The Enemy of Average! Wild Surfwear- USA Made

Tuesday Art ATTACK- Gillian Ayres “Anthony and Cleopatra”

Christian Franzen Posted on May 27 2015

Gillian Ayres was born in London on February 3, 1930. She developed an interest in art while attending St. Paul's School for Girls in London. St. Paul's was looked upon as a progressive school for the time for giving young girls a broader span of education; including instruction in the arts. In 1946 she had finished her preliminary school and wanted to pursue a career in art. Ayres applied to Slade School of Fine Arts in London but was denied because she was only sixteen. She was then deferred to the Camberwell School of Art, also located in London, where she studied from 1946-1950.

Once graduating from Camberwell she worked for the AIA Gallery in Soho up until the start of her teaching career in 1959. Ayres first teaching job came in 1959 when she was asked to teach a small class at the Beth Academy of Art in Corsham for only six weeks. Ayres ended up staying at the college until 1965. After, 1965 she became the head of painting at the Winchester School of Art until 1978.

In 1981 she left teaching for good to be a full-time painter. Moving to the north-west corner of Wales, isolating herself to fully immerse herself in her work. Her work is predominantly non-representational and deals with color as well as pattern. In earlier work she used thin vinyl paints but later transitioned into oils where she would create thick colorful impasto surfaces. Ayres named her paintings after they were completed in order to contribute to the overall mood of the painting. She remained a full-time painter until her death in 2003.

By Christian Franzen

Christian Franzen. River Jetties, Newport Beach, Ca.

Alex Seastrom Posted on May 13 2015

Photos Thomas Green

Tuesday Art Attack- Leroy Neiman "Micky Mantle (1999)"

Christian Franzen Posted on May 05 2015

Leroy Neiman was born June 8th, 1921 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. When he was a child his mother divorced his father, so Neiman was mostly raised by his father Charles. He spent his whole childhood growing up in the rural areas surrounding St. Paul. At the start of World War II Neiman enlisted in the army where he served as a cook. While serving as a cook his artistic talents earned him a position designing sets and costumes for the performances put on by the Red Cross for the troops. Returning home from the war in 1946, Neiman under the G.I bill, studied at the St. Paul School of Art and later the Art Institute of Chicago. Once graduating Neiman served on the faculty of the Art Institute of Chicago for ten years.

While teaching at the Art Institute Neiman was also showing his work in competitions and exhibits earning him a lot of publicity. At this time in 1954 Neiman began his relationship with the Playboy Magazine. Neiman had met Hugh Hefner while working as a freelance artist doing illustrations for the Carson Pirie Scott department store. Hefner commissioned an illustration from Neiman for Playboy Magazine's fifth issue. The illustration was a success and Neiman built a working relationship with the magazine that would last 50 years.

In the 1960s Neiman began to travel around the world and draw inspiration from activities of leisure, in particular sporting events. He would observe, boxing matches, golf tournaments, football games, even the Olympics. This new focus on sports made Neiman's work more accessible for the common man. As he built on this series of works he received more acclaim form the athletic and artistic community. He received five honorary doctorates and a life time achievement award from USC. Neiman also received induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and The Order of Lincoln Award.

In 1998 he was commissioned to do a series of illustrations for a special issue of The Nation magazine. This launched Neiman even deeper into the eye of the common sports loving american. Neiman continued to work with this subject matter in varying medium ranging from oil, enamel, watercolor, charcoal, and serigraph until the end of his life on June 20th, 2012.

By Christian Franzen

Tuesday Art ATTACK- Henry Mosler “ Le Retour”

Christian Franzen Posted on April 29 2015

Henry Mosler was born in Tropplowitz, Silesia (now Poland) on June 6, 1841. Henry's father Gustavus was a lithographer introducing Henry to art at an early age. Henry moved with his family to New York in 1849. They moved again in 1851 and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. In Ohio Mosler worked as an apprentice for a wood engraver. During his apprenticeship he also learned minor painting skills.

Self taught he became a draughtsman for a paper in Cincinnati named the Omnibus. In the late 1850s he studied with acclaimed painter James Henry Beard. Transitioning into the civil war Mosler got a job working as an art liaison for Harper's Weekly. Through this publication he put out many drawings and paintings voicing his strong Union support throughout the Civil War. He was also commissioned to do portraits of the Union Generals.

After the war in 1863, Mosler traveled to Dusseldor to study at the Royal Academy of Art. He studied there for three years followed by a short 8 month visit to Paris before returning home to the United States in 1866. Arriving home he became a sought after portrait artist by many wealthy individuals.

He married his hometown sweetheart Sarah Cahn from Cincinnati in 1869. Not long after Mosler returned to Europe to study in Munich and then moved back to Paris in 1877. During these years living in France he painted most of his famous works, above all Le Retour; which he completed in 1879 while living in Brittany. This became the first ever American Painting bought by the Luxembourg Palace and he received a silver medal from the Salon in Paris. Only to later replace the silver with gold medals from both the Salon in Paris and Vienna in 1889.

Mosler moved back state side in 1894 in New York once more. He had a studio space in Carnegie Hall and served as a leading member of the National Academy of Design. He continued painting until his death on April 21, 1920.

By Christian Franzen

Christian Franzen Skating Around River Jetties

Philip Seastrom Posted on April 22 2015

Photos Thomas Green

Tuesday Art ATTACK- Amy Sillman “Birdwatcher”

Christian Franzen Posted on April 21 2015

Amy Sillman was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1955. From an early age Sillman liked to stay busy being always up to try something new. For a period of time she worked in an Alaskan cannery, trained at NYU as a Japanese interpreter, and pursued her artistic interest working as an assistant in a feminist silkscreen operation in Chicago. After pursuing so many different interests Sillman finally settled down and attended the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, New York. While at school, Sillman worked with a group of fellow students to create a feminist publication on art and politics they named Heresies. She graduated from the School of Visual Arts in 1979.

Sillman was influenced greatly by the New York School painters that came before her. Despite her inspirations of the abstract expressionist masters of the 40's and 50's, Sillman's work mixes abstraction with figurative representation. Sillman has also expanded herself beyond paint incorporating collage and video in her work. Many of her works are heavily layered and house a humor, psycho sexual elements, and feminist critique.

In the early 1990's Sillman went back so school and received her MFA from Bard College in New York in 1995. She signed with Sikkema Jenkins & Co and began showing her work in the Brent Sikkema Gallery in New York in 2000. Now her work is show through her dealers gallery locations all over the world. She held a year long solo show "Third Person Singular" that exhibited a year long portraiture and abstraction project from 2008-2009. "Third Person Singular" granted Sillman a great deal of exposure and received applauding reviews. The first large show housing a full survey of Sillman's work was in October of 2013. It was premiered at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and traveled across the United States. Today Sillman is still living in New York and very active practicing artist.

By Christian Franzen

Tuesday Art Attack- Philip Guston "Painting, Smoking, Eating"

Christian Franzen Posted on April 14 2015

Philip Guston was born June 27, 1913 in Montreal, Canada. Early in his childhood Guston's family moved to Los Angeles, California. When Guston was only 10 years he suffered a tragedy that would effect the rest of his life. Guston discovered his father's lifeless body after he had hung himself in their storage shed. This event extremely effected the young Guston and coincidentally soon after began to express himself through painting.

Guston began art instruction at the Los Angeles Manual Arts High School in 1927 when he was 14. In class Guston met lifelong friend and contemporary Jackson Pollock.

In school Guston's the majority of his paintings were figurative. In addition to his time spent in school Guston would draw people around his neighborhood and his mother. Guston was expelled from Manual Arts High School after writing an article for the school paper with friend Jackson Pollock that opposed the schools emphasis on sports over art.

He did not try to reenter the school and instead he went to Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles on a 1 year scholarship. Dissatisfied with his experience at in school Guston did not reapply after his 1 year scholarship had ended. He did not agree with the approach taken by his teachers in school and relied predominantly on teaching himself.

At the age of 18 Guston was asked to paint an indoor mural for the John Reed Club in Los Angeles. He accepted the challenge and painted a scene of the famous Scottsboro Boys civil rights case. The controversial mural was sadly destroyed by local police officers who objected. This incident would have a profound effect on Guston's social perception.

In 1934 Guston accompanied his friend Rueben Kadish to Mexico to paint an 1,000 square foot Mural on the wall of the former Palace of Emperor Maximilian in the capital of Morelia. They created a huge mural, The Struggle Against Terror, with an antifascist message. Their mural received great acclaim granted both artists significant recognition in the art world. While south of the border Guston made sure to spend time with fellow artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. In 1935 Guston moved to New York with many of his fellow artists and joined the WPA program painting murals for the government. While working for the WPA he married fellow WPA member Musa Mckim. They would collaborate many WPA murals together during their time with the organization.

Guston had his first solo exhibition in 1944. He began teaching at New York University and Pratt Institute. He also held graduate seminars at the Boston University. He was though of as a very inspirational instructor.

At the start of the 1950's Guston became less interested in representational work and more interested in the possibilities of abstract expressionism. He attained success during this period as a first-generation abstract expressionist painter. His new paintings consisted of large gesturally worked masses of color contrasting with apposing masses and brushwork within the picture. However, as he continued to delve deeper into abstraction he found it less and less fulfilling.

In the latter half of the 1960's Guston moved to Woodstock, New York and began to paint representational works once more. Thanks to his new outlook from his experiences as an abstract artist Guston did not return to direct representation. His figures now appeared cartoonish and otherworldly. An exhibit was held to show his new figuration paintings in 1970 at the Marlborough Gallery in New York and it was not received well. Guston received lots of negative criticism for his new approach and his contract with the Marlborough Gallery wasn't renewed. This drove him into a deep isolation in his home in Woodstock and he went for a period with no art dealer. He later joined the new David Mckee Gallery which he stayed with until his death. From his isolation Guston's work began to be more image based in relation to pop culture as well as social, racial, and political issues. Guston is best known for these paintings created towards the end of his career. He died June 7th, 1980 in his Woodstock home.

If This Be Not I

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Tuesday Art Attack- Pierre Bonnard "In Summer"

Christian Franzen Posted on April 07 2015

Pierre Bonnard was born October 3, 1867 in Fontenay aux Roses, France. Throughout his childhood and early adult life he was encouraged, by his father, to study law. While completing his law degree at the University, Bonnard was also took art classes at the local art school. He fell in love with painting and devote himself to being an artist.

In the late 1880's, Bonnard moved to Paris to further his career. He befriended Toulouse-Lautrec in 1891, which would open many doors for the young Bonnard. Around this time Bonnard began to participate in many group shows and other various extracurriculars of the art community in Paris. It was only a matter of time before he met fellow emerging French artist Édouard Vuillard. The two of them began working together designing covers for La Revue Blanche, a prominent French pop culture magazine of the late 19th century. Bonnard's first solo show was held in 1896 at the Galerie Durand-Ruel located in Paris.

After his first solo exhibit Bonnard along with Vuillard turned away from the popular impressionistic style of the time and began the Les Nabis movement with their contemporary Maurice Denis. The Les Nabis focused on creating symbolic or spiritual natured pieces drawing influence from japanese prints, Art Nouveau, and post-impressionist ideals. In 1910 he left Paris for the country side in the south of France. Many Les Nabis artists preferred the lush landscapes and the slower pace of the southern countryside as apposed to the expanding hustle and bustle of city life. Bonnard preferred the solitude of the country to the busy city.

A huge exhibit was held at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1938 to showcased his large body of work alongside Vuillard's. Bonnard continued paint up until the end of his life. He finished his last painting, The Almond Tree in Blossom, one week prior to his death in January of 1947, in his small cottage in the French Riviera. That same year a large retrospective was held in Paris to commemorate Bonnard and the Museum of Modern Art in New York put together an enormous retrospective that was held the following year in 1948.

Bonnard was well known and highly respected in the art world for his bold use of color and implementing complex composition structures into his work. Most of his subject matter is landscapes, urban scenes, and portraits, but throughout his whole career Bonnard's wife was often the subject of his work. Bonnard's process differed from other artists of his time because he did not paint from direct observation. He would go out on walk and sketch his surroundings or make loose doodles of the subject matter he wanted to paint; really observing it in the moment. Then he would go back to his studio and paint from a combination of his sketches and memory. This allowed him to create more colorful dynamic compositions which gave his work more of memory or dream-like quality making it very easy for the viewer to relate.

By Christian Franzen

Nude in Bath

Tuesday Art Attack- Lucian Michael Freud "Self Portrait 1985" by Christian Franzen

Christian Franzen Posted on March 24 2015

Lucian Michael Freud was born on December 8th, 1922 in the city of Berlin, Germany. Being of Jewish decent, his family fled Germany in 1933 for London to evade the rising Nazi power. Freud attended grade school in London and became an official British subject in 1939. After completing grade school Freud studied at a number of art Schools across Britain. For a short while he studied at the Central School of Art in London, then transferring to the Cedric Morris' East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing for 2 years. He finally finished up at Goldsmiths' College in 1943. While in school he served as a seaman in the Atlantic Convoy for a year in the British efforts of World War 2.

In 1943, editor Meary James Thurairajah Tambimuttu commissioned Freud to illustrate a book of poems by Nicholas Moore titled "The Glass Tower". Subject matter from these illustrations would appear throughout his work for years to come. Freud was a member of a group of figurative artists referred to as "The School of London". These group of artists were all in close proximity of one another painting figuratively in the height of abstract expressionist painting. Members of this group include Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach, Reginald Gray, and many others. Freud's first solo was held in the Alex Reid and Lefevre Gallery in 1944. Freud spent a long while after this show traveling around Europe visiting friends and searching for new muses. He became a visiting professor at the Slade School of Fine Art in London from 1949 to 1954.

Freud often painted the figure in a portrait style painting. In many of his paintings he also included the pet of his subject. Over his career Freud developed his style of painting the figure. He used longer brushes for a looser quality and used lots of paint. Many of Freud's paintings are very thick; using this impasto technique he would build up thick surfaces and textures along his figures. Nearly all of his paintings were done with a real life subject of subjects and not from reference photos or scotches. Freud was known to spend a lot of time studying his subjects and painting them. A painting he completed in 2007 took approximately 2,400 hours to complete with the model posing for nearly the whole time. Freud also did many portraits of his contemporaries later on in his career. The portraits of Frank Auerbach and Francis Bacon are most famous of this series.

Freud continued to paint and held many solo shows towards the end of his life. As he grew older he liked use people he knew as subjects in his paintings because he believed it to make the painting more personal. He is quoted saying "I paint people, not because of what they are like, not exactly in spite of what they are like, but how they happen to be". Freud died on July 20th, 2011 in his city of London at the age of 89.

Christian Franzen getting some supply’s at Lyon’s Art Supply, Long Beach.

Philip Seastrom Posted on March 18 2015

Being a second year Fine Arts Major at Cal State Long Beach Christian is always working on his craft. Photos Carson Hart

Tuesday Art ATTACK- Pontormo “Deposition from the Cross” By Christian Franzen

Christian Franzen Posted on March 17 2015

Jacopo Carucci, more commonly known as Jacopo da Pontormo or just Pontormo, was born May 24th in the year 1494. He was born in the town of Pontorme, Italy. At a young age his parents died and he was shipped off to become an artist’s assistant. After arriving in Florence he assisted and stayed with Leonardo da Vinci, then later Mariotto Albertinelli, then Piero di Cosimo, and then staying with Andrea del Sarto.

During his career he predominately painted in Florence with the support of the Medici family. His work reflects his adoration for Michelangelo’s work but his work bares the most similarity to his primary teacher Andrea del Sarto. Pontormo took many commissions within and outside of Florence. Painting many church frescos and large iconographic works. In his work Pontormo began to take a different approach in depicting the figure. He began to stretch proportions and exaggerate movement as well as expression. Pontormo also expanded his pallet, using bright and luminous colors rather than the drab earth tones of the artists before him. He also to stressed solely the figures instead of the space which they occupied. The advancements Pontormo, along with contemporaries, were experimenting with developed into its own artistic style and period. This is now referred to as Mannerism.

Two of Pontormo’s most famous works are “The Annunciation” and “Deposition of the Cross” both of which are located in Santa Felicità in Florence. The “Deposition of the Cross” has become one of the trademark illustrations of the Manneristic style. The colors used in the drapery seem to be glowing while the figures are stretched in proportion and set in dramatic posses. “The Annunciation” is simply a beautiful painting. Painted into the plaster of the wall are two masterfully painted figures, the Angel Gabriel and Virgin Mary. Both are in active posses while seemingly floating in space. They are painted on opposite sides of an altar and it appears as through the Angel Gabriel will drift through the altar and address the Virgin. It’s breathtaking in person!

Harajuku Photo Booth. Tokyo, Japan.

Philip Seastrom Posted on March 12 2015

Photos Jessica Stopnik

Tuesday Art ATTACK- Lee Krasner “Noon” By Christian Franzen

Philip Seastrom Posted on January 27 2015

Lee Krasner was born October 27th of 1908 in Brooklyn, New York. She became one of the most popular female artists of the 20th century. Krasner's work, like many of her contemporaries of the time, is categorized as abstract expressionism. In her painting she stayed away from direct representation and sought solutions to the equations of space, color, rhythm, line, and shape within her work.

In 1926 she began classes at The Cooper Union in New York, where she studied painting. Shortly after in 1928 Krasner transferred to the National Academy of Design to better her education in the arts. Once out of school, Krasner found a job with the WPA Federal Art Project. Working for the WPA, she helped paint large scale murals for government programs. It was while working for the WPA that Krasner would cross paths with the charming Jackson Pollock, another up and coming artist of the time. In 1937, Krasner began to study with the very influential Hans Hofmann. During this time, Hofmann's influence pushed Krasner towards neo-cubist abstraction. Hofmann commented on his pupils work saying, "This is so good you would not know it was painted by a woman". After her studies with Hofmann she began to show with a group of artists known as the American Abstract Artists. Her work was received very well by the public, but did not receive instant praise.

In 1945, Lee Krasner got married to fellow artist Jackson Pollock. Together they moved to Springs, New York into a larger house to accommodate both of their practices. Being married to one of the most famous painters of the time in addition to being a female artist, Krasner often found herself struggling with her identity in the public eye. As a result, she signed a large number of her works under the genderless and Pollockless initials L.K. The two artists influenced one another a great deal and they both helped one another get through the periods of time where each other works were not well-appreciated. After Pollocks death in 1956, Krasner left in charge of their estate and worked tirelessly to keep her husbands reputation strong and his work relevant in the art world. She continued to live at their house in Spring while she continued to practice painting and grow in popularity.

Krasner died in June of 1984 at the age of 75. She is regarded by many, especially woman, as an inspirational figure in the art world of the 20th century. Due to Krasner's methods of working and the fact that she had the tendency to throw out an entire series, her cumulative number of known works is rather small. It is because of this that her paintings have become very valuable but they do not come up for auction very often. The last Krasner Painting that was put on sale in 2003 sold for $1.9 Million dollars. The house that Krasner and Pollock shared has been converted into a museum and can be toured by visitors absolutely for free of charge, helping to keep the couples legacy thriving.

Christian Franzen. Cliffs, Huntington Beach.

Philip Seastrom Posted on January 23 2015

Photos Jessica Stopnik

Tuesday Art ATTACK- Ad Reinhardt “Untitled, 1940 ” By Christian Franzen

Philip Seastrom Posted on January 20 2015

Adolph Frederick Reinhardt was born December 24, 1913 in Buffalo, New York. Reinhardt thought of himself a painter at an early age and consistently practiced painting. During his high school years he won prizes for his paintings in local competitions. Graduating from high school he felt as though he had obtained all of the his fundamentals and turned down many scholarships from various art colleges and attended Columbia University from 1931 to 1935 where he studied art history. He also took many painting classes while at Columbia. After graduating, Reinhardt went to study painting with Carl Holty and Francis Criss at the American Artists School; while, at the same time he studied portraiture at the National Academy of Design with Karl Anderson.

After his time in school he got a job working for the for the WPA Federal Art Project. While working for the WPA he met a lot of other artists interested in abstraction an he became a member of the American Abstract Artists group. Being apart of this group pushed Reinhardt painting to new levels. He participated in group shows with his fellow contemporaries at the Peggy Guggenheim and held his first solo show at Artists Gallery in 1943. Reinhardt gained considerable recognition during his group and solo shows and legitimized himself as a figure head of the abstract painting movement during the 1940 protests against the Museum of Modern Art. Reinhardt became a Professor at Brooklyn College in 1947. He also held teaching positions at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, University of Wyoming, Yale University, and Hunter College.

Reinhardt avoided representation in his earlier works primarily dealing with with geometric shapes and color, then transitioned to dealing with compositions of the same color. Perhaps his most famous works are his sears of black paintings in the 1960s. Reinhardt is also known for his writings on his own work and that of his contemporaries. His critical analysis of his and others paintings in his writings are still looked on as controversial to this day.

The Enemy of Average! Wild Surfwear- USA Made / Christian Franzen

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