Mel Odom: celebrate GORGEOUS

40 years of Art, a celebration … Mel Odom: Gorgeous

Mel Odom by Robert Mapplethorpe

For those who missed the glory days of printed media it can be said that some of the greatest artists and illustrators of the 20th century were hatched and represented on a regular basis on an international stage; It might have been l’Uomo vogue or Blueboy, Linea Italiana, Interview, when it was of the moment, or GQ when it was the bible for menswear. Illustration and the artwork of artists like Mel Odom, George Stavrinos, Richard Bernstein, Antonio Lopez, and Tony Viramontes was everywhere including your daily newspaper when illustration was the preferred visual method of advertising especially in newspapers. Those years were explosive and life altering in so many ways that none of us could have ever predicted.

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Mel Odom’s Illustrations during the Seventies and even today are unique in style and immediately identifiable. Besides his stunning technique they have a mystery and mood that transforms the viewer to magical sometimes surreal place. Mel is iconic within the Illustration world.”  Richard Vyse, illustrator, artist, portraitist

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I have known Mel as an acquaintance for most of those 40 years so it gives me great pleasure when my peers can be lauded and celebrated for their accomplishments and of course when I get to interview them. One of my favorite expressions is that one has to look back to see what’s ahead and so with that in mind, here is Mel Odom in his words…..

BTW: The opening reception for “Mel Odom: Gorgeous” is January 10 from 6 – 8pm at 508 W 26 St. ste 9C …..  dan@danielcooneyfineart.com

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Jeffrey Felner: Can you sort of give us a brief run down as to how you arrived at your present station in life; you

Mel Odom: I grew up in a very small town in North Carolina. My father was a mailman and had a tobacco/peanuts farm with his sisters.  My mom stayed home and took care of my older brother and me.  I had a good life there with friends, playing in the woods and enough alone time to play with dolls and draw.  Drawing was my favorite thing to do.  My being able to draw became my identity throughout my school years and when I went to college to study illustration at Virginia Commonwealth University. I was fortunate enough to live in London for a couple of years after college studying music and working on an illustration portfolio; life in London saved me from being a total hick when I moved to NYC. 

NYC was very kind to me and I got illustration work right away. I met interesting people and managed to climb the publishing “food chain” from lurid skin magazines to more established ones like Playboy and TIME.  I worked for several years with Blueboy while exploring my personal sexuality in print as well as in front of the whole world. I suspect my work ethic saved me from the excesses of New York City but even so, I left a portion of my hearing at Studio 54 from nights spent on the dance floor. In 1980 my commissions to illustrate book covers led me to become the go-to artist for the burgeoning genre of gay literature; dozens of covers, then for all sorts of fiction followed … I had an actual career.

By 1991, bored a bit by illustration, and in need of an all-consuming passion, I designed a fashion doll for adults, “Gene Marshall’, a fictional movie star of the 40s and 50s.  She was launched commercially in 1995 and within one year she was second only to Barbie on the newfangled Internet. She was a huge success and occupied my time to the exclusion of illustration, except for illustrations of Gene.  She was a lot of work and a lot of fun and after ten years with Ashton-Drake Galleries, Gene changed companies for five beautifully fashioned years with Integrity Toys where she “retired” in 2015.  Truthfully, I was afraid that if I didn’t return to my drawing and painting then, I might never go back to it.  I loved doing Gene, but the travel and compromise was exhausting.  ‘Coaxed back into pictures three years later’, Gene Marshall returned for five more years in the spotlight as a ball-jointed resin doll with JAMIE show. This past January, appropriately enough at a Palm Springs convention, Gene retired once more ‘to move to a private life in Italy’… or that’s what I’ve decided.

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JF: If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would they be and why?

MO: Aubrey Beardsley would be my first choice as He’s always been my favorite artist. He was a genius, flat out and His influence on modern art is just being understood. He produced a lifetime’s worth of work by the time he was twenty five. I would LOVE to invite the amazing actress Cate Blanchett, and seems likely to be an equally amazing person; she’s funny and brilliant without being grand about it. Georgia O’Keeffe though I imagine she would be fairly quiet but intense. I think the other two guests might be my now deceased parents because I have so much I’d love to tell them … or Oprah, she’d be a blast to meet and talk to!!!  or Idris Elba!

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JF: There is another part to your life besides the art can you explain and expand on what that entails?

MO: I have a great private life; my husband and I spend weekends and holidays together, sometimes weeks together. We maintain separate residences as I’m good alone since I need it to work. My husband Charlie and I have been together for 25 years and married for five. We really love being together; he’s from the Bronx and I’m from Mayberry so we’re very different in a way that works. Having amazing friends is something that enhances us both. 

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JF: If you could collaborate on any project of any kind with any one of your choice, who and what would it be and why?

MO: I want to work with a brilliant book designer who can create a book of my life’s work. It’s been decades since the last one and I’d like to be involved with the process of building a monograph that is a more a comprehensive examination of my oeuvre.  I always hear a clock ticking!

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JF: I’m curious to know what your feelings are about social media, the upside and downside, and what it’s breeding in terms of the so called famous and influencers?

MO: Well, you’re reading this because of the Internet, so how bad can the Internet be? We don’t know yet.   I was rather reluctant to embrace social media, but once I did, I starting reaping rewards for doing it and meeting interesting people I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise. It can be a good thing…or the opposite.   I just try to not let it suck up too much of my time.  I’m happier drawing or doing something in the real world.

 Every generation has its own form of new celebrity.  When I was a kid it was TV stars, they were the new media stars, not quite movie stars but more familiar and ultimately more powerful.  Sort of like Internet stars of different varieties, they’re in your home. Hell… they’re in your lap! 

I like people who make and do things, artists and creatives.  I don’t follow much of anybody who’s just famous for being themselves; unless they possess incredible beauty … I’m always up for that. Today’s Media is a totally different world than we once knew. 

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Daniel Cooney Fine Art is pleased to announce the first gallery exhibition of illustrator Mel Odom’s drawings titled Gorgeous. The exhibition will consist of approximately 30 small-scale drawings primarily created in the late 1970’s-80’s on board and vellum. These meticulous drawings are executed in pencil, dyes and gouache. Exhibition dates: January 10 – February 23, 2019

www.melodomart.com

www.danielcooneyfineart.com

Daniel Cooney The Kinsky interview

http://www.thekinsky.com/conversations/interview-with-a-gallerist-mr-daniel-cooney

OR read it here:

My usual subjects are those who design or create but lately there is this gnawingly recurrent question that keeps popping up and that would be “is fashion an art form?” So, what better way to speak to the subject than interviewing a gallery owner, a gallerist if you will, located in New York City. (http://www.danielcooneyfineart.com )

Mr. Cooney and I met through his association with Richard Haines, the uber talented menswear illustrator.  I was invited to Richard’s opening gallery show chez Daniel Cooney and so my interest began there.  In essence, Daniel will “speak” to us from a far different perspective than those who are totally and solely immersed in fashion as you will read in his responses.

By the way the man is a warrior with a soul and yes it comes through right here!

Jeffrey Felner: Can you catch us up on how you arrived at your present profession?

Daniel Cooney: I came to New York as an artist using photography and video immediately after receiving an MFA from the University of Illinois. That was in 1996. I had some luck showing my work in group shows but I was unprepared for life as an artist in New York. As a day job I worked at galleries. I needed that kind of structure and I liked the work. Eventually I ended up at Sotheby’s but got laid off in less than a year. What an opportunity that was because I was ready and free to create my own destiny. That was 2003 and I’m still at it. 

JF: What would be your dream collaboration or who and why?

DC: As it is I get to collaborate with a lot of amazing people and I’m grateful for all of those experiences. My true dream collaboration would be with the New York State Lottery. I would love to buy a large building in Manhattan just like the one I rent in now. I would establish a large residency program for artists of all ages and career levels based on need and various aspects of their work. Rent would be based on a conservative scale of what the individual can afford and I’d do the same for galleries because there are so many important galleries getting priced out of business now. Then I would create a large museum in the building and hire some exciting curators to do their best and wildest work. I’d also maintain a large community room for people from the area to hold meetings, classes and activities. 

JF: If you could invite any 5 people to dinner, who would they be and why?

DC: Hillary Clinton because I would like to thank her for her lifetime of work and dedication and for being a huge personal inspiration in my life. I’m also dying to know what she is going to do next. I’m on the edge of my seat! Marie Antoinette because her story is so fascinating; a total victim of circumstance born into a position of great power and responsibility but she still had no control over her own life. She was loved and hated and was completely oblivious to reality. Plus she lived with decadence and depravity at the same time. How amazing is that? Janis Joplin because I’d love to hear her sing in person. What a powerful presence she must have been.  Frederick Douglass, the most photographed person of the 19th century. I’d love to know how he came to understand the power of the new medium of photography so thoroughly and put it to use with such expertise to tell his story.  George Platt Lynes because he and his circle intrigue me; I would love to have been a part of the elite gay art crowd of New York in the 30’s and 40’s. It seems so complex and fun, full of innuendo and secrets…

JF: You obviously have a link or affinity to fashion and I am wondering why and how you choose your artists and their works?

DC: I’m learning a lot about current style and fashion by working with artist’s like Richard Haines and Benoit Delhomme and trends of the 1930’s and 40’s with the estate of photographer Nina Leen. As for choosing artists to represent at the gallery, I am especially interested in artist’s that represent certain subcultures or have been overlooked by the mainstream. Arlene Gottfried is an amazing street photographer who has been photographing New York City for over forty years. We had her first solo exhibition about three or four years a go. Steven Arnold is also a good example, he created gay inspired fantasy tableau in LA during the 80’s and early 90’s before he died of AIDS in 1994. I am also interested in artists who have created an identity for themselves elsewhere such as Benoit Delhomme who is a very successful Director of Photography in Hollywood but has never exhibited his paintings. 

JF: Like every other business these days, there is enormous competition out there, can you speak to the reasons why you feel you “bring something to the table” as far as your gallery is concerned?

DC: Great question! The only thing I bring to the table is my perspective and intuition. It’s all I have. 

Richard Haines at DANIEL COONEY/FINE ART

Today is all about a gentleman who has elevated the art of fashion illustration and taken it out of the sequestered design rooms of fashion and brought this art form to the public via GQ and The NY Times, Prada, Barneys, Mr. Porter, Dries Van Noten and many more avenues.  Richard Haines is a ubiquitous presence at men’s fashion shows and events all over the world.   As he was once described as “the cool dude with the sketch pad” but this writer would prefer to call him a visual diarist who has chronicled the world of fashion as well as everyday fashion folks through his body of work. 

This week begins a 6 week show of Mr. Haines’ work at DANIEL COONEY/FINE ART gallery in West Chelsea. What more evidence does one need than this to clarify the eternal conundrum of whether or not fashion is art and can art can make fashion its focus.

Below is a redacted interview that I conducted with the illustrious Richard Haines some time ago and yes, the pun is intended.  A little insight into the artist and the man in his own words:

Jeffrey Felner: What is the most treasured possession in your wardrobe?

Richard Haines: I don't approach clothes that way. I treasure art that my daughter did when she was 5 or 6, and a lovely drawing a dear friend left me, but clothes, not so much. 

JF: What is your most sterling trait?

RH: Hmmm, well, I’d have to say my humor. It gets me through a lot, and people seem to enjoy it. I would have said drawing, but that's not really a trait, is it?

JF: What’s your advice to the “newcomer?”

RH: Practice some humility, and life is not like reality TV...

JF: Who is your favorite designer?

RH: That’s like asking for a favorite artist… it's impossible. I love Prada and miu miu-i was in the stores in Milan and was just blown away by the level of execution and vision. I have so much admiration for Marc Jacobs and his creative stamina, and there's Dries,  Lanvin, and Comme  des  Garcons...it goes on. 

JF: In 3 words or less, describe the current state of fashion.

RH: vibrant, chaotic, democratic

www.designerman-whatisawtoday.blogspot.com

DANIEL COONEY

26 WEST 26 STREET Ste. 9C