Rock on: real-life music stars move from the stage to canvas

Art Business News, Dec, 2002 by Jessica Lyons

Jimi Hendrix. John Lennon. Ronnie Wood. These visual artists rock--literally. They represent a few of the many professional musicians who paint, draw, sculpt and oftentimes pursued the visual arts before making a name for themselves as rock stars. Some of them studied art at prestigious institutes and academies, meeting future band mates among their classmates. Some of them have no formal training whatsoever--just a passion for the art form. But whether trained formally or not, rock star artists continue to attract collectors and can be cash cows for galleries that carry their work, even if they don't all garner critical acclaim.

"There are literally hundreds of musicians who are visual artists," said Dale Thompson, president of GRAMMY! Art of Music Gallery. His Las Vegas gallery shows the work of all the aforementioned rock stars, as well as Tony Bennett, David Bowie, Bono, Jewel, Paul McCartney, Jerry Garcia, John Entwistle and Grace Slick, among others. "They tend to be passionate," he added.

But neither passion nor classical training guarantee they will be taken seriously by the art world. Some musicians-as-artists say they have to work even harder than most to prove themselves.

However, the influx of recent art shows by musicians, including "Backstage with Ron Wood" at POP International Gallery in New York, "Strange Messenger: The Work of Patti Smith" at The Andy Warhol Museum, "Yoko Ono" at the San Francisco MOMA, and Grace Slick's art show at Fingerhut Gallery in Carmel, Calif.--and the popularity and sales that come from these exhibitions--make the case that these rock stars' art must be taken seriously. And, like the songs that made them famous, fans can't get enough of rock `n' roll art. Like the music, the art's here to stay.

The crossover phenomenon is nothing new. After mastering one form of artistic expression, some celebrities want to conquer the next big thing--musicians who act, actors who sing, singers who write poetry. Perhaps rock stars who paint have an easier time at it. Whether creating music or creating visual art, rock musicians speak to the masses. They tell a story or shape a mood.

In the 1994 book Musicians As Artists, a collection of visual art by contemporary musicians, Jim McMulland and Dick Gautier argue that a strong link exists between music and the visual arts. The book features art by more than 50 musicians, as varied as Joan Baez, Miles Davis, Bennett, Bowie and Ringo Starr.

"Whereas actors are primarily delineators, interpreters of the incipient creation--the script--the musician, like the painter, begins with his or her own version of an empty canvas--the silent room,' the authors write in the preface. "Ultimately, whether these artists choose musical notes or paint to express themselves, they are channeling the same unique perceptions and experiences, and allowing the viewer--as well as the listener--to comprehend their world in a new way."

In the words of Jefferson Airplane's Marty Balin, "Some things come out as a painting, and other things I write into a song."

Artist in Wonderland

Balin's former bandmate agreed. While Grace Slick is still better known as the lead singer for Jefferson Airplane, she's made a name for herself over the past few years as a better-than-decent artist. Instead of singing, these days, she said she channels that creative energy into her art.

At a recent show at the Fingerhut Gallery in Carmel, Calif., Slicks art kept company with Picasso, Rembrandt and Chagall. She paints rock n' roll legends--Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Bob Dylan--as well as whimsical Alice in Wonderland scenes. Her style varies, "I do about 15 different styles," she told Art Business News, and she works in a variety of media, including acrylic and scratchboard.

"I would prefer to let the subject tell me what style it wants to be in," she said. "If you walk in and I'm having a gallery show, it looks like about 20 different people are having their gallery showing, and that's who I am."

"She's a communicator," said Area Art's Scott Hann, who is Slick's agent. "Whether it's singing, writing or painting."

Hann has also worked with the estates of Lennon and Garcia, representing the late musicians' artwork, "but Grace is really the best," he said. "Because A, she's alive and B, she's not egoed out."

Musicians As Artists

Slick said she has to create, "or else I get squirrelly," and it doesn't matter whether it's writing, drawing, making music or acting. "As long as my passion is focused."

She figures this explains the glut of rock-starsslash-artists. "Same part of the brain. It's not unusual to have artists who play guitar, guitar players who write songs. Actors who sing."

When it comes to explaining why so many musicians decide to try their hand with a paintbrush, however, critics fall into two camps: There are those who step in line with Slick and say visual arts are simply another way for talented, creative people to express themselves. Then there are those who say it's ego driven.

"There are a lot of musicians who are very talented painters," said Susan Paul, events coordinator for Musicians As Artists (www.musiciansasartists.com), an online gallery representing, among others, Jefferson Airplane's Balin.