ART MAGAZINE 5BayAreaArtists by Samantha Yap
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Viola frey joe mangrum wayne theibaud christopher brown 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 largethanlife figures after moving into 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 (19332004) This piece is called Pegasus. It’s a form of ceramic plate art. This artwork portrays a pegasus amongst a scene of many colors including blue, dandelion, black, white, and auburn. Because it’s ceramic, the image pops out as a 3D picture. It’s darkly painted with light yellows brightening the art. This artwork has a happy feeling to it. The first thing I personally noticed on this piece was of course, the pegasus considering it’s lied on the center of the plate work. I think through this artwork, the artist is trying to emphasize the elegance of pegasus’. This piece makes me feel attached to the pegasus as if there’s a connection because it symbolizes power. Like Viola Frey’s many pieces, its value shows beauty. This ceramic art has relevance to possibly people who may use their wings to get up after going through hard times (metaphoric).
Viola Frey (19332004) This piece is called Double Portrait. It’s a type of ceramic glaze artwork. This scene shows a family portrait of more than 10 human beings sculpted on top of a stand. The first character that I noticed when coming across this artwork was the man in the middle, who I assume is the father of the family, as it pops out the most considering its size. The colors used include red, dark blue, white, yellow, tan, and cream white. Shapes and objects include lopsided circles, facial structures, bodies along with body parts, and clothing. This is shown as 3D artwork and appears as very large. The paint seems ‘dry’ and washed off resulting into a more ancient or past feeling. Through this artwork, I think the artist is trying to symbolize large families and how the father (assumed) is considered “the man of the house.” This artwork has significance to me because I come from a big and close family and this artwork seems to symbolize the strong bond between the family members, and I think that’s what the artist intends on emphasizing through the many colors and resemblance on facial structures. Overall, I personally think this artwork represents love. The artist’s relevance to the art community and the people includes the feelings in a relationship of people who share the same blood.
Viola Frey This piece is called Man and World. It’s a type of ceramic sculpturing. This artwork shows a scene in which a man is sitting down in front of a window with the world beside him. The first character I noticed was the man of course. His position is awkward to me. The colors used include many different shades of blue, some white, orange, green, and yellow. The world represents a spherical shape of course and the man shows a human body, both in 3D form. The paint has a dry effect and the light from the window brightens the sculptures even more. The moods given from this picture are mysterious and awkward. I think through this artwork the artist is trying to say that deep down inside everyone is out of this world. The man would represent an individual as an example. Or, it could also be saying that imagination is bigger than anything and could be represented through confidence, as this man imagines himself bigger than the world. This artwork is significant to me because of those statements the artist may have been pointing. The largeness of the man compared to the world symbolizes these reasonings. In other words, this artwork gives me a sense of confidence. This artwork may have relevance to those who feel they’re small and worthless. Because with this sculpture, it’s obvious that everyone’s more worthy than they think.
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.
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 representing 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 and was considered a pop art artist with his mass culture influenced artwork and pastelled/shadowed paintings.