http://www.cantorfineart.com/story/please-touch-the-art/
One day a blind man discovered a screw painting by Andrew Myers with his hands. The blind man found as much enjoyment out of the tactile elements of the work as any sighted person ever has by just looking at them. Andrew considers this moment as one of the most inspiring of his career. Which led us to a question: Why is touching artwork so taboo?
Prior to the mid-1800s, tactile interaction was commonplace for visitors experiencing collections of art, but as museums of art evolved, rules forbidding touch became the norm. In some cases, these were to protect artwork that truly was not meant to be touched, but in large part these norms had nothing do with preservation and everything to do with nineteenth century politics of gender, race and class control.
In light of all this, we decided to create a documentary that elevates the level of tactile arts, and gives back to the visually impaired community. It was at that point that we met George Wurtzel.
George is a blind artisan and teacher working at Enchanted Hills Camp in Napa Ca. This is a 300 acre camp nestled in the red wood forest above Napa Valley. Enchanted Hills is a summer camp for the visually impaired. Here George teaches blind folks, through example, how to use all the equipment necessary to become blind artisans.
Currently, George is converting an old grape crushing barn into a Tactile Art Center. The top floor of the building is his 1900 sq. ft. wood working shop. The bottom floor will be his Tactile Art gallery space where blind people can feel and sell their artwork.
We fell in love with George and his mission and wanted to support his new tactile art gallery. So we worked with Andrew Myers to surprise George with a tactile portrait of himself. The first portrait he will be able to feel and recognize.
Learn more about Enchanted hills here: lighthouse-sf.org/programs/enchanted-hills/
The Academy of Music for the Blind (AMB) were kind enough to create a song for our soundtrack. AMB specifically addresses the educational, social, and physical needs of talented blind music students so that they can fully develop their unique talents and be prepared for integration into the workplace or other educational settings.
To learn more about the AMB visit:http://ouramb.org/
To learn more about this project, visit http://www.cantorfineart.com/story/please-touch-the-art/
Music Credits:
Artist: Tycho, Song: A Walk
Buy it in iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-walk/id679251532?i=679251628
Artist: Aphex Twin, Song: 14th Avril
Buy it in iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/avril-14th/id50235099?i=50235117
To learn more about this video visit:
http://www.cantorfineart.com/story/please-touch-the-art-show/
The art world's favorite rule: "Don't Touch the Art," is well intentioned but can have unintended and harmful side effects. Like the fact that a blind man feels like he has less access to public artwork than a pigeon. That is awful, but it doesn't have to be this way.
So we threw a show featuring tactile works created by artists from around the world, each has a unique discipline and background that enables surprising and varied tactile experiences – ranging from tactile portraits, to sculptures, to augmented reality.
The event was standing room only for most of the night. Probably because it was cathartic for a lot of people. Without knowing it they had secretly wanted to touch artwork their entire lives. A few people started crying when they got touch the work.
Not every piece of art needs to or should be touched... But perhaps it’s time we took a look at how pervasive and mandatory our "no touching" rules really are - it might help everyone see artwork a little differently.
To learn more about this video visit:
http://www.cantorfineart.com/story/please-touch-the-art-show/
At a young age, Andrew Myers was inspired by the Italian sculpting master Bernini; but felt he would never measure up. Instead of following in his idol's style, Andrew traveled down his own path to create works of art out of thousands of carefully painted screws, creating a three-dimensional experience.
This piece is by Andrew Myers.
The video was created by Cantor Fine Art a Los Angeles Art Gallery.
Visit Cantorfineart.com to learn more.
Year: 2012
Size: 24in W x 24in H x 3in D
Condition: Excellent
Assemblages: Over 2,000 individually painted screws, oil, acrylic, ink, newsprint collage on wood
Facundo is part of Andrew's shadow series. It is about light and voids. Everything that was in the shadows became a void, and no screws or color are present. Only the things in light would take on a form and color. The idea being that when we look towards the light we can find ourselves and build. Sometimes it is tempting to stay in the dark, but you won't find anything there.
One night Andrew's roommate told him that he couldn't include everyone in his art. In typical Andrew fashion, he saw an obstacle or challenge as an opportunity to do something conceptual and beautiful. So he covered the whole background of the piece with pages from the phone book. A literal list of everyone. Beyond winning the bet, it also happened to be a beautiful and graphic solution.
To learn more about this piece visit cantorfineart.com.
All inquiries can be sent to: ljc (at) cantorfineart.com.
This piece is by Andrew Myers.
The video was created by Cantor Fine Art a Los Angeles Art Gallery.
Visit Cantorfineart.com to learn more.
Cantor Fine Art Andrew Myers
This piece is by Andrew Myers.
The video was created by Cantor Fine Art a Los Angeles Art Gallery.
Visit Cantorfineart.com to learn more.
Year: 2015
Size: 12in x 12in
Condition: Excellent
Assemblages: 961 individually hand-painted steel screw heads, oil, on wood panel
Andrew's process is fascinating. It starts by thinking of a persons face as a mountain range. Andrew studies the elevations and recessions of the his subjects face. For example, the nose will always be the the peak of the mountain (we hope). He then draws a topography map of his subjects face on a piece of wood, and hand drills 961 screws into a perfect grid on top of the map on the board. Each screw goes into a different depth dictated by the underlying topography map.
As if creating an anatomically correct sculptural portrait of someones face out of screws wasn't enough, Andrew then hand paints each screw head with the utmost attention to shadow, shape, and texture. People always ask if we are sure that he doesn't spray paint or airbrush the color on. We are sure. The paint brush is the only way he can have the control he needs. The result is a piece that is photo realistic from 20 ft away and an incredibly tactile sculpture up close.
To learn more about this piece visit cantorfineart.com.
All inquiries can be sent to: ljc (at) cantorfineart.com.
This piece is by Andrew Myers.
The video was created by Cantor Fine Art a Los Angeles Art Gallery.
Visit Cantorfineart.com to learn more.
Year: 2015
Size: 12in x 12in
Condition: Excellent
Assemblages: 961 individually hand-painted steel screw heads, oil, on wood panel
Andrew's process is fascinating. It starts by thinking of a persons face as a mountain range. Andrew studies the elevations and recessions of the his subjects face. For example, the nose will always be the the peak of the mountain (we hope). He then draws a topography map of his subjects face on a piece of wood, and hand drills 961 screws into a perfect grid on top of the map on the board. Each screw goes into a different depth dictated by the underlying topography map.
As if creating an anatomically correct sculptural portrait of someones face out of screws wasn't enough, Andrew then hand paints each screw head with the utmost attention to shadow, shape, and texture. People always ask if we are sure that he doesn't spray paint or airbrush the color on. We are sure. The paint brush is the only way he can have the control he needs. The result is a piece that is photo realistic from 20 ft away and an incredibly tactile sculpture up close.
To learn more about this piece visit cantorfineart.com.
All inquiries can be sent to: ljc (at) cantorfineart.com.
This piece is by Andrew Myers.
The video was created by Cantor Fine Art a Los Angeles Art Gallery.
Visit Cantorfineart.com to learn more.
Year: 2014
Size: 42in W x 54in H x 2in D
Condition: Perfect. #6 in a series of 12.
Assemblages: Archival ink print w / hand cut out. Floated and set-back in shadow box with black side rails. Edition Size: 12
Many years ago Andrew’s ex-wife asked him for a divorce and handed him a 10 page scathing letter on notebook paper. It was a list of Andrew’s shortcomings. Andrew wanted to absorb the content, but just couldn't stop fixating on the spelling and grammatical errors. He wanted to correct it with a red pen and send it back to her with a bad grade. Then he realized grading a person on their life was an amazing and unusual idea...and the Life 101 series was born.
Andrew asks each sitter to grade themselves on their own lives. Riley gave herself an A-. Andrew then interviewed her on why she gave herself that grade. He draws their portrait in charcoal and based on their interview he makes notes on their lives. Paradoxically, Andrew tries to make the critiques of this persons life very personal and at the same time universal. One thing Andrew stressed to us is that every single word matters to him. He doesn't get that many comments and they need to be crafted perfectly. This is someones life, and he takes that very seriously.
To learn more about this piece visit cantorfineart.com.
All inquiries can be sent to: ljc (at) cantorfineart.com.
This piece is by Andrew Myers.
The video was created by Cantor Fine Art a Los Angeles Art Gallery.
Visit Cantorfineart.com to learn more.
Year: 2014
Size: 48in H x 72in W x 3in D
Condition: Excellent
Assemblages: Mixed-Media: Over 3,000 individually hand-painted steel head screws, oil, hand painted chrome fabricated Dog w/ Poo sculpture, high gloss car paint on wood panel. Series of 4. 2 sold.
Andrew read about the balloon dog selling for 48 million dollars, and receiving massive amounts of critical acclaim and praise. It struck him that that art world is such a strange place. As Andrew often does, he decided to make an art piece about it. He wondered if you took away the super star artist behind the artwork away and gave the dog a disapproving finger instead of praise, how would it behave?
This piece checks the status quo. Somehow we’ve come to believe greatness in the art world is only reserved for a chosen few. For the accepted. For the name brands. For the celebrities. And that the rest of the artists can only standby watching. Andrew wants you to challenge that. Every artist can be worthwhile. Every piece can be amazing. But they should be judged on the merits of the piece not the fame of the artist.
To learn more about this piece visit cantorfineart.com.
All inquiries can be sent to: ljc (at) cantorfineart.com.
This piece is by Andrew Myers.
The video was created by Cantor Fine Art a Los Angeles Art Gallery.
Visit Cantorfineart.com to learn more.
Year: 2015
Size: 8in x 8in X 3in
Condition: Perfect
Assemblages: Screws, Oil Paint, Wood
Andrew described the process of creating these pieces extremely meditative.
What makes these pieces is truly remarkably is that they are painted in reverse. In general, objects closer to the viewer will be lighter and anything further way will be darker. Andrew flipped that on its head. Anything closer to the viewer is darker, and anything closer to the back panel is lighter. The result is the pieces feel completely flat from straight on and only reveal their dimensionality from the side.
Mathematics as an expression in art often reflects the desire for aesthetic perfection.
To learn more about this piece visit cantorfineart.com.
All inquiries can be sent to: ljc (at) cantorfineart.com.
Cantor Fine Art
Andrew Myers
Love Wins