by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
St. Augustine has always been something of a cultural escape from the big city. The vibe down there is more laid back, the people that live there drive slower, more patiently, and there is a strong ex-hippie contingent that represents the adults there. Admittedly the “orange sticker” tourists can be a bit of a nuisance, and maybe that is why the locals are so patient. They appreciate the economy that those tourists provide, and to be honest, as a visitor from Jacksonville, I too am one of those tourists, more or less.
The Oldest City has also always taken pride in its craftsman culture. From the old Beech Nut Toys, which used to sell all hand-crafted wooden toys, to the drum shops there to this very day featuring an array of hand-made animal skin drums, this hippie playground takes craftsmanship seriously. Every year their annual St. Augustine Art & Craft Festival is one of their flagship events, which features 140 artists, food, drink, and live music (coming this weekend), and there are litanies of stores that feature exclusively art-oriented gifts.
Granted, much of this craftsman culture is focused on seashell art; jewelry crafted around crystals, and proportionally skewed acrylic paintings of lighthouses and seagulls. That is why all of those ex-hippies owe Rob DiPiazza a toke for bringing some new rock to their old folk city. Rob brought Screen Arts to St. Augustine. Although Screen Arts is a commercial printing facility, he has made his hip little building on West King Street into one of North Florida’s most contemporary art galleries. In the past he has showcased all sorts of cutting-edge new artists such as Derek Hess and R Land, as well as exposed the community to some of the regions best new artists, such as Ian Chase and Mark George.
The Gallery at Screen Arts was open for this past First Friday Art Walk in St. Augustine celebrating the opening of a new show from pop artists Annie Owens and Attaboy. Both artists have a cartoon-like style that steps off of the page to infer something larger. The pieces exude a sense of vitality with their gesture-strokes and literally off-the-wall presentation. The way the pieces were displayed provided an angular dynamic that incorporated shadows into the depth of this otherwise two-dimensional work. The way they were raised off of the wall let the caricature images step off of the comic book page and enter an arena of artistic viability.
Attaboy’s pieces would certainly bring a fresh look to any wall, they are vibrant and demanding. They are also rich with dark and almost sadistic depravity, much like R Land’s work, but with a sense of playfulness that isn’t borderline cute, as is the case with R Land’s pieces, but rather visceral. They are active and surrounded by a haze of movement. Attaboy also has a line of designer toys, packaged and manufactured, of some of his crazy cartoonish characters, some with interchangeable expressive mouths, and some that glow in the dark.
Annie Owens’ work was slightly more static, but not any less interesting. Rather than images clouded in movement and activity, hers were like the dark side of a Precious Moments portrait. From children in gas masks for Halloween to her series of caricatures on the bottom of skateboard decks, her pieces transmitted a sense of belonging. They were mostly framed and presented very traditionally, but the picture managed to shake you out of your traditional expectations. Her twisted characters offer plenty for the imagination to take from the wall.
Screen Arts has brought another spectacular show to St. Augustine, so get down there and witness one of the Oldest City’s newest treasures. Check out yumfactory.com and ouchclub.com for more of the works of these artists or just go to screenartsflaorida.com.
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