Mythical 2008
Mixed Media
57" x 39"
DETAIL: Three failed attempts of creating a painted image of Barack Obama as a campaign poster were collaged together as a mixed media piece. News media portrayed the presidential candidate as exotic. Stars and stripes were fashioned from exotic images. “detail of the mythical beast” was part of the description of the background images and was used to describe the work of art and it’s subject.
AVAILABLE Through The Richard App Gallery:
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Graphite 2008
Graphite on Vellum Drawing
24" Square
DETAIL: As an “old school” hand draftsman this drawing is the closest to what I do every day as work. Created after my inspired journey this last drawing returned me to my basic artistic roots.
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Bubbles 2008
Graphite & Printing ink on Vellum
24” Square
DETAIL: This rough sketch portrait with pink bubbles conveys optimistic happiness.
×This installation piece was based on the historic event of the possible election of the first African American president.
Months before the primaries I’d viewed a Time Magazine cover image of Barack Obama and read his story prior to the 2008 elections. I was inspired by history in the making as momentum built for the charismatic senator from Chicago.
Based on values rather than color I decided that I wanted to vote for the senator and to display my leanings by placing a poster in the front window of my house. It just happened that a friend had volunteered to run the northern California campaign office. When I asked him for a campaign poster I was directed to an online distribution service. I didn’t seeing anything that I wanted to place in my window and decided to design and paint my own poster.
From a young age Andy Warhol’s iconic images had been a source of inspiration. The Time magazine portrait photograph of Obama combined with Warhol’s pop minimalism were the seeds of my creativity. After three failed attempts to create an image that I liked a simple large graphic black and white image was produced. I placed it in the window as a combined work of art and campaign poster. This was only the beginning…
After watching the nomination on television I went into my garage/art studio and collaged the three failed attempts into a single large image that unexpectedly began to look like Barack Obama morphed with Abraham Lincoln. Photocopied images that I'd used for developing custom furniture design drawings became exotic stars and stripes. I then worked nonstop for four days and nights on 28 collages with painted images on recycled paper, photographs, photocopies and text to create the Series.
Fueled by inspiration, history, creativity and a lack of sleep I felt more like an artist than I’d ever felt before.
In the series Obama is represented as every African American man form every era of American history. The relevance of the art remains strong. Topics that are reflected through the visual imagery have historically come to pass and have developed more meaning than when the works were created.
Dazed 2008
Graphite & Printing ink on Vellum
24” Square
DETAIL: This rough sketch image repeats the “head spinning” gesture over the portrait with golden bubbles as symbols of opportunity as the b
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A Mind… 2008
Mixed Media on Vellum
24” Square
DETAIL: Barack Obama is portrayed as a bow-tied professor with a vision reflected as a sepia toned high school graduation portrait. This piece symbolizes a way out of poverty through a good education.
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Tour 2008
Mixed Media on Vellum
24” Square
DETAIL: A postcard from Thomas Jefferson’s Montecello, a letter that describes its beauty and a tiny image of the Eiffel tower carries symbolic historical meanings in architecture, race, beauty and foreign affairs.
Immigrant 2008
Mixed Media on Vellum
24" Square
DETAIL: Immigration makes America a melting pot. A mix of cultures is what makes Americans interesting. Yet as hard as one tries, without a word a cultural background is given away. Sometimes just by something as simple as paring a wild shirt with a basic dark suit and tie. This collage represents immigrant’s attempt to simply blend in.
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Reverse 2008
Mixed Media on Vellum
24” Square
DETAIL: The cheetah print bow-tied, white suited dandy is exactly the reverse of Barack Obama.
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Mississippi 2008
Mixed Media on Vellum
24” Square
DETAIL: Mississippi is about American civil rights history. Layers include a colored waiting room sign, a larger than life unseen African American man, and a repetitive outline representing all Black Americans under a red portrait of the 2008 presidential candidate.
AVAILABLE Through The Richard App Gallery: richardappgallery@gmail.com
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Asia 2008
Mixed Media on Vellum
24” Square
DETAIL: This portrait is painted in the style of East Asian ink wash paintings. A headband made of Chinese yen symbolizes America’s strong ties to Asian cultures and economies.
AVAILABLE Through The Richard App Gallery: richardappgallery@gmail.com
Tarnished 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
16.5” Square
Detail: The slave trade is represented by the multiple portraits of a strong black male. The colored waiting room suggests waiting for equality. The golden image of America will forever be tarnished by the history of slavery.
AVAILABLE Through The Richard App Gallery: richardappgallery@gmail.com
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Black Gold 2008
Black Glitter on Illustration Board
16.5” Square
DETAIL: A simple black & white portrait is actually made of black glitter. Its symbolic meaning is something sparkling, interesting and new yet approachable and captivating.
AVAILABLE Through The Richard App Gallery: richardappgallery@gmail.com
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Golden Boy 2008
Gold Glitter on Illustration Board
16.5” Square
DETAIL: Obama captured as a gold glitter portrait symbolized the presidential candidate that in some eyes could do no wrong:He was “Golden”.
AVAILABLE Through The Richard App Gallery: richardappgallery@gmail.com
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Emblazon 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
16.5” Square
DETAIL: This first collage contains layers of imagery including a letter, a rubbing of a “colored waiting room” sign, inner city scenes, and a photograph of African boys, stone carvings, a female rapper, and the Time Magazine cover of Obama, all underneath grid paper that denotes “a plan”. The gold glitter surrounding his head was from my thoughts of “his head must be spinning” while watching the evolution of the African-American presidential candidate.
AVAILABLE Through The Richard App Gallery: richardappgallery@gmail.com
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Motown 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
16.5” Square
DETAIL: Music has historically opened doors for African Americans. In the background a “Girl Group” is in the “Colored Waiting Room” while their flashy manager opens the doors to their success.
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Times 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
15.5” Square
DETAIL: Is America for Sale? The background reads: Beer to buildings, airports to biotech foreigners are buying U.S. assets on the cheap. It matters more than you think!
House 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
15.5” Square
Detail: Genteel early American society is reflected through the light skinned house slave represented in white paint.
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Whig 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
15.5” Square
Detail: A white Barack Obama infiltrates the Whig Party.
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Harlequin 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
15.5” Square
DETAIL: Harlequin reflects an underlying wild side of urban professionals.
Archeology 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
15.5” Square
DETAIL: Archeology places the professorial image on a background of global stone carvings
B. Rock 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
15.5” Square
DETAIL: B. Rock is a hip rock-star in oversized dark glasses over Warhol inspired wallpaper images.
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Apts. Black 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
15.5” Square
DETAIL: During a housing crisis a Black man looks for a new place to live.
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Apts. White 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
15.5” Square
DETAIL: During a housing crisis a White man looks for a new place to live.
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Reflection 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
15.5” Square
Detail: On reflection while the election of an African American president was something new was it really so different than other men elected throughout our country’s history? Each had strong beliefs, a will for change, a patriotic support for the Country and a personal agenda. The black portrait on black and white historic photographs is hardly visible in the big picture. It may be time for a Woman to be an American president.
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Jazz 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
15.5” Square
Detail: Like abstract art Jazz allows improvising, transformation, change and rearrangement while creating something new and interesting from something old. An original American art form conceived by African Americans.
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Red, White $ Blue 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
15.5” Square
DETAIL: A portrait of “The Great American” in Red, White $ Blue
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Exotic 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
14.5” Square
DETAIL: Before his presidential nomination the media repeatedly reported that Barack was exotic. What did that really mean? An orange red portrait is layered on a pop art global pattern detail as an exotic background.
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Aloha 2008
Mixed media on Illustration Board
14.5” Square
DETAIL: Before and after the 2008 presidential election much attention was paid to Barack Obama’s birthplace. Colors of the earth and sky represent the Aloha state as a portrait of the president.
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