100 Paintings of Mickey Mouse by a Color · painting. His instructor commented that his paintings...
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100 Paintings of Mickey Mouse by a Color-Blind Pop Artist by Dave Bossert (The Art of Tennessee Loveless: The Mickey Mouse TEN X TEN X TEN Contemporary Pop Art Series by David A. Bossert releases on October 31, 20117, from Disney Editions. © Disney) I love stories that showcase triumph over adversity. Those sometimes-devastating setbacks that turn into massive successes like when Walt Disney lost the contract to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and bounced back by creating Mickey Mouse. But, how about those individuals who are presented with physical challenges that are beyond their control yet they defy the odds overcoming those handicaps and achieving success.
Transcript of 100 Paintings of Mickey Mouse by a Color · painting. His instructor commented that his paintings...
100PaintingsofMickeyMousebyaColor-BlindPopArtistbyDaveBossert
(TheArtofTennesseeLoveless:TheMickeyMouseTENXTENXTENContemporaryPopArtSeriesbyDavidA.BossertreleasesonOctober31,20117,fromDisneyEditions.©Disney)
Ilovestoriesthatshowcasetriumphoveradversity.Thosesometimes-devastating
setbacksthatturnintomassivesuccesseslikewhenWaltDisneylostthecontractto
OswaldtheLuckyRabbitandbouncedbackbycreatingMickeyMouse.But,howabout
thoseindividualswhoarepresentedwithphysicalchallengesthatarebeyondtheir
controlyettheydefytheoddsovercomingthosehandicapsandachievingsuccess.
ChicagobasedpopartistTennesseeLovelessisjustsuchanindividual.Hewas
diagnosedwithlimitedachromatopsia,whichisthestateofbeingalmostcompletely
color-blind.Individualswithcompleteachromatopsiacannotseeanycolorsotherthan
black,white,andshadesofgray.Butincompleteorlimitedachromatopsiaisamilder
formoftheconditionthatallowsforsomedelineationofcolor.Thatmeanstheperson
maybeabletodistinguishthewarmcolorspectrumfromthecoolercolorspectrum.For
Loveless,hecanseeyellow.
Beingabletoseeyellowistypicalofthosewithblueconemonochromacy,a
versionoflimitedachromatopsia.Mostpeoplebornwithnormaleyeshaverods—which
seeblack,white,andshadesofgray—andcones—whichcanseered,green,andblue.In
blueconemonochromacy,theindividualsjusthavefunctioningrodsandbluecones,
whichaccountforonly2percentofalltheconesintheretinaportionoftheeye.
Essentially,98percentofTennessee’sconesarenotfunctioningatall.However,thefact
thathehasfunctioningblueconesdoesnotmeanthatheseesthecolorbluelikeyouor
Iwouldseeit;heseesitdifferently.
Thecolor-blindnesscoupledwithlearningdisabilitiesmadeitdifficultforLoveless
toconcentrateinschoolandheconsequentlystartedtodoodleanddrawpictures.He
foundthatvisuallydrawingoutconceptshelpedhimunderstandthematerial.So,he
drew,anddrew,anddrew,whichhelpedhimdevelopavisuallanguagethatmanifested
itselfinhisart.AllofthoseearlyschoolexperienceshelpedshapeTennesseeasan
artist.
Thedrawinghedidthroughouthighschoolledhimtopursueadvancedstudiesin
art,andhewentontoattendtheSavannahCollegeofArtandDesign.Hisfirstyear
requiredtakingthebasicfundamentalclasses:painting,drawing,andcolor.Tennessee
remembers,“ItwasdishearteningbecauseoneinstructorquestionedwhereIwas
gettingmycolorstoryfrom,askingme,‘Whydoyouthinkthatthisisappropriateuseof
color?’”
(TwiceUponaTimefromTheArtofTennesseeLoveless:TheMickeyMouseTENXTENXTENContemporaryPopArtSeries;©Disney)
Atthetime,Tennesseewaspaintingusingextremefluorescentcolors,especially
fluorescentyellowsandoranges,becausehecouldvisuallygraspthehighlysaturated
colorvalues.Hewasusingthebrightestcolors,buthedidn’treallyunderstandhowto
usethem,puttingvibrantyellowandbrilliantcerisewithbrowninportraitshewas
painting.Hisinstructorcommentedthathispaintingswere“nauseating!”Tothe
instructor’scredit,shedidemphasizeaneedtounderstandcolorbutthat
encouragementwasshort-lived.Thatwaswhenheinformedherthathewascolor-
blind.Sherecommendedhestepbackandresearchhisconditionmorethoroughly
beforebecomingapainter.Shesaid,“Asitstands,you’renevergoingtobe
commerciallysuccessfulifyoudon’tlearntounderstandcolor.”Thoseharshwordshad
aprofoundlynegativeeffectonTennessee’sartcareerbeforeitevengotstarted.
Thatcommentthrewhimintoatailspinandmadehimquestionwhathewas
doing.HesubsequentlylefttheSavannahCollegeofArtandDesignandtransferredto
theAmericanCollegeofAppliedArts,nowcalledAmericanIntercontinentalUniversity,
whereheshiftedhisfocustofashiondesign.“Itwasjustano-nameschool.Igraduated
withnotreallyunderstandinganything,andthatwasitandIthoughtthatwastheend
ofmyartcareer,”helaments.
Hewouldnotpaintagainfornearlysevenyears.
AftermovingtoSanFrancisco,Lovelessstartedtopaintagain,“Ipaintedadrag
queeninSanFranciscomainlybecausethepreviousweek,she’daskedmeto.Andso,I
didthatandthenanotherdragqueenaskedmetopaintherand,suddenly,Ibecame
thepainterofcabaretgirlsanddragqueensinSanFrancisco,”recallsTennessee.Before
heknewit,hehadaseriesoftwelvepaintingsdubbedtheDragandDeitiescollection.
(WakeUpandSmelltheSoundofCoffee,fromTheArtofTennesseeLoveless:TheMickeyMouseTENXTENXTENContemporaryPopArtSeries;©Disney)
LovelessthenmovedtoLosAngeleswherehestartedworkingforDisney
ConsumerProducts.Itwasduringthistimethathestartedtoseriouslystudycolor.
Becauseheinitiallylackedunderstandingofthesubject,Tennesseethrewhimselfinto
studyingcolortheory.“Itwaslike,well,I’mgoingtohavetounderstandwhattheword
meansandI’mgoingtohavetogetthattherearetwocolorsthatgotogetherandthere
aretwocolorsthatdon’tgotogether,”herecalls.“ThenI’mgoingtohavetohavean
indexofwhatthatisandwhatitmeanstome.”Inthebeginning,heworkedwith
acrylicsandcameupwithhisowncolor-indexingsystem.
Therearevariationsintheindexingcodesamongacrylic,oil,andothertypesof
paints,aswellasamongmanufacturers,butforthemostparttheyareclose.Theremay
besomedifferencebetweentwocolorshavingthesamecode,withonecolorbeing
slightlylighterordarker,buttheimportantpartisthatthecodeswereconsistentand
Tennesseewasabletomemorizethem.Inthebeginning,itwaseasierbecausehewas
dealingwithmostlyprimarycolors,butashispaintingsbegantoproliferatehestarted
togetintomorecomplexcolorschemes.
“Popisanartofimmediacy,ofbrilliance,ofmirthandjoy.Intheirwork,these
artistsfacethenow,thepresent,thetodaywithpleasureandacceptance,”asserts
SamuelGreen,thedirectoroftheInstituteofContemporaryArtinPhiladelphia.Art
historianSaraDorisputitthisway:“Popartwas,inthemostfundamentalway,anart
aboutconsumerculture.”writesBradfordR.CollinsinhisbookPopArt.Thisargument
wasmostevidencedbyartworkssuchasCampbell’sSoupCans,BrilloBoxes,Flowers,
andMarilynDiptychbyAndyWarholandMasterpiecebyRoyLichtenstein.
(TheinsideofTheArtofTennesseeLoveless:TheMickeyMouseTENXTENXTENContemporaryPopArtSeriesdustcoverfeaturesall100paintings;©Disney)
Bythosedefinitions,theartbeingcreatedbyTennesseefallssquarelywithin
contemporarypopart.HisTENxTENxTENseriesfeaturestheubiquitousandiconic
MickeyMouse,whohasbecomeanindeliblepartofAmerican—ifnotglobal—pop
culture.LiketheomnipresentCampbell’sSoupcansfoundinsupermarketsaroundthe
world,MickeyMouserepresentsasenseofcomfortandhappiness,asymbolofallthat
isgoodandwholesome.ItisonereasonwhyMickeyMouseadornssomanyproducts,
fromT-shirtstodiaperstolunchboxes.
ChoosingMickeyMousewasnotanaccident,saysTennessee.“ButIjustnever
envisioneditbeingthisbig.Thischangedmywholeentirewayofthinking.Honestly,I
thinkthatit’sareallygoodideatogoinsaneanddosomethingrepetitiveoverandover
againuntilyougettiredofitandyoufindoutsomethingnewaboutyourself.”
Initially,Tennessee’spaintingswereallaboutcolorstory.Hewasinsecureabout
beinganartistamongpeoplewhocouldseecolor;hewantedtogoaboveandbeyond,
totellacolorstorythroughemotions.Allofthecolorschemesweresupposedtobe
aboutsomethingverydramaticandeachcanvastolditsownstory.Eachpiecewas
hand-drawnandhewouldaddthecodedpigmentsinsideeachblockorcircleorlineso
heknewwhathewaspainting.Itwashisownpaint-by-numbermethod.Thiswork-
aroundsystemaddressedthecriticismhereceivedaboutusinggarishcolorswhileatthe
SavannahSchoolofArtandDesignyearsearlier.
Butitwasmorethanpaint-by-numbertoTennessee;itwasawayforhimto
associatewiththeimage.Andearlyonhewanteddesperatelytoprovehimselfasan
artist—togetoutfromunderneaththatcrushinganalysishe’dreceivedinartschool.
ImetTennesseeLovelessatadinnerinChicagoin2015whileIwasthereon
business.WewereseatednexttoeachotheranditwasthefirsttimeIhadachanceto
gettoknowhimandhearhisstory.Bytheendofdinner,heaskedmeifI’dbe
interestedindoingabookonhisonehundredpaintingsofMickeyMouse.Without
hesitation,IsaidyesandintheensuingweekspitchedittoDisneypublishing.Itwasa
no-brainergreatstoryanditfeaturedahundredwonderfulpaintingsofMickeyMouse
thatwerefresh.Anditdidn’thurtthatamajoranniversaryofMickeyMousewas
approachingin2018.
Lovelesshasavisuallanguagethatincorporateswritingandiconographyinto
manyofthepaintingswithintheTENxTENxTENseriesaswellasotherpaintingsthathe
hascreated.Heusesrecognizableshapesandimagessuchasdiamonds,lightbulbs,
leaves,clouds,crowns,andskullstotellhisstoriesandevokeemotionalresponses.Each
paintingseemstotellastory.Itisthekindofartthatyoucanlookatoverandover
againandseesomethingdifferenteachtime.OnepaintingtellsthestoryofWaltDisney
usingwordsandrecognizableiconsandsymbols.Eachpaintinghasisdifferentandfits
intooneoftencategories.ThechaptertitlesareLovelessLetters,Contemporary
Modern,BattleoftheSenses,AroundtheWorld,Metropolitan,HumanCondition,
Childrenofthe1980s,OddsandEnds,SketchWave,andGeometricSpectrum.
WhenaskedwhathewantspeopletogetoutoftheTENxTENxTENseriesof
paintings,TennesseeLovelesssays,“IthinkfromaDisneyperspectiveIwantpeopleto
enjoytheworldthattheyseeandunderstandthatwithMickeyit’sinfinite.Hehasan
infinitepossibilityofbeinginmultipleworldsanddoingallthesewonderfulthings.In
thebeginning,thiswasanideaofrecreatingand,inasense,reimaginingthisgreaticon
andfindingtheartistunderneath.”
Thenewbook,TheArtofTennesseeLoveless:TheMickeyMouseTENxTENx
TENContemporaryPopArtSeries,releasesonOctober31,2017justintimeforthe
holidayshoppingseason.Itisbeautifultwelve-inchesbytwelve-inchbookthatfeatures
allonehundredpaintingsbytheartist.Itisafascinatingstoryoftriumphoveradversity
coupledwiththevisuallyrichartworkofthiscontemporarypopartist.
AbouttheAuthor:DavidA.Bossertisanartist,filmmaker,andauthor.Heisa32-yearveteranofTheWaltDisneyCompanyandisanindependentproducer,creativedirector,andwriter.BossertisahistorianandisconsideredanauthorityandexpertonDisneyanimationhistory.HeisamemberoftheCalArtsBoardofTrusteesandisavisitingscholaratCarnegieMellonUniversity'sEntertainmentTechnologyCenter(ETC)inPittsburgh.Bossertco-authoredDisneyAnimated,whichwasnamediPadAppof2013byAppleandwonaprestigiousBritishAcademyofFilmandTelevisionArts(BAFTA)award.Heisalsotheauthoroftheseveralbooksincludinghislatest;OswaldtheLuckyRabbit:TheSearchfortheLostDisneyCartoons,andTheArtofTennesseeLoveless:TheMickeyMouseTENxTENxTENContemporaryPopArtSerieswhicharepublishedbyDisneyEditions.Learnmoreatwww.davidbossert.com
