I love Robert LaDuke's paintings even if sometimes I'm thinking 'what on earth does this man mean by this?' That's half the fun.
I suppose this is an art deco type style, if it must be categorized. I'm taken by the flatness, the odd perspectives, the bright colors, behind the stylized stillness, the almost constant sense of desperate motion, the occasionally bizarre situations and even the portents of disaster. There's something excruciatingly silent about Robert Laduke's world - I simply can't imagine what music might accompany it. Or for that matter, what actual noises. Everything that is happening I'm imagining happening in total silence. Even those plane and cars falling out of the sky. But I don't seem to mind it. That's the odd effect the work has on me.
I couldn't find much biography of the artist, except that he was born in 1961 in Massachusetts and attended the Art Institute of Chicago. I wish there were more. If you find any, please let me know so I can update.
Link to see more of Robert LaDuke's work here and here.
Fortunately many of the paintings are available as posters online.
I've culled the paintings in my post from various sources online in the interest of education, enlightenment and just the sheer joy of sharing art that I love. All the paintings are copyrighted by Robert LaDuke and no infringement is intended.
His stuff looks vaguely familiar, but his name isn't. I love Art Deco and agree that his painting have that feel to them. I adore the quirky sense of humor. I think I'd like to have one of the posters. Thanks again for introducing me to an artist new to me.
ReplyDeleteI've been mulling over a poster myself, Joan. But so hard to narrow it down to a single choice. Of course the same can be said of several other artists....sigh.
DeleteThere are a few artists who work in this 'deco' manner, but only a couple excel, I think.
Hi, Yvette — These are fun paintings. I went to Robert LaDukes site and was intrested to discover that these are virtually all miniature paintings!
ReplyDeleteI really don't know how painters can work in 'miniature', Mark. I must not have maneuvered the website correctly. I saw little info.I hadn't realized they were so small myself.
DeleteBut then I'm always surprised when I see the actual size of most paintings. I just can't understand how that works. But I think every artist finds the size they're most comfortable working in and that's that. It's a mystery.
My husband and I both enjoyed this post featuring the paintings of LaDuke. We also checked out his website and images stored at Flickr. Thanks for this introduction. I liked the ones with transportation objects best, but my husband especially like the one with the woman and the dog.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Tracy. That fat little aeroplane beguiles me. :) I do like the cars. But if I had to choose a fave, it would be the man on the roof balanced on chairs. :)
ReplyDeleteYvette, I found all the paintings amusing and delightful. What is the painter trying to say? What's with the nosediving aircraft and vehicles? Is there a story in each of them? To be able to paint like this...
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, Prashant. They're little mysteries. I'll bet we could each of us invent some fascinating story to go with them. Maybe some of them are poking fun at complacency.
DeleteI have never seen these paintings before but get a kick out of the subjects, the absurdities, the contradictions, the impossible.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting work, and it makes one think. And his colors and clarity are magnificent.
I kept looking for one showing the proverbial cow jumping over the moon. We have a cow and a moon and more, which is just as wonderfully absurd.
It's my pleasure to introduce artists you might not have seen before, Kathy. :) These paintings really do provoke but not in an alarming way.
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