Here are two examples of matchbook cover drawings by David Lynch. They are both undated and appear in the current Dark Splendor exhibition in Brühl, Germany. As I discover new images from this exhibition, I will post them-- however, I will exclude any images that were previously published within the catalogue that accompanied the Air Is On Fire, in order to highlight the possible differences between the two exhibitions. These two matchbook cover drawings were not included in the Air Is On Fire catalogue. IMAGES: Ink on matchbook cover (undated), 2) Ink and colored pencil on matchbook cover (undated) (David Lynch/Max Ernst Museum, Brühl)
David Lynch: Dark Splendor press conference, part two.
Topics included:
1) Why the exhibition is not intended for those under 18 years of age (during the discussion of which, curator Werner Spies looks a bit unsatisfied), 2) Snowmen, 3) Ideas, 4) Surrealism, 5) Exhibition sound design, 4) More about ideas, and 5) Some artistic role models. Of note, is Mr. Lynch's mention of the American artist Edward Kienholz, whose work seems to have some resonance with some of Lynch's recent large-scale paintings/constructions.
Some video footage of Lynch at the opening of his exhibition David Lynch: Dark Splendor, held at the Max Ernst Museum in Brühl, Germany.
A notable quote from the press conference, regarding his approach to painting:
"...and I love bad painting. I like to make room for accidents. I think in some bad bad painting, and organic phenomenon, there is more room to dream."
This is a wonderful statement that ties together many of Lynch's aesthetic choices across the spectrum of media he works within. In sound work, digital video, animation, painting, graphics and sculpture, Lynch has leaned more and more heavily toward content that is raw and degraded. There is a deliberate attempt to avoid the polished object in favor of that with less definition-- a breakdown of the concrete. The edges of the work, as it were, tend to disappear along with fixed meaning. Not only does Lynch embrace the accidental in the creation of these works, but the muddy definition of the form itself, allows for the spectator to work toward assembling these accidents into a highly subjective definition. This achieves the power of creative freedom for Lynch, and concurrently translates into the power of creative interpretation for his audience.
This is a very important point often missed by the American art intelligentsia in viewing his non-filmic work, thereby missing the goal of his aesthetic as it is found throughout his entire body of work. This notion of embracing the happy accident, was certainly an approach to image-making fostered by the Abstract Expressionist painting movement under whose sign Lynch grew up artistically. At that time, such a practice was viewed as a new freedom that paved the way for a new kind of art free of traditional formal concerns that only served to constrict the emotional free-range of the artist. Lynch, although working with imagery that lies distinctly beyond that of Abstract Expressionism proper, has carried this painterly idea forward, and makes use of it in every medium he touches.
Lynch's use of the phrase "organic phenomena" is suitable, seeing as the approach he takes to his projects, unfolds in a naturally-occurring state, with the art object in question allowed to enter into being through an evolutionary arc free of the excesses of learned manipulation. When Lynch has spoken in the past of the tyranny of learning, it may very well have to do with this notion of a learned process of art-making acting to stifle the more natural progression of organic phenomena.
Some images from the opening of David Lynch: Dark Splendor, that took place on November 20th, 2009, at the Max Ernst Museum in Brühl. The exhibition opens to the public this Sunday, the 22nd.
IMAGES: 1) Untitled and undated pastel and chalk drawing on paper (from Max Ernst Museum, Brühl), 2) Lynch posed before "Small boy in his room" (2009) (ddp / Henning Kaiser), 3) Lynch posed before another recent painting.
The publisher Hatje Cantz just released the cover image for their catalogue to the upcoming exhibition David Lynch Dark Splendor. The catalogue will be published sometime this month. So far it appears as if the text will only be in German (a disappointment for those of us in the U.S.), and is available either through the publisher's website, Distributed Art Publishers (for the U.S.) or Amazon Germany.
Number three in the ongoing series of posts documenting work from the Air is On Fire exhibition, that was not reproduced within the accompanying catalogue.
On view here, is work containing the text "My Dog Barks Some." This phrase should be familiar to those who have seen the film Wild At Heart (1990), as it is delivered by the late Jack Nance, portraying the character OO Spool (Boosey Spool or Double-Ought Spool). The character is referred to as a rocket scientist, and although it is hard to make out from the reproduction below, there appears to be a rocket-ship located at the top, right-of-center, of the painting. This is not the first time Lynch has recycled this phrase in his studio work-- it was also present in a monoprint created at Tandem Press in Wisconsin, in 1999, in which an actual dog is present behind a chain-link fence. The use of dog imagery in Lynch's work will be grounds for further in-depth examination in a future post.
The following is the full text of OO Spool's dog dialogue, from Wild At Heart, which seems to propose a certain alternate meaning of the term, in opposition to expected associations:
"My dog barks some. Mentally you may picture my dog, but I have not told you the type dog which I have. Perhaps you may even picture Toto, from The Wizard of Oz. But I warn you, my dog is always with me. WOOF!"
IMAGES: 1. Untitled (#14) (1999), monoprint on hand-made paper, 25 x 25 inches, private collection (from The Prints of David Lynch, published by Tandem Press, University of Wisconsin-Madison; 2. Unknown title (My Dog Barks Some) (c. 1996), mixed media on canvas, approx. 66 x 66 inches, collection of the artist (?); 3. Detail of My Dog Barks Some.
Although I've previously posted details concerning the vitrine installations created by David Lynch at Galleries Lafayette, I did not go into as great of detail covering the concurrent exhibition titled I See Myself, which presented a selection of sixty lithographs that Lynch had created at Item éditions, between 2007 and 2009. In addition to the lithographs, there was also a small theatre installed within the gallery, screening a sampling of Lynch's short cinema, including the outtakes from the filming of The Alphabet and The Grandmother, that was part of the Mystery Disc in the Lime Green Set. As you can see from the images, the installation presents Lynch's work in a very intimate setting, with each framed lithograph individually lit and a series of very austere red chairs placed throughout. Additionally, one of the lithographic stones used for printing, was positioned in a steel display for gallery attendees to catch a glimpse into the working process at atelier Item.
I've included two brief video overviews of the space, to give one an idea of the installation.
Welcome to T E X T U R E - a blog whose sole purpose is to present an archive of articles, commentary, images and information pertaining to the studio art of David Lynch. Comments and contributions are always appreciated.
A U T H O R
T E X T U R E
Freelance, unofficial curator/collector of the studio art of D. Lynch.
