Fine Art Fridays: Evolution Of The Art Form

This week for Fine Art Fridays, I started to notice a theme to the work I was gathering, that being the idea of evolution with the arts. It applies in both of the featured artists work in different ways, but it speaks to the ever-changing methods that creative folks use to build there craft.

SIMON BERGER
First up is the recent "light painting" work by Simon Berger. He has managed to take an artform that I thought I had seen the limitations of and transformed it into some kind of special effects looking, much more artful and controlled version of what I first saw Picasso do with it in books years ago. Picasso's work was fairly primitive in that he just kind of "banged out" some doodles in the air to capture the idea on film, which sparked many people's imagination (pictured below).

Berger takes it to an entirely new level with more controlled light and more dynamic compositions for his photos. I have no idea how we did this, as it looks like he is standing in the metal refinery from Terminator 2, getting rained on by molten steel and sparks. Who knows, but it looks awesome and shows how much a simple idea like capturing light on film can evolve over time. Check out the link for more pics. http://500px.com/SimonBerger

DOZE GREEN
Next up is Doze Green, whose work I have followed since the 80's. If you don't know his work, it has been featured on many hip-hop releases from groups in the Bay Area and NYC. My first in-depth exposure to him was the album artwork for the OM record compilation called Deep Concentration 2 in the 90's. I was so taken by the artwork that I still don't think I ever finished listening to the CD and just unfolded the artwork and put it on my wall.

Doze is known for his layered line work and what I call "alien meets indigenous shaman meets cave painting" style.  He is a storied artist in the hip hop world, being and OG member of the Rocksteady Crew, even being featured in Wild Style. He continues to pour out new ideas on canvas and other media and though he has kept his style the same, the subject matter grows with each new show and incorporates dimensional forms, multi-headed man beasts, intricate line work and bold colors. Below is some samples of his work, also seen on his website http://www.dozegreen.com/.

He currently has a show at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in NYC and I am hoping to catch it this month. For a preview of him in the studio and to see him doing his thing, check out the video below too.