Great Artists Steal at Art Center Sarasota

"Bill in Sarasota" by Craig Carl 

"Good artists copy; great artists steal." So declared none other than Pablo Picasso. Fun fact: Steve Jobs used this quote when talking about some of Apple's innovations. I can just imagine the corporate panic that ensued the moment the words left his mouth. Bud Tribble, Apple's VP of software technology at the time, tried to put Jobs' statement in context. "I think people focus on the Picasso statement and focus on the word 'steal," Tribble said. "If you take that word, which is kind of pejorative, and replace it with 'make it your own,' ... that's the dividing line between copying and stealing." I suspect this wasn't the final word on the topic. But I've veered a bit off my point, which is that Art Center Sarasota is hosting an exhibit in which local artists used the work of famous artists as their jumping off point. They did a good job of making those artists' work their own. It's a fun show. 

I listened in on juror Alecia Harper's comments on the exhibit. Harper shared that 284 works inspired by 140 different artists were submitted for consideration. Picasso and Braque were the artists most frequently stolen from, with 14 submissions inspired by each of these greats. Nipping at their heels were Klimt, van Gogh and Monet at 13 reimaginings. 

I was able to identify the inspiration for some of the works from across the room. Take, for instance, Craig Carl's "Bill in Sarasota." It's a terrific homage to the work of David Hockney. I particularly liked the no socks look. I imagined that Bill is looking out the window at one of Hockney's trademark pools. It's a successful work on all points in my book, but it wasn't given an award.

"Lunch with Andy and Jean-Michel" by Raegan Little

Nor did Raegan Little's "Lunch with Andy and Jean-Michel" garner a prize. As the title says, the sculpture was inspired by the art of Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. You might expect that drawing on the influence of multiple artists would make the task more difficult, but the inclusion of Basquiat's figures and graffiti seems a logical addition to this 3D version of a Warhol soup can. Warhol and Basquiat were not only friends in real life; they collaborated artistically as well. To see some of that work, click here. 

The conversion of one of Warhol's trademark soup can paintings into a sculpture was a clever idea. (Another artist recreated one of Keith Haring's dogs as a sculpture.) Having a 3D version allowed Little to include -- and modify -- the directions on how to prepare the soup and its ingredients. The instructions contain the suggestion to "Eat for lunch." This addition is a sly reference to Warhol's statement that he ate Campbell's soup for lunch every day for 20 years. "I used to drink it," he said. I like it, although I do wonder why the can is misshapen. If you have any thoughts, let me know. 

"Intrusive Thoughts (L'appel du vide) by Gene Shurakov  

Now let's get to a couple of works that did win awards. "Intrusive Thoughts (L'appel du vide)" by Gene Shurakov was given an Honorable Mention. It definitely wins the prize for most mysterious work in the show. Even in this image, you can see the movement in the work and its three dimensional feeling. It's a painting that's gotten under my skin, which is quite apt given its name. 

"Intrusive Thoughts" was inspired by the work of three Russian artists: Kazimir Malevich, Vasily Kandinsky and Ivan Aivazovsky. I have to admit to only being familiar with Kandinsky (and that I can't summon even one of his works to mind). Hello, Google. 

I learned that Malevich was an abstract artist who founded the Suprematism movement, a style of art that relies on the supremacy of feeling when you look at a painting. He was particularly known for his geometric paintings, including his "Black Circle." So I get that reference now. Aivazovsky was known for his turbulent seascapes such as "The Wave." Check. Remind me to never go boating with this guy. The influence of Kandinsky is less readily apparent to me, but I trust that Shurakov knows his Russian artists. 

"Self Portrait circa 1989" by Michael Parkinson

I'll leave you with a Merit Award winner -- "Self Portrait circa 1989" by Michael Parkinson. I had to get close to this painting before realizing the artist being stolen from is Chuck Close. You can see in this image that Parkinson mimicked Close's technique of painstakingly painting his large-scale works small square by small square. 

For Close, this approach was the only way he could create the portraits for which he is known. Close suffered from prosopagnosia, or face blindness. (Being "face blind" means you are unable to differentiate one face from another.) You might expect this disability to be a hindrance to becoming a portrait artist, but Close said he made this choice specifically because of his condition. 

It turns out that recreating an image of his subject helped him remember that person's face. Before he started a new portrait, Close would take a color photograph of the individual. He would then pencil in small squares across the entire canvas. Using the photograph as his guide, he would work from the top left hand portion of the canvas to the lower right hand, filling in each square with the appropriate color. What a task he set for himself each time he picked up a paintbrush. 

Unfortunately, Parkinson was not on hand at the Art Center to talk about his choice of Close as his inspiration and how difficult the process of creating this 60x45 self portrait was. I'd be curious to know what his take aways from the project were. No matter, Parkinson deserves kudos for taking the opportunity to, as they say, walk a mile in someone else's shoes. 

"Great Artists Steal" continues at Art Center Sarasota through April 20th. For more info, click here.