James Rosenquist in his Aripeka studio, 2007. Photo from ARTINFO.This, after an 80-acre brush fire destroyed his home and studios in Aripeka, Florida over the weekend. The origin of the fire is under investigation and has been called suspicious.
Rosenquist is considered a leading figure of the pop-art movement. His work has been shown at the Smithsonian, the National Gallery and the Whitney Museum of American Art. The Guggenheim organized a retrospective of his work in 2003 that traveled internationally. A couple of days ago he was preparing for a fall show in NYC; today, all of that new work is gone, virtually up in smoke, and none of it insured.
After being evacuated, JR could only watch the blaze from afar, from a friend's fishing boat out in the Gulf of Mexico. Fortunately, no one was injured, but it's hard to imagine the devastation of losing part of a life's work and personal belongings, all at once. JR moved to this little patch of old Florida about 30 years ago, and built his residence and two airplane-hanger size studios.
Some years ago, I had the good fortune to visit the compound in the sleepy north-central coastal town. There are no pretty sandy beaches there, just acres of grass leading off the landmass into the water, with occasional paths for boats to access the occasional docks. JR had graciously agreed to an interview and photoshoot for Flair Magazine.
On the day of our meeting, he posed good-naturedly for lots of photos – most inside the massive, un-air-conditioned building where his largest paintings were located. He was kind and interesting ... all at once, a commanding presence and possibly a little shy ... musing about his life in NYC and parties with famous people. He seemed just a bit like a befuddled professor who didn't feel that he truly belonged in such heady company as, say, Marilyn Monroe. Perhaps that's why he has chosen to live and work in such a secluded area, surrounded by mostly "normal" folks. Of course, in his younger days, he lived and worked in NYC, with and amongst a group of revolutionary artists, such as Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, Ellsworth Kelly and Jack Youngerman.
Mary Mulhern, JR and I, sweltering in the airplane-hanger-size studio in front of the still-in-progress, "Joystick." Photo by Will Staples. Mary was a free-lance writer at the time, but has since been elected to the Tampa City Council (in 2007), and is a great advocate for the arts in our community.Unless "Joystick" had been moved, which I doubt given its size, it was destroyed in the fire, along with many other paintings and JR's prized Ferrari (usually parked inside the studio building, along with an old Mercedes or two). The only losses mentioned in news articles were a 133' x 24' mural commissioned by the government of France, and 15 new pieces for his upcoming show.
The entire painting: Joystick, 17' x 46', 2003, painted at Aripeka. JR has several assistants who had their own studio spaces within the building, and I'm sure their work, paints and supplies were lost too.
From an ARTINFO interview in 2007: “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs,” (Rosenquist says as he considers the somewhat improbable trajectory of his life.) “I just feel lucky that I’ve been able to make a living by doing any damn thing I feel like.”**
"As a person gets older," ... "time gets more interesting. As a kid you waste so much of it."***
At 75, it must be a little overwhelming to have to start all over again. JR has talked about rebuilding, and says he will stay in Aripeka. Right now, I believe he is probably chatting with his friends at the local general store, sipping on a beer, and trying to muster the energy to get back to work.
I don't doubt he will, since, like most artists ... his work is his life, and his life is his work.
The catalog from his 2003 restrospective show in Moscow.
Rosenquist worked as a billboard painter, before he was able to support himself with his art. This experience was great training for the huge paintings he has become famous for.This photo is from 1958, 47th St. and Broadway, NYC. Image from Rosenquist: Moscow.
•tampabay.com
••ARTINFO
***tampabay.com
CBS news
MyArtSpace
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9 comments:
Wow! Everything lost? He will be like a phoenix, you know.
wow, pretty devastating. but as aesthete says, i'm sure this will be a challenge that inspires him to rise from the ashes, and create even more fantastic work.
This is just terrible and such a pointless waste, xv.
Wow, what a story..., and life challenge if you will.
Aesthete & Christian - I think he will rebound. After all, what other choice does he have? He's a hard worker and I can't imagine him retiring to a recliner.
–Lana
The good news is that he's firmly established in Art History and (I think) well represented in collections around the world.
So true, Scott. He could certainly retire from painting if he wanted to and it wouldn't affect his legacy.
–Lana
A true painter never retires.
Reminds me of the Saatchi warehouse here in UK going up in flames. And Patrick Proctor losing much of his life's work/possessions some time ago. It's utterly shocking and hard to imagine anyone recovering from it. But at 75, you have a longer and a shorter view of life that might combine to get you fighting back but I wouldn't guarantee it. ouch.
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