Arts/Painting |
Paradise Revisited Artist Recreates The Exotic in "Gauguin's Island" |
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| Earthly Delights; A convergence of pleasures amid a riot of color more vibrant than even an original Gauguin, in Series 1, Scene 5 (above). |
| Artist John Marshall's new paintings are large and cinematic, perhaps due to the fact that he worked for years as a scenic and title artist in the movie industry. His new series of paintings called "Gauguin's Island" is directly styled after Paul Gauguin's Tahitian pictures, but muralistic in the manner of Hollywood scenic art. As montages of Gauguin, these canvases almost welcome the viewer to become part of an exotic backdrop, a synthesis of competing pleasures, for clearly the leisure and commercial world of the 21st century has caught up with the French artist's perceived mythical paradise. The largest picture of the series, simply identified as "Scene 5" (152 x 243 cm), features the famous self-portrait of Gauguin the primitive, enjoying a Starbucks dome drink. Meanwhile, cruise ships, superstars, multi-nationals, and famous landmarks busy the landscape and--as if in a good faith effort to fit in it--are also rendered in Gauguin's primitive brush style. |
The elements plundered from P. Gauguin's catalog are easily recognizable to anyone half familiar with his oeuvre. The palm frond brush strokes--even his signature was not spared, as it was lifted and transformed into the series as a sort of title or trademark. Marshall's renditions/remakes generally are not titled individually, instead they are identified by the series and scene number directly on the canvas underneath the "Gauguin's Island" graphic. The additions to scenery seem to be formulaic, with the presence of at least one multi- national product or brand, one famous landmark or industrial design, and one celebrity or popular character. "Gauguin's Island", Series 1, Scene 2 (right); Could these be the innocent children of Arcadia? |  |
"In a way, you can sort of look at them like pizzas," The artist said of his new paintings. "After the initial foundations are set in you can put just about anything you want on top of them." Smaller scenes are more like vignettes than panoramas, as if the artist is alternating between widescreen format and television/video. The children in Scene 2, illuminated by the Pepsi machine, appear to be preoccupied with their blowup pool, innocent and unaware of the famous villain lurking behind a protective (and perhaps equally totemistic) idol. |
 | Elsewhere, compositions of negative area seem more critical than large patches of raw color, as in Scenes 3 and 8. An obligatory but freshly tuxedoed Mao Tse-tung shares a karaoke stage with Frank Sinatra, in "The Chairmen", the only scene thus far with its own title. Interestingly, it is also the most theatric of the lot. Scene 8 lightly spoofs "Spirit of the Dead Watching". Marshall has
Strangers in the night (left); Mao as Frank Sumatra? |
transformed the Tahitian nude into a weary traveler in a postmodern hotel room, while the watching spirit brings her fresh towels . In an age where everything is remade, remixed, and re-mastered--if not outright plagiarized--the artist seems to be saying that if you think you've seen this movie before, then you probably have. Marshall has remade Gauguin's paradise from the originals, updated them, intensified their colors and added effects. It's as if all of life is a remake or sequel, as all the world is a stage. As for Gauguin's Island, expect a Series 2, and plans for an eventual Series 3-D. --P. Rybachek |
Title of distinction (above); Series title derived from Gauguin's signature. Spirit of the dead tired; Is there a difference between primitive and modern woman? Scene 8 (below). |
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| @ Yang Gallery | 19 Tanglin Road | Singapore 247909 | Tel. 65 6721 8888 | jennifer@yanggallery.com.sg |
