"Meat Head"

Remember the Hamburgler? I traded this one to my dentist for some intensive scaling. Ouch.

"Beam Us Down"

I painted this in 1987, thinking about the images on our vessels compared to the ancient Greeks; Science fiction & myths.

Portrait of Brian Walker

A friend commissioned this portrait in 1980. We had a photo session on the roof of his apartment in Hell's Kitchen. That is the world trade center in the background. Brian was at first freaked out that his eyes were closed. I was making a contrast of inner & outer worlds. New York is so crazy that looking inward is one way to find peace. What freaks me out, now, is that lone white cloud at the top of the towers.

"Ms. Olympia"

This painting was purchased by the Cleve. Clinic around 1990. The vase has an image of Herculese fighting an amazon woman. The mug has an image of Ms. Olympia, the body building contest for women. The Dixie cups have a cartoon of Linus insulting Nancy. Teresa DeChant the Clinic art consultant at that time thought this would look great in the cafeteria, because it's about health. It was. The shadow is of someone who made me heart sick. I recovered.

"Hera"

She was the goddess of women, childbirth, and marriage. Zeus cheated on her constantly. A nymph named Echo had the job of distracting Hera from knowledge of Zeus's escapades. She cursed Echo to only be able to repeat the words of others. Neoclassicissm can be a curse if the repeating of motifs leads only to the past. A painter, R. Ryan said, "Neoclassicism is cheating."

"The Wanderer"

An art dealer informed me that these paintings were kitch. I said, "Of course they're kitch. I love kitch." I also love the late work of Picabia and the neoclassicism of Picasso. Carlo Mariani can really paint. Let's not forget John Currin. Have you seen what Jim Dine is up to? He used laser scanners to enlarge Greek figurines from 100 BC, at the Getty Villa. He then made wood carvings of them. Way to go, kitchmeister!

"He Met Her In A Dream"

There is a song by Bjork with the lyric: "I miss you, but I haven't met you yet."

"Wake Upon Another Shore"

Someone called these types of paintings my "see through vase paintings". We can see the world, the ancient life in a vase.

"Horse"

This circus painting is quite large: 96" x 48". The three ring circus idea is mashed up with transparent planes and a gold leaf outlined horse head. The picture is from a slide as are all of the circus paintings in the following posts.

"The Source" oil on shaped canvas

This painting is going to be put up for sale at Sotheby's by a collector. Yikes. It will be the first time one of my children has been sold that way.

"On Both Ends At Once"

One of the first paintings I did in the Spring Street loft. I designed this to be hung from the cieling.

"The Double Twist Of Death"

I painted this at the Edward Albee Foundation, in Montauk, N.Y. in 1979. It was quite an experience being there. It is a summer workshop in a barn. I had a huge studio. There were two painters, and three writers there. One of the writers was James Lapine, who has come to great success: "Sunday In The Park With George" was written by him. Nogouchi dropped by one day wearing shorts and flip-flops...and I had dinner in Mr. Albee's famous mirrored dinning room. Excuse me for the poor quality of the picture: It's from an old slide.

"Eagles" and "Lions"

These are paintings of doors in the Society Bank building, designed by John Root of the Chicago firm, Burnham and Root. The 1889 design shows influences of Gothic, Romanesque, and Renaissance styles. I have since used this pointed Gothic arch shape and proportion in many of my paintings. The turn of the century produces a plethora of synthesized eclectic styles in all the arts. Look at our current art scene: any thing goes. Art and Architecture critics are mostly confused. There is one, Barbara Rose, who got it right. In a lecture at Yale, circa 1977, she predicted what I see and embrace as an expression of the convergence of cultures, styles, & historical references: Postmodernism. Long live Robert Stern and John Currin.

"Soldiers And Sailors Monument"

The monument honoring the four branches of the Union Army as seen through a Gothic arch window of the old Society Bank building. The Civil War memorial on Cleveland's public square was built in 1894. How different Maya Lin's memorial to the Vietnam Veterans is. They both contain long lists of dead warriors. Where are the lists of the dead civilians?

"Terminal Tower"

When the Society for Savings building was built in 1890 it was the tallest "skyscraper" in Ohio. It had 10 stories. This is a view out of the board room in 1992. The Gothic arch window is an exact representation of the existing leaded window.

"Space Cadet"

This painting was photographed from the side, at an oblique angle. (that's electric conduit on the wall). The blue checked strip on the right is painted on the side. I loved playing with the rotation of a circle/elipse. As the viewer walks by, the elipse rotates and becomes foreshortened.

"Elephant Lady"

This eliptical painting interested Holly and Horace Solomon when they visited my studio in 1980. I thought I had it made, Holly and Horace embraced and she said we'll send the truck over." and, "The trunk is pointing down: That's bad luck." They were divorced not long after.  Below is a Warhol photo of Holly in her younger years looking very glamourous.

"Warriors I"

Somehow this painting looks too good natured. Maybe some bloody dismembered bodies would tone down the frivolity.

"Warriors II"

Russia invades Georgia during the Summer Olympics opening ceremonies. With every war, somebody is making a lot of weapons and money.

"Strawberries"

A 20 miniute drive away from my house is the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. There are a few working farms there. These three buildings are part of a park sevices center.