The more I’ve looked since the last Musicians Making Art post, the more I’ve found. I’m not sure whether lockdown has precipitated this move from music into the art world (as it has for many others) or whether it has simply given people a space to do it. Anyway, I like the music of all those listed here, so I sincerely hope at least a few of them are keeping that up too. Podcasts are great, but god knows we’re going to need some major gig-attending after all this…
Wilko Johnson
Wilko became famous as the distinctive guitarist for Doctor Feelgood but has lived one of the more colourful lives in music. He seems to have always had an interest in painting but studied English language & literature rather than taking the art school path. He’s had films made about him, books written about him & written a couple of his own. He’s even been in Game of Thrones. Here, his rat painting shows the creature enjoying what might most tactfully be described as “disco vitamin infusions.” In recent years, one of the more remarkable aspects of Wilko’s life is that he nearly lost it – however he was cured, saved & continues to work. Hooray!
Bob Dylan
I realise this might look like a total cheat because Bob was in the last Musicians Making Art list, but all that entry took into account was his paintings/drawings, not what could almost be described as “applied arts,” (ugh). Some time ago, it came as a surprise to many that Bob was making metalwork designs. Well, I mean why not? People are continually surprised by Bob’s life choices. Considering all the changes he’s made & the outrages these have caused, shouldn’t we be surprised when he’s standing still? Trying nothing new? At 80, still one of the most misunderstood artists ever. Good grief, there’s hope for us all.
Patti Smith
All Patti’s creations are her art. She’s committed to the cause of art, no matter what. Having started as a poet & songwriter, she nevertheless is ensconced in the whole thing. Her friends are artists. Her handwriting is recognisable & recognisably part of her art, what she reads is in her art, the pictures she takes are her art. She’s gone the Cindy Sherman route - catch it all on Instagram. If there’s anyone worth following over there, it’s Patti.
Robyn Hitchcock
Whether it’s for a record cover or an auction, Robyn has a characteristic visual style. Even when figurative, it has a wobbly queasiness about it & there’s a lot of green. I wonder from time to time if that might be a reference to absinthe & I’d not be a bit surprised. Visually, lyrically as well as in his on-stage chat, Robyn is very much of the Carrollian school of psychedelia & - ultimately - surrealism. I’d say this frequently shows in his choice of shirt. This is not a criticism.
Maxim
As one third of the band The Prodigy, Maxim cuts a distinctive & powerful figure, their music frequently suggesting menace & darkness. Maxim successfully juxtaposes this side of his life with other imagery, for instance cats (like this Hot Rebel sculpture), ballerinas & butterflies alongside guns, grenades & knives. He has donated his mixed media works to charities & anti-racist exhibitions.
Pearl Thompson
After getting a shout on my 100 Great Artists list, it’d be foolish not to include Pearl on this list too. Unique & incredibly influential as a visual & a musical artist, I see what she has inspired in popular & sub-culture all over. Whatever she does is absolute brilliance.
Chuck Prophet
Chuck is another of the world’s great guitar geniuses. As Green on Red guitarist, he was unparalleled but as a solo artist, he is one of my favourite songwriters too. He’s unafraid to shy away from a cover or two however & in a sense this chimes with his chosen method of making visual art: reusing & recycling that which has gone before & making it into something better. Chuck continues the tradition of using cut-out printed material to create collages. Relatively speaking (in terms of art history), it’s got to be one of the newer media when you need printed material as your primary resource. Again, I rarely see his artwork around despite actively seeking it out but thankfully there is Instagram, a place where I’ve found the wary test out their visual works on an already faithful & interested audience.
Kurt Cobain
Hindsight, they say, is a wonderful thing & it’s particularly easy to get hooked into that mindset when talking about those we believe have been “taken too soon.” We try to unravel what’s left behind, especially when a suicide is involved. In spite of the fact that Kurt told us very clearly what was on his mind when he took his life, his work is still picked over to look for further clues because, well, we can’t ask him any more, can we? Despite the journals, the songs & the interviews, we just can’t leave him alone in asking for the “why?”s. This was his whole problem in the first place. It doesn’t take a genius to look at his visual artworks to come to the same conclusions you might when reading his lyrics. Nothing is purely on the surface, yet his soul is well & truly bared because the man was a genuine artist. I still find it upsetting, everything that happened to Kurt & as tawdry as many of the things done in his memory have been since his death, I share his work only out of love.
Danielle Dax
Another musician & writer who lives the art, Danielle Dax even painted her own body, clothes & interiors. For some, the visual aspect can never be separated from the musical & this enriches everything they do. Eventually she jacked in the music altogether & seemed to disappear. Thankfully, she has recently emerged into the public forum again & after studying visual arts further will now sometimes post her paintings online.
Funtime over here:
http://www.danielledax.com/DANIELLE_DAX_ART.html
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