Table Of ContentBruce Pearson: A New Visual Language
Rose Art Museum Brandeis University September 7-
Waltham October 17, 1999
Massachusetts
WhyCan'iLove Comein
a SixPack?. 1998
Courtesy Ronald Feldman
Fine Arts. Inc.. New York
Artists, critics, and philosophers have Critic Dave Hickey predicted that "The
repeatedly proclaimed the end issue of the nineties will be beauty."^
of painting since the invention of Indeed, in an age dominated by digital
photography in 1848. Upon first and mass-produced media and imagery,
witnessing Daguerre's new invention, a large number of painters are
French academic painter Paul Delaroche appearing across the United States and
feared the eventual fate of his profession Europe who are creating objects of great
and bemoaned that, "From today, visual allure, and reinvigorating art by
painting is dead." But only after painting reintroducing the artist's hand, making
reached its apogee in modern the primal mark. While beauty has
abstraction, did artists rebel against its been a key issue, the aesthetic of new seduce us with their beauty. A pioneerof
dominance. By 1969 conceptual artist, painting is also profoundly shaped by the Williamsburg artist community in
Joseph Kosuth, saw painting as the the conceptual and post-modern art of Brooklyn, Pearson has worked
corpse of Modernism and published its the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Using the professionally for 20 years, breaking into
obituary in his essay "Art After formal vocabulary of visual effect, recent the mainstream New York art community
Philosophy." The past three decades painters critically reflect upon the in a Projectsexhibition at the Museum of
have witnessed the proliferation of tradition of painting and often employ Modern Art in 1996." Pearson hasflatly
conceptual, photographic, and media- post-modern irony as a vehicle for stated that he attempts to create works
based art. Painting had become addressing questions about with "a real pleasure component." His
perceived as an artifact of a bygone era. contemporary culture.^ Drawing upon paintings are, however, more than
Yet, to quote the humorist Samuel modern painting, conceptual, and post- simply visual. While Hickey believes that
Clemens, "The reports of my death are modern art, a group of contemporary beauty, with its "iconography of desire,"
greatly exaggerated."' In the hands of a artists have reconceived painting is what "redeems" us, he unequivocally
growing number of artists, painting has to make it relevant to contemporary concludes that, "We die from lack of
reinvented itself in the 1990s as society. meaning."^ Pearson recognizes this. He
avital medium of artistic expression. engages us in the visual appeal of his
Bruce Pearson participates in the picture surfaces, and, once he has our
reincarnation of abstract painting, attention, gradually reveals complex
creating colorful relief paintings that layers of text and images. We become
immersed in excavating his sublimated
Violence, Profanity, t texts and uncovering the artist's critical
SupernaturalStrangeness i
andGraphicallyRendered commentaries. First impressions of
SexualSituations, 1997 Pearson's reliefs recall Op Art and the
Collection Frayda .
and Ronald Feldman, v[ psychedelic designs of the 1960s. He
NewYork >: does not deny this resemblance to
popular visual culture. He dances the
line between mass culture and high
culture, balancing populartexts and
style within a rigorous conceptual
process that integrates imagery and
content.
step 1, 1999 ^^^^^^^^^^^^HH^^^^^^^^HH^^^^1H
Collection of Nancyand I^HH
Joel Portnoy, New York
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The Rose Art Museum has organized his sensitivity training for men. Pearson
Pearson's first solo museum exhibition J'V^ facetiously questions. WhyCan'tLove
with his most recent and accomplished ' " Tt.''y'. J 111 , "n' Come in a Six Pack?, the title of an
body of works. The title of the earliest " "^~ article he found in an on-line magazine
piece, Violence, Profanity, Supernatural 1,. 1 ,11 ,1.' ' , M( 1 ' 1' 1J ( .A for men. Unlike the intense hues or tones
Strangeness andGraphicallyRendered - of his other paintings, the colors of this
,
SexualSituations (1997), was a parental painting seem relatively calm and tame.
V-:
warning published as part of a New York te / Pearson co-opted his color scheme from
''\.ji
Timesfilm review. Drawing the text in a Ralph Lauren guide to fashionable
extruded letters, he then flipped the interior colors tor the home. As we enjoy
image and overlaid the reversed texts to In the series Spirituality Today. Pearson the soothing color and busy pattern
create an intricate pattern. He reflects on the search for spiritual of the painting, letters begin to emerge,
constructed the six-inch deep relief by fulfillment in contemporary society gradually combining into words and
carving the pattern into Styrofoam, through alternative religions, cults, and phrases. Eventually, a third level of
one layer of text into the positive natural spirituality. The works in this images appears, shadowy outlines of
and the other into the negative space. series are usually painted in figures dancing across the picture
— —
The painting's dark, brooding surface monochrome often white the color surface. Pearson's parody is inherent in
suggests that Pearson offers the associated with spiritual enlightenment. the contrast between the sarcastic text
parental warning of the subversive Pearson appropriated the title of Crystal and the fashionable colors, athletes, and
subjects prevalent in American movies Energy GridSystems andRemote models parading what he views as the
and television as a cynical indictment of Healing(1997) from an advertisement in synthetic modern conception of love and
our current cultural landscape. a New Age catalog. The artist created a beauty.
serene image of transcendental beauty
Working in series, as well as individual that, upon closer examination, is an Pearson is intrigued by the popular
pieces, Pearson conceives ofthe intense topographical landscape, craze for self-help guides and created
themes for his paintings as constructed in an intricate, overlapping his own 12Steps series as a parody of
commentaries on contemporary society. grid pattern and painted in a tantalizing such programs. Quoting guests from an
The artist gathers quotes from array of over 120 shades of white. The episode of the Oprah Winfrey television
newspapers, books, magazines, and vibrancy of tone and texture contradict program, Pearson inscribed across the
television, pinning them to the wall of his the initial transcendental appearance surface of his reliefs, "Today I will not
studio. He contemplates the quotes for and suggest the artist's doubts about give in to suicide," and, "You deserve
weeks, even months, before identifying mineral crystals as a source of spiritual to be With someone who doesn't hit you."
particular ones for their insights. For healing. Yet, he also recognizes The artist contrasts these troubled
each series he selects a compositional in the NewAge search for spirituality expressions against lush lavenders,
structure that suits the subject, like a metaphor for art as a transcendent, blues, and golds inspired by the
overlaying grids, mirrored patterns, or almost religious experience. Impressionists' "pretty" palette. Pearson
mandorlas. Sometimes working on draws these disturbing quotes onto a
several series simultaneously, the artist In his series, Post-FeministMasculinity, cross section of the human brain, his
mines them until he feels that he has Pearson asks, "How do men act and playful interpretation of the mandoria, an
fully explored the possibilities of text, define themselves in post-feminist emblem of spiritual ascension.
color, and composition. culture?" In these works he parodies
such popular authors as Robert BIy and
The most recent and visually Intense of A SimpleAnswer, 1999
Collection Frayda
Pearson's paintings, A SimpleAnswer and Ronald Feldman,
(1999) overwhelms us with a hedonistic New York
splurge of rich colors, dynamic pattern,
and tactile surface. The painting's style
recalls the 1960s and the interest in
psychedelic design and middle-Eastern
textiles. The composition is a single
design that is mirrored into the four
quadrants, like a Rorschach test pattern.
Part of his PhilosophicalSeries, the title complicated layers of images and texts. that slows the hectic pace of modern life.
lacks the irony of Pearson's other work At once, he flirts with the high culture The artist's ambition is to produce
and echoes the artist's personal of contemporary art, and the pop culture a rich, meaningful visual experiencethat
philosophy to seek A Simple/Answerto of sexy, psychedelic design, color, engages us in a process of discovery.
life's questions. and trash TV. The artist teases us with Pearson's bold painted reliefs integrate
his pithy titles and challenges us idea, image, and text, creating A New
Pearson's paintings thrust themselves to discover the hidden texts that present VisualLanguage.
upon us with the immediacy of their his perspectives on the ironies of
visual and tactile impact, and only contemporary society. His distortion of Joseph D. Ketner
gradually reveal their meaning in the the text is not to obfuscate the Henry and Lois Foster Director
communicative function of language, but
to encourage a lengthy visual encounter
Cover:
DieofPleasure. 1998
Bruk/SactierCollection
Notes Checklist
Allquotesfrom theartist, 'Hickey, Dave. TheInvisible Violence. Profanity, DieofPleasure. 1998 Step r, 1999
unlessotherwise noted, are Dragon:FourEssayson SupernaturalStrangeness Oil andacrylicon AcryliconStyrofoam,
from aseriesof interviews Beauty. (LosAngeles: Art andGraphicallyRendered Styrofoam, 82x72x6" 60X48"
conductedbetween Issues Press, 1993): 11, 64. SexualSituations, 1997 PrivateCollection CollectionofNancyand
FebruaryandJuly 1999. ^Moos, David. "Accordingto Oilandacrylicon Joel Portnoy. NewYork
What: Abstract Painting Styrofoam, 72 x96x4" DieofPleasure, 1998
'Friis-Hansen, Dana. circa 1999,"ArtPapers23. Collection Fraydaand Acrylicon Styrofoam, Step2. 1999
AbstractPaintingOnce no. 3 (May-June 1999): 16, Ronald Feldman, NewYork 82 X72 X6" AcryliconStyrofoam.
Removed. Exhibition 18; Ball. Martin. Bruk/SacherCollection 60X48"
catalog. (Houston: ReconditionedAbstraction. CrystalEnergyGrid CourtesyofBrettShaheen
ContemporaryArts Exhibition. November 16. SystemsandRemote l\/1oneyMowesl\4issiles Inc.. Modernand
Museum, 1998): p. 14. 1996-January4, 1997 (St. Healing. 1997 IVIallsandMadness. 1999 ContemporaryArt,
quoting"Paintingin Louis: Forumfor Acrylicon Styrofoam, Oiland acrylicon Cleveland
Photography,"in ContemporaryArt, 1996): 3. 72X96X6" Styrofoam. 96 x 72x6"
InternationalCenterol 'Projects63:KarinDavie, CollectionCliffDiver, Collection Serge Marquie. ASimpleAnswer. 1999
Photography's UdomsakKrisanamis, Lewes, Delaware London. Courtesy Ronald Oilandacrylicon
Encyclopediaof BrucePearson. Fred Feldman FineAns, Inc., Styrofoam, 96x96x6"
Photography(NewYork: TomaselliExhibition May DieofPleasure, 1998 NewYork Collection Fraydaand
Crown Publishers, 1984. 14-June30, 1998 (New Oil andacrylicon RonaldFeldman, NewYork
p. 375; Kosuth, Joseph"Art York: MuseumofModern Styrofoam, 82x72x6" WhyCan'tLoveComeina
and Philosophy,"Studio Art, 1998). BrukCollection SixPack?. 1998
International 178(1969): ^Hlckey,opcil: 12, 64. Oil andacrylicon
134-7. 160-1, 212-13; Cable Styrofoam. 96x72x6" OtliaofPuWfCalicns.01999BwdetsUnncnity
notefrom tvlarkTwain,1897. Courtesy Ronald Feldman PoeiMM/AP.PnnMonrtcidtopapa
FineArts, Inc.. NewYork
