Art influence

Spotted in the Wynwood Arts District – an artists’ sentiment on what art should do in society:

memories of the ’80s – Patrick Nagel

Can an illustration style embody a decade? For the 1980s, artist Patrick Nagel’s style became well-known thanks to one album.

Originally from Ohio, Nagel served in the Vietnam War and afterwards attended Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and University of California at Fullerton.

In 1971 he started working for ABC Television as a graphic designer and in 1972, he started as a freelance illustrator for Architectural Digest, IBM, Rolling Stone, Oui and Universal Studios, as well as teaching art and design.

In 1976, Nagel began to contribute to Playboy Magazine, making his style of illustration of females known within its pages. But in 1982, a Nagel illustration was used on the second album cover of Brit pop group Duran Duran. With the use of his work on that album, the wider public began to want Nagel art in their homes, and the artist happily complied, as a fan of posters.

Including this cover, his focus on dramatic, bold graphically styled women in black, white and bold colours became the signature style of the decade. These women all shared the same characteristics: big black hair, white skin, generous mouths and a hint of a smile.

Many celebrities wanted a Nagel version of themselves, including Joan Collins, who publicly praised the artist interpretation of herself on talk shows once it was completed. Posters were a popular option, with their addition to home decor a contemporary trend of the time period.

Unfortunately Nagel died in 1984 due to a heart attack, but his unique style became synonymous with the decade.

The power of black and white

Although the colourful graffiti and murals attract a lot of attention in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District, there are few black and white images that caught my eye:

memories of the ’70s – LOVE by Robert Indiana

An iconic image still imitated and popular became a sculpture in 1970 – LOVE by Robert Indiana.

Born Robert Clark, Indiana moved to New York City in the 1950s, and and became part of the pop art movement, which included artists Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg.

The artist created the distinct artwork in 1964, as a Christmas card for the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, in reaction to a visit to a Christian Science Church and seeing a banner “God is Love”, which he then transformed into a painting “Love is God”.

He first transformed his creation into an aluminum sculpture in 1966. Meanwhile the hippie movement of the 1960s adopted his logo as one of their symbols.

Indiana’s logo was transformed into a steel sculpture and first displayed at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1970, where it is still on permanent exhbition on the grounds.

In 1971, a second LOVE sculpture was erected in midtown New York City on Sixth Avenue. Its continuing popularity led the US Postal Service to use Indiana’s work in a postage stamp issued in 1973 as part of a ‘Love’ series and more LOVE sculptures came into existence.

In 1976, the city of Philadelphia installed a LOVE sculpture in JFK Plaza, as part of the bicentennial celebrations, as the city is well known for its moniker “The City of Brotherly Love”. The artwork was removed in 1978, but the public outcry for the loss of the statue, encouraged the city to bring it back, and this plaza is now know as LOVE park.

I was lucky enough to see the original statue in Indianapolis and consequently have seen the statue in New York City, Philadelphia, Scottsdale and New Orleans. There are almost 20 LOVE sculptures throughout the United States and around the world in countries such as Japan, Turkey, Spain and Thailand.

This image can now be found on all kinds of items from t-shirts to tote bags – and although its conception may have been an artistic expression, its simple message is one that everyone can embrace.

Pop figures

I love the look of these figures seen in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District – and they remind me of well-known film director and artist Tim Burton:

We want your Warhol

This advertisement in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District is actually an art project – and one that has drawn a lot of attention:

memories of the ’80s – Square Pegs

Highschool was a challenge, life was all about getting in good with the cool kids, and two girls tried to establish their cred in Square Pegs.

Set in a fictional small town, highschool life was all about living on the fringe of the core cool society for Lauren Hutchinson and Patty Greene (played by Amy Linker and Sarah Jessica Parker) who do everything they can to keep their reputations as cool as possible.

Their buddies in surviving daily school life are Marshall Blechtman (John Femia) and Johnny ‘Slash’ Ulasewicz (Merritt Butrick), two geeks who also wish to be cool, but are at least glad to form a clique of their own with Lauren and Patty.

Created by former Saturday Night Live writer Anne Beatts, Square Pegs was all about snappy dialogue, which bordered on being a bit too adult or risque. Through their words ( and the half hour sitcom boundaries) the characters showed the reality of teen life in the early 1980s, and is often compared to films made by John Hughes.

Patty and Lauren’s world consisted of not getting embarrassed, trying to be friends with cool Valley kids Jennifer (Tracy Nelson), Ladonna (Claudette Wells) and Vinnie (John Caliri) and figuring out whether it was worth it to participate in any school programs and events as championed by the ever-uber-positive Muffy B. Tepperman, played by Jami Gertz.

As someone who was becoming a teen, this show was a snapshot into what I thought highschool would be like – cliques, issues and trying to survive the day without looking like an idiot, which Patty and Lauren try to do every day.

Unfortunately this series only lasted one season, but its impact on the way highschool should be depicted made a difference on television and film thanks to Ann Beatts.

Fashion warrior

Spotted in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District – this collage takes fashion into a warrior-role – how fierce!

memories of the ’70s – Welcome Back Kotter

The highschool classroom was never made so cool by the underdog as it was with the Sweathogs and Mr. Kotter in Welcome Back Kotter.

The idea of comedian Gabe Kaplan, this tv sitcom was launched on ABC TV in September 1975, based on Kaplan’s highschool experiences in Brooklyn, NY.

As Mr. Kotter, he returns to his roots in Brooklyn at fictional James Buchanan Highschool to teach the remedial class, populated by the Sweathogs, so-named as the classroom was on the top floor.

A former Sweathog, Kotter knows that everyone has written off the students, but he believes in them, unlike the grouchy vice-principal Mr. Woodman.

Starring John Travolta as Vinnie Barbarino, Ron Pallilo as Arnold Horshack, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as Freddie “Boom-Boom” Washington and Robert Hegyes as Juan Epstein, these four students were the core of the class, each with their own quirky personalities and immediately become very close to Mr. Kotter.

Each half hour dealt with the realities of school life, as the world of the students, coupled with crazy schemes, odd happenings, girls and of course, plenty of humour. Each character became known for certain catchphrases, that became their trademark for the series.

Barbarino was always saying “What? Where? Why?” as well as a the insult “Up your nose with a rubber hose!”, while Horshack, who routinely knew the answer in class was shown to yell “Oh! Oh! Oh!”. Washington was all about his distinct delivery with “Hi there” and “Hello Mr. Kot taire”, while Epstein was always trying to get out of any commitment with his “Hey Mr. Kotter I got a note!”.

For four seasons, the series did well, garnering good ratings and plenty of laughs – but it was Travolta’s star that rose, with his film projects (Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Carrie) which led him to leave the series and then came the show’s downfall in the ratings.

Kaplan tried to introduce other characters and a different premise by moving the series to community college, as the actors were all hitting their late 20s, with Travolta the youngest actor.

For me, I saw this series as a kid as just plain funny, thinking of these older kids as comedians and how one asserted oneself in highschool. Of course, my life would be far from this reality, but I appreciated the distinct slang and the world of Mr. Kotter’s highschool.

Ending its run in 1979, Welcome Back Kotter showed a funny view of highschool, but also celebrated the underdog, and the tough road for those students in highschool.

Movie sign

In Miami’s Wynwood Arts District, the front of the O Cinemas is just as vibrant as any part of the neighbourhood: