coolwhippings

 I have come to public attention for my epic visual narratives that in one way or another centre around power and the struggle between good and evil. That’s a bit of an over simplified description but it’s what lies at the core of all my work. I won’t get into the details of my conceptual evolution of over two decades of creating and exhibiting. That literally would require a book. There have, though, been a few constants right from the beginning that would identify my particular an unique approach to this type of visual story telling.

The first is to engage both the global and the intimate at the same time. To depict society as it affects us in the moment politically, economically, dogmatically but simultaneously how it touches us personally through family, relationships, and the daily dramas that parallel the worldly dramas.

The second is to expose us as creative, passionate sexual beings. There is no other thing that links all human beings more directly than our desire for erotic human contact. 

Both of these things make my work what has been universally described as, “Difficult”. My read on that is not, “Banal”. Thomas Kinkade is not a difficult artist in the same way that, though annoying, muzak is not difficult.

One would think logically that I would be taken to task far more for my penchant to bring the dark and disturbing up to the surface with my work than what my Spanish dealer call’s, “Obras mas suave.” and my London dealer refers to as, “More family friendly works.” Not true. I get nothing but flak from my fans for selling out! Nobody has ever written an article about how I’ve tamed down my work, either. It seems that’s not as interesting as controversy. 

My career has been a series of long confrontational human narratives punctuated occasionally by small bodies of work that throw off the heavy cape of social consciousness to explore a smaller more personal idea. The Black Coat Project is one of those momentary glitches. 

The Black Coat Project spun itself off the long running Final Journey. A story about the transition between life and death and the journey of souls towards their final judgment. During the preparation for the chapter where the souls finally reach “The Gates Of Heaven” I had acquired several vintage overcoats to use as the costume device to identify these souls. As I was lifting one of these coats onto the shoulders of a model I became engaged with that particular coat. It is a 1950, Persian lamb with a mink collar. Feeling the weight and the luxury in that moment made me react in a completely sensory way. Later I examined the coat more closely. I found he hallmarks of genuine quality, detail and craftsmanship that made me appreciate this object that much more. There is a real sense of decadence that exists like an aura around this coat. By the way, decadence is not a filthy word in my vocabulary. 

I wondered if an entire project could be built from this one artifact and my sensual response to it. As always, I decided to dissect the notion in order to arrive at the core of it’s viability. I knew already I could place a beautiful woman inside the coat and paint her. That doesn’t constitute an idea let alone a concept. It’s what it is. A painting. Obviously I required something a bit more substantial to justify creating a body of work with just one coat. 

I had used the overcoats in my previous project as a type of uniform that identified a species of character. That idea of uniform and individuality provoked me to wonder if I could make a series of pictures where the inanimate objects remained completely consistent yet the personalities of each woman who wore the coat would be amplified. Not an earth shattering question but a sufficient enough grain of sand for me to try to build a pearl around. What I also wanted to know was if this simple premise could inspire another epic  social narrative.

I laid out the project with the help of a couple of wonderful and pretty women here in the isolation of the prairies. I’ve managed to overcome almost all of the difficulties of making art in a small city far, far away from any metropolis. One that I haven’t been able to resolve is populating my pictures. As a figurative artist I need bodies. 

Nevertheless I managed get an insight into how I wanted to approach the project and create a format within which I could work. I then took the coat on the road. It spent a month in New York where I knew without a doubt I could find the women I needed to complete the fist phase of the process. I placed an advertisement on Craigslist and received more than 250 responses. Though the casting closed at the beginning of July I still get inquiries from women almost every day. I narrowed the applicants down to 35 which I interviewed in person. At first I thought that it would be a good idea to look for visibly diverse women but in the end decided that was too artificial and just elected to work with the ten women that interested me the most.  

Once all of the women had worn the Black Coat I realized that indeed they all were very different and my response to each of them was also very different. The real challenge for me would be to portray those differences in a way that went beyond the superficiality of a picture. All of these women are very pretty. I’d had the opportunity to spend time with them and get to know them a little. There were quite a few surprises from the initial interviews to the completion of the process. 

At the same time as I was engaged in the daily ritual of doing precisely the same thing with each individual in an intense and highly concentrated environment I was still wondering in the back of my mind if the creative spark would arrive from this pared down concept that would ignite a much larger body of work. It happened on the second day of the second week. The 7th woman to wear the Black Coat in NYC.

Rachel is a young actress like so many others trying to make her way in New York. Inspiration is never a simple thing. It is inevitably a result of a myriad of micro stimuli that happen to collect themselves in just the right way at just the right time. Then they instantly disperse into the chaos that is life. To have the skill and the instinct to capture that spark when it appears is what makes an artist an artist. There were a lot of things going on in the background that day. Most of them were very unpleasant and much too personal to reveal. They had nothing to do with Rachel nor our mission that day to make beautiful pictures but it would be ignorant to say that it was all kept outside of the time we spent together in the studio. Her interpretation of the Black Coat moved me in a way that none of the others had. Not necessarily better or worse but her passion in that moment amidst the chaos outside of the studio created a perfect storm of creativity.

There is a flush of emotional reaction when the blindfold is taken off and for a brief moment you can see the truth. It’s all there in perfect harmony for an instant and then hidden once more. You scramble to retain some feeble impression in a notebook but it’s not the detail but the sensation and excitement that tells you it can be created.

There are people that are excited about the Black Coat Project the way it exists right now. Ten beautiful women interpreting the sensation of the garment. I’m enjoying it myself. Each painting is an extension of a very intimate experience I’ve shared with each woman. Each painting is a commitment to their individual beauty. Some are nonplussed by gorgeous women being, well, gorgeous. They want more attack from me because they know I have a history. They won’t be disappointed. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut. Respond to what’s there in the moment even if it seems completely out of character. As long as you keep your mind open there is potential for something new and better. 

Of course no one can imagine the darkness lurking just beneath the surface of these pictures. Approaching like an ominous thunderstorm in the distance. I can and it’s ferocity builds day by day. 

I don’t think the Black Coat paintings are banal. I don’t even think they’re not provocative. It's all in how you look at them.

Charles Malinsky (Packing for another trip to the underworld.)