Art & Art History
James Lamb
This exhibition comprises a series of twenty-four paintings, two diagrams, and twenty-four storyboards created by James Lamb from 1986–89. The artist began painting late in life, during retirement. Without any formal artistic training, he began to paint as a means of expressing his personal experiences and observations. His paintings often take the form of satirical commentary on contemporary society, including the people and situations around him. From a relatively small Midwestern town, Lamb both amused and irritated friends and neighbors with his caustic wit; many of those around him ignored his images and moralizing, preferring to write him off as an eccentric. Lamb, obsessed with the need to paint these commentaries, has not endeared himself to his fellow citizens. He does not have, to his neighbors ’ way of thinking, the credentials to be an artist. Locals know that he has emerged from the same past as they have, a way of life founded on reserved, indirect traditions of privacy. It is the public candor of his paintings that violates this reserve. Didacticism is a strong motivating force in his work. The works are intended, according to Lamb, to teach or lecture the viewer. An unwavering sense of his mission, and an ability to ignore conventions, has encouraged him to realize his visions.
Lamb’s work operates on many different levels, trying to glean some essential meaning, emotion, or even intent, out of the world around him. Viewing his art is a bit like slowly chipping away at an oyster in order to find the pearl. His work is a taunting combination of the ideal and its antithesis. His characters are so strong that the viewer is drawn into the scene only to find the distortions and enigmatic personalities all too often recognizable.
Viewing his art is a bit like slowly chipping away at an oyster in order to find the pearl.
It is tempting to perceive the personal and private quality of these paintings as confessional manifestations of Lamb’s own obsessions. They are in fact far more complex and contradictory. As mock fictions, these carefully constructed scenarios insinuate and moralize generic stereotypes. Essentially narrative in content, Lamb’s work depicts the world of the innocent and naive, but also the corrupt and jaded. Through his paintings, viewers realize that it is progressively harder to ignore our own complicated transgressions and trepidations of life. Lamb conveys a conflict between the tragic-comic perspectives in his farces. He confronts subject matter by exploring the fear, narcissism, optimism, determination, and vulnerability that we all have but often refuse to see.
To respond to his paintings and to put them on a plane with advanced and highly evolved works of art is not a denial of their elementary artistic level. They cannot be treated as a model for the professional artist to imitate, but in their naïveté they are the bearers of a precious, fresh perception. Lamb’s work is more about the artistic impulse, the creative communicative impulse. This premier exhibition unveils one artist’s work, bringing to light an artistic and social phenomenon of significance. Like other forms of modern art, his paintings often give unique insight into our contemporary world.
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Pamphlet: James Lamb
James Lamb (born 1926) is an artist, entrepreneur, and thinker from Beloit, Wisconsin. He came to painting late in life, during retirement. Though he has no professional training, Lamb offers a fresh perspective; his works often take the form of satirical commentary on contemporary society, including the people and situations around him.
EXHIBITION CHECKLIST
James Lamb
After Hours, 1989
Acrylic with mixed media on canvas, 48 x 60 in.
Alter Ego, 1987
Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 32 in.
Alternate Heavens: “You go on ahead Honey,” 1989
Oil and acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 in.
The Art Center, 1988
Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 32 in.
Big Momma’s True Dream Machine, 1988
Acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 in.
Breadwinner,
1988
Acrylic on canvas
Brothercide, 1987
Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 16 in.
Candidates Emporium, 1988
Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in.
Celebration in Hades, 1986
Acrylic, 24 x 32 in.
Coffee Anyone?, 1988
Acrylic, 24 x 32 in.
The Colorist II, 1988
Acrylic, 24 x 32 in.
Daddy’s Girl, 1986
Acrylic, 24 x 32 in.
Fashion Show on the Out Planet, 1986
Floral Triptych, 1987
Acrylic on canvas, three panels, each 24 x 24 in.
Flowers for You, 1988
George Washington, 1982
How Shall I Face Today?, 1987
Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 32 in.
Investor’s Syndrome, 1988
Acrylic on canvas, 34 x 25 in.
Judgement Day
Mining for Adenmia (In the State of Pros)
Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 32 in.
The Long Sermon, 1987
Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 32 in.
Monsters under the Skin, 1987
Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 36 in.
Moses and the Demons, 1986
Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 32 in.
Neighborhood Cookout, 1989
Oil and acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 in.
Paintings Have Needs Too, 1988
Acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 in.
Piggin’ Out, 1986
Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 32 in.
Rabid Roses, 1988
Raisinettes, 1989
Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24 in.
Reverse Discrimination, 1987
Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 24 in.
Riding the Bronc One More Time
Oil and acrylic on canvas, 50 x 56 in.
Sinners
Oil and acrylic on canvas, 50 x 56 in.
Sublime?
Oil and acrylic on canvas, 50 x 56 in.
Tomorrow’s Cancelled, 1989
Oil on canvas, 32 x 24 in.
Yes Dear, 1986
Acrylic with mixed media on canvas, diptych, each 32 x 24 in.
EXHIBITION SUPPORT
James Lamb is supported by the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Art and Design’s College of Architecture, Art, and Urban Planning.