James Rosenquist
James Rosenquist | |
---|---|
printmaker, graphic artist | |
Movement | Pop art |
Spouses | Mary Lou Adams
(m. 1960; div. 1975)Mimi Thompson (m. 1987) |
James Albert Rosenquist (November 29, 1933 – March 31, 2017) was an American artist and one of the proponents of the pop art movement. Drawing from his background working in sign painting, Rosenquist's pieces often explored the role of advertising and consumer culture in art and society, utilizing techniques he learned making commercial art to depict popular cultural icons and mundane everyday objects.[1] While his works have often been compared to those from other key figures of the pop art movement, such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, Rosenquist's pieces were unique in the way that they often employed elements of surrealism using fragments of advertisements and cultural imagery to emphasize the overwhelming nature of ads.[2] He was a 2001 inductee into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.[3]
Early life
Rosenquist was born on November 29, 1933, in
Career
Rosenquist's career in commercial art began when he was 18, after his mother encouraged him to pursue a summer job painting. He started by painting
In 2003, art critic Peter Schjeldahl asked of Rosenquist's application of sign painting techniques to fine art thus: "[W]as importing the method into art a bit of a cheap trick? So were Warhol's photo silk-screening and Lichtenstein's lining of panels from comic strips. The goal in all cases was to fuse painting aesthetics with the semiotics of media-drenched contemporary reality. The naked efficiency of anti-personal artmaking defines classic Pop. It's as if someone were inviting you to inspect the fist with which he simultaneously punches you."[4]
Rosenquist had his first two solo exhibitions at the
But Rosenquist said the following about his involvement in the Pop Art movement: "They [art critics] called me a Pop artist because I used recognizable imagery. The critics like to group people together. I didn't meet Andy Warhol until 1964. I did not really know Andy or Roy Lichtenstein that well. We all emerged separately."[12]
In 1971 Rosenquist came to South Florida after receiving an offer from Donald Saff, dean of the University of South Florida's College of Fine Arts, to participate in the school's Graphicstudio, a collaborative art initiative.[13] In the years following Rosenquist remained a key contributor to the studio, cooperating with students and other artists and producing numerous works of his own, ultimately creating his Aripeka studio in 1976.[13] Rosenquist would continue to travel to Florida throughout his career with the artist developing several commissioned works for the community including two murals for Florida's state capitol building and a sculpture for Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, in addition to serving on the Tampa Museum of Art's Board of Trustees.[14]
Rosenquist's paintings have been on display in the lobby of
After his acclaim, Rosenquist produced large-scale commissions. This includes the three-painting suite The Swimmer in the Econo-mist (1997–1998) for Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany, and a painting that was planned for the ceiling of the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France.[16]
Works
Zone: A key work in the development of his signature style, Rosenquist cites his 1961 work Zone as a turning point in the development of his own personal aesthetic, with the piece being the first to employ monumental scale, a recurring aspect of Rosenquist's art that is exemplified in his many murals.[2][17] Zone also served as a stepping stone in Rosenquist's body of work in that it served as a departure from his previous works, which saw him move away from previous experiments in Abstract Expressionism, with the picture being described by Rosenquist as his first pop piece.[2] Done in oil on two separate pieces of canvas, the work exemplifies the beginnings of the pop art movement in the way that Rosenquist takes imagery from mass media, using a picture of a tomato and a clipping from an ad for hand cream.[11] The two images are divided into separate zones, which serve to focus on visual parallels such as the arch of the tomato stem and the woman's eyelashes, as well as illustrating Rosenquist's signature, often surreal, fragmented composition.
President Elect: Released the same year as Zone, James Rosenquist's President Elect is among one his most well-known pieces, with the artist translating a portrait of John F. Kennedy from a campaign poster onto a towering display.[18][11] The painting also includes a superimposed picture of hand holding cake in greyscale, as well as the back of a Chevrolet. Rosenquist uses icons in pop culture to examine fame and the relationship between advertising and the consumer, exploring the kind of fame and iconography that comes with American politics. With President Elect, Rosenquist seeks to make a statement on the new role that advertising and mass media had during the Kennedy's campaign. "I was very interested at that time in people who advertised themselves," said Rosenquist. "Why did they put up an advertisement of themselves? So that was his face. And his promise was half a Chevrolet and a piece of stale cake." In the painting, Rosenquist contrasts the portrait of Kennedy with the cake and the Chevrolet to show how each element is marketed to American consumers.[2]
F-111: In 1965, James Rosenquist completed F-111, one of the largest and most ambitious works in his collection.
Honors
To be creative is to be accepting, but it's also to be harsh on one's self. You just don't paint colors for the silliness of it all.
– James Rosenquist[21]
Rosenquist received numerous honors, including selection as "Art In America Young Talent USA" in 1963, appointment to a six-year term on the Board of the
Beginning with his first early-career retrospectives in 1972 organized by the
His F-111, shown at The Jewish Museum in 1965,[25] was mentioned in a chapter of Polaroids from the Dead by Douglas Coupland.[16]
Personal life
Rosenquist married twice and had two children.[4] With his first wife, Mary Lou Adams, whom he married on June 5, 1960,[26] he had one child: John.[4] His first marriage ended in divorce.[4] In 1976, a year after his divorce, he moved to Aripeka, Florida. His second wife was Mimi Thompson, whom he married on April 18, 1987, by whom he had one child: Lily.[27][4]
On April 25, 2009, a fire swept through Hernando County, Florida, where Rosenquist had lived for 30 years, burning his house, studios, and warehouse. All of his paintings stored on his property were destroyed, including art for an upcoming show.[28][29][30]
Death
Rosenquist died at his home in New York City on March 31, 2017, after a long illness; he was 83 years old.[4][9] His survivors include his wife, Thompson; one daughter, Lily; one son, John; and a grandson, Oscar.[4]
References
- ^ exhibit-e.com. "Biography - Artist - James Rosenquist Studio". www.jamesrosenquiststudio.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "James Rosenquist Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works". The Art Story. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ James Rosenquist Archived August 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Florida Artists Hall of Fame
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Johnson, Ken (April 2017). "James Rosenquist, Pop Art Pioneer, Dies at 83". The New York Times. 1 April 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ Kastner, Jeffrey (November 22, 2007). "In the Studio: James Rosenquist". artinfo.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
- ^ exhibit-e.com. "James Rosenquist Studio". www.jamesrosenquiststudio.com. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
- ^ a b "James Rosenquist Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works". The Art Story. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
- ^ "James Rosenquist, The Bird of Paradise Approaches the Hot Water Planet, 1988, Oil on canvas, 105 x 85 inches". www.acquavellagalleries.com. Acquavella Galleries.
- ^ a b Pengelly, Martin (April 2, 2017). "James Rosenquist, pop artist who painted the famous F-111, dies aged 83". The Guardian. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
- ^ "Milestones James Rosenquist," Time, April 17, 2017, p. 15
- ^ ISBN 9788495216250.
- ^ "Art Space Talk: James Rosenquist", Myartspace, April 4, 2008. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
- ^ a b "James Rosenquist, who elevated the Tampa Bay art world, dead at 83". April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "James Rosenquist - Division of Cultural Affairs - Florida Department of State". dos.myflorida.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ Litt, Steven. "Salle Mural Quietly Fills Key Tower Void", The Plain Dealer. March 22, 1998.
- ^ a b Wiersema, Robert J. (July 8, 2016). "How Douglas Coupland's Polaroids from the Dead continues to be a touchstone 20 years later". National Post. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
- ^ (March 15, 2019). James Rosenquist. Zone, (1961). artdesigncafe. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ Taylor, Alex J. (2017). "The painting" [with photo of President elect]. In Alex J. Taylor's (Ed.), In Focus: Silo 1963–4 by James Rosenquist. Tate Research Publication: London. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ (n.d.). James Rosenquist. F-111, (1964-65). Museum of Modern Art, New York. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ Swenson, Gene. "An Interview with James Rosenquist" (PDF). The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin.
- BOMB MagazineFall, 1987. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
- American Academy of Achievement.
- ^ "James Rosenquist". ropac.net.
- ^ Stevens, Mark, New York Magazine (October 20, 2003). King of Pop
- ^ (April 3, 2017). Remembering Pop artist James Rosenquist. Jewish Museum (New York) website. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ Current Biography. Vol. 31. H. W. Wilson Company. 1970. p. 40.
- ISBN 9780684312224.
- ^ Miamiherald.com
- ^ Itzkoff, Dave (April 28, 2009). "Pop Artist's Works Lost in Studio Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
- ^ Baynews9.com[permanent dead link]
External links
- Rosenquist's official site
- James Rosenquist at the Museum of Modern Art
- James Rosenquist in the National Gallery of Australia's Kenneth Tyler Collection
- Photographs of James Rosenquist by photographer Russ Blaise
- Interview with db artmag
- James Rosenquist Biography and Interview on American Academy of Achievement
- Pop Art Masters – James Rosenquist
- In the Studio: James Rosenquist
- Interview with Myartspace
- Exhibition The Hole in the Center of Time with the latest works at Jablonka Galerie, Berlin
- Rosenquist's Discover Graphics, the Smithsonian Art Collectors Program.
- James Rosenquist: A Retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum, New York City, 2003–04
- "Rosenquist Writ Large, by Himself", Dwight Garner, The New York Times, October 27, 2009
- BOMB Magazine interview with James Rosenquist by Mary Anne Staniszewski (Fall, 1987)
- Rosenquist Rare Exhibition Posters on Rare Posters
- James Rosenquist at the Jewish Museum.