Jeff Matsuno: 2012

Hotel Mark Twain 2012

Mixed Media

in 19 x 32 x 5

This sign was sighted on a side street just off Hollywood Boulevard. It is not a "ghost" in the sense that it is still there and in just this condition. But it is this condition that leads me to fear that it will become a "ghost" very soon. When I chose it as a subject for my art I started researching and at first all I could find were client reviews. It is still a working hotel. But the reviews were so bad it really got me laughing. Here's an example- "This is absolutely the worst hotel on the planet. It smelled of fowl (sic) feminine odor and was riddled with bugs and crack heads. I literally threw up in my mouth when we saw our room." The only historical reference I could find was in Gregory Paul Williams "The Story Of Hollywood" which, recounting the story of Joe Barbera of Hanna Barbera fame, described the hotel thus, "He checked into the Mark Twain Hotel on Wilcox (in 1937), which he later wrote was modeled after a "not particularly enlightened penitentiary.'" So it seems like the hotel still lives up to the standards of its glory years.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

Genesis- "The wall is more beautiful..."

These works began while visiting the "Biennale" ( the biannual international art exhibit in Venice, Italy) with an architect friend. At one of the exhibits, located in a old, deconsecrated church, my friend commented, "I think the wall it's on is more beautiful than the artwork."

He was right. The wall held fantastic patterns of mold and mildew which seemed to emanate from behind the sculpture. I spent the rest of the day wandering Venice, searching for the abstract patterns of decay adorning the building of the ancient city. How could I capture that beauty artistically?

I began to experiment. I didn't want to do photography or traditional painting because they were both flat and even glossy, attributes antithetical to the textures I saw in the walls.

After a year or so of experimenting I moved back to Venice...

The Stroll and The Hunt

My paintings begin with a stroll around Venice. This is always very enjoyable. Venetians say Americans walk in fifth gear. From them I had to learn how to walk in first gear. At first it's almost uncomfortably slow. It's not about getting anywhere, it's about being where you are, enjoying both the conversation (if strolling in company) and the view.

Once I started working on the paintings my strolls became hunts. I was hunting for those passages in the walls that held visual interest- either textural, tonal or archaeological.

Once back in the studio the hunt continues, searching for compositional harmony, a frame within the frame of the printed photo.

Then comes the construction...

Craftsmanship

In high school I made (and still make) surfboards. In college I worked for a boatbuilder, lofting sailboat hulls and shaping rudders and keel plugs. After college I worked in many facets of construction- residential remodelling, furniture design and fabrication, even hand carving wood. I used to joke, "I was born to sand."

At the time my various occupations seemed a bit random but they all came together when I started making these paintings.

My paintings are very labor intensive and time consuming. I see no way around that. I believe craftsmanship will outlast trends and styles of art. It is a quality that resonates across centuries and diverse cultures. I hope it is evident in my art.

Jeff Matsuno

Luxury Perfumes

Hotel Mark Twain

Davis and Cline Gallery

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