Who Was Harry Young?

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WHO WAS HARRY YOUNG? WAS THE MAKER OF THIS RATHER UNUSUAL collection an obsessive artist with a penchant for cowboys? Was “Harry” (if that is really the artist’s name) a self-taught artist who had a wonderfully innate sense of collage, drawing and assembly—and this group of works just a fraction of his entire oeuvre? Or, was Harry Young just an ordinary child, infatuated (like many kids of the day) with cowboys and the wild west, this being the box of drawings his mother saved? No one really knows. Looking at more of the handwriting may yield some clues.

What we do know is what we see: a large intact set of small (6 to 10 inches in size) odd, child-like, compelling and visually strong works by an unknown artist. By looking at the work, there are stylistic hints that perhaps these works were done by an adult, like the collage for the faces, the attention to detail in the clothing and the sheer ability to create so many consistent works of a single theme. But more research needs to be done. It does appear the works are at least 50 to 75 years old.

According to the Packer Schopf Gallery in Chicago, “over 350 cardboard figures of cowboys, lawmen and horses were found in a large wooden box with the words “Harry Young, 38 Inkerman, St. Thomas, ON” scratched on the inside. The vast majority are hand drawn. There are a handful of figures that have “collage” faces, which are cut from newspaper ads for cowboy movies. The box also contains a lot of other miscellaneous items, including a wearable Marshall’s badge and a small, handwritten book of “laws,” which establishes rules for cowboy life, morality and justice.”

Judge for yourself by visiting the Packer Schopf Gallery website.

A Look Back at Art Chicago, 2010

(Above) Booth of Harvey Art & Antiques, Chicago.

(Above) An 1885 Spencerian drawing of a lion, beautifully flourished by I.B. Carolus, owned by The Hill Gallery, Michigan.


(Above) A tramp art wall pocket with mirror, in Clifford A. Wallach’s booth.

(Above) Fabulous 19th century carved head, male.

(Above) Fabulous 19th century carved head, female.

(Above) One of the best Anasazi pots I have seen in years.


(Above) Carved owl by Ohio self-taught artist Ernest Popeye Reed (1919 - 1985).

(Above) Black Forest carvings of deer (and a bird).

(Above) A haunting street shot by Gary Stochl at the Dean Jenson Gallery, Milwaukee.

(Above) A dealer in the booth of Tory Folliard Gallery adjusts a painting by Milwaukee artist Fred Stonehouse.

(Above) Carved vintage bricks by Chris Berti at Tori Folliard Gallery.

(Above) A painting by Fred Stonehouse hangs above a carved sycamore heart by Chris Berti at Tory Folliard Gallery.

(Above) Twig horse (cast in bronze) by the great Deborah Butterfield.

(Above) Artist Phyllis Bramson poses next to her painting at the Phillip Slein Gallery, St. Louis.


BEST INTENTIONS WOULD HAVE BEEN THAT THIS POST would have appeared a month ago, but I lost track of the disc. But here they are, late but fun. As I meandered around the art fair which was April 30th to May 3rd this year, I made shots of some of things that caught my eye. I have decided to show a few images even though I cannot remember the name of gallery. I apologize in advance for this shortcoming and any mix ups or errors.

If Art Chicago 2011 follows the same route of quality as this year, it will be something to (again) mark your calendars for.

Embroidery Your Grandma Never Did

THIS IS THE FIRST SERIOUS ART THAT DEBORAH SLABECK BAKER has made in nearly 25 years. She’s been occupied with her family and children . . . and dance had been her creative substitute. In the last year and a half she started making these embroideries and they have just been pouring out of her. They are a synthesis of all her past media and efforts. There are many references: needlework, samplers, hankies, silhouettes, and folk art. But they are also very personal, as this kind of work can be. She thinks of them as drawings, or poems/stories. She works directly on the fabric with thread — no pre-drawing or marking of the fabric — a kind of automatic embroidery. And this year. . . one of Baker’s images is being used as a holiday card for The Art Institute of Chicago!

Via Packer Schopf Gallery in Chicago. All images © Deborah Slabeck Baker.

A Complex World

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As Beautiful As 2006
30” x 40”
color ink / collage on paper

Banquet 2006
30” x 40”
color ink / collage on paper

Drug House 2006
30” x 40”
color ink / collage on paper


EVERY SO OFTEN AN ARTIST COMES ALONG who just blows you away with talent so deep that you come to wonder how one could be so proficient in both 2-D and 3-D work. Michael Ferris, Jr.’s work would be nationally recognized if he did either—much less both. It would be best to let the artist speak for his work.

Artist’s Statement for Sculptures

My intent is to render an accurate likeness of my subject however what I find more compelling is communicating the sitter’s “inner world.” I do this by contrasting the sculpture’s stoic, classical form with its complex multi-patterned surface. Ultimately my aim is to express the psychological and spiritual complexity of my subject.

I am interested in creating a dialogue regarding the use of recycled materials. My work is comprised of recycled wood. These forms are then surfaced with a combination of overlaid recycled wood pieces and acrylic pigmented grout. Inlaid gaming tables from the Middle East have played a particularly important role in the aesthetic formation of my work.

Artist’s Statement for Works on Paper

These allegorical images reflect my deeply rooted ambivalence regarding the nature of empire. I am interested in examining the ways that global supremacy has enabled the wonders of life and culture to flourish, while concurrently producing the social and personal contamination of civilization as a whole.

I explore this duality by creating complex Baroque inspired environments that surround and engage with the characters in my narratives. It is through this imagery that I challenge the intent of the pervasive empire. In “Drug house”, I question if the empire is a provider of spiritual awakening or rather a repressive, destructive and exploiting force. In “Banquet” I examine how empire has provided great abundance for some at the expense of a many others. My intent is not to solicit an conclusive answer to the question of empire, but instead, to explore the mysterious and complicated duality of human nature.

Visit Ferris’ web site here.

Ferris is represented by:

George Adams Gallery, New York
info@georgeadamsgallery.com

Packer Schopf Gallery, Chicago
packer@packergallery.com

Brian Dettmer: Book Dissections

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BRIAN DETTMER IS AN ARTIST WHO LOOKS AT A BOOK, OR SET OF OBSOLETE BOOKS, as a personal excavation into what lays within. Like an archeologist at work on a historical site, Dettmer carefully exposes one layer at a time while discarding the detritus. And in our 21st century “age of information” Dettmer’s approach to “revealing” information is refreshingly original. I compare Dettmer’s work to that of the great collage and assemblage artist Joseph Cornell (1903 - 1972), who, in his reclusive and private world, created boxes of visual discovery not unlike that of today’s Brian Dettmer.

Brian Dettmer was born in Chicago in 1974 and currently lives and works in Atlanta. He received his BA in Art and Design/Art History from Columbia College. He is currently represented by Packer Schopf in Chicago, Kinz + Tillou Fine Art in New York, Toomey Tourell in San Francisco, and MiTO Gallery in Barcelona. Dettmer’s work has been shown in several museums, universities, and art centers throughout the country, including the International Museum of Surgical Science, the Bellevue Arts Museum, the Rockford Art Museum, the Illinois State Museums in Chicago and Springfield, the Kohler Arts Center, and the Hyde Park Art Center.