The month of June brought with it many visits to exhibits, galleries, and art shows. None surprised me more than the unexpected showcase of artists currently on display at Busboys and Poets in Shirlington Village. I had gone there for some coffee and was captivated by the colorful artwork newly on display across from the bar area, which was the newly exhibited work of Bensonn Anspach. As I asked around, I found out an art show was scheduled and knew I had to see what was going on with the changing scene at Busboys. Art has always been a staple, in one way or another, of coffee houses and restaurants but Busboys has taken it one step further, adding a “Curator-in-Residence” position to their growing roster of artistic and creative talents facilitating the spread of the arts throughout the community. Simone Jacobson, the first Curator-in-Residence for Busboys, developed two shows featuring four dynamic artists from the DC art scene. “Food for Thought”, works by J. Ford Hoffman, and “Tiny Treasures: Size Matters”, works by Bensonn Anspach, Bat Favitsou, and Tim Rodgers. These artists showcased a variety of styles and amazing talent. From the found art box installations of J. Ford Huffman, which demonstrated a keen eye for details and a very unique perspective; to the colorful and expressive pieces of Bensonn Anspach’s 'MemeBots', featuring MemeBots from Ovechkin to Obama; and the work of Tim Rodgers, which utilized stylized doodles on skateboard decks and featured portraits reminiscent of colorful statues.
I caught up with the artists to find out more about their creative process and work. Bensonn Anspach is a graphic artist and web-designer whose artistic process first began with the use of Post-Its. Easy to buy and providing a “limited canvas” for him to use, he was able to create pen and ink, cross-hatch MemeBots which would later become large scale paintings, on canvas and wood, such as those featured in his exhibit at Busboys. The first thing I noticed about his work was the amount of personality in each piece. It took me a minute to even notice that they were stylized robots or memebots in this case, until after I’d finished laughing at how great each piece was because he captures a saying or moment in such a way as to leave each piece full of energy. Finding his creative influences in graffiti art, music, current events, viral media madness, and anything else that he considers funny or comes together from an obscure story or reference; Anspach’s work is a visual feast and his use of color is phenomenal. When I asked why he uses such vibrant colors in his work he replied “I don’t like depressing stuff”. I appreciated the fact that this artist simply let’s his work become what it will be and doesn’t spend too much time contemplating the meaning behind it all. This relaxed attitude towards his work makes it stand out as compelling because of its simplicity. It is a way to take the absurd around and among us and spin it on its head to create something unusual, yet familiar. It is easy to stand back and spot the references he’s making in his work, from the double-rainbow bot, to the more serious (kind of) ‘Robama’. What makes his work distinctive is his use of color, stylized lines, and the pop-culture references he brings forth in a refreshingly new way. He has spent two years creating his collection of around 20 different ‘MemeBots’ and spoke to me about expanding his work into other mediums in the future. I can only hope he’ll choose to do a show of his early work on post-its.
J. Ford Huffman comes from a journalistic background and the influence of this is apparent in the use of space and organization within his box installations, or as he termed them “tiny theatre” pieces which create intimate scenes. In his current 26 piece show at Busboys, I found myself constantly turning back to two pieces, one entitled “The Table” and the other “Age before Beauty, no.5". In discussing the work with him, I found it compelling that he waited to hear my take on each piece before offering his own. We didn’t see either from the same perspective but that fact only served to make his work visceral because it encouraged conversation. His work has been described as “hanging sculptures that are whimsical, enigmatic and address the formal elements of art: Line, color and form." His process involves rummaging for those things other don’t see the value in, at auctions, estate sales, etc. and pulling pieces together to create little theatres, moments captured in time. His work is the ultimate memory box and the consciousness through which his work comes to life will leave you searching for all the various meanings to be found in each box. I found his use of mixed media and children’s toys to make for profound, impacting statements. The amount of work which seems to be common place in each piece of art is extensive. Each piece is one of a kind and demonstrates truly fine art.
Tim Rodgers in his own words “doodles”. If more of us could doodle as he does, we’d all be calling ourselves artists. His contemporary and modern take on doodling immediately reminded me of statues, specifically the Easter Island statues, laid down on canvas. His work is vibrant in nature and his doodle portraits are instantly arresting. He began his work by contributing to ‘The Doodle Swap Project’ and then transitioned to drawing portraits. In viewing some of his other work, they also remind me of the sketches which accompany articles in major publications such as, The New Yorker. The use of line, color, irony in the expressions, and expressive styling make his work forceful. He is yet another artist who manages to extract personality from his work and each portrait makes you wonder what’s going on behind each expression. The transition of his work from canvas to skateboard decks brings it to another creative level where his doodles stand alone and are equally as compelling as his portraits. The skateboard decks on display in this collection feature color blocked, panels with various use of line to highlight each piece. He is another artist influenced by graffiti art and you can see the influence in some of his use of line and bursts of color. His use of blocking is distinctive and makes the features of his work seem a bit larger-than-life.
As the art show wound down, I was encouraged to hear Bensonn and Tim discussing the possibility of collaborating on an art-show in the future and to hear J. Ford Huffman discussing the over 200 pieces he currently has in his collection, which are available online. Hearing about the projects each artist has in the works was a great cap to the evening because I found their work on display at Busboys to be a vibrant and compelling exhibit of revived classics in the form of theatre boxes, a blend of contemporary pop-culture, and stylized portraiture which is worth being put on display as often as possible. Each of these artists’ works will be featured at Busboys through August 4, 2011.
In addition the Curator-in-Residence will be selecting and organizing works for three month displays at each Busboys location. Current displays include, Surface Matters: Beneath the Boundaries which features work by both emerging and establishing artists exploring the theme of daily life and design in conflict zones and in the United States and M3: MC’s, Mics & Metaphors (M3) Remixed the creative power of the lyricism and poetry of hip-hop music through visual imagery; on display at the 5thand K St NW and 14thand V St NW locations respectively. For more information on on-going and upcoming exhibits at Busboys and Poets contact: art@busboysandpoets.com.
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