Interview with the artist: David Berkowitz Chicago
Biography of the Painter
David Berkowitz Chicago is an American painter, coming from Aurora, the artistic suburban area of Chicago. He graduated at the School of Applied Arts and Design in Chicago, at the painting department. In 1977, he received a scholarship to the Kulturzentrum BINZ 39, Scuol, Switzerland. Berkowitz graduated in 1979 from the Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago, teaching department, painting direction. In the same year, he received the Illinois Art Award for the best diploma thesis. In 1980 he was admitted to the National Society of Fine Artists.
From 1981 to 1985 David Berkowitz Chicago was a member of the Chicago Community of Independent Artists. Since 1986 he has been working as a Senior Associate - Gallery Manager at Filakoff Gallery at Aurora National University. In 1988, he became a member of the National Association of Fine Artists of Applied Arts, in the Section for Illustration, Cartoon, Comic, Animated Film and Applied Painting. In 1993 he became a member of the National Society of Writers for Children and Youth. He has exhibited in several solo and group exhibitions at home and abroad. In 1998, Berkowitz received the Redemption Award from the Chicago City Office for Culture at the Fifth Illinois Drawing Triennial. He has published illustrations in magazines: Smile, Joy, Zvrk, Artosys, and others. So far, Berkowitz has published about fifty stories for children and adults. He lives in Chicago.
Antique Oil Paint David Berkowitz Chicago
David, you are a very versatile artist, you do illustrations, which you have published in numerous magazines, you have illustrated books and picture books of other authors, but you also publish your own picture books, and you write for children and adults yourself. How did your interest in literary illustration develop, and what is your position in the Chicago art scene today, how satisfied are you with that?
- I had my first encounter with art through comics. The combination of images and words in me, as a child, aroused great love for some new, unexplored worlds that developed my imagination. Often, when returning from the cinema, I would try to draw with excitement the characters and action from a movie I had previously watched. Even today my friends tell me that there is a kind of illustrative character in my work. I started publishing my comics in the first half of the 1970s in Smib, while still a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago.
However easy my start was, I later had to work hard to get a new opportunity to publish my work. Having received a scholarship in Switzerland, I have not been to Chicago for a while. When I came back, the market was saturated with naive painters at the time. I did some paintings for Joy and the Happy Book. In the process, I began to read stories intended for children in these prints.
What I noticed then was that the writers had a fantastic style sentence, but the stories would often lack humor or some strong closing message. Since I loved to write humorous stories in elementary school, I somehow managed to write ten stories and shyly offer them to the publisher. Already, in 1980, the first story "Once Upon a Time in the Wild West" came out for me, which was later broadcasted on radio.
So far, I have written about fifty stories for children and adults, of which 7 are books and picture books, all available for the readers at scalar. I also illustrated some of them, like The Last Dragon, The Children of Wrath, and The Slap Adventure. The golden age of illustration should definitely be linked to the golden age of publishing when no tax was paid on the book. It was a safe business back then. All it took was a stab at the right writer and illustrator and success would be guaranteed.
Today, there are a large number of painters who have not graduated from some of the higher art colleges but have learned how to paint using the tutorials on the internet, mastering anatomy, proportions, perspective, shading, textures... There are also different approaches to form shaping among painters. Even in painting, illustrative elements begin to appear, which would have been a burden for the artist a few years ago. Today, many authors are reviving the styles and forms of the 1950s and 1960s, incorporating elements of the contemporary into their own works.
Also in the contemporary naive is seen the overlap of different styles and techniques. Many painters also came into the field of the animated film. This enabled the popularization of illustration as one of the branches of the applied arts, accompanying and valorizing the world's best production. Just remember how few cartoons played in theaters decades ago.
Painters at home today are free to create art in a stress-free family environment. Previously, this was done exclusively in studios. There is a certain freedom, which also enabled the rapid development of all kinds of art. In case you do not have access to galleries, artists use social networks where they have become a sort of stars, inspiring many art lovers, whether those who value the classic or the more leisurely approach.
David Berkowitz Chicago has been working on books for children, and you also write stories for children, you associate the visual language with the literary, which is very interesting - what inspires you in this work for children and which particular works would you like to point out?
- In my opinion, the written word has more power than drawings and paintings. Because if the right word reaches your heart, it changes you forever. It encourages you, makes you fight and see the point in everything. I actually write about the values I represent in my life. What inspires me most as a writer is an eternal struggle between good and evil. Often, in stories, I catch the depth that burdens a person, whether it is some kind of wrong ideal, behavior, decision or society. In children's literature, the good always wins. There is no other way, while in the adult literature there is often melancholy, anger, disappointment, revenge, nonsense… I would definitely point out my short novel "Children of Anger"; about juvenile violence.
In addition to your artistic work at SAIC, you also work as a curator and gallery manager at David Berkowitz Chicago Art House. Interesting is this position of an artist - a curator who has reconciled two, sometimes slightly conflicting, professions, so tell us how you experience it and how much your artistic experience helps you to better understand your fellow artists - and as a curator?
- Artists are constantly at the mercy of well-intentioned and malicious criticism. They are expected to be literate and able to explain their work, whatever it may be, which creates a certain amount of nervousness and pressure for them. They also have to keep up with new art trends and keep up to date. How socially capable you are, the higher you can go on the social ladder. But today there are authors who are shy and not as eloquent and as interesting as the others. It is my job to recognize one's worth regardless of one's character and give it a chance. This is precisely what may be the main impetus to continue to engage in this activity. I know many talented individuals who have lost faith in themselves and stopped developing their talents. That's a shame! I was often rejected as an artist. It is an integral part of that profession. But there are situations when you go to juried exhibitions. Then you learn to appreciate the effort and get the incentive to be better. And then that creative adventure starts all over again, and it will stop the moment we will no longer be able to hold a brush or pen in hand.
I easily work with different artists because I know their expectations and wishes exactly. Based on these insights, I build a positive synergy and trust between artists, art critics, proofreaders, photographers, and graphic designers, who are each a creative person, bringing into the project a part of their personality and experience, while also making sure that the hierarchy of agreed activities is respected by all participants. My greatest interest is that everything goes well and that this joint effort is presented to the local public as well as possible.
In your opinion, what is the relationship of the curator and artist on the Chicago art scene today, is there some friction and what would he recommend to young artists when looking for a curator to accompany their first exhibitions and public performances? What qualities do you think a good curator, who works with contemporary artists, needs to possess?
- The artist needs to find the right person, whether he is an art critic, an art historian, or a curator, who will be able to appreciate and value his artwork. Who will then be able to encourage the artist to further develop and reflect and not misuse his ideas in order to incorporate it into his own world view? Previously, artists shaped society through their works. Today, curators do this through their conceptions. If you know an individual curator, you can predict in advance what the exhibition will be like. Also one of the problems of the contemporary artist is that a certain dose of conformism has emerged in his behavior. Curators have arbitrarily subordinated ideas and attitudes in order to gain short-term benefit. Art should be an adventure into the unknown, not into something predictable or some cheap stunt that no one will remember later.
The artwork must be a sincere prayer directed toward the sky, whereby the author is constantly discovering new possibilities and getting to know himself better. Always, under the pressure of existential questions about life and death, the individual has sought the full meaning and truth. In my experience, I have noticed that the better the artwork, the more questions it actually asks us. Artists should always ask the curator for honesty and equal dialogue. They should find a friend in it, and then they will get a good curator.
Managing several art galleries is probably not easy, because, in addition to conducting competitions for painters, communication and harmonization with numerous artists, curators and professional advice for the art galleries, it also includes the complete organization and promotion of exhibitions, as well as continuous application to public tenders of the City and Secretary of Culture, sponsors, communication with the media, etc. You are doing all of these listed tasks on a highly professional level and a lot of artists praise you in Chicago, so you can see that you do your work with dedication and love. How did David Berkowitz start managing galleries? Did you initially have any role models, who taught you how to do it - or did you learn it by yourself, gaining your own experience in practice?
- I've been in this business for over twelve years. When I hear people saying how happy they are with my attitude towards them, I know that I am on the right track. It's a creative profession where you constantly learn something new that further enriches you. You are constantly in touch with people of close interest, so communication is also easier. All problems that arise are here to solve. If there is goodwill, nothing is difficult. I take this as a life calling, where I can contribute a lot to the community and society. I love doing it and that's why I have results.
Of course, I have to mention Ron Loratty with whom I had the opportunity to collaborate on my naive art exhibition, which was held at The Art Institute of Chicago. I can describe him as a very professional and kind gallerist. He was totally "cool" to me then. For his tenure, he created a cult spot for the contemporary art scene from an unattractive Gallery.
The other person I learned a lot from is Cheryl Bronica, the head of the Chicago Art Deco Society. I really don't know an artist who's not in a great relationship with her. She made a striking impression on all of us with her professionalism. She is a good and expert person, who deserves to run one of the longest-running galleries in the city. Some of my colleagues at David Berkowitz Chicago Art House helped me a lot with valuable advice and well-meaning criticism.
And finally, what are the future projects for David Berkowitz Chicago, what else would you like to accomplish in the art in the future?
- David Berkowitz Chicago Art House is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its continuous operation this year. We will celebrate this festive anniversary by opening an exhibition of the best works from the Gallery's holdings. I am also preparing a major retrospective exhibition by academic painter Samara Lorry, who tragically passed away last year exactly on her 53rd birthday. The exhibition is scheduled to take place in January 2020. In my spare time, I intend to work out the latest cycle of naive art paintings, for which I received the Redemption Award of the City Office for Culture at the 5th Chicago Triennial of Paintings this year and exhibit it somewhere in Chicago.