Looking at Paintings

Looking at Paintings:

The Opening of ArtLoveMagic’s David Bowie Exhibit

By Kendall Brown

 

[I wrote this article on behalf of ArtLoveMagic]

I’ll be honest: I haven’t spent much time in my life looking at paintings. I tend to be drawn to the “dynamic” arts, such as music, television, and film, rather than the “static” ones, like painting, sculpture, and architecture. Ironically perhaps, my love for music led me to look at paintings for a couple of hours recently. On Friday, February 5, I attended the opening of an exhibit, mounted by ArtLoveMagic in the historic South Side on Lamar building (formerly the Sears Catalog Merchandise Center), of art (mostly paintings) inspired by David Bowie and his music. Of course, this is presented as a celebration of the life and legacy of the recently deceased musician/actor/painter.

 

Although the focus of the exhibit is on static paintings, the opening offered much of a dynamic nature to experience. Many people were milling about and talking, both in the ArtLoveMagic space and in the cavernous hallway outside. A DJ played Bowie’s music, various tables were set up with art for sale (including one from Pop Tart Cherry, featuring earrings made from old, damaged vinyl records), and several artists were actually creating “live art” paintings during the event.

 

As I walked up the steps from the hallway into the ALM space, my attention was first grabbed by a painting titled Stardust. Something about it just struck me, and I returned a couple of times to examine it some more. Perhaps the painting I spent the most time with was Another World. Its sci-fi look and theme took me back to my youthful fascination with speculative fiction and projected future technology.

 

While experiencing this painting up close, I fell into a conversation with the young woman who happened to be standing next to me. We began discussing David Bowie and the way he chose to leave the world. Diagnosed with liver cancer, he kept his illness a secret for 18 months, while creating his last recordings and videos, and posing for one more photo shoot. His final album, Blackstar, was released on his 69th birthday, to critical acclaim. Two days later, he died, and the public announcement was met with widespread shock and dismay. Bowie was always one to stand out from the rest, to make a spectacle, and in a way, his death was his final work of art.

 

I told my new acquaintance that I was reminded of Warren Zevon, who went public with his cancer diagnosis in 2002 and went on to create his farewell album, featuring guest appearances from many of his friends. In an interview, he said, “you can’t die when you’ve got a project in the works”, and like Bowie, he lived to see the release of his final album.

 

From here, our conversation moved on to the subject of public grieving. We discussed the nature of events like these, including others we had both recently attended, and the role of social media in mourning the shared loss of a beloved celebrity. Both avenues help us reach out to other friends who feel our loss, and both can actually bring us new friends, as well.

 

Following this discussion, which was the “heart” of the night for me, I encountered several friends who were in attendance, and spent time talking with them. Some of us even went over to nearby Poor David’s Pub to hear some live music.

 

All in all, it was a very fulfilling evening which brought me together with friends, old and new. I also found the contemplation of the art to be quite mentally and emotionally stimulating, and this experience has encouraged me to spend more time looking at paintings.