:artist
CYBERDELLIC... Artists have always been the ones to stretch the limits of technology in order to create new forms. F.C. Tull is an abstract visual artist who uses computers to enhance his already “way out” paintings. Metro takes a brief look the work of a man who has been visiting Thailand’s shores for years in search of some heady inspiration. F.C.Tull’s art defies definition. It’s abstract, with elements of realism morphed in for good measure, and then digitally retouched to create an ultimately surreal effect. In art speak, he’s been ‘mixing his verbs with his nouns’ but he’s OK with that – he calls it “conjugated art”. Timothy Leary (the world’s best known proponent of mind-altering drugs) defined it in simpler ter ms – he called Frank’s work “cyberdellic”.
Frank grew up in California and Hawaii, and started life as a professional football player. His passion for art developed while he was playing, and he opened a gallery in Hawaii. He quickly learned how fickle working with artists could be, and having ‘appreciated’ art for years, he yearned to create his own style – something distinct, that would appeal to the modernthinking, youthful buyer.And with friends like Timothy Leary, and Graham Nash of
38:metro march 2006
140 FC Tull.pmd
38
17/3/2549, 10:04
:artist Crosby, Stills and Nash, it’s not difficult to understand why the surreal and abstract are the compliment of Frank’s work.Together with Graham Nash (an avid photographer who also invested heavily in early computerized post-production equipment) they pioneered the craft of using computers to manipulate art, blending real imagery with abstract paintings, and then creating abstractions from the abstract. “The trick to making abstract art,” he says, “is knowing when to stop… most artists end up painting over their best work because they keep adding elements.” Frank starts with his easel, creating an abstract painting, and then embeds it with original photography before running the image entire through Photoshop filters. This blending of techniques, and contrasting of colours – electric reds, blues, yellows and greens – creates a fluidity unseen in most abstract art. And if you look at it long enough, all sorts of macabre creatures start emerging. Frank loves this – “there’s nothing sinister about it”, he says,“they’re just swirls of ink, and it’s all in your imagination.” It actually wasn’t until several years later when he viewed his images through 3-D glasses that he fully-realized the effects that others would talk of. Even to the naked eye, the depth of perspective is mesmerizing, but the $1 pair of shades gave the images a profundity he had previously not tapped into. And unlike those old red and blue filters of the 80s, newer 3-D glasses have a special film that alters the depth perspective of colors, making reds appear closer and blues farther away. Since the chief colors used in of Frank’s work are reds and blues, the effects became even more exaggerated, and his images literally leapt off the wall when he looked through the 3-D shades. With this little fine-tuning, the art took on a whole new appearance and meaning. He saw indians on horseback emerging from swirls of red and blue, Las Vegas skylines, and even naked sylphs.
...TULLI-VISION Because of its accessibility and the intrigue it evokes, Frank believes his work should not simply be limited to private collections.They’re perfect for modern offices, pubs and (especially) nightclubs, he says, as the pictures are all so intense you don’t so much “look at them”, but “journey through them.” As a frequent visitor to Thailand, he hopes to establish his art in local galleries. But in the meantime, if you want a preview of these surreal creations, check out the work online at: fctull.com.
march 2006 metro:39
140 FC Tull.pmd
39
17/3/2549, 10:04