Because even bona fide rock stars can be bested by the paintbrush, please enjoy this unscientific roundup of musical icons who pursue robust, very public-facing visual art practices—with tricks, treats, and mixed bags. Each of them has some admirable qualities, and they’re giving it their all and we love that for them—but they might bear in mind that not everything always needs to be seen. Perhaps that’s a challenge for someone stalked by the spotlight. Spoiler alert: every single one of these guys paints exactly how he makes music.
If Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock had a sort of goth baby and gave it a Church of Satan baptism, that baby would paint like Gene Simmons. The large-scale work has a certain expulsive, assaultive aesthetic, peppered with risqué puns and a theatricality that befits the spectacle created by Kiss. For his part, as the band’s other painter, Paul Stanley, actually has his moments. He has a terrific and, perhaps unexpectedly, bright and buoyant color sense, and his portraits and color studies are genuinely interesting, especially when he is working loosely with lots of pigment and bold wide strokes.
Serj Tankian is punk, gothic, and full of pain, so if that’s your thing on the radio, his paintings will be your thing on the wall. To me, both feel too raw, angry, even violent. But there’s a cathartic, vulnerable quality to his explosions of color, texture, emotion, and image that is definitely relatable—even if his images and texts are a bit too heavy-handed. I mean, no one goes to his music for nuance, so that’s fine.
The thing about Ringo Starr is that he’s a lovely man. A truly delightful human. But I am so sorry that this ebullience does not really hold its own on the canvas. His paintings are mostly gusts of pure energy, empty calories steeped in nostalgia, bowl cuts, and peace signs.
Ed Sheeran’s artwork begs the question anew—what did poor old Jackson Pollock ever do to deserve this relentless style-biting. It’s understandable how its syncopations and sense of action appealed to Sheeran’s jazzy soul, and he did a pretty good job but… Is it because Pollock was truly a tortured soul who was reaching into the unknown for something new, and Sheeran is a nice boy having a fun time? Yes, that’s probably it.
IMAGES (from top)
Gene Simmons, courtesy of the artist and Animazing Gallery: animazing.com/gene-simmons
Ringo Starr, courtesy of the artist: ringostarrart.com
Paul Stanley, courtesy of the artist: paulstanley.com/artwork
Ed Sheeran, courtesy of the artist and Heni Editions: heni.com/editions/cosmic-carpark-editions
Serj Tankian, courtesy of the artist: serjtankian.com/pages/artwork
