Kitchen Chaekgeori

This is the newest painting in my Chaekgeori-inspired series.   The books are some of the cookbooks on shelves in my small, San Francisco kitchen.  On the lowest shelf are essential coffee beans and tea bags stored in old spaghetti sauce jars (reuse and recycle), plus filters, mugs, etc.   

From the beginning, I recognized each Chaekgeori I was painting is in essence a portrait — or in this example a self-portrait.  These shelves also include art I have collected and art I have made.  There is even a shadow box I made for my grandmother as a child.  It sat on her kitchen shelf for decades.   There are souvenirs from trips going back over 40 years — to Sweden and more recently Mexico.  Some of the mugs are souvenirs as well.  On the top shelf there are some vintage ice crushers and other kitchen tools — something else I have been collecting for a long time. 
The stuff on those shelves reveals quite a lot about me.

The Professor’s House

 It would be ideal if a copy of The Professor’s House was in this bookcase from my Chaekgeori-inspired series.   But this Australian professor teaches computer science rather than American Literature.   And while he has a model rocket on his shelf, he is not a rocket scientist (though his dad is).  Like all my friends, I find commonalities when I paint their bookshelves.  For example, so many of them have Rubik’s cubes on display.  I best not make a snarky comment about nerds and Rubik’s cubes though, because you might find one on my own bookshelf.  

The Thorn Birds

It has been more than a year and I still am working on my Chaekgeori-inspired series.   

I usually do not paint the book titles in detail, yet many of the books in these paintings are still recognizable.  Viewers spot a few books they have on their own shelves and many of us read the same books.  In my latest painting you might notice a copy of The Thorn Birds — a ubiquitous title on the bookshelves of all moms of a certain generation.  Yes, these are my mom’s books and things.  And even though she has downsized (many of my parent’s books are on my shelves now), a true reader can’t help but fill a bookcase.  Also, like many of the paintings in this series, small pieces of my art appear on the shelves (look for the slice of cabbage).

Cat Chaekgeori

This is the newest painting of books and things in my Chaekgeori-inspired series.  One might ask, where are the books?  I believe there is a small one tucked in on the lower shelf.  But in this modern example, clearly that iPad Mini is filled with ebooks.  Does Spinerboy actually read?  He is clever, but he might prefer cat game apps over reading.  And what sort of cat has his own iPad?   There is even has a special shelf where he keeps his fancy cat dishes.  Spinerboy shares a home with Scarlett Jo, so that shelf is a necessity.  Scarlett Jo is the type of girl that thinks nothing is more charming than a dog with cat food breath.  

Travel Chaekgeori

Here is the latest painting in my Chaekgeori-inspired series.   Nearly everyone tends to put souvenirs and things we pick up when travelling on their bookshelves.  When I paint one of these, I usually spot a travel guide on the shelves too.   But with this painting, it is all travel.  The books and things belong to a couple in Milan that has dedicated a whole corner of their adventures.  The travel guides, custom photo album, the model of the iconic VW van — it is all there.    Does anyone who travels not have at least one piece of driftwood on their shelves?  A piece of wood that has already been on its own journey before you find it and bring it home.   That might be the best souvenir one could have.   The only thing missing from these shelves is a California travel guide.   But one day, hopefully soon, we might start wandering our planet again.

Swedish Bookcases

As I continue painting books and things for this Chaekgeori-inspired series, I am never surprised that some of my friends have the same books on their shelves — and in a few examples the same objects.  The other thing we have in common is Ikea bookcases.  Not all, but many of the books in this series sit on those ubiquitous bookcases (including some of my own).   The first time I was in an Ikea, it was in Sweden, many years before it was a global empire.  It is weird to think that the plastic silverware tray in my San Francisco kitchen drawer was purchased in Stockholm in 1984.  

Look closely, you might even notice the holes in the sides of the bookcases for the shelf pegs.  This painting shows the multilingual dictionaries, books and things of artist friends in Sweden.

And now, a Professional Bookcase

A real San Francisco home has a certain look that reflects the personality of the person(s) who lives there.  Never cluttered, but always quirky.  We are a city of collectors who treat our homes like museum installations.  In apartments, it starts with the old telephone nook near the door.  They make for perfect altars.  A San Francisco bathroom is an art gallery with plumbing fixtures.  Our small kitchens never have an empty wall.

What San Francisco homes are not, in spite of the worst efforts of stagers and flippers, are the gutted Victorians that have been sterilized into white and gray modern lofts.  Stainless steel and marble slabs with all the charm of a mortuary.  We do not want to live in banal furniture catalogs.

 

The bookcases and things I paint for my Chaekgeori-inspired series are just a small glimpse into these wonderful San Francisco homes.

 

My friends have generously shared photos for me to work from.  When I asked one friend to send some snapshots, I waited anxiously for their arrival in my inbox.  He and his husband have a delightful Hayes Valley apartment that is like living in an actual cabinet of curiosities.  It is one of my favorite San Francisco apartments.

 

The photos he sent, and what I have painted here, are of his office bookcase.  Early on, I realized painting bookcases was, in many ways, painting a portrait as much as it is painting a still life.  This made me think about a person’s bookcase in a professional office.  Many of us wear different personalities to suit the occasion.   A downtown office bookcase is going to be different from one at home.  Maybe a little more restrained, a little more reserved.   This is a professional bookcase.

Books and Connected Things

 

As I continue painting books with my Chaekgeori-inspired series I am also documenting.  I am recording my own home as well as the homes of my friends.  This latest one shows the top shelf of the bookcase that sits behind my television.  Yes, don’t get fooled by all the books, I also watch TV.  Note the remote control and the even an antenna.   I don’t pay for cable, I have Sutro Tower beaming PBS into my living room.

The other things with the books include some spider plant clones, a vintage folding measuring stick and a piece of mail art from Robin Sparrow.  I display some of the favorite pieces of mail art that I receive on my bookshelves.  There is a wooden folk carving I picked up in Poland years ago and, on the wall, you can see the bottom of one of the Post-Folk Art pieces I did — a series inspired by Polish folk art.  

Tucked behind the remote control is a 4x4 inch piece I did for the 2011 Project.   

In 2011 I made a small piece of art each day for the entire year (365 in total).  It was not planned, but it is perfect that this 2011 piece was inspired by a visit to the Asian Art Museum — much like this series of Chaekgeori.  

Reading while Painting

I almost never make art in silence.   There is always music playing in the background, unless I stream television and/or read.  Read?  Well, to be exact, I read by listening to audio books.   While I am working on my Chaekgeori-inspired series and painting books — listening to audio books seems appropriate.

I am not sure the books I listen to influence the actual works of art.  But something does happen after spending hours working on a painting and listening to a book at the same time.   There is some art I have done that, for me, will always have an association with what I was listening to at the time.

This latest painting of another artist’s shelves and workspace will forever be linked with Paul Binding’s The Stranger from the Sea.  There is nothing like getting lost in an engaging tale while absorbed in the minute details of pens, pencils and paint brushes.  

An Eighties Baby

As I continue to work on my Chaekgeori-inspired series, I am painting my own bookcases as well as my friends’ books and things.   While we all safely social distance, my friends send me snapshots of their bookshelves.  The books we have on our shelves say quite a bit about our personalities.  It should come as no surprise that in my circle of friends, the same books keep showing up – we have a lot in common.  

When it comes to the objects on our shelves, those choices are more unique and truly express our individuality.   When you see a much-cherished Alf doll given pride of place, you can assume that friend is an eighties baby.  

More Books and Objects

Here is the latest still life in my Chaekgeori-inspired series.  This is one of my own bookcases — I can easily recognize nearly every title and I know the story behind every object.  The glass insulator was purchased at a roadside stand on my first trip to the Grand Canyon.  The Canadian, soapstone, totem poles have been on my bookshelves since I was about 10 years old.  On the bottom shelf there is a painting of Rhyolite, Nevada from my 2011 Project and mail art from South Africa from the artist Cuan Miles.

The curious object on the top shelf is a Mörksuggan.  The Mörksuggan or “dark sow” is a piece of folk art I received as a gift 40 years ago when I was first in Sweden.  It gently swings on the edge of a shelf and can come take away bad children during the night.  It’s a rather local and obscure piece of folk art and may be the only one in all of San Francisco.   I never have problem with bad children in my home, so it must work.

Pandemic Chaekgeori

Whether casually chatting with friends, having a business meeting or being interviewed by the media, stationing yourselves in front of your bookcase seems to be the default way to communicate in these times.   Our books send a message, “Yes, I do read.” 

The books give clues to our tastes and personalities.  The seriousness of PBS NewsHour put Judy Woodruff showing off a red room of books to match her hair coloring.  One would think with her penchant for red dresses, we would find historian Lucy Worsley surrounded by red books — but she opts for a contrasting blue and grey wall of books without a red tome in sight.  Comedian Seth Myers manipulated old copies of his mother’s favorite book, The Thorn Birds.  And not at all funny, yet ironic, Betsy DeVos, the amoral and corrupt Secretary of “Education”, posed in front of a bookcase devoid of books.

The times we live in can certainly influence an artist’s work.  I am no exception.   While I have always lived surrounded by books, my inspiration came from a brief video posted by San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum.   I discovered Chaekgeori — it’s a Korean still-life where the artist depicts books and objects on shelves.  My color-coded bookcases demanded to be painted.   Soon after, I started asking friends for photos of their bookcases. In some ways, each painting is as much a portrait as it is a still life.

All paintings are acrylic on paper, 9"x12".  These are the first ones, with more to follow.