ART MAGAZINE 5 Bay Area Artists by Samantha Yap
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Viola frey 1. joe mangrum 2.wayne thIebaud 3.christopher brown 4.adam 5100
Viola Frey Viola Frey was a well known clay sculpture artist born in 1933 at Lodi, California. Her art was influential towards modern art known as ceramic sculpturing and ‘California Funk.’ In 1960 after studying at Tulane University, she began making large plates aside from her sculptures and paintings. 5 years later, Frey began teaching at the California College of Arts and Crafts. During the late 70’s, she then had room to start creating her signature largerthanlife figures in a big art studio in Oakland. Some of her sculptures reached 9ft high. The colors were bright and most of her art was influenced within nature. Frey also had interest in miniatures, as also produced into her artwork. Overall, Frey’s life was consisted of books and art, as that was her main focus until her death in 2004 at Oakland, California.
Viola Frey The first sculpture is called Pegasus. The second sculpture is called Family Portrait. The third portrait is called Man and World. The fourth sculpture is called Double Portrait. The fifth sculpture is called Weeping Woman. The sixth sculpture is called Echoes of Images. The seventh sculpture is only a sample. All of these sculptures portray people at random moments. The first thing that usually jumps out at me are usually the colors she uses. She uses splashes of paint all over the figure, advancing the 3D bulged effect. The mood given off from these sculptures is usually mysterious. The specific colors used in this artwork include almost all the colors of the palette. Yellow, red, blue, black, white, etc. Shapes are of course, the body parts of the people, with the characteristics of a human being perfectly clayed. The light of the artwork is natural, with no saturation. Through this artwork, the artist is trying to emphasize the titles, because they’re very literal. For example, the woman who seems to be crying is titled Weeping Woman. I personally find this artwork very nice. It gives off a thinky mood given from the amount of colors and different positions that may cause you to examine every flaw of the subjects.
Joe Mangrum
Joe Mangrum is a Bay Area artist known for his artwork of 4D
sand paintings. He attended The School of Art Institute of Chicago and has received 6 awards for his pieces. Mangrum has been exhibiting his art worldwide since 2009. His artwork is described as urban free with pop art colors and variations of circuitry and is influenced by certain nature and geometry he’s observed during his travels around the world. “My art is about interconnectivity and coexistence within the natural order of life, challenging politically, the existing order beliefs, in a runaway and materialistic global paradigm.” he says.
Joe Mangrum These are the sand murals created by Joe Mangrum, artist from the Bay Area. These murals represent a scene in which flowers are painted with various colors and splashes of design. The first characteristic from these murals that usually jump out at me are the amount of colors used. There are colors like dandelion, magenta, cream, violet, white, orange, and maybe some mixes of colors out of the original palette. The mood given off from these paintings are happiness or joy. All of these paintings are very similar towards each other. They all have unusual shapes like curvy lines and jagged edges that represent the crookedness of the leaves with the flowers. There are also circles upon circles. The colors used in Mangrum’s artwork have a dark shade to themselves and seem highly saturated. All the characteristics within the art emphasize the happy feeling because the dark, individual paints all brighten up together. I think through this artwork the artist is trying to bring happiness to the streets he paints on. For example, as you’re walking down a street feeling down, you see Joe’s flowers painted on the ground you walked on, giving you a sense of hope. I say this because as I examine these paintings, they give me a feeling of hope and makes me all sunshiny on the inside. I feel the artist enjoys making his work because it may not just be his intention of hope for others, giving a lot of relevance to the art community, but for himself too, as he uses the colors and shapes he uses, which is very valuable.
Wayne Thiebaud Wayne Thiebaud is a Bay Area known artist born on November 15, 1920 in Mesa, Arizona. He moved to Long Beach, California at age 6 and was raised there within his Southern roots.. He was known for his cartoonish paintings of desserts and people as well as landscapes and other figures. He was considered a pop art artist with his mass culture influenced artwork and pastelled/shadowed paintings.
Wayne Thiebaud (From left to right) The first painting is called Three Machines, the
second painting is called Four Ice Cream Cones, the third painting is called Supine Woman, the fourth painting is part of the collection called New Painting of Common Objects, the fifth painting is called Boston Cremes, the sixth painting is called Three Prone Figures, the seventh painting is called Wayne Thiebaud With Cakes, and I’m not sure about the eighth. This type of artwork is called pop art painting. Objects in these paintings include desserts, people, and different kinds of machines reflecting a scenery of food and random objects. The first thing that usually jumps at me are the colors given from the paintings. The colors are mostly light and pastel. Shapes are very normal and emphasize the objects they’re painted as. The mood given off is happy considering the cartoonish effect. The colors included in this artwork all have light shades and dark paint used to shadows. For example, light pink. Shapes made in these paintings are basically the shapes of whatever object Thiebaud decides to portray. The texture is really colored pencil and pastel. This light type of painting gives off a happy and old mood, as if they’re emphasizing the aging of the artwork. Through this artwork, I think the artist is trying to say how the little things, especially through a painting, can automatically change someone’s mood. For example, the ice cream cone painting. It’s a random subject, but can easily cause you to crave for ice cream. This artwork has significance with me because in a way, it compares to life and tells me that the little things are important, which can be really relevant or relatable to others in the art community as well. This artwork is very unique and pretty which can be valuable to art lovers with that kind of style.
ChrISTOPHER BROWN Christopher Brown is a Bay Area considered artist but is actually born in North Carolina at 1951. He grew an interest in art at a young age, as he soon attended an arts school usually on Saturday mornings. After a number of moves, on 1978, he moved to San Francisco where he continued art and writing. He’s received various awards for his artwork. He later taught at the University of California in Berkeley in the art department from 1981 to 1994. Today, he currently lives in and works in Berkeley.
Christopher Brown The title of the first artwork is called The Biglin Brothers. The second artwork is called Early Ohio. The third artwork is called A Short Story. The fifth artwork is called Truck Panel. The 7th artwork is called Corner. Brown’s artwork is basic painting. Scenes of his artwork are usually random moments of people or places. The first things that usually jump out at me in Brown’s artwork are the colors along with other art. The color used included in this artwork is mostly green. The shapes being emphasized to show the scenery are very sharp in exaggeration. Like the buildings’ corners for example. The mood given off from the artwork is clear from the subjects of the paintings; relatable. Considering the random moments of time he captures through his artwork. Specifically, the art in Christopher’s paintings all have similar characteristics. The colors are very dark that brighten up with shades in the corner to represent which part of the day the scenes of the artwork are portraying, resulting in high and low saturation overall. The moods given off are quiet and mysterious. I think through this artwork, the artist is trying to say that the areas of places he might’ve visited, or any area in general, each have a story. In other words, the locations at random moments he’s showing through his paintings may portray a random moment in his life that meant a lot to him, and affects him to this day. This message through the artwork gives me a feeling of enjoying the little things everywhere I go, as shown through his use of color and painting style. An example could be the painting titled The Corner. It’s very simple but as quoted “a picture’s worth a thousand words,” which may have significance through other artists’ paintings.
Adam 5100 Adam 5100 is a Bay Area considered artist known for his stenciled and ‘cut paper based’ artwork. He usually portrayed scenes we see everyday. For example, buildings and fenced trees. He spent his childhood in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but for the last 16 years has lived and worked in the Bay Area. He attended the California College of Arts and Crafts and graduated with a double major of printmaking and illustration and an award for exceptional achievement on 2001. Him and his artwork are now represented in Guerrero Gallery located in San Francisco, CA.
Adam 5100 Adam’s artwork is mostly stenciled art. Objects in the painting include trees, people, and more that portray scenes of nature and mystery. Colors used are all very neutral and clean. Colors include burgundy, green, white, black, and light blue. The artwork is usually low saturation and give off a happy mood. The colors in the artwork I’ve selected are white paint from the stencils, a washy black, greys and whites, baby blue, orange, brown, etc. The lines are shaped into whatever object Adam created. The shade is very neutral and all of the colors, shapes, and other characteristics emphasize the mood of mysterious and happy. I think what the artist is trying to intentionally say through this artwork is how much more meaningful less appreciated images are. For example, the birds Adam painted may be a symbol of something. I favor this artwork the most because it’s unique and makes you peacefully think. Adam 5100’s artwork values within beauty of random things, which may be relevant to other artists’ intended portrayal.