Art Getting Attention!
‘Stunt painting’ spurred Artist SinGh’s creative career
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| Artist Singh on his sculpture of a pear in his studio in Kalamazoo |
On South Burdick Street
Artist SinGh is Gurumej Singh, a painter and sculptor born
in India Kalamazoo Grand Rapids
Stunt painting
Singh, who won’t give his age, says he has been creating art
for decades. As a boy in India Bronson
Park
As a young child, Singh’s family moved to find work in Dubai ,
United Arab Emirates
After that, Singh decided he wanted his artistic specialty
to be glassblowing, and he moved to the U.S. Emporia State
University Kansas Grand
Rapids
Banned from ArtPrize
You can’t see his work at ArtPrize, anymore, however. While
planning the epic-sized painting for 2013 ArtPrize, Singh violated a written
agreement with the city when his work crossed sidewalks and streets rather than
just being confined to the park space he was assigned. Singh says he did it so because he had
invested heavily and the work had costed him over 100,000 dollars. He was
accountable to several sponsors for getting in the Guinness book of world
records. ArtPrize had denied him at the
last minute without showing any consideration.
That’s according to Kevin Buist, exhibitions director for ArtPrize, who
says it was the last in a series of confrontations ArtPrize had with Singh. The
year before, another Singh display, a sculpture of Saddam Hussein, was
dismantled before ArtPrize even began. It was set to be shown at the B.O.B., a
popular restaurant and nightclub, but the establishment’s owner removed it,
claiming it was too controversial. Singh later set fire to rest of the Art
pieces that was schedules display in later date during the ArtPrice in protest.
Buist says Singh is now permanently banned from ArtPrize.
Singh has turned the ban to his advantage, however. He
mentions that he’s the “Banned ArtPrize artist” in a section labeled “Fake News”
on his website. In September, he self-published X The Art Prize, a 112-page
book that’s part personal manifesto (he discusses “ArtPrize’s rich and famous
backers who can buy media favor”) and part clues to finding $1 million he
claims to have hidden in Kent County. Specifically, that’s $100,000 in cash and
$900,000 in “art collectibles.”
“My story is incomplete without discussing my ban,” Singh
says.
He calls the decision by the ArtPrize staff “unfair” but the
Longest Painting, the work that got him shut out of ArtPrize, has since been
split apart and sold to his customers in New York Dubai
“Kalamazoo
He moved here in 2000 to be close to his brother and his
brother’s family. He initially worked out of the Park
Trades Center
“Everything is not about making money and getting attention,”
he says.
Thanks to the internet and contacts Singh has developed over
decades, he has regular buyers interested in his work, he says, no matter what
he does. His work typically sells for between $3,000 and $10,000, he says,
depending on what it is and who’s buying.
Most of Singh’s paintings are of landscapes, often in reds,
oranges, and blues. He enjoys using oil paint but says a lot of his work is
done in acrylics or watercolors. He uses inks for his “LatroArt” images, which
he describes as drawing and painting using the principles of spider web
construction.
Art is Art, and he sees nothing controversial about
expressing oneself. Singh says he doesn't deliberately try to be controversial
and eye-catching to build awareness of his art. if it does happen due to
expression i am ok with it. He leaves
his paintings in his front yard when the weather isn’t bad. The green object on
his lawn is a massive pear that he wanted to use for a display at ArtPrize. Before
it was a pear, it was a large black cartoon bomb: what he calls an “International
Peace Bomb,” which was part of an exhibit in Grand Rapids
“You never know what will get you attention,” he says.
Speaking of which, what’s with the Mr. Caution car? “That
was a branding test in Canada
He used the “Mr. Caution” title to promote his sign art,
illustrations made to look like traffic signs (one promotes himself and looks a
little like a missing person announcement with the letters “mis” scratched out
to leave “sing,” as in “Singh”). Mr. Caution is now another name Singh uses to
promote his work, and his LatroArt, landscapes, sign art and more can be found
under both names.
Singh art Studio
Singh calculates he has created some 2,000-7,000 artworks
each year. He now has five college-age assistants who help him set up and
sometimes draw out some of his art.
“This is their opportunity to test their skills and find
their strengths,” he says.
In addition, Singh is following up X The ArtPrize with a
second book he’s working on. He expects to call it "My Experiments With
Art." It will feature two of his favorite subjects — marketing art and
developing painting and sculpting skills. He also plans to launch Artist
SinGh Academy
Marketing for artists requires creative people to tell
others what they’re working on and to become comfortable with criticism, he
says.
“Many artists are really good. They just don’t know how to
promote themselves,” Singh says. “The commentary (criticism) is going to happen
no matter what you do. You just have to live with it.”
Original Article had inaccuracies,
so I edited it but I could not change the tone, unfortunatly!
Sources
Author: Andrew Domino
Reedited for accuracy by
Artist SinGh
Photographer: Brian K. Powers
Read Original Publication: http://www.encorekalamazoo.com/arts/attention-getting-art
Date: Nov 01, 2017
