GRASSHOPPER: Daily Life by Bruno David Gallery

GR ASS H OP PE R Daily Life

bruno david gallery

GRASSHOPPER Daily Life

January 24 - March 1, 2019 Bruno David Gallery 7513 Forsyth Boulevard Saint Louis, Missouri 63105, U.S.A. info@brunodavidgallery.com www.brunodavidgallery.com Owner/Director: Bruno L. David This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition “GRASSHOPPER: Daily Life” at Bruno David Gallery. Editor: Bruno L. David Catalogue Designer: Lauren Rose Mann Designer Assistant: Claudia R. David Printed in USA All works courtesy of GRASSHOPPER, Paul Ochman and Bruno David Gallery Photographs by Bruno David Gallery Cover image: Moon Over Green Forest and Mountains Ink on board 15 x 20 inches (38.1 x 50.8 cm) First Edition Copyright © 2019 Bruno David Gallery All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of Bruno David Gallery

CONTENTS

GRASSHOPPER BY PAUL OCHMAN GRASSHOPPERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s WORLD BY BRITTANY LUEKEN THE DICTIONARY BY BRITTANY LUEKEN AFTERWORD BY BRUNO L. DAVID CHECKLIST AND IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION

GRASSHOPPER BY PAUL OCHMAN

I first met the artist Grasshopper in 2000, when he was in his 50’s. He showed me a painting he had made using a discarded cork bulletin board he had found. I was immediately struck by the complexity, beauty and other-worldly feel of the painting and asked him if I could hang it in a reception office where I worked. He explained to me that he had never had any formal art training, nor had he ever picked up a paint brush or drawing pencil prior to this. I started buying Grasshopper various materials with which he could continue to make his art, understanding that he was of extremely modest means. Upon completing his pieces, he would give them to me, and I would subsequently hang them in my office at work. He said, “I never wanted anything more than to have my work hanging in public.” We dubbed my office “The Grasshopper Gallery.” When asked about his inspiration, he said that his drawings were often a direct reflection of goings on and observations from his daily life. For example, when faced with arriving at a series of appointments, he thought of using a bus, a train, etc. This turned into his “Transportation” series. As he observed daily life around him in the community, he created the “Antillios” series. Referring to the comic books he read as a child, he created the classic good vs. evil struggle in the “Bolo” series. Thinking back to a particular conversation I once had with Grasshopper, I recall his statement, “Languages need to start somewhere.” As such, he generated a dictionary of his own language. Grasshopper would come in to a private space for him at my workplace, and for hours on-end, he would type out his dictionary. Bilingual, with English words or phrases on one side of the paper and his translation on the other, he created an immense dictionary, incorporating his language into numerous pieces of his visual art. Over time, many people spoke of their amazement when seeing his work in the Grasshopper Gallery and urged that he should pursue a formal career as an artist. As humble as he was, he consistently demurred, saying that having his gallery in my office was enough. Knowing he had various health concerns, he always said, “If anything ever happens to me, all of my work is yours. Please continue to show it.” I did so until my very last day there. Grasshopper died a couple years ago. He was in his 70s. His spirit lives on in his unique drawings and dictionary.

Art collector, Paul Ochman, lent the artwork for this exhibition. He lives and works in New York City. This text is one in a series of the gallery’s exhibitions written by fellow gallery artists and friends.

GRASSHOPPERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S WORLD BY BRITTANY LUEKEN

As previously written, Grasshopper’s artworks always start with a kernel of truth based on his own observations of what was happening around him, pulling the viewer into the most fantastical of worlds. The appeal of these thoroughly created worlds lies in the connections both to the familiar everyday elements (food, transportation, office and family life), and the epic allegory (the universal battles for justice). His stories are emblematic as personal experiences. One powerful piece shows Grasshopper begging for food stamps. The viewer is struck by the desperation of a person stuck under an authority which controls our most basic needs yet is using this power unjustly. The narrative of the oppressed seeking justice is seen throughout other areas of his work; in the stories of “Bolo”, the classic superhero series, and through certain imagery (the drawing of world currency), that calls to mind authoritarian bureaucracies. Playing an equally important role, mundane imagery also comes to the fore, as seen in the ”Antillios” and “Transportation” series, both keenly illustrating his everyday observations and experiences. They may house the same universal narratives, in a lighter manner. There are more uplifting narratives, where justice prevails, or simply when a sandwich is within reach. This emphasizes the artist’s experience of life, as many of his drawings, particularly landscapes, are divided in half: dark on one side and light on the other, i.e.: lightning and storm clouds against sunshine and green trees. As an observer, I imagine the artist was keenly aware of this universal nature, these contrasts coexisting, and how we as humans make sense of this. Creating these artworks, another world reflected in his eyes, was Grasshopper’s way of making sense of his experience. As he once said about his creative practice, “It’s my only time that I can get as mean and ugly as I want and return to reality feeling fresh and squeaky clean in body and mind.”

Brittany Lueken is a writer who lives and works in St. Louis, MO. This text is one in a series of the gallery’s exhibitions written by fellow gallery artists and friends.

AFTERWORD BY BRUNO L. DAVID

I am pleased to present an exhibition by self-taught New Jersey artist known as GRASSHOPPER in the Project Room. The exhibition Daily Life, an overview of his practice from 2000 to 2010, features works from a New York City private collection. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. Sadly, Grasshopper died a couple years ago. He was in his 70s. His spirit lives on in his unique drawings and dictionary. These never-shown works from the private collection of Paul Ochman, follow in the tradition of outsider artists Adolf Wölfli, Henry Darger and Bodys Isek Kingelez, inviting us to imagine a vignette of the artist’s daily life. “Languages need to start somewhere,” he said and invented his own. By developing a bilingual dictionary in which this new language can be seen through the dialogue of his characters, the artist exemplifies his own methodical and driven creative process. GRASSHOPPER started his art practice in his 50’s. Many of his drawings are directly reflective of his daily life at the time, from observing people interacting in an office (“Antilios”), to being hungry (“Food”), to traveling (“Transportation”), and translating these in his distinctive works.. Support for the creation of significant new works of art has been the core to the mission and program of the Bruno David Gallery since its founding in 2005. I am indebted to Paul Ochman for lending the artworks for this exhibition. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Paul Ochman and Brittany Lueken for their very thoughtful essays and tireless support for helping me organizing this exhibition. I am deeply grateful to Lauren Rose Mann, who gave much time, talent, and expertise to the design and production of this catalogue. Invaluable gallery staff support for the exhibition was provided by Cleo Azariadis, Katie Engelmeyer, Taylor Fulton, Damaris Dunham, Jin Xia, Lauren R. Mann, Matthew McLoughlin, Thomas Fruhauf, Peter Finley, and Christina Lu.

CHECKLIST & IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m Falling Ink on Board 15 x 20 inches (38.10 x 50.80 cm)

Fantasies Landscape Ink on Board 15 x 20 inches (38.10 x 50.80 cm)

Moon and Sun Over Fortress Ink on Board 15 x 20 inches (38.10 x 50.80 cm)

DIR SEUMPARAZIOWIR Ink on Board 15 x 20 inches (38.10 x 50.80 cm)

BUBULINI MONI IOTE KUTUSA! Ink on Board 12 x 16 inches (30.48 x 40.64 cm)

IOTE NA MONIBASTI II (Transportation Series) Ink on Board 12 x 16 inches (30.48 x 40.64 cm)

IOTE NA IBASTI MONI (poro trata) (Transportation Series) Ink on Board 12 x 16 inches (30.48 x 40.64 cm)

IOTE NA MONIBASTI I (Transportation Series) Ink on Board 12 x 16 inches (30.48 x 40.64 cm)

IOTE NA IBASTI MONI (Transportation Series) Ink on Board 12 x 16 inches (30.48 x 40.64 cm)

On that Hungry Side of Me Ink on Board 15 x 20 inches (38.10 x 50.80 cm)

Moon Over Green Forest and Mountains Ink on Board 15 x 20 inches (38.10 x 50.80 cm)

The Birth of a Nation in Progress in Peace Ink on Board 12 x 15.25 inches (30.48 x 38.74 cm)

BOBOI (Part II) Ink on Board 10 x 13.75 inches (25.40 x 34.93 cm)

BOBOI (Yes, Rest My Son) Ink on Board 10 x 13.75 inches (25.40 x 34.93 cm)

BOBOI (In Memory of Mrs. Walton) 2002 Ink on Board 10 x 13.75 inches (25.40 x 34.93 cm)

THE BUOIS (Boo-Yoi) (At the Cocktail Lounge) Ink on Board 10.25 x 16.25 inches (26.02 x 41.27 cm)

BOLO vs. IDATKO Ink on Board 12 x 16 inches (30.48 x 40.64 cm)

“It would be foolish and futile” Ink on Board 12 x 16 inches (30.48 x 40.64 cm)

BOLO, PU BROVNIEZKA Ink on Board 12 x 16 inches (30.48 x 40.64 cm)

BOLO (KOLISMO, The End) Ink on Board 12 x 16 inches (30.48 x 40.64 cm)

IDATKO (Father says we have to keep our powers in check) Ink on Board 12 x 16 inches (30.48 x 40.64 cm)

Antilios (Hey Pop! I got my report) Ink on Board 9.5 x 15.5 inches (24.13 x 39.37 cm)

“Tomorrow is Our Anniversary” Ink on Board 10.5 x 14.75 inches (26.67 x 37.47 cm)

Antilios (“Underground”) Ink on Board 5 x 13.75 inches (12.70 x 34.93 cm)

Antilios (The Way I See It) 2001 Ink on Board 6.25 x 12 inches (15.88 x 30.48 cm)

Antilios and Antjura Ink on Board 5 x 13.75 inches (12.70 x 34.93 cm)

“What Do You Make of This Captain?” Ink on Board 5 x 20 inches (12.70 x 50.80 cm)

THE DICTIONARY BY BRITTANY LUEKEN

In the same vein of Darger, Ramirez and other outside artists, Grasshopper created another world, made even more complete with the creation of his own language. Although Grasshopper is no longer with us to discuss his intentions and process concerning the language, we can infer some things regarding the structure, phonetics, and usage through his dictionary and drawings. The dictionary itself, and Grasshopper’s use of various imaginary foreign languages seems to be more of an homage to language than a functional language itself. This dictionary, comprised of several hundred typed pages in a binder, includes English words and phrases along with their translations into the imaginary language. Featured are pages with foreign-looking letters, with the proper pronunciation of each, much like a mixture of many other languages. Some of the words are like established language, causing one to wonder if Grasshopper was a linguist at heart, studying other languages and riffing on those other alphabets in his artwork. One-page headlines, “These are the ancient alphabets of the Korongi and Katsaungari peoples.”

Another lists an alphabet with different pronunciations for each letter and phonetic rules to follow. The complexity and systematic quality may cause one to question if this is in fact an invented language or not. A closer look at this dictionary reveals some consistencies that stand out at times, while other parts read like stream of consciousness writing. For example, the invented words with the root sierv all have to do with laying the groundwork in some way, literally or metaphorically. In another example on (9), the words reward, rewarded, rewarding all have the same root in the invented language but with different endings, just as in English. The words describing math operations all begin with a Z-. Opposite words or phrases seem to be linguistically related as well. For instance, out of reach / in touch with, have the same root words in the invented language. And (C33) reads like a page in a phrase book, with a script written in both English and the invented language. Here, he seems to be referring to his own dictionary when writing these dialogues. On another page, Promise and Thank You use the same word in the invented language, indicating something more poetic, perhaps a personal meaning to the artist about gratitude and integrity, thus we may detect some possible structure, although how consistent that is remains to be seen. He clearly has a fascination with other languages and draws from them various pronunciations and symbols. His interest in other languages speaks to another theme in his work: of people from different cultures coexisting. In one of his “Holidays” pieces, the Santa Claus character seems to be from another time or dimension, familiar yet otherworldly, as if some other elements were incorporated from other traditions (perhaps traditions from a place unknown, farther than Earth) to create a universal messenger of holiday greetings. We see the sentiment written in several different forms, similar enough to languages that already exist, rendering them recognizable. His infatuation with other languages or dialects speaks to a desire for people from very different backgrounds to exist peacefully together. As one reads the English side of the phrases and words, one could begin to imagine what kind of place this imaginary world is. The stream of consciousness of his writing is in line with the visual work, including allegories of justice, and dialogue in human relationships. In this dictionary, what may be more important and telling is the poetry of the words, which help create a certain mood, and manifest a more complete vision of Grasshopper’s world.

Brittany Lueken is a writer who lives and works in St. Louis, MO. This text is one in a series of the gallery’s exhibitions written by fellow gallery artists and friends.

GRASSOPPER: Daily Life (installation view)

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Charles P. Reay Daniel Raedeke Tom Reed Frank Schwaiger Charles Schwall Christina Shmigel Thomas Sleet Buzz Spector Cindy Tower Mark Travers