It’s tough not to get the message of a painting showing a bar scene of many faceless people with the clear images seen on the ubiquitous TVs above their heads. When it comes to sports bars, what is most important is what’s onscreen, not who you’re sitting with.
Artist Frank van Veen admits TV has been important in his life but he questions its value with his new exhibit An Art Show About Television … What’s Up With That? He’s even been one of those guys sitting at the bar. He understands what is wrong with that picture.
“I don’t watch as much TV as I used to. It’s always been a big part of my life. I think that one of the things about TV … if I go past a TV and there’s something on, I’ll sit down and watch it if I’m not careful. If I have other things to do, I’ll sit down and watch.”
He said he gets caught up in stories rather than reality shows but the fact remains it has power over him and he’s not alone. His other pieces show exactly how the boob tube has become a fixture in people’s homes and lives. House is a street side view of a regular two-storey house with all of the windows featuring printed-paper scenes from different shows. Family Van is set inside a minivan with mom and dad up front, two children sitting in the back bucket seats. They’ve just arrived at Disneyland, Mickey Mouse greeting them at the gates but the kids are watching the scene on the monitors placed in the headrests of the drivers’ seats. It’s amusing for reasons of irony until you realize there’s so much truth in it that it’s really sad and pathetic.
The man definitely knows how to make art that is interesting and visually appealing, fun but still thought provoking and simple and complex at the same time. It’s the right blend of playful and meaningful that makes this a must-see show.
“There’s always that serious undercurrent. I don’t think you should be too serious but you can’t be too superficial either. There’s both sides to things.”
Van Veen is a pretty prolific artist. He said he created all of these pieces within the last three months and his creativity is not limited to the ideas and philosophies behind the images. Some of his mixed media materials are not normally found in artists’ bags. Apart from his installation piece called Snowman. featuring old TVs, a digital picture frame and an endless slideshow of celebrity heads over a body of static, he also took the guts out of one TV, deconstructed and then reconstructed them on acrylic. Essentially he took technology and made art out of it.
Then there’s the housefly. Yes, whatever you do, don’t try to swat the bug off of Fly, a painting of a distorted man in a distorted world watching a baseball game as an outfielder is trying to catch a fly ball. His shadow seems to be catching something else. Van Veen always has an interesting view of things. You should check it out because there’s probably nothing good on TV anyway.
