blitzstein

Monday, July 28, 1997

Monday, July 28, 1997

Horror and humor meld, bringing nightmares to canvas

ART:

Painter's monstrous creatures provide outlet

to subconscious mindBy Kristin Fiore

Daily Bruin Staff

Everyone has their own demons, but not everyone hangs them out to dry at the office. However, this technique seems to work for artist Harry Blitzstein, whose gallery walls are crammed with creatures you might encounter in dreams or nightmares.

This connection between the subconscious and art lures in many meandering young night owls to the Harry Blitzstein Museum of Art. Opening only at twilight, it is a prime hang-out for twentysomethings.

Students from UCLA and USC, club-goers and late-night snackers often stop in from nearby coffeehouses or Canters Delicatessen across the street.

Though Blitzstein's painted figures are hard to identify (are they gnomes, witches, wolves, monsters or all of the above?), they resemble the critters that populate our subconscious. The eerie combination of horror and humor contrasts the style of many "tortured artists" in L.A. whose paintings are limited to sterile geometrics.

"I sleep very well, because I paint that all out of me. Other people have come in and said, 'Oh, I've seen these pictures in my dreams or nightmares. I know these,'" Blitzstein says.

Young gallery patrons become excited when they see some of their hazy memories on display in vibrant colors or in dour earth tones. And unlike most galleries, the artist is always on hand to discuss his visitors' interpretations and insights.

"Since I've had this show, people who are curious will come in, look at my paintings and get the biggest charge out of them," Blitzstein says. "Then I can re-see them. I see the inside emotions of people and not the outside portraits. I see a lot of humor, but also the seven deadly sins ­ avarice, lust, all those things."

But many of Blitzstein's patrons see entirely different things and end up teaching him as much as they learn. This turns a potentially intimidating art lesson into an informal evening chat.

"With some of them, I know what they mean, but with others, I look at them and just scratch my head," Blitzstein says. "That's what I love about art shows. You see people looking at things and reacting to them, and you see the painting almost for the first time."

Many of Blitzstein's visitors were in diapers when he began painting his demons. And though the monsters certainly have a universal quality, they were also a response to the chaotic and disillusioning world of the 1960s and 1970s.

Blitzstein, like many artists, began his career within the confines of academic art classes, but soon broke out into his own style that better expressed his emotions.

"I was painting, learning as a student, getting my degree and searching for beauty and mysticism as a young man," Blitzstein says. "But around 1967, the Vietnam period, these demons started to pop out, and it was like opening a flood gate. They were pretty horrifying and at the same time hilarious. I was just trying to be as crazy as possible. After that I tried to lighten up."

The current range of Blitzstein' s work ­ from the whimsical and affable to the downright forbidding ­ reflects the decision to incorporate more light-hearted elements and influences.

"One of my big inspirations is 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.' I never got over it. I wear hooded sweatshirts to this day," Blitzstein laughs. "I painted the queen and the wicked witch several times."

His commitment to the less serious can also be seen in a painting of Dopey entitled "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Paint I Go."

"I try to get to a very innocent part of you," Blitzstein says of his fairy-tale creations." You see, in L.A., you're supposed to be the cool artist man. You're doing art, and you're not supposed to show anything vulnerable. To me that's the highest form of strength. To get past all the darkness and actually get some happy, poetic being out of you ­ that pink, little, trembling naked creature looking at you with one eye."

Blitzstein's more childlike moments stem from Disney-type stories, but he has also picked up some of his style and substance from other artists. Van Gogh's intense, swirling brush strokes, vivid colors and tinges of madness seep into his work. Later, Blitzstein also discovered Pablo Picasso, Francisco Goya, Oceanic masks and the gothic genius of Francis Bacon. But many of his inspirations are from the other arts, especially music.

"Reading is as inspiring as other art work, as is music, poetry and great movies," Blitzstein says. "I listen to classical music when I paint, and that seems to be the most moving way to really get to your depths."

Blitzstein also paints while listening to Leonard Cohen, who Blitzstein calls "humorous, serious, religious, sexual and hallucinatory."

The methods and messages of artists like Van Gogh and Cohen may vary widely, but they do share one all-important quality, according to Blitzstein.

"Life can be lost in the smog out there. And if it has any meaning at all, then the musicians, actors and artists are saying it; the poets and philosophers are saying it."

ART: The Harry Blitzstein Museum of Art is open nightly from twilight to midnight, or by appointment. For more information call (213) 852-4830.

Harry Blitzstein

Artist Harry Blitzstein melds humor and horror in his painting titled "Pontious."