October 29th, 2009
Tony Mendoza is my facebook friend. Last week, he sent me a link to a website of his artwork. He describes it as “primitive expressionistic pop art…” and i think that’s an accurate description. I love the balance and the design. It’s fun…it’s thoughful…it’s whimsical…it’s colorful and it’s definitely a unique look. The lines are distinctive and sharp…..and the collection as a whole is absolutely a social commentary on the Havana lifestyle – a reflection of Tony’s experiences and the experiences of so many others…the very definition of pop art!
I wanted to share it with all of you. Let me know what you think and I’ll pass your comments along to Tony! I think it’s FABULOUS work! 
Enjoy,
-Charles
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Posted in Collectors Mail Bag, Contemporary Wall Art, Pop Art Artists |
October 22nd, 2009
Remember my friend Nerdel? He’s a character i introduced you to in my blogs about the President’s Council on Physical Fitness last year. He’s a wonderfully creative animated character created by DC doctors Robin and Marc Kesselman to promote physical fitness and healthy habits among children…and he does his best to lead by example! Well, since last year, Nerdel has made quite a name for himself and now he’s the star of his own book titled “Nerdel’s ABC Book.” Featured on Amazon.com, Nerdel’s book is a great tool to teach kids about the ABC’s of nutrition, fitness, health…and fun!
Last year, i partnered with Nerdel on his Fazzino President’s Challenge Poster Game, based on my 2008-2009 artwork for the Challenge. You can still play the game at Nerdel.com. Inside informants in Nerdel’s world, tell me that a new game is almost ready to launch…a fully interactive digital game that features my new 2009-2010 poster for the President’s Challenge. I’ll share that link with you when it’s ready for the public to see. It’s very cool and goes a long way to getting kids to pay attention to their own health and fitness.
If you haven’t done so already, introduce your kids to Nerdel! He’s fun, hip, and cool…and his message is one that should be echoed by all of us! Get Fit and Have Fun!
–Charles
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Posted in Charity Involvement |
October 13th, 2009
Hello from London! Arrived here on Sunday and leaving in the AM for Paris. I’m here for a showing of my 3d pop art at Art London and while here, I took the opportunity to go to the Pop Art Life exhibit at the Tate Modern. The exhibit has been causing a stir all over the world and now I know why.
First off, Art London was a great experience. I loved it! It reminded me of what Art Expo New York was like ten years ago. Very slick….a lot of wonderful artwork…not a lot of “art” that you had to stand around, think about, and pretend to like….like the telephone/office exhibit I blogged about last week. Peter Blake’s Art Bus stood outside to welcome everyone and the mix of art was thoughtful, fun, and even a little bit daring…but not too avant-garde to be appreciated. I actually met quite a few people who were familiar with my work but even more fun was to watch all of the people who had never seen it before. I went out on a bit of a limb, concentrating more on my original paintings and 3d pop art dioramas than on the limited edition artwork that most people are used to. I heard a lot of “oohs” and “aahhhs” and I was pretty excited about the response. I’m trying to get these “special” pieces out there and Art London was really the first opportunity I’ve had to do so. It was encouraging and certainly motivated me to create even more!
After Art London, it was off to the Tate Modern. Wow! So, even before I went, I read another review of the show…this one from the Wall Street Journal. What a contradiction! The article is a total condemnation of “shock artists” like Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons who, under the guise of “artists,” sensationalize and exploit, catering to the lowest common denominator and playing on people’s tendencies to be attracted to extremes. The reason their artwork gets so much attention is the same reason we all slow down when we pass a car wreck. We shake our heads but can’t help staring and gawking anyway. But it’s the controversial character of the work that makes it viable for a TATE MODERN EXHIBITION! Sometimes, I just don’t get it.
I was happy to see that the same writer did, although briefly, mentioned a different “strain” of pop art – the mainstream, as far as I’m concerned…the strain I aspire to be a part of….Lichtenstein, Oldenburg, Grooms, Haring, etc. This is MY pop art world. This is where I want to fit into art history.
So, I went to the Tate and even I was shocked! Many of the “works,” if that’s what you call them were more graphic than anything you’d ever see in a peep parlor or adult bookstore. The tension among the viewers was incredible. You could feel the level of embarrassment. The three old ladies in front of me almost choked on their dentures. Now I’m no prude…but really…is this REALLY what museums have to show these days? I guess it’s all about selling tickets. Maybe I should go out and stage a car wreck…blood and guts and all…and then sell tickets to anyone who wants to drive past. I’m still shaking my head.
Well…on to Paris!
–Charles
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Tags: 3D pop art, Charles Fazzino, pop art, Tate Modern
Posted in Contemporary Art News, Contemporary Wall Art, Pop Art Artists, Pop Art Gallery |
October 8th, 2009
Last year, i did the official artwork for the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and the President’s Challenge. I’m pleased to share with you that they commissioned me to do another image for this year and it’s recently been released on all of their 2010-2011 school year materials.
I’m honored that the Council once again has allowed me to use my artwork to spread the message about something that’s so very important to me - physical fitness. I”m one of those people who struggles to stay physically fit. I love to exercise but it’s just not always possible. I try to eat well and take cafe of myself. I’m a firm believer that without your health, you really have nothing.
The President’s Council does such a wonderful job reaching young people and trying to work with them to build good habits at an early age. Physical fitness SHOULD be fun…NOT a chore and the Council makes it fun…and interesting…and engaging for kids. I applaud them for it and i’m proud to be involved again!
–Charles
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Posted in Charity Involvement |
October 6th, 2009
Read Jonathan Jones’s art blog today- http://bit.ly/3EP2c4 I cruise the art blogs every now and then. Pop art is a hot topic right now because of the Pop Life exhibition currently going on at the Tate Modern in London. I blogged about that a few days ago. I hope to have the chance to go see it when i’m in London next week.
In the meantime, Jonathan Jones’s take on the status of pop and contemporary art, while only one man’s opinion, is all too often true. There’s a lot of “crap” out there. The term “pop art” has morphed and changed and become a catch-all phrase for so many different kinds of art…some i wouldn’t even classify as art. And the museum circuit contributes to this “pulling the wool over our eyes” mentality in the art world.
I recently went to an exhibit in a well-known contemporary art museum. The exhibit was a conference room you could walk into. There was a big empty boardroom-type table with 8 chairs and by each chair was a telephone. You could sit in the chairs and pick up the recievers of the telephone and listen to different recorded messages. I was stunned. The point, it turns out, was for this exhibit to be a social commentary on the state of our working world today. Everything is recorded. Everything is electronic. You can’t get a real human being on the phone. Ok. So, yes, that’s definitely something unique about contemporary society. We should take notice of it…we should talk about what it’s doing to human communication. But a museum exhibit??? Really?
There’s too much blurring today between idea and execution. What happened to painting and drawing. and creativity…perspective….composition…the subtleties of color. A table, 8 chairs, and some telephones? Great idea. No execution. Definitely gives you something to think about, but is it art?
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Tags: pop art, pop art life, Tate Modern
Posted in 3D pop art, Contemporary Art News, Contemporary Wall Art, History of Pop Art, Pop Art Gallery |
October 1st, 2009
I came across this article in The Independent earlier this week …http://bit.ly/12lIaT….i absolutely love it! It’s one of the best summaries i’ve ever seen about the history and significance of pop art. It was written to coincide with a new exhibition at the Tate Modern in London – Pop Life: Art in a Material World. Like most of the important pop art exhibitions today, this show features the “fathers” of the pop art movement….Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein…and the next generation of pop art legends such as Damien Hurst and Jeff Koons.
My art and that of several of my contemporaries, is often classified as pop art. I refer to myself as a three-dimensional pop artist. I have watched the careers and reputations of the likes of Hirst, Koons, and Takashi Murakami grow and blossom…museum-quality artists all. The best of the breed. I am hoping to follow in their footsteps and the next time someone goes through the ABC’s of pop art…i can only hope that “F” will stand for FAZZINO!
However, i think that the definition of pop art has changed somewhat. Like everything else, it has morphed and evolved. Andy Warhol DID say “Good business is the best art.” American pop art was born of the intention of artists like Warhol and Lichtenstein to exploit what was popular in their day…to imortalize everyday elements and turn them into icons….and they did. Today, however, pop art is more than that…it’s become a way for artists to, quite literally, celebrate everything about popular culture…to tell the story of how people live…what they do…how they spend their time….what their world looks and feels and sounds like. That’s what MY pop art is….when looked at in it’s entirety someday, i hope that people will be able to see that i am, in a sense, a historian…capturing current events, both newsworthy and otherwise, for eternity. My art tells the story….I thank everyone who stops to read it!
–Charles
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Tags: Andy Warhol, Fazzino, History of Pop Art, Pop Life, Tate Modern
Posted in 3D pop art, History of Pop Art, Pop Art Artists |
