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A human face morphs into a being resembling a fish as it is covered in scales, the top cracks open to reveal the inner workings of the creature, from which spouts a waft of white smoke, pervading the wall of a dilapidated building.
And on it goes.
I was not only inspired by David Ellis’ work, but profoundly enthralled. Yes, his paintings are beautiful and very unique, but for me, the incredulity of his work comes in the form of his basic philosophy, and also in his ability of his mind to see the whole of his work, even though his eyes do not have the capacity to do so. For one, I think it takes some serious courage to continually paint over your own work. I know for myself, I would never have considered it until seeing this. For some reason, I have always had some innate sense of fear of loosing a painting, for it to get lost in history and be left behind among other memories. I guess I subconsciously consider my artwork to be documentations of my life, in a sense, and so each one is a snapshot of me at the instance I paint it. However, I find David’s philosophy refreshing and very real. Time is temporary, life is temporary, feelings, emotions, people, things- all temporary. Who am I to try and make my work something permanent? In the scheme of things the concept of “permanence” is relatively intangible: nothing will ever be absolutely permanent. Secondly, I am rather impressed by his ability to proportion things accurately, and to have a sense of how the painting is “moving” in the “video” as it morphs.
Overall, that was one of the most, if not the most stand-out impressive visual art experiences I have had to date. I never expected it from this course.
Sorry for the massive response.
I am delighted that David Ellis’s work spoke to you so directly, Victoria, and that you felt the power of the ephemeral and temporary in art from his particular form of artistic practice.
Did anyone else in class have a direct connection to Ellis’s work? If so, in what way? For those who play music or feel a connection to music — how is the work a form of “visual” music? What characteristics does the work share with jazz, for example, or the hip-hop culture Ellis was influenced by?
I agree with Victoria’s feeling that David Ellis’s philosophy is very refreshing. In such a material world where everyone is so concerned with possessing and saving everything of value, it is rare to find someone who can apreciate the present moment simply for the feeling that it captures. I was amazed by Ellis’s skill and vision, but I did not feel video screening did his work justice and in some ways it goes against his empherical idea. My favorite pieces are the traveling faces and the painted trucks.
I think that Ellis’s ability to bridge music with visual experience makes him a uniquely talented artist. One of the aspects of his work that stood out to me the most was his ability to transcend the conventions of traditional art viewing by employing motion media, automobiles, and sound installations to present his pieces. The viewer is thus involved in the discovery and interpretation of Ellis’s works, which by their nature are transitory.
I found it very interesting and insightful that Ellis explained the amount of confidence and courage it takes to constantly paint over a piece, never coming to a full completion. I know how difficult it is to find a satisfaction in a piece of your own art, and the fact that Ellis never even gives himself the chance to be ‘done’ with a piece before it goes on display attests to his abilities as an artist.
I agree with Melissa’s idea that it is a very unique and extraordinary ability to make beautiful artworks using only what could have easily been regarded as garbage. It might be easy to envision the idea of combining music with art, but the ability to actually to bring it to reality retaining both the artistic and musical aspects is something that not all artists have. As other people have noted, it definitely takes a lot of guts to paint over your own artwork and never really getting a feeling of satisfaction that comes from “finishing” a work. David Ellis and many other viewers find beauty in the fleeting moments that will last only a couple seconds on film.
i presonally loved his work. It was very fresh and incorporated a lot of experimental concepts that haven’t been done before. My favorite thing is how he incorporates different media in order to make one piece. Like how he adds sculpture and music or painting and film or painting film and music. I think what he is doing is breaking th bounds that seperate these different categories of art and for that i think he is revolutionary.
At first I wasn’t very impressed with the ongoing video at the beginning and was expecting to be very bored for the following hours. Then he showed us the piece that filled the entire gallery space with the green oil barrels and I was beyond blown away. It was so impressive. Next the owl, from that point on he was more than an artist, the way he incorporates technology into his work; understanding how to work the piano’s rolls. It was amazing!! I always find how an artist looks at the world and at objects and sees possibilities as more interesting than the art itself. How did he see the piano’s rolls with holes and connect that with bottles is what impresses me so much.
Now as for the paintings which continue to be redone, at first I was unsatisfied. I wanted closure, I wanted a finished product. It was a bit hard to wrap my head around constantly redoing it. Then he stated “someone whose confident in their work doesnt need it to be permanent” and my own ego wondered if I would be able to simply let go of something I put so much effort into. He spents weeks and just like that they’re gone. I was impressed not only of his art but of him as a person.
What you are seeing in this body of work is an artist interested in process not product. The “work” is the making of the work. Yes, there is an artwork with a title that then exists in the world– created out of a particular medium: painting, installation, sculpture, motion painting, whatever that has a particular, unique form and content–but for David, the work is its creation.
David Ellis’ work really caught me off guard. He was really creative with combining different forms of art such as music and painting. Before meeting Ellis, my perception of art was very limited. This is partly due to my lack of exposure to different forms of art. However, Ellis completely changed how I now think of art. He has made me realized that there is no limit to art and that sometimes you just have to be spontaneous and random. I especially liked the music he was able to make using a typewriter that typed on its own. Not only was it interesting but it was obvious from the distinction between each letter that this work took a lot of time and effort.
Judy: I am glad that this class, and David’s work in particular is opening up a new definition of art for you. The great thing about contemporary art–the art of today–is that the possibilities for what materials can be used in the service of art-making and the process of art-making is now open-ended. It is really up to the artist to choose the right materials and process to make their work. Art has always been about form and content: what the work is made of (material or medium) its literal form –and the content–what it is about– or what it is \saying.\
David Ellis is obviously extremely talented and equally as passionate about the work he creates. I’d stumbled upon the first video he showed us (the collaboration with Blu) a few months prior to the class, but had never followed up on the background of the artists themselves. When it struck me that I was in the same room as the man who’d created what I’d considered at the time to be one of the most remarkable art projects I’d seen, I was completely blown away. Especially upon discovering that COMBO (in my opinion) isn’t even his best work.
Ellis’s incorporation of spontaneity into his design creates a visually mind-warping effect, challenging our notions of natural “transformation.” The different characters he creates are surreal and cartoon-like yet seem to have personalities that permeate from his paintings. I was most inspired by his connection to music, especially hip hop and jazz. I definitely saw these influences in his work, not just from a graffiti aspect, but by the freestyle/ improvisational “flow” that brought each element of his art (patterns, colors, shapes, intricate details) to life.
Like many of my classmates, I was struck by his philosophy of the “process.” It’s almost a divine perspective of creation; all art, whether it’s a painting, statue, piece of literature or even an idea, will be reinterpreted, redefined, and eventually forgotten in a long enough time period. The oldest prehistoric artwork we’ve found dates back maybe 70,000 years, a huge amount compared to a human’s lifespan and an insignificantly minute amount compared the Earth’s lifespan. Ellis’s work accepts this notion, simulating the aging process and effectively “evolving” as a result.
I know I’m writing a lot, but I really was awakened by Ellis’s presentation. On one hand there’s the awe and beauty of his talent, then also the immense appreciation for his absolute “need” to create. Personally, I know if I go to sleep having constructed something I’m proud of that day, I’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. The fact that Ellis’s motivation has taken this concept as far as painting for days without stopping to create what he doesn’t even consider a definitive end product is astounding.
David’s work amazed me. A kind of total art, that is a strange hybrid of animation, graffiti, and painting, Mr. Ellis’s work has a profoundly hypnotic effect; watching him paint over each successive piece is simultaneously horrifying and enthralling. However, the concepts at work should not obscure the fact that Mr. Ellis is a fantastic painter, and knows exactly what he’s doing at every moment, regardless of his improvisational tendencies. His work is iconic and clean.
Oh, its been a while. For future tech reference, I would not recommend bookmarking this blog’s feed as opposed to the actual blog. It seems to update slower and inform me of some posts and not others X(Not that I can blame all of my lack of personal responsibility on Firefox.)
However, it is a great testament to the uniqueness of Mr. Ellis’ work that I can remember it, three weeks later, without further prompting. By merging media (sound, sculpture, painting and film), he shows that all art, in a way, is cohesive. By painting over his own work, he is revealing his artistic process and showing it to the people. Where as it takes much analysis on the behalf of art historians to link the stylistic stages of some painters, even those who are not familiar with art can understand how his images develop in minutes. Ellis, himself, can be seen in them personal, the visual of an artist immersed in work. During his presentation, videos of his projects did much of the “talking.” What a clever way to show the importance of the art making process, and its power over both viewer and creator!
Going into the David Ellis event, I had no idea what to expect, and I certainly didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I did. After he gave his presentation, though, I was completely blown away. It was funny, too, because, like Desmond, I had stumbled upon the video that Ellis and Blu had done together and found it both incredibly amazing and original, and now that artist was standing in front of me talking about his art was a little overwhelming.
Not only is David Elli’s work technically stunning, but it is also conceptually fulfilling. Most of his work is done by constantly painting on and over a certain area. This way, his piece is forever changing, adapting, and growing, which is something you rarely see in art. His art speaks to our human nature, which I think makes it that much more appealing. Don’t get me wrong, the visual effects oh his pieces are captivating, but it is in the procedure and the thoughts behind the pieces that, for me, makes David Ellis a truly amazing artist.
David Ellis’s brand of art is easily one of my favorites, and hearing him speak about it personally was very art-inspiring for me personally. After learning that Ellis works a lot with motion painting, I instantly though of Blu, another very well known artist in the same field. Lo and behold, Blu was literally the first personal Ellis mentioned when talking about his work. Motion painting is very inspiring to me for the simple reason that it almost magically brings the art to life. This same effect is readily observable in art/sound sculptures that Ellis created as well. The amount of artistic vision needed to create motion paintings like David Ellis and Blu is simply astounding, and it sometimes makes me wish I had the ability to carry out ideas like that. I also like the idea of the “work of art” actually being the “work” that goes into making the motion painting. It never really ends, and it wouldn’t really feel right if it did have an end. I think that Ellis’s work was very artistically inspirational and I look forward to keeping up with his work in the future.