Page 8 - PROOF!v5

Advertising, says Gary Kaemmer, is problem-solving. And after 30 years in the business, he’d solved more than a few. Even so, commercial artists like him always seemed like second-rate citizens compared to ne artists, who, to Gary anyway, were some sort of special breed. So he decided to take a crash course in art history – by ripping them o . The result is more than 70 paintings titled, with typical understatement, Famous Artists Portraits.
“I knew nothing about these guys – except for Leonardo, of course, and some of the others,” says Kaemmer. “I had to go through art history books to learn about them. I’d maybe read a short biography, look at some of their work...that’s plenty. I don’t want too much. I’m not into research.”
“You can look at this art work as a student, the art books in the world, but you’re
For Kaemmer, it’s all about style, not merit. It’s the contrast between Monet and Warhol. More important, it’s about getting inside their heads. “You can look at this art work as a student, you can have all the art books in the world, but you’re not learning a damn thing,” he says.
damn thing,” he says. “Not until you try to copy that style. Then you find out what these Because somehow, that information comes
You don’t get it just by looking. You
“Not until you try to mimic or copy that style. Then you nd out what these people are about. Because somehow, that information comes through. You don’t get it just by looking. You have to do it.”
Occasionally when he’s working on one, he doesn’t remember actually painting it. “I get in this groove, or mindset, where I just get out of the way and watch it happen,” he says. “Like Georgia O’Keefe. I gured I had to make her glamorous. I did one like that, but it wasn’t any good. I did another one, and it wasn’t any good.”
At this point, Karen prods him a bit. “Yeah, but who didn’t think it wasn’t any good?” “Well...me.”
“And who else?”
Kaemmer looks a little uncomfortable. “Georgia didn’t like it either.”
He’s quick to point out that he’s not a mystical guy. Nuts and bolts, 8 to 5, what you see is what you get. But occasionally something...happens. “I can get out of my own skin,” Kaemmer says. “It’s like somebody else does that painting. It’s pretty weird.”
Playing the skeptic, I ask, “You honestly get the sense that a particular artist is either agreeing or disagreeing with your work?”
“Yeah. I get some sort of vibe, or some sort of information. At least I think I am.”
When this happens, he says, the result is always more successful. When it doesn’t, he either paints over the work or throws it away. “I have no problem with that,” he says. “I paint over a lot of work. It’s very cleansing. It’s cathartic. I love painting over a painting.”
Otherwise, once Kaemmer’s painted an artist, that’s it. He’s done. “I’m an ad man,” he says. “And the beauty of the ad game is it’s always changing. If I had to repeat a style, I would’ve been out of the business years ago.”