Thursday, June 24, 2010

Ron English Breaks Records in Phillip's Film Auction

Ron English, the Urban Artist known for legitimizing the term 'Popaganda' has made it in the fidgety New York auction market, realizing $31k ($26k hammer + buyer's premium) for his 2009 screenprint of Marilyn Monroe.  At 3pm on June 24th, 2010, I watched online as a series of competing bids drove the price from an opening price of $7,000 (hammer) to a final record auction price of $26k (hammer) a few seconds later. 

Those of us who have been following Ron's work for years can tell you that he's produced far more major works than this ripe pair of Mickeys, so the sky is the limit for the works of this Billboard revolutionary.  Celebrity collectors have added English's works to their collection, and it's a well-known fact that musician Slash has several pieces of Ron's work. 

English's stock is on the rise.  Ron was featured briefly in the movie Exit Through the Gift Shop, a film directed by another artistic rebel, Banksy, the anonymous street artist whose works have sold through Sotheby's and Christie's for millions of pounds.  If you don't know Ron's story, add his documentary 'The Art & Crimes of Ron English" to your Netflix queue.  You won't be disappointed.  Here's a clip of the pre-documentary teaser reel:


Ron's work may have been hiding underneath our noses for a few years, but he's been there.  English was asked to illustrate Morgan Spurlock's eat-em-all hit Supersize me.  And during the HOPE campaign, you might have seen the Abraham Obama image that garnered media attention for morphing our now president into the iconic Honest Abe.  Contemporary art commercialist, Michel Roux, who envisioned Absolut Vodka's famous art campaign has been working with English for years.  Ron joined Motherwell and Warhol in designing his own Absolut ad, then painted the well-known Van Gogh'esque image used to promote Absente around the world.

He's a star, and I wish him well on his already impressive career...I think it's only the beginning.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

National Lampoon's New Vacation

Since I was old enough to define 'lewd' I was reading National Lampoon's Magazine.  Later I graduated to enjoying the series of National Lampoon's Vacation films beginning in 1983 with Vacation, and European Vacation in 1985 (25 years ago!).  Apparently, the franchise isn't done with Chevy Chase & Beverly D'Angelo just yet.

It's rumored that New Line Cinema is producing a new Griswold Vacation movie, apparently directed by David Dobkin, known best for his role in developing Wedding Crashers, the 2005 comedic insta-hit with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.   We'll keep our fingers crossed for as explosive of a hit. 

Confusing the rumors is a series of promotional shorts of Ellen and Clark Griswold (called Hotel Hell Vacation) commissioned by an online vacation property company (HomeAway.com).  This 14 minute Vacation video was released by HomeAway following a Griswold HomeAway Superbowl ad.  




Boris Vallejo was the artist tasked with designing the iconic images gracing the VHS boxes and movie posters for National Lampoon's Vacation and European Vacation.  The art for Vacation is buried in a celebrity collection, the other is making its way to auction this year - perhaps it will overlap with some interesting news about the newest Vacation flic?  In August 2010 Heritage Auctions (HA.com) is offering this painting from National Lampoon's European Vacation in an online/Live auction of Illustration Art.


BORIS VALLEJO (American, b. 1941)
National Lampoon's European Vacation, 1985
Oil on board
37 x 25 in.
Signed lower left
National Lampoon's European Vacation, original one-sheet movie poster illustration.

In any case, 2010 should be a good year for fans of Chevy Chase and National Lampoon's Vacation franchise...(insert favorite Griswold quote here).  

Friday, June 11, 2010

Fingers on a Common Hand


Fingers on a Common Hand

Fingers on the almighty hand,
was this the Master Plan?
That we would all be connected,
and not controlled,
by its command.

We live a life of reason,
and still we cannot see
that our fellow man
is just a finger on a common hand.

A complex enigma, a puzzling reality,
If I loved you,
would that mean I might marry me?
Do I lose my identity,
by recognizing that You are a part of Me?

If I am a part of You, how can We be anything but equal?
Why give us individual identities and call us people,
if we really are just You,
…only independent and doing exactly what we want to.

- Jared Green

Paul Stankard's Frozen Me in Glass

I never thought that I would be captured by what I have always considered a more dated form of art, art glass. A few contemporary artists have transitioned my thinking.   One of note is Paul Stankard, the oft-lauded Godfather of the art glass world.  Stankard has shown me that glass can attract collectors of contemporary art.  Art glass doesn't have to be a paperweight to fit on your Grandma's fresh-pressed doily.  It can be imaginative and curious, and make you wonder how'd he do that.

While other designers of glass paperweights struggle to achieve a thousand-dollar price-point for their pieces, 67 year old Stankard has flirted with auction prices topping $40k for some of his better pieces.  Premier auction houses have all carried his works, and continue to sell his pieces with strong results.

These two pieces sold at auction in 2007 for $41k and $27k respectively...despite an estimate of $5-$7k each.  Of course, these are two of his best exemplars, so that must be factored into appraisals of his other works. 

Stankard's pieces are incredibly detailed and amazing in that each piece of his composition, from buzzing bees to ornate flowers, is crafted out of glass.  No detail is ignored, and that attention is not lost on the collectors willing to pay top prices for a piece of Stankard's wizardry. 

Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Influence of MAD Magazine's Maddest Artists


When I was 11, I remember fumbling through my older cousin's stacks of magazines, eventually uncovering a trove of MAD Magazines.  I sat in the middle of his room reading them for hours, until I had to be physically removed.  The parodies made me a NY cynic far in advance of my first experiences in Manhattan...and the art, well the art made me want to draw, create and entertain.  I've had a lifelong fascination with the magazine and it's illustrators.  It's an 'obsession' that has shaped my life and career. 

In my late 20's I started collecting original art from the magazine, initially buying and trading on Ebay.  As I matured and could afford a few better pieces, I started shopping Heritage's auctions, looking for opportunities to upgrade my collection.  That would eventually lead to a management role with the auction house and would change my career entirely.  

My fandom led me to track down 'Fold-in' creator Al Jaffee in NY and enjoy a few minutes with he and his wife at his studio & home.  Al was such a mensch, he inked this piece for me after our meeting and sent it to me at my home...a trophy gag!

One of my favorite MAD artists is Mort Drucker, a sympatico with pen & ink, is credited with illustrating parodies of the most iconic American movies, ranging from the Godfather to Yentl.  Mort and his wife Barbara hosted me for an afternoon in their New York home, and I left with a few pieces, including the art for one of the last covers that Mort had illustrated for MAD. 

My first influence was Don Martin, who drew single-page gags for MAD and Cracked magazines.  I learned to draw cartoon faces by tracing his renderings onto notebook paper.  Don's are probably the most difficult to find of MAD artist's original works, but I've managed to snag a few.  Don passed away in Florida in '99 after parting ways with MAD after 40+ years with the magazine.  I never had a chance to meet him, but a few MAD writers (especially Dick Debartolo) have shared a few stories of the quiet but amusing cartoonist. 

In the field of cartooning, Sergio Aragones is considered the world's fastest artist, he pens his works in a matter of minutes.  If you've ever squinted trying to see his 1-3 panel gags littering the margins of MAD Magazine, you'll understand the brilliance of his brevity in humor.  He is also the nicest and most-beloved artist I have ever met. 

I enjoyed coffee with artist Angelo Torres in his Brooklyn flat 2 years ago and reminisced about the early days of MAD while rummaging through some of his more recent art.  Angelo and Drucker were always the featurists, illustrating the longer satires and parodies in the magazine.  Angelo is a great illustrator and such a pleasant man.      



In 2006 I was asked by DC Comics (a Time-Warner Company), to auction the remaining MAD artwork, then stored in the offices of Nick Meglin, former editor of MAD.  The $1m+ collection of original MAD art was only the beginning. What followed was an offering of the best art from MAD, collected by MAD's creator, Bill Gaines, himself.  In 2008, DC called me back to enlist my help and that of Heritage Auctions in selling the remaining 36 pieces, considered to be the holy grail of MAD Magazine.  We realized $750k for the 36 pieces, a newsworthy event, so noted NBC.  For that, MAD writer Dick Debartolo let me sit on his lap, next to former MAD editor, Nick Meglin (in the middle).

Some days are Madder than others, but I thank the writers and artists of MAD for all the madness they've given me.

Antanas Adomaitis...the next Dali

For years I've been following the works of Lithuanian phenom, Antanas Adomaitis.  A virtual unknown in the US, he's represented minimally in this country, but seems to have quite a following in Lithuania and throughout Eastern Europe.

The artist is a bit extreme from what I'm told, though I've never had the pleasure of speaking with him.  For now, I'll just envisage him from his picture and his paintings.  I've always thought that knowing too much about an artist could be a hindrance to appreciating their works. 

I'm including a link to a brief bio provided by my friend Harry Nasse at Ward Nasse gallery (one of the only Non-Profit art galleries in Manhattan) on A.Adomaitis: http://ward-nassegallery.blogspot.com/2009/08/members-antanas-adomaitis.html

I purchased the large piece below, entitled "Life is Beautiful" over 10 years ago, while living in NYC, around the corner from Ward Nasse.  I found it in one of the many art bins around the gallery.  It's been the topic of many conversations, and just about every person sees something different in the piece.  I saw an upside-down tortoise the first time I laid eyes on it, but everyone is different...some see gauges, others see bugs.

In short, Adomaitis makes your brain work in an odd way...and that, for an artist, is the highest compliment.