If there is a such a thing as summer reading then why can there not be such a thing as summer art. It makes no sense just the same.
Summer is almost here. Kids will soon be out on summer break. Adults will be planning their vacations. The parks will be full of sun worshippers, and people of all ages will be at play at sports, and leisurely excitement will be had by all. Today I received an email from Vincent Scilla. He is an artist who I have known for a very long time and who, in his baseball series paints so honestly what he loves that he captures the complexity of America, much like James Thurber did in his writings: The contrary nature of what we hope for and the blatant reality of what we must do in order to live. In our dreams we may see ourselves (or even our heroes) hit the great home run that wins the game or make the great catch, but in reality it is always against the back drop of the hot dogs or the yams or you fill in the blank for sale. Don't get me wrong, I am not against capitalism. I don't know of a better alternative, but it is the reality of the time we live in. It is like the great American past time, it is a part of our psyche. Like Thurber his work is a parable about success having its cost. It is a parable that has intimate characteristics of trying to be more than what you buy or sell. Maybe it is equal, and thus it cancels itself out, 50 % accomplishment vs 50 % selling items. Or maybe it is not.
In case your are in Chicago he will be in a group show at the Springfield Art Association from June 25th to August 21. The location is Google mapped below.
His website is here. And you can learn some more about his personality from his blog at VincentScilla.blogspot.
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