JOHN MELLENCAMP Paintings and Assemblages
Museum of Art - DeLand, Florida
Board of Trustees (2020-2021) Dagny Robertson, President Solomon Greene, Vice President Judith Thompson, Immediate Past President Mary Jeanne Ludwig, Treasurer John Wilton, Secretary Karen Allebach Samuel Blatt George S. Bolge Jean Burns, Museum Guild President Kelly Canova John Clifford Vernette Conrad, Museum Guild Representative Sal Cristofano Greg Dasher Manny De La Vega Linda Colvard Dorian Barbara Girtman Kyle Glass
Joan Lee Lisa Ogram Todd Phillips Ian Williams ADMINISTRATION Pattie Pardee, Executive Director Dorothy Dansberger, Director of Finance and Operations Darlene Shelton, Manager of Guest Services Teri Peaden, Museum Store Manager CURATORIAL Pam Coffman, Curator of Education Tariq Gibran, Curator of Art and Exhibitions Martha Underriner, Associate Curator of Education MARKETING Stephanie Kelly Clark, Consultant
JOHN MELLENCAMP Paintings and Assemblages January 14 – March 27, 2022 Printing E.O. Painter Printing Company, DeLeon Springs, Florida Museum of Art – DeLand, 600 North Woodland Boulevard, DeLand, Florida, 32720 Museum of Art – DeLand Downtown, 100 North Woodland Boulevard, DeLand, Florida 32720 www.MoArtDeLand.org @MoArtDeLand On the cover: American Odd, 2020, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 60 x 48 inches On the back cover: 79 Revisited, 2021, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 48 x 36 inches Copyright ©2022 Museum of Art – DeLand. All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or any other method without the written consent by the Museum of Art – DeLand. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In 2014, the Museum of Art – DeLand presented one of John Mellencamp’s first museum shows, and it remains one of the most popular in our 70-plus year history. Fan curiosity may have driven numbers initially, but his undeniable artistic skill created new audiences for his paintings. A prolific artist, Mellencamp has created more than enough new work for the Museum to welcome him back after seven years; in fact, of the 56 exhibition pieces, only a handful were painted before 2019. The more recent work provides an intriguing look at an artist’s creative output during COVID19. During the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918, many artists produced work focusing on intimate portraits. Disease narrowed their view to interior spaces inhabited by singular subjects. Society at the turn of the last century was as full of unrest as today, with plenty of subject matter for the artist’s canvas; yet, they looked to the individual for inspiration. Mellencamp’s recent work invokes the same notion – that nature periodically pulls us back inside to commemorate the individual by expressing the essence of the subject at a particular moment in time. With heartfelt gratitude to John Mellencamp, his staff, and Hoffman Entertainment, Inc. for working through the uncertainties of the past year to bring his exceptional work to the Museum of Art- DeLand once again; special thanks to George S. Bolge for his insightful contributions to the exhibition catalogue, to the Board of Trustees for their dedication to the mission of the Museum and to the staff who work continuously to present exceptional exhibitions and programs to the community. The following donors and businesses merit special appreciation for their support and their commitment to this year’s programming: Becky Adesso, Jeff and Karen Allebach, Gisele Altman, George and Gretchen Anderson, Denise Autorino, Dennis Aylward, Grady Ballenger and Karen Cole, Barbara Baugh, Joel and Sandra Bautista, Bruce Bigman and Carolyn Bigman, Samuel and Donna Blatt, Michael and Beverly Bleakly, George S. Bolge, Ann Brady and Rick Kolodinsky, J. Hyatt and Cici Brown, Tom and Jean Burns, Billy Calkins, Edwin and Gwen Carson, Courtney and Kelly Canova, Miles and Stephanie Clark, John and Linda Clifford, John and Vernette Conrad, Taver and Joan Cornett, Sal Cristofano and Laura Gosper, Greg Dasher, Manny De La Vega, Lisa DeVitto, Robert and Sheila DeYoung, Wayne and Jewel Dickson, Mary Theresa Doan, Robert Dorian and Linda Colvard Dorian, Susan Downer, Bobbie Doyle, Michael and Regina Dunn, Anthony Ehrlich, Rick and Carolyn Evans, Geof and LaVerda Felton, Richard and Lilis George, Barbara Girtman, Beth Gilreath, Kyle Glass, Stephen and Jane Glover, Solomon Greene, Lorna Jean Hagstrom, Katheryn Hammer-Whitty, David and Susan Hensley, Paul and Charlene Holland, John and Karen Horn, Richard and Beth Jackson, Betty Drees Johnson, Frank and Etta Juge, Joan Lee, Margaret Lee, Lee and Jacquelyn Lewis, Stanley and Claire Link, Tim and Mary Jeanne Ludwig, Elizabeth Marotte, Philip and Cynthia McConnell, Morland Family Trust, Greg and Beth Milliken, Lisa Ogram, Todd Phillips, Frances Porter, Curt and Patti Rausch, Dr. and Mrs. Charles Richardson, Tommy and Dagny Robertson, Stephen and Claudia Roth, Jacqueline Salmeron, Roger Schentzer, Patty Schwarze, Mark Shuttleworth and Anna Tomczak, Stuart and Lisa Sixma, Gabriel Smith, Peter and Elizabeth Sorenson, Jeanne Staloff, Dr. Mac Steen and Kathy Steen, Clifford and Lavonne Strachman, Peg Strahman, Marty Suarez, Judith Thompson, Don Wagenen and Paula Heinrich, Mara Whitridge, Ian Williams and Nancy Hutson, Linda R. Williamson, John and Nancy Wilton, Dave and Sandy Wilson, Earl W. and Patricia B. Colvard Foundation, Duke Energy Foundation, Publix Super Market Charities, Inc., Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Advent Health DeLand, Boulevard Tire Center, City of DeLand, County of Volusia, DeLand Breakfast Rotary Club, DeLand Fall Festival of the Arts, DeLand Rotary Club, Inc., E.O. Painter Printing Company, Junior Service League of DeLand, Krewe of Amalee, Mainstreet Community Bank, Massey Services, Inc., Merrill Lynch, Ogram, Higbee & Associates, Museum Guild, Orlando Sentinel, Passport Luxury Guide, Robertson Advisory, Inc., State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Stetson University, Vernis & Bowling Attorneys, Walmart, Waste Pro USA, West Volusia Beacon, West Volusia Tourism Authority.
Pattie Pardee Executive Director Museum of Art – DeLand 1
INTRODUCTION A Shared Language Art and music are both forms of communication that share a creative language. Art engages our sense of sight and music our sense of sound, and although each is a different process, the language used to describe seeing and hearing are often the same. Both art forms include terminology like composition, harmony, repetition, form, line, tone, color, rhythm, texture and balance. The respective artist/musician uses this vocabulary to tell a story, evoke an emotion or mood, ask questions, provoke thought or action, provide pleasure and inspiration, and explore the aesthetics of the beautiful and the grotesque. In his essay, “On Some Relationships Between Music and Painting,” the German philosopher and social critic Theodor W. Adorno states, “If painting and music do not converge by means of growing similarity, they do meet in a third dimension: both are language….Painting and music speak by virtue of the way they are constructed, not by the act of representing themselves; they speak all the more clearly, the more profoundly and thoroughly they are composed in themselves, and the figures of this essential form are their writing.” The oeuvre of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician, John Mellencamp, bears witness to this relationship between the creative language of art and music. Well known for his long history of Americana music and Heartland Rock, Mellencamp has been painting for many years. As a child living in Seymour, Indiana, Mellencamp grew up watching his mother paint. She had five children and not much time to devote to her art, but she loved painting and shared this love and art materials with her young son. In 1974 at the age of 21, Mellencamp went to New York with the hope of becoming an artist or pursuing a career in music or dance. With no money and the prospect of a music contract, the offer was accepted and the rest is history. Mellencamp’s love of art never waned, and in 1988 he began his first formal art training at the Art Students League in New York with portrait painter, David Leffel. It was during this time that Mellencamp discovered the art of German Expressionism and artists Max Beckmann and Otto Dix as well as artists, Jack Levine, Walt Kuhn, and Chaim Soutine. Just as folk music is the foundation of Mellencamp’s musical voice, German Expressionism is the foundation for his visual voice. Mellencamp has said, “discovering Max Beckmann was like discovering Woody Guthrie or Bob Dylan.” Mellencamp’s art and music are interrelated, while there are similarities there are also differences. Both share themes of populism, working class struggle, social, economic and racial justice, fractured relationships and human existence. They are created with a parallel vocabulary - composition, harmony, rhythm and order. There is an element of surprise for Mellencamp when creating a painting or writing a song, and both offer endless possibilities. The passion and process of making art and music and the stories he is trying to tell are essential elements of who John Mellencamp is as an artist, musician, and human being. One difference between Mellencamp’s art and music is his relationship to the creative process. Mellencamp explained in an interview (“Rock-and-Roll Legend John Mellencamp Talks Painting, Bob Dylan, and Living Lawlessly”), with Isaac Kaplan, “for me, personally, I’ve been in the music business for a long time, and I’m always around a lot of people. I find solitude, safety, and footing in my life by being in my art studio by myself.” There is also the finality of the work, when Mellencamp records and releases a song it’s done, but he often works on and reworks his paintings, sometimes for years. John Mellencamp’s early affinity for portraiture and the influence of Max Beckmann and German Expressionism evolved over time to a personal style that encompasses expressiveness through emphasis and manipulation of line and color and a simplified dark, shadowy style imbued with a strong emotional impact. Even though Mellencamp’s inspiration is German Expressionism, his vision and voice remain distinctly American. 2
This inspiration, vision and voice are clearly evident in the exhibition, John Mellencamp: Paintings and Assemblages. Many of Mellencamp’s newer works harken back to his earlier focus on portraiture. The solitary frontal facing portraits confront the viewer with unsentimental reality exposing the struggles and challenges of the human condition. Muted colors, heavy strokes, exaggeration and distortion, and simplified backgrounds are combined to create works that are haunting in their intensity and compelling in their deceptive simplicity. Like Max Beckmann, who completed over 85 self-portraits throughout his artistic career, Mellencamp’s artistic production includes numerous self-portraits. These paintings are intense, expressive and often present a tortured image of the artist. Beckmann’s prodigious output of self-portraits was due in part to his pursuit of selfknowledge and his lifelong belief in the importance of the autonomy of artists and their visions of the world. Mellencamp has said his inspiration is more a matter of practicality and convenience, since he is always there, he is a ready model. All of the emotive, pensive portraits in the exhibition are juxtaposed with chaotic, unrestrained images, layered with figures and symbolism. Mellencamp’s Fall Festival, 1993 and Twelve Dreams, 2005 are reminiscent of Beckmann’s paintings, Acrobats, 1939, Actors, 1941-42, and Carnival, 1942-43. The works share similar compositions with figures compressed in a theatrical stage-like disorienting space, dark garish colors and symbolic and allegorical references. Both artists often include self-portraits in these works and occasionally incorporate mixed media. Other artworks in the exhibition include text evocative of graffiti comparable to the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat and street art. Mellencamp’s Martin Luther King, 2005 and Strange Fruit II, 2020 are jarring, demanding works that force us to question our beliefs, values and the coexistence of the beautiful and grotesque. Additionally there are works in the exhibition that break the boundaries and rules of the canvas by incorporating disparate mixed media elements and found objects that are integrated into cohesive compositions. Bits and pieces of ephemera – some familiar and nostalgic others frightening and dangerous convey ideas about the reality of today’s society. Doug McClemont, in a review for Art Space, stated: “Mellencamp paints handsomely grotesque portraits in oil that are as solemn and stirring as his hit songs are catchy and inspirational. They depict existential scenes and human beings ridden with the angst of the everyday. There are no smiles on the faces of Mellencamp’s painted figures. His sad clowns, ex-girlfriends, creative heroes, imagined outliers, and hillbilly singers are often endowed with oversize hands and facial features and always with deadpan, proud stares.” John Mellencamp deftly and masterfully employs the language and vocabulary of art and music to create powerful, emotional visual and lyrical narratives. Some of his stories are autobiographical others are purely imaginary, but they all portray the heart, soul and unflinching truth of life in America and the human condition. Whether painting a portrait or writing a song, it is the overpowering need to experience the creative process that motivates and drives John Mellencamp. “I paint or I write songs or make something every day. I’m very fortunate; I live an artist’s life.” Pam Coffman, Curator of Education Museum of Art – DeLand
Drawer Full of Bullets, 2017 Mixed Media Collage in Cabinet Drawer 16 x 22 inches 3
German Clown, 2021 House Paint, Charcoal, Oil on Masonite 30 x 24 inches 4
Dodo on the Moon, 2021 House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite 48 x 36 inches
Little Peggy Hyra II, 2020 House Paint, Oil, Charcoal and Colored Pencil on Cardboard 36 x 36 inches
Paul & Joanne, 2020 House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Canvas 58 x 50 inches 5
American Dreamers, 2020 Oil on Canvas, Framed, Plexiglass 72 x 65 ½ inches
Between a Laugh and a Tear, 2021 Mixed Media, Charcoal, Oil, House Paint, Spray Paint and Burlap on Cardboard 60 x 40 inches
Glenn and Clarence, 2021 House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite 48 x 36 inches 6
Fairmount, 2017 Mixed Media on Plywood 48 x 35 inches 7
Bianca, 2020 House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite 16 x 12 inches
Lovey, 2021 House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite 48 x 36 inches
Nate and Nora, 2020 House Paint, Oil, Charcoal and Colored Pencil on Canvas 36 x 48 inches 8
Strange Fruit II, 2020 Oil on Canvas 60 x 42 inches 9
Skin Deep, 2020 Mixed Media on Mirror Mounted on Plywood Frame 43 ½ x 31 ½ inches 10
Young Hud, 2020 House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite 14 x 11 inches 11
CATALOGUE *Illustrated in the catalogue All works courtesy of the Artist except where noted
Hud, 1995, Oil on Canvas, 20 x 20 in.
*79 Revisited, 2021, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 48 x 36 in.
Huey, 2021, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 24 x 18 in.
Ace of Hearts, 1993, Oil on Canvas, 52 ½ x 28 ½ in.
J71051M, 2017, Oil on Canvas, Mixed Media, 48 x 36 in.
Alexis, 2021, House Paint and Oil on Masonite, 20 x 16 in.
JD, 2021, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 48 ¼ x 24 ¼ in.
*American Dreamers, 2020, Oil on Canvas, Framed, Plexiglass, 72 x 65 ½ in.
Jill, 2021, House Paint, Oil on Masonite, 14 x 11 in.
*American Odd, 2020, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 60 x 48 in.
JM 1979, 2021, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 16 x 20 in.
*Between a Laugh and a Tear, 2021, Mixed Media, Charcoal, Oil, House Paint, Spray Paint and Burlap on Cardboard, 60 x 40 in.
JW, 2021, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 20 ½ x 16 ½ in.
*Bianca, 2020, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 16 x 12 in. *Dodo on the moon, 2021, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 48 x 36 in. Dragline, 2020, House Paint, Oil, Charcoal and Colored Pencil on Masonite, 48 x 36 in. *Drawer Full of Bullets, 2017, Mixed Media Collage in Cabinet Drawer, 16 x 22 in., Museum of Art – DeLand Permanent Collection E, 2020, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 20 x 16 in.
*Little Peggy Hyra II, 2020, House Paint, Oil, Charcoal and Colored Pencil on Cardboard, 36 x 36 in. *Lovey, 2021, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 48 x 36 in. Madly, 2021, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 49 x 24 ½ in. Maggie, 2021, House Paint, Charcoal and Oil on Plywood, 48 ½ x 24 ½ in. Marilyn Jo Lowe, 2020, House Paint, Oil, and Charcoal on Masonite, 48 x 48 in. Martin Luther King, 2005, Oil on Canvas, 48 x 72 in.
Egon, 2020, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 28 x 36 in.
Meg Ryan, 2020, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 20 ½ x 16 ¼ in.
Emerson, 2021, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 49 ¼ x 24 ½ in.
Mikey, 2020, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 20 x 16 in.
*Fairmount, 2017, Mixed Media on Plywood, 48 x 35 in., Anonymous Collection
*Nate and Nora, 2020, House Paint, Oil, Charcoal and Colored Pencil on Canvas, 36 x 48 in.
Fall Festival, 1993, Oil on Canvas, 60 x 24 in., Collection of John & Michelle Vickery
Not Afraid to Fight, 2020, Oil on Canvas, 84 x 48 in.
German Clown and Dresser, 2021, House Paint, Charcoal and Oil on Masonite, 48 x 72 in. *German Clown, 2021, House Paint, Charcoal, Oil on Masonite, 30 x 24 in. *Glenn and Clarence, 2021, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 48 x 36 in. Gun Control, 2013, Mixed Media on Canvas, 53 ½ x 72 in. 12
Nurse Karen, 2020, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 20 x 16 in. *Paul & Joanne, 2020, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Canvas, 58 x 50 in. Queen Jane, 2020, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 16 x 12 in. Runt, 2021, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 40 x 30 in.
Scott, 2020, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 18 ¾ x 15 ¾ in.
The Son of Man, 2020, Oil on Loose Canvas with Cross Bar Frame, 97 x 66 in.
Silver Dagger, 2021, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Canvas, 72 x 36 in.
The Stardust Sisters, 2013, Mixed Media on Canvas, 72 x 53 in.
*Skin Deep, 2020, Mixed Media on Mirror, Mounted on Plywood, Framed, 43 ½ x 31 ½ in.
Twelve Dreams, 2005, Mixed Media on Canvas, 54 x 60 in., Anonymous Collection
*Slaveship to Championship, 2019, Mixed Media, 72 x 80 in.
Victoria, 1991, Oil on Canvas, 28 x 24 in.
So Now You Know, 2020, Oil on Canvas, 79 ½ x 55 ½ in. *Strange Fruit II, 2020, Oil on Canvas, 60 x 42 in. The Circle, 2020, Mixed Media on Mirror, Mounted on Plywood, Framed, 43 ½ x 31 ½ in. The Happy Couple, 1991, Oil on Canvas, 41 ½ x 23 ½ in.
Voodoo Child, 2021, Mixed Media on Cardboard, Framed in a Shadowbox, 66 ½ x 48 ½ in. What, 2021, Mixed Media on Cardboard, Framed in a Shadowbox, 43 ½ x 22 in. *Young Hud, 2020, House Paint, Oil and Charcoal on Masonite, 14 x 11 in.
The Rose Tattoo, 2019, Mixed Media on Canvas, 52 x 60 in., Collection of John & Michelle Vickery
Slaveship to Championship, 2019 Mixed Media 72 x 80 inches 13