In our ‘Salon des Artes’ at
Fitzsimons this past week the subject for conversation turned to R. C. Gorman.
Not too infrequently the subject strays to frivolous banter of outrageous
dimensions, and Gorman being the inveterate aficionado of the eccentric
provided the group with huge deposit of information for speculation and
exhortations of intriguing insight. I am not sure whether my trip to Gorman’s
Navajo Gallery in Taos (on Ledoux Street) this summer helped me at all to
understand his art. I find his paintings colorful but ultimately banal; merely
repetition on the single theme of a generic Native American woman (or maybe a
few women) wrapped in a colorful blanket seated beside a pot in a fluorescent
landscape. I understand that experts in the field (actually the New York Times)
awarded him the title the ‘Pablo Picasso’ of the American-Indian art world, and
his style of painting is called ‘abstract realism.’ I have done my best in life
to avoid this sort of art, which is something of an incredible feat since one
cannot help but collide with it in poster or postcard form in any souvenir shop
anywhere in the world. Excessive exposure to Gorman art leads to a ‘lost in the
landscape’ syndrome, with the predominant symptom of staring into space in a sort
of drunken stupor.
The most interesting facets of
Gorman’s life, those which captured the imagination of the Fitzsimons Art Group
were his automobile history. Gorman only got his driving license at the age of
41. Could he drive before this time but illegally? Did he not drive but walk
everywhere? Unanswered speculation. Gorman moved rapidly in motorized transport
from the acquisition of an old jalopy from his secretary in the early 1970’s to
a ‘van’ used for hauling his abstract realist paintings of mysterious Indian
women around. As his fame and fortune gained momentum he advanced to the
Cadillac. He couldn’t drive too well, he completely grazed the entire side of
his first Cadillac… and he missed a turn on Ski Valley Road in Taos and drove
into the river. The second most interesting aspect of Gorman’s life was his
time in the navy. He appears to have spent a great deal of time sketching
enhanced portraits of his fellow sailors girlfriends for exorbitant fees. A
natural businessman even at this early stage. Later on he bought a Mercedes,
became incredibly famous, dined at the Whitehouse, received guests such as
Jackie Onassis and kept a strange menagerie of pets; a pig, iguana and a skunk.
The President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter visited Gorman in Taos and he was so
delighted that he gave them a copy of his bestselling book ‘Nudes and Foods.’
Gorman was a fascinating personality, a little low on creativity but bursting
with energy.
R. C. Gorman was the intensive
object of imitation by an infamous forger lady. This is merely suggested rather
than confirmed. Not only did a particular woman, for some completely obscure
reason choose to reproduce Gorman drawings and sell them for virtually nothing,
but also practiced medicine without a license, and persisted her residency in
the U.S. without any form of official permit. she is a fascinating study in her
own right, but remains anonymous. She is described as ‘a new media artist who
spends her time trying to map the terrain where deception, actuality, and
enactment come into conflict with social norms and the evolving aesthetic
tension grid called art.’ This seems like an apt way to describe many modern
artists who have in fact lost the roadmap to life and dazzled by their gold
encrusted Gucci sunglasses have seemingly driven off the road and are rapidly
heading for the river at the bottom of the canyon. R. C. Gorman remains one of
the most extravagant personalities in the art world. The charges of him being a
pedophile may never be substantiated.
All Rights Reserved / Copyright: David John Drew 2013.
All Rights Reserved / Copyright: David John Drew 2013.
