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Jeff Taylor on our site pointed us in a very specific direction last month:
"Oregon has a national treasure, but the clock is ticking. Earl Newman is pushing 80, and he's been recognized by the Smithsonian, the Oregon Country Fair, the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, the Monterey Jazz Festival, and jazz fans in Japan as someone who has captured the essence in his art.
If the MacArthur people weren't asleep at the wheel, he would have received their grant by now. Artists are a dime a dozen; successful artists are even more rare; but Earl Newman is sui generis, in a class by himself.... Earl's silkscreened posters have turned up in African huts, classic magazine cover shots, and in the final moments of the movie Sideways. Nobody in Oregon really knows he's here, and still alive, and still creating Art in simple ways."
You can see those "simple ways" here. To look at Newman's work -- even just the posters he made when he was living in Venice, CA, between 1960 and 1972 -- is to see the progression of the popular visual culture of the second half of the 20th century. So we called Earl the other day, and invited him to join us for an hour in the studio on Friday to talk about fifty years of art, music, and politics.
Have you seen Earl's iconic images -- in Ashland, or Monterey, or Veneta? Have you brought any of them home for your own walls? What does it take to capture a musical performance on a silkscreen? Or further a political cause with a poster? And what would you like to ask a man who has carved out a successful artistic niche for more than half a century?
Photo credit: "Roller Coaster," Earl Newman, 1961
Tagged as: earl newman · jazz · painter · poster
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Here's the sock scoop. First off, ease! Earl says he gave up on the losing battle to keep track of pairs of socks long ago. Second, he can get away with it. He said when he first saw someone with mismatched socks, he thought that person looked nutty. But heck, he says, he's an artist! (He said he thought Dave and I could get away with mismatched socks too. Dave is doubtful; I'll stick with just my sunflower running tights.)
Earl was wearing one white and one aqua sock today. Nothing day-glo like some of those '60s posters, just a calm white and peaceful sea-green.
"Of course," he says, "I do the same with gloves." -
But not with shirt sleeves. They always match.
Still, don't underestimate the lesson of the socks. LOTS of people who know Earl are trying it out, and it's like gardening naked: Why not, but be careful who notices. Ever since those golden days, living a thousand feet from Earl's house for 7 years, my socks and gloves don't need to match.
True story: I was in the New Morning Bakery in Corvallis, wearing mismatched socks and sandals, and a total stranger came up to me, looked at my feet, and asked, "So, how's Earl?" -
I'm no artist but I took a silkscreening class in college and loved it. I am wondering if Earl has changed his methods over the years? Does he use any of the new technology get his images on the screens? Thanks!
-Russell Montgomery
Portland -
Oh, I can answer that one ... the press that Earl uses is a hilarious Rube-Goldberg design that runs on compressed air, and works like a dream; each sheet is placed by hand, printed, and set aside to dry on racks that were designed by some hippie genius long ago. Far from availing himself of new technology to produce his art, Earl does it -- and has done it for decades -- using simple soft technology. Just as one for-instance, the weights he uses to hold the screen down over the light box are a dozen one-gallon gas cans, painted gray and filled with cement...
There is no way to adequately describe the atmosphere of Earl's studio at night when he's shooting screens, nor the magnificent view of Mary's Peak and the meadow from the studio door the next morning. Friends come and go during the printing, but the work goes on, and the press goes shoosh, whish, clop in a rhythm you could dance to, slowly ... -
I was eight years old when we moved to Blodgett, OR, in 1978, a small community near Summit. Earl and his wife Jean were two of the artists in the community that inspired me to lead a life dedicated to making art and being engaged in the arts in my own community. I truly appreciate the democratic accessibility of Earl's art, and his generosity of spirit. Thanks Earl! Becky Tonkin, Eugene, OR
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Just had an Aha! moment while listening. I pulled out a poster from the 1965 Monterey County Fair that I carried to college each fall to decorate my dorm walls. Indeed it is an Earl Newman! The design is a hot air balloon silk screened on black with orange & pink details. A bit worse-for-wear being on dorm walls but, I will look into framing as Mr. Newman's work deserves!
(I was a Cleveland area girl visiting my Carmel cousins before I headed off to college that fall.)
I'll take a photo later this weekend and submit. I probably have a dorm room photo, too.
Marla
Lake Oswego -
Hello Earl,
The discussion on line is wonderful. I thank you for all your support of the arts. Corvallis Community Theater's production of RAGTIME benefited from Earl's artistry. The poster he designed is gorgeous. I have it on the wall. By the way, your Halloween costume is unforgettable.
Love, Mary Jeanne Reynales, Corvallis, OR -
I have had the great pleasure of watching Earl Newman create art works for my music books. I am a harp player/composer and he has drawn the cover pictures for everyone of my 8 books. He has sat at my kitchen table and whipped out an incredible drawing in a half an hour. If you want to see these beautiful pieces of art along with photos of Earl "creating" them, go to http://www.thorharp.com/pages/earlnewman.htm And I thank Earl so much for each one.
Sharon Thormahlen -
I thoroughly enjoyed your show with Earl Newman. He took me back to the 50's and i went to all those coffee houses in hollywood, lived in Venice, Hermosa Beach and Im sure we ran into each other at one time. I still consider my self a beatnik even though Im 72.
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Hi, I just bought an Earl Newman 1964 original poster for the Monterey Jazz Festival at an estate sale. Im interested in it's monetary value and learning if anyone would be interested in it. Thanks. Great show by the way. brunswickoutdoor@yahoo.com
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If I were you, I'd check out eBay. But first, I'd get on a plane with your poster and fly out here to ask Earl if he'd sign it. Bet he would. This would increase the monetary value of your poster by a lot. Although by then, you wouldn't care about a signature, because you'd have met the artist, and that experience is... priceless.
And if I were you, I'd hold on to that poster, frame it, and wait for time to pass. It's going to get more valuable. This is not an educated guess or a wild-ass flake prediction. Money in the bank, my friend. -
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In the unlikely event that Mr. Newman's socks match on this occasion, he may deny any knowledge of whatthesock I'm talking about, but his neighbors will confirm so I stand by it.