Arts & Culture
Basemen kept the crowd laughing.
Pervasive Artist Gary Baseman Visits UWSP
The Pointer
nmeye177@uwsp.edu
’Gary Basemen doesn’t just make art on canvas, his quirky surreal characters appear on pop cans, board games, old children’s books, even paint by number kits as he attempts to blur the real and the surreal. Basemen has made a living putting his art on whatever he can. He doesn’t think of creating art for popular consumption as a bad thing.
“As long as you’re staying true to what you’re saying, its not selling out; it’s just selling,” said Baseman.
The Emmy award winning cartoonist, creator of the animated series “Teacher’s Pet” and illustrator for the game Cranium visited the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point on Wednesday Sept. 9 to talk to students about Pop-Surrealism. Baseman’s visit was in connection with the Pop Surrealism exhibit “Tarnished Reality” currently in the Carlsten Art Gallery where two of his pieces are being displayed.
Baseman spent the day speaking to students in classes and capped off the day with a lecture in the Noel Fine Arts Center courtyard. Baseman spoke briefly about Pop-Surrealism or as he prefers to call it “Pervasive Art.” His lecture focused on inspiring students to do whatever they want with their art and that the time is now for them to explore what that is.
“The opportunity for you to do anything is out there,” said Baseman during the lecture, “the only thing that’s going to stop you is yourself.”
Baseman, who has made a living using different mediums to showcase his talents, encouraged students to not be afraid to do so as well.
“As long as you stay true to your aesthetic and have a strong message you can put your art on anything,” said Baseman.
Baseman has created an array of characters to convey his messages. The characters are quirky and they do things that some viewers may find offensive. But when Baseman describes the beautiful worlds he’s created for them to live in sometimes wish you could be there too there on the canvas too. Staying true to his words.
“You can do anything you want as long as you have the imagination to do it,” said Baseman.
His imagination has served him well. His characters have appeared on toys, in Rolling Stone and even Labatt Beer ads.
The two pieces on display as part of “Tarnished Reality” feature a character known as “Venison.” According to Baseman, “Venison” was inspired by a woman who taught him the meaning of passion.
Baseman’s art and his passion for blurring the real and surreal is not his vision alone. Other artists on display in “Tarnished Reality” like Rob McBroom, Jeremy Fish and Tim Biskup all use their art to blur the lines between the real and surreal, using recognizable pop culture figures to grey the lines and change the definitions of these figures we’ve come to know so well.
Wausau resident Derek Bushman donated the artwork that comprises “Tarnished Reality” from his private collection. Bushman has been working on the collection for 10 years went above and beyond to bring in Baseman.
“Gary’s a friend of mine from L.A.” said Bushman, “He loves speaking and he relates to kids real well so he jumped at the chance to come up here and talk.”
Director of the Carlsten Art Gallery, Caren Heft, expressed deep appreciation for Bushman’s generous loan, Baseman’s appearance and the positive reaction the exhibit has generated from the community.
“People have been really positive,” said Heft. “The kids have been great they’ve been really receptive, it’s been marvelous for all of us.”
Baseman will not be the last artist displayed in the gallery to be here this month thanks to Bushman. Rob McBroom will be here from 4:-6 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14, for an artists reception.
“He’s a friend of mine from Minneapolis,” said Bushman, “He hooked me up with a couple of artists and I got into their scene.”
Monday is also the last day the Carlsten Gallery will be displaying the exhibit “Tarnished Reality.”
