Brian Mashburn’s “Origin Stories” Anecdotes

It’s the last week to see Brian Mashburn’s “Origin Stories” and in this exhibition, Brian gave us more insight into a few of his works. You can read the anecdotes below, but he highly encourage finding the time to see this exhibition in person as the internet just doesn’t serve the subtleties in Mashburn’s pieces justice.

“Over the past few years, I’ve had a growing interest in narrative history, folklore, and the influence of origin stories in general – how they shape identity and impact perceived experience. This was my jumping off point for the show. Some of the paintings are about my personal and family history. Other pieces address the wider theme through anecdote and archetype as well as some thoughts on temporal experience and ideology. While not by any means a comprehensive indexing, I thought it may be of interest to some viewers to have occasional supplemental information and commentary by way of notes such as this one. Thanks!” – Brian Mashburn

Walking Shadows

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more.
(Macbeth)

Macbeth notwithstanding, this piece is centered around the Great Dismal Swamp on the border of North Carolina and Virginia. I first visited the swamp in January of 2017 and it made a lasting impression. The Great Dismal Swamp has an incredible history. It was home to generations of maroon communities – societies of runaway slaves who made their home in the swamp or used it as a corridor along the underground railroad. Throughout the years a rich tradition of folklore, ghost stories, and cautionary tales have grown up around the swamp. In many instances, these stories were used as a deterrent to help maintain the secrecy of the swamp’s human inhabitants. The swamp’s namesake – dismal – doesn’t exactly encourage visitors.

In the painting, the domestic animals, the pig, and chicken are signifiers of an unseen, subsistent human presence. The others are representatives of various myths and legends from the swamp such as the great blue heron who is said to have served as the guardian of the western shore of Lake Drummond for decades.

Cataloochee

The Cataloochee Valley is located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, close to my home in Asheville. The picturesque valley is home to a number of historic buildings, homesteads, and a decent-sized population of elk.
Cataloochee has a rich, occasionally troubled history including anecdotes of early Scotch-Irish settlers on friendly terms with the native Cherokee. It is said that some early settlers aided the Cherokee in their attempts to avoid forced relocation during the Trail of Tears period. About a hundred years later the European-American settlers would also be forced to leave their homes when the land was turned over to the National Park System.

The word ‘cataloochee’ is derived from the Cherokee term ‘gadalutsi’ which means ‘fringe standing erect.” most likely in reference to the tall trees that flank the valley floor. In this painting the valley is flanked by various buildings and industrial sites – among them is the iconic Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama, the site of an altogether different racially-motivated march.

Origin Story

My mother was born in 1949 in Hong Kong. She was one of two girls born to a single mother who fled mainland China in the aftermath of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War and World War 2. My maternal grandmother made it to Hong Kong just before Mao closed the borders. Meanwhile, my paternal Grandfather was fighting the same war in Europe.

My mom would later immigrate to Los Angeles in the late 60’s where she met my father. Dad grew up in a small town in North Carolina called Troy. It’s hard to imagine two more disparate places; Troy, NC, population around 3,000, and Hong Kong. This painting is based on a multi-cultural origin story, with elements borrowed from the East and the West. At the time of my parents’ wedding the supreme court case, Loving v. Virginia, which invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage was barely 5 years old. Growing up in the south in a mixed race household is another element that features prominently in my origin story.

On monuments…
Monuments and statues feature prominently in this work and many of the other paintings in this show. Often depicted are Civil War Confederate and Union monuments which are ubiquitous on the east coast, particularly in the south. Monuments can illustrate some of the problematic aspects of the origin story. A statue reduces a complex and complicated individual or event to a singular, albeit ambiguous, unary feature that is literally set in stone. There is no nuance but rather the form acts to solidify whatever projection the viewer ascribes to it. Incapable of historical accuracy, these monuments become ideological placeholders. Moreover, Union and Confederate statues are basically indistinguishable to the layperson – which in this context seems fitting.
There is something inherently sad and beautiful about a Civil War monument. They’re compelling, yet my intention is not to attempt to justify their existence or offer any excuse for the lost cause. In painting them my aim is to present them as malleable ornaments that elicit a more emotional response than one of understanding.

“Fog” series

This series of 7 small paintings depicting a total of 9 black cats (in reference to cats having 9 lives) was influenced by the Carl Sandburg poem, “Fog.” The poem reads:

The fog came
on little cat feet.

It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches
and then moves on.

Kettle

This painting shows a landscape featuring a kettle of 31 broad-winged hawks. Here, a kettle refers to a group of hawks in a cylindrical formation riding a thermal updraft. Some of the largest of kettles can contain upwards of 10,000 birds. The hawks ascend in a circular pattern. As each bird reaches the top of the column they exit one at a time at a specific point whereafter they can glide for many miles, often down a ridgeline to the next updraft. Asheville, NC is in the path of a large hawk migration. There are a good many raptors year round but each fall the numbers increase significantly. This past year I was fortunate to see a couple small kettles from my backyard.

The hawk’s political namesake describes someone with a willingness to go to war – as opposed to a dove (which is referenced in the ‘Mourning Dove’ painting also in this show). I thought the image of the hawk kettle appropriate to represent my
Grandfather’s military service in World War 2, a prominent feature in my family’s history and by extension my own origin story. As best as we can figure, we being my father and me, he flew some 31 missions as a bombardier in the 8th Air Force beginning around D-day in 1944. He would have been 19 years old at the time. Being onboard a B-17 in Europe during WW2 was a ridiculously dangerous job, I can’t imagine what that does to a young person’s psyche going forward.

At this point, I should mention the haphazard, amateur nature of my historical research which extends basically to family lore and a cursory internet search. This is why I’m a painter and not an historian. I can’t confirm that the exact number of missions flown was 31; could be more, could be less, not really sure where that number came from in the first place. But that’s kind of the point here. Origin stories are as subjective as they are fluid, prone to embellishment and revision – like a generational game of telephone.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES HIDDEN WITHIN BRIAN MASHBURN’S – “A SUBLIME OBJECT”

Behind the misty fog and low thick clouds,  Brian Mashburn hides landmarks and symbols that create the story of “A Sublime Object.” For his latest exhibition, Origin Stories, now on view at Thinkspace in Culver City, Mashburn lets us into his world with anecdotes that accompany various pieces. Below highlights the reference points hidden in plain sight within “A Sublime Object.”

A Sublime Object

This piece references various conspiracy theories and contested historical accounts.

a – Branch Dividian compound in Waco, Texas with adjacent downward spiral

b – St. Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square in Moscow, Russia

c – Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls, Idaho.  Twin Falls was the site of one of the more insidious fake news stories from 2016 that escalated to national prominence.

d – Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, SC, site of a mass shooting by a white supremacist in 2015 that killed 9 people.  To the left of the church is the monument to John Calhoun.  Calhoun was the 7th vice president of the US and an influential figure in the southern secessionist and pro-slavery movements leading up to the civil war.  The statue’s proximity to the church in Charleston and it’s ominous presence in the background of many photographs of Mother Emanuel is unsettling.

e – Black spruce trees, sometimes called drunken trees.  These tilted trees are found in areas where the permafrost has melted causing them to tilt at seemingly random angles.  The increasing rate of permafrost thaw can be attributed to, among other things, anthropogenic climate change.

f – Weaver home, site of the 1992 incident known as Ruby Ridge, a precursor of sorts to the Waco siege.

g – “Bigfoot” from the Patterson-Gimlin footage, being observed by Mabel (dog).

h – Lee Harvey Oswald with rifle and Marxist propaganda paper, from a controversial photograph Oswald claimed was a fake.

New Print Editions from Brian Mashburn and Michael Reeder! Available during the Opening Reception of “Origin Stories” and “mOMENt”

The opening of Brian Mashburn’s “Origin Stories” and Michael Reeder’s “mOMENt” is tonight and we will be dropping two new print editions from Mashburn and one from Reeder. The prints will only be available this evening during the opening, and any remaining prints will be shared via our webshop next Friday.

Both exhibitions are best appreciated in person, so we look forward to seeing you this evening!

Available during tonight’s reception from 6-9PM.

BRIAN MASHBURN
‘Kettle’
Edition of 25
16.75×20 inches / 61×45.7cm
Fine art print on 290gsm paper
Signed and numbered by the artist
Printed by Static Medium
$75 each
BRIAN MASHBURN
‘Walking Shadows’
Edition of 25
24×13.75 inches / 61×45.7cm
Fine art print on 290gsm paper
Signed and numbered by the artist
Printed by Static Medium
$75 each

MICHAEL REEDER
‘Epiphany I’
Edition of 60
18×22 inches / 30×55.8cm
Fine art print on 290gsm paper

Each print will be hand embellished (* an example will be in our e-mail update this Sat. prior to opening)
Signed and numbered by the artist
Printed by Static Medium
$120

 

 

Interview with Brian Mashburn for “Origin Stories”

Thinkspace is proud to present Brian Mashburn’s solo exhibition ‘Origin Story’ in our main roomWe’ve been showing Mashburn’s signature hyper-realistic and resonate smoky landscapes for the last three years and this is his first solo main room exhibition. We are excited to present this Ashville-based artist’s most substantial body of work to date, as he explores the origin stories of the self through desolate compositions.  In anticipation of Mashburn’s upcoming exhibition with us, we have an exclusive interview with Brian Mashburn to discuss his latest body of work, his favorite and least favorite aspect of his work, and time travel.

Origin Stories opening reception is from 6 – 9 pm this coming Saturday, April 7th in our main room

SH: Tell us about this show. What is the inspiration? What were you exploring in the work?

BM: This will be my first solo in the main room at Thinkspace and I’m pretty sure it’s the largest single body of work I’ve made to date.  I’m excited and very grateful for the opportunity, looking forward to spending a few days in LA, too.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the notion of narrative history and origin stories both on a personal level and on a wider cultural or societal one.  Our identities are often couched in origin stories – a recounting of major life events such as where you grew up, people you knew and loved, tragedy endured and avoided, that all come together to form the present moment.  It’s also to do with heritage, a word that carries somewhat unfortunate euphemistic attributes these days, but nonetheless, from what tribe are your parents are from?  Grandparents?  How did they come to be here or there?  It’s interesting to me the level at which this sort of thing shapes our current experience in and of the world.
Also birds.  Lots of birds in this show.


SH: What 3 websites do you check every day or people you follow on social media?

BM: My daily media diet is centered more around podcasts than websites or social.  I don’t know that I have 3 websites I visit daily unless you count Gmail and maybe YouTube or Netflix, but as far as podcasts go there are quite a few I listen to regularly.  I like The Weeds and Ezra Klein’s show, Bill Simmons, WTF, On Being, Fresh Air, Us and Them, Unexplained, Past Present, Conversations with Tyler Cowan, and many more.

SH: What excites you about your work / creative process?

BM: It’s always exciting when something new or experimental works out.  I’m always trying to improve or evolve in some form or other – sometimes things just work out, which is great.

SH: What frustrates you about your work / creative process?

BM: In the same vein as the previous question, it’s frustrating when the work feels stagnant.

SH: After a show what do you do? Do you take a long break, vacation, a particular ritual? Tell us. 

BM: I always think I’m going to take a break but in reality it rarely if ever happens.  I generally take a couple extra days when I’m in California to go somewhere, maybe camp, be out in nature.  In the days leading up to a big show I tend to get pretty burnt but as soon as it’s over the main thing I want to do is just get back in the studio.  Something about idle hands feels dangerous.

SH: How do you plan out your compositions?

BM: Most of my compositions are pretty basic at their core.  I’ll occasionally do a thumbnail sketch and decide on a compositional stem or armature on which I’ll build the picture.  More often I’ll just have a general design in mind, such as one based on an ‘L’ or ‘O’ and just feel it out as I go – working background to foreground.

SH: How often are you in the studio, do you work on the pieces daily or do you have creative spurts with concentrated efforts of work and then long periods of not working?

BM: I work every day with varying degrees of success.  I almost always have at least a dozen paintings in the works.  There is the occasional day when I don’t paint but rather work on reference and research.


SH: What do you eat when working on the show? Are you a 3 square meals kind of person, or have snacks on hand?

BM: I probably eat better when a deadline is approaching.  It’s basically the only downtime I have so I try and make it count. I’ve been cooking a lot lately, too, been really into cast iron.  I find it very rewarding to not be completely inept in the kitchen.

SH: If you were to collaborate with a band or musical artists to create a music video inspired by your artwork, who would you work with?

BM: Elvis.

SH: Has there been an artistic catalyst in your life? Something, someone, some event that made a significant impact on you that has lead you to where you are now.

BM: Yes, all the time.  I particularly like when something mundane gets the ball rolling, like when the power goes out or unexpected overnight snow.


SH: What’s in your toolbox? AKA what paints, brushes, tools would we find in your studio? What do you wish was in your studio?

BM: Lots of brushes, mostly Gamblin and Winsor/Newton oils, several easels, a computer and iPad.  I would love to have a studio with higher ceilings and better light.

SH: You have a time machine, and you could do anything / go anywhere for 24 hours, and would not interfere with the space-time continuum. What would you do? 

BM: It would probably be something nature-related, like go see a short-faced bear or woolly mammoth.

Check out past interviews with Brian Mashburn for his previous exhibitions with Thinkspace Projects. 

2017 Interview with Brian Mashburn

2015 Interview with Brian Mashburn

BRIAN MASHBURN “Origin Stories” STUDIO PEAK

Brian Mashburn’s solo exhibition “Origin Stories” is on the horizon with the opening only two weekends away. Mashburn continues to take us through fog-laden landscapes in his new body of work, with compositions that possess details only truly appreciated in person. Until April 7, here is a taste of what is to come from Brian Mashburn.