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Marshal Arisman and Carl Titolo
Marshall Arisman is chair of the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Department and Carl Nicholas Titolo is on the department’s faculty at the School of Visual Arts, New York. They curated The Book Show, which was on view at SVA’s Visual Arts Gallery in December 2007.
Michael Mariscano, Publix (from Leisure Squad Retired), 2007. Artist book, 9.5 x 10 inches. Courtesy of the artist.One of the most encouraging developments in the creative community over the past few years has been the popular resurgence of figurative art. More noteworthy than the newfound enthusiasm for drawing and painting in the marketplace are the tenacity, resourcefulness and intelligence among young artists who make figurative work today. These qualities were on display in abundance in The Book Show a recent exhibition at the School of Visual Arts.
Each year, first-year students in the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Department at SVA develop a book based on their personal vision. It may take the form of a graphic novel, visual essay, illustrated song, historical text, or an illustrated children’s book. These one-of-a-kind books are bound and exhibited along with the original work reproduced in the book.
Of the 20 artists participating in The Book Show, many re-imagined everyday life in highly personal terms, sometimes vicariously. Jenny Boudreault’s 5 x 6, is a collection of portraits based on interviews in which people were asked to describe their ideal work day, five years in the future. By pairing first-person narratives with highly nuanced paintings of the subjects engaged in various workaday tasks, the book pays tribute to youthful aspiration while staying rooted in the here and now.
In contrast with Boudreault’s earnest and intimate tone, Michael Marsicano approaches his subject with a wry sense of humor. His book follows the stories of several retired New York City policemen in Florida, based on the experience of his own father. In colorful paintings of routine events like shopping and sleeping, Leisure Squad Retired casts a sympathetic, if bemused, eye on the everyday drama of ageing.
Personal experience is at the heart of Matt Freel’s book as well. Freel was hired in January 2007 as the art instructor for the Boys’ Club of New York, an after-school program for youths in East Harlem. That experience became the basis for Boys’ Club of New York, a collage of thoughts and lessons. With a selection of drawings by the artist and his students, Freel’s book creates drama in the dialogue between them and provides a record of the artist’s own anxieties to match that of his students.
Several artists in The Book Show took their cue from literary or historical sources, a strategy often used to address contemporary social issues. In Felix Gephart’s book, Room 101, excerpts from George Orwell’s novel 1984 are rendered as large-scale ink drawings, combining intricately-rendered detail with graphic expressiveness. The pervasiveness of surveillance, propaganda, and media is driven home in scenes of political demonstrations, military maneuvers, and social isolation.
Reaching further back in time, Elisabeth Alba created a children’s book about the creation of the Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon, and the legend that they were built by King Nebuchadrezzar for his homesick wife, Amytis. Alba’s vivid, panoramic compositions make historically remote events immediately accessible, and the book’s themes of power, community and display are as timely as ever.
Without a dominant style or shared preoccupation, the selection of works in The Book Show confirmed the ongoing vitality of figurative art, particularly for those willing to seek creative outlets beyond the gallery wall.
