted by: Eric Gonzales





CONCLUSION: What We Learned

     Organizing an exhibition takes a lot more thought than one would think. Finding a theme out of all the endless possibilities makes you second guess if you chose the right one. We sat down and discussed all ideas and eventually came to the consensus that the circus would give a plethora of interesting works. We learned that everyone has to do their part in making an exhibition great. Not many artists have background information, especially if the artist is deceased and wasn't well known, which makes finding artists rather difficult. However, each person was able to find works and since the theme is so broad, every single piece fits well together. Each person doing there part made the exhibition truly stand out.

 No Process is easy when more than one person is involved, it is difficult to all be on the same schedule when everyone has such a hectic life. Coming together for meetings is hard. However finding time to all connect through email made it much more easier. Finding information and works was one of the easier challenges, it came naturally because without knowing it, we have been preparing for it all semester with our homework entries. The job of curator is hard, but rewarding. It is difficult to get everyone in the same place, however looking at the outcome of the gallery is unbelievable. 

-Lauren Larkins

OTHER QUOTES ABOUT THE PROJECT...

     In the process of organizing an art gallery we learned that various artists do similar types of work, but the artwork it self is created in an individualistic way.

     The part of the process that came natural was being able to relate the theme to the pieces of art that were chosen.


-Eric Gonzales

     The job of curator was very educational and as a result of the process we gained an appreciation for the profession; aquiring artwork, assessing the pieces suitable to our theme, and interpreting the pieces were only some of the duties we had to attend to. In the end, the process proved to be enriching and enlightening.

     During the process of connecting works of art to our common theme we found that each artist due to their individual outlooks, experiences, and perception had their own unique way of expressing their love and view for the subject, whether it was through impressionism or surrealism, the emotions conveyed in their artwork pay tribute to the circus. 

-Don Nadziejko