~MICHAEL SCOGGINS TO GIVE A TALK – & – PIX JUST POSTED !!
MICHAEL SCOGGINS WILL CONDUCT A SHORT TALK FOLLOWED BY A Q&A ON HIS SHOW,
‘Michael L. Scoggins: US AGAINST THEM (The War Between the Classes)’
to-nite WED APRIL 4, 2012 starting at 6:30 PM
the show runs thru this SAT APRIL 7, 2012 – so this is a good chance to come see it – before it comes down.
FREIGHT + VOLUME – 530 WEST 24th ST – CHELSEA
NOTE: read that title again !! this is all about the war between the classes – the haves and have-nots !! not a war between the USA and anybody else. ok, got that ? though there seems to be some kind of referencing to the ‘red commies’ – so, I’m gonna ask him about that – to-nite !!
yeah, we know we are a war-like country. we’re also a war-like peoples !! plural, global. nobody escapes the ancient hard-wired survival genes, esp as some of us never got past the greedy lying sociopath sub-primal ones, aunt piggy – anybody ?
I know I got one – in my family !! ha.
you can see: a nice selection of works from the installation plus artist background & theory, here.
MICHAEL SCOGGINS, ‘Red Sonja’, 2012. marker on paper, 84 x 66 in.
MICHAEL SCOGGINS, ‘America’s Favorite Drawing’, 2012. graphite, marker, prismacolor on paper. 67 x 51 in.
BTW:
that’s a very heavy-duty over-size roll of paper, he works on. not the everyday ordinary thin stuff you have on your desk, ha. that’s part of the illusion. part of the Scoggins – game plan. check out those dimensions, again: 67 x 51 in. which translates as: 5 ft. 7 in. x 4 ft. 3 in.
ABOVE IMAGES: COURTESY FREIGHT + VOLUME
a good-natured MICHAEL SCOGGINS gave a brief talk at his show, which is doing quite well, bye the way – this past Wednesday, April 4, 2012.
he is standing in front of his piece, ‘I Am A Man’, 2012.
MICHAEL SCOGGINS, ‘I Am A Man’, 2012. graphite and prismacolor on (torn) paper, 22 x 51 in.
MICHAEL SCOGGINS, ‘Who’s on Top?’ 2012. marker, graphite, prismacolor on paper. dimensions vary as to how you decide to exhibit it. ($9,000. for the 2 pieces)
he began his talk emphasizing that his issue is with the fat cat corporate or ‘big daddy’ power trippers who are behind all conflicts – exploiting and dividing the masses around globe – who bear the brunt, and fight the wars (!!) of these eat’em up and throw them a bone once in a while – cutthroat dominators . . . MICHAEL said he grew up in the cold war decade – so that explains the ‘commie’ reference. it was pretty clear that there was a lot of thought behind the images, which therefore radiated a visual power beyond their child-like surface scribble. He also said he was aiming for a more ‘minimalist’ field in the work, itself – on a purely plastic or compositional level. mission accomplished.
detail, MICHAEL SCOGGINS, ‘Who’s on Top?’
he also spoke a bit about how and when, in grad school, the lightbulb went off in his head to blow-up his notebook sketches . . . which sketches, as well as the seeds of all kinds of ideas, apparently he does non-stop, and has done so, ever since childhood.
he explained how he first makes several batches of the ‘sheets’ of lined ‘notebook’ or blank ‘sketchbook’ paper in his studio, cutting them from big rolls, and then carefully blue ‘lining’ the notebook or binder-like sheets, and cutting out the margin holes, etc, and then he works on the compositions. he also manipulates and bends the sheets in various corners, or other selected ways to further enhance the illusion of a ‘ruled’ notebook or blank sketchbook – page.
detail, MICHAEL SCOGGINS, ‘Who’s on Top?’
in this show, he also ‘tore’ the sheets to resemble ‘scraps’ of paper, and in this case. most engagingly: flags.
one fun fact he re-counted was that his mother, who was an artist, saved all his childhood drawings, so he can still go back and consult with his younger self !!
and, yes he was into comics. in fact that’s where he thought he was heading when he was younger – to life as a comic book artist. (!!)
HANNAH HINDS stands beside a full page MICHAEL SCOGGINS’S piece – ‘Art is a Weapon’. (!!)
the piece is dated 2011, graphite and prismacolor on paper, 67 x 51 in.
($12,000.)
detail, MICHAEL SCOGGINS, ‘Art is a Weapon’, get it ?
MICHAEL SCOGGINS with long time pal, and now wife, artist ALEX GINGROW. MICHAEL and ALEX both have advanced academic connections to the prestigious Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia.
behind them: MICHAEL SCOGGINS, ‘Long Live the King!’, 2011. graphite, marker and prismacolor on paper, 67 x 51 in.
you can see Alex’s work, here: alex gingrow
and, YES, it friggin’ rocks !! – check it out !!
in the middle room: at left, a large wall-sized installation of smaller individually hand-colored silk screened pieces (ranging in scale/individual prices: $50, $75 & $150) that are adhered to the wall with velcro – titled ‘War is Good’, 2012 – and – the less politically charged work, maybe !! – at right, titled ‘Explosion Drawing #1’, 2012. marker and prismacolor om paper, 67 x 51 in.
detail, MICHAEL SCOGGINS, ‘Explosion Drawing #1’.
note: how well he does the uniform paper ‘margin’ holes, and the ‘torn’ chads from where the paper ‘was torn out of the book’ – it’s easy to overlook that precision as you encounter the visual compositions . . . but this precision mimic-ing of torn paper, almost puts him into the class of sculptor, in my book !!
it’s also interesting to pause a moment and contrast the precision production – to the child-like lettering and draftsmanship – to the grown-up thoughts.
detail, MICHAEL SCOGGINS, ‘Explosion Drawing #1’.
detail, MICHAEL SCOGGINS, ‘Explosion Drawing #1’.
MANDY, AMANDA JOY BROWN, beside one of my fav pieces in the show, and I just don’t know why – but it rocks and rolls !! so drop dead funny, totally droll, and against the grain, I guess. really nice off-the-usual-color-chart hue, dead-on composition, and authentic format too. MONOPOLY !!
MICHAEL SCOGGINS, ‘Know Your Place’, 2012. marker and prismacolor on paper. 51 x 67 in.
originally from Texas, and visiting from Savannah, Georgia, you can catch AMANDA JOY BROWN, here: amandajoybrown.wordpress.com
we’ll give the last word to: MICHAEL SCOGGINS, ‘All-American Family XVII’, 2012. crayon and prismacolor on paper, 67 x 51 in. which hangs over the gallery’s front desk.
the back story: after Michael produced a series of tongue-in-cheek, see below, diverse (!!) American family portraits, circa 2007 – with him, stuck into the ‘inclusive’ groupings – collectors began to commission him to paint portraits of their real families. and yep, that is Michael aloft in the little plane. looks like his game plan, took off – in all respects.
a page from the past: MICHAEL SCOGGINS and his ‘integrated’ family !! and yeah, he’s the blondie !!
MICHAEL SCOGGINS, ‘All-American Family’, 2007. marker and prismacolor on paper, 67 x 51 in. Private Collection. Courtesy of ART VENTURES INTERNATIONAL . . . in the softcover catalog, ‘Michael Scoggins: Sic Semper Tyrannis’, 2008, CAD/CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER of VIRGINIA, which is available at the gallery.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH