When one enters the galleries, I imagine the artist
introducing herself with a name tag that reads “Hi! My name is Joan.” From her
work, you do get to know Joan and her fascinating life. Joan Brown’s retrospective, currently at the
Orange County Museum of Art, is an invitation to explore the life and loves of
the Bay Area artist. Brown’s work reflects a menagerie of interests and loves
that is deeply personal. By the end of looking through the four rooms of the
exhibition, the viewer will leave not only knowing Brown, but also sense of
love for this great artist who died tragically at the age of 52 in 1990. The
joie d’vivre is Brown’s lasting impression which is a gift to both artist and art
lover alike.
The first encounter with Brown’s work happened in 1958 when
at the age of 20 the Museum of Modern Art acquired for their permanent
collection a painting, “Thanksgiving Turkey.” At such a young age, Brown was
destined for something greater. Her early works fit into the gestural approach
to figuration that was common in both Abstract Expressionism and subsequent Pop
Art movements with thick and heavy paint applied to the canvas. The subjects Brown
chose were domestic with her son Noel playing center stage in many of her early
works. She also had a love of art history with paintings based on Rembrandt and
Delacroix. Although her works are very
personal, Brown played a very important role in the Bay Area art scene, in
particular the Beats with friends like Wallace Berman, George Hermes, and Bruce
Conner. Until 1964, Brown was popular with bay area figurative artists such as Paul
Wonner, David Park and Richard Diebenkorn. Everything changed in 1964.
In 1964, Joan Brown changed the direction of her art. She
stopped making paintings that were quite popular with her dealers in New York
and San Francisco. She went into exile until around 1966. Brown then began
making work that was flat, illustrative and almost cartoon-like figuration
turning away from the expressionist style that was prevalent in her early works.
The change in style gave Brown a confidence that seemed to
have freed her from the constraints of the market and the art world at large. She
was now able to paint what she wanted and to tell the viewer her passions and joy.
She loved to swim. Brown was involved in swimming from San Francisco to
Alcatraz Island and back. In fact, she almost drowned when a cargo ship went by
her as swam the bay. There are several works that show the bay, Alcatraz
Island, and her swimming. She loved animals. Brown would frequent the San
Francisco Zoo and then paint self-portraits with animal faces. Brown loved to
dance. She met her fourth husband while going to dance halls in the city. She
loved Egyptian art and traveled the world. Finally, Brown wanted to create a
spiritual connection. Brown became interested in religions of the world. She
made trips with her fifth husband who was a fellow traveler in world religions
and was also a San Francisco police officer. This final group of works was not
only connected with a passion for a spiritual course of life, but it was also
connected with a premonition that she was going to die young. In a freak
accident, Brown was killed when a column she was building in India collapsed on
her.
Brown’s life may have been cut short, but her spirit and
passion continue in her work. Throughout the galleries, you not only see Joan
Brown as an artist, but you also see her as a person. From seeing her as a
dancer with her husband, to portraits of her as an animal, as a swimmer, and to the
embrace of the world’s religion, Joan was a truly free spirit who embraced the world around her.
Although the survey is slimmed down from its original location at the San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the exhibition is effective and inspiring. One
feels her presence in this show as if she is saying “Hi, my name is Joan and here’s
my life." Joan Brown is someone you will really want to get to know.
#joanbrown #orangecountymuseumofart #bayareafigurative #bayareaart
No comments:
Post a Comment