This show of wild art done in tandem will run the month of September with an opening reception September 6th from 6:00 to 10:00 pm.
Breakneck Gallery
17020 Madison Ave
Lakewood Oh, 44107
Comic book artist (Gary Dumm) and Pop art painter (Laura Dumm) have spent the past year creating 9 paintings (at least 36” square). Each work is a synergetic depiction of their rather critical views of the present wacky world in which we live.
Gary says: “We’re not deconstructing Pop art, we’re ‘reconstructing’ it in the face of the Post-Modernist ethic, while adding a dash of the surreal to help spice up the visual games being played.”
Watching the news every night before dinner earlier this year, they both remarked, “That would make a great painting,” or “We could bring that issue to light in a colorful way,” until finally they said, “How about creating a whole show with this kind of vibe?!” So their current show, “The Fame Shame Blame Game” was born.
They both work on the same canvases, contributing together their individual best. Their process is to brainstorm ideas, then Gary begins sketching (followed by critical discussion), then he refines the drawings further (more discussion) and transfers those final drawings to canvas. He then hands that canvas off to Laura, who does the lion’s share of the painting. If Laura needs help tweaking something, Gary has been known to actually pick up a brush and add some color, but he quips, “If it were up to me the whole world would be done in glorious black & white!” (Ordinarily, due to his comic book duties, he works only in black & white.)
Working this way has changed the way they usually do things. “I have to count on Gary to have the next canvas ready for me when I finish a painting,” says Laura. “And if a problem crops up we both discuss it and come up with a solution. Two heads are definitely better than one.”
Utilizing current issues they also took board games from the 50’s-60’s like “Candy Land” and “Chutes & Ladders” and reworked them with more than a little black humor to be more reflective of today’s problems. Their updated “Chutes & Ladders” is a moralizing version (as was the original 16th century game from India) and “Candy Land” has morphed into “Drug Land.” Both paintings will be available as board games that can be played at the opening.
Another new painting, “More – Is Never Enough,” gave them an idea to entice viewers to come to the show: the first 100 people will get real cash at the door. The money will also have a little artistic “Clue” on it…another game?