Beach Art: Fast Food for the Soul?

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August 17, 2:39 PM

by Cara Ober, Baltimore Art Examiner

 

 

I just got back from the beach. It was relaxing and indulgent, the way a beach vacation ought to be. After a week of decadent sloth, subsisting mainly on french fries and margaritas, I feel ready to get back to regular life. And, also, get back to 'regular' art.

One night, when walking on the boardwalk, I noticed a hand painted sign and I cringed. It said 'Art Gallery.' Obviously, art is my thing, but I could not bring myself to enter the beach gallery. Why? Because beach art sucks. It's just a known fact.

It is exactly the same for beach food, I guess. Just as there are no 'healthy alternatives' or sushi bars on the boardwalk, there's no smart art anywhere. It's all junk food - as it goes for the belly, so it goes for the eyes. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy funnel cake and Fisher's Pop Corn, but only in small doses. I can't say the same for beach art, though. It's all equally awful and I can't stand it - and I definitely enjoy a tacky cliche more than most people. So I started wondering WHY? Why do i abhor beach art and also, are there any GOOD beach art alternatives?

First I thought about what offends me most about 'beach art.' What's wrong with junk food for the soul? It is difficult to put into words, but the one thing I can put my finger on is dishonesty. I think that, at its core, 'beach art' attempts to sell us an idea that is not only unoriginal and unsophisticated, but disingenuous - as if the artist themself doesn't really believe in it. Take the Thomas Kincaid above. It captures the gorgeous colors of a beach sunset, but something is missing - you can't have 'nice' colors without some kind of contrast. It's too harmonious. There's no contrast. It's bland and I believe, also, disrespectful. The ocean is anything but dull or casual, or thousands of people wouldn't flock there every year for vacation.

I went in search of some better examples of art in which beach is the subject and I came across this Braque painting. It's got the brash color scheme of a Candy Kitchen, but there's something odd about it that lets us know the artist was really paying attention. Maybe it's the sickly green in the water, or the purples in the mountains and sky - but there's a sense of strange respect, of an individual transfixed by his environment. I think life is far too complicated to be summarized into something pretty and bland - this Braque painting shows us a cliche (boats by the water) through new eyes. Anyone who looks at this painting comes away with something new.

This Winslow Homer watercolor also presents a relatively common subject through new eyes. I've seen dozens of rowboat paintings, but none like this one. There's a sense of foreboding, of tension in the dark watery shadows and a sense of energy in the sky. The colors Homer used are a combination of beautiful and dull and this contrast, to me, more accurately captures the powerful magnetism of the sea. You can look at this painting, as simple as it is, over and over, and you will notice something new about it every time.

The Matisse painting below is deceptively simple and rather spare on color. All of Matisse's colleagues thought he was mad for painting the French Riviera. The place was for vacation, not serious painting! However, Matisse persisted and created some of the most unusual and profound images of the shore ever rendered in oil. He felt inspired by the beach and channelled this into unsettling and joyful works. You really get a sense that the artist was forced to make changes to his normal studio practice in order to collaborate with his subject matter. The results are jarring and familiar at the same time. The essence of the French Riviera seen through Matisse's eyes is captured on canvas, which is so much more interesting than an exact visual replica.

I know. Maybe people don't want to be reminded of tension on their vacation? Maybe they would rather look at cotton candy on canvas or the large Last Supper sculpture made out of sand? It's a personal choice we all make. I chose to eat Boardwalk Fries, so you can choose to look at bad beach art. However, I think many people haven't realized there are alternatives to freakin' dream catchers made out of sea shells imported from the Philippines when choosing beach house decor.

The ocean has been a source of mystery, of respect, and wonder since man has existed. We shouldn't have to reduce it to something cute and comfortable, just for vacation's sake.

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