The artist wants to make a statement about art in general and his work in particular with a show at Valparaiso University’s Brauer Museum of Art cunningly named “The Preposthumous Works of Harry Brown.”
“People say to me, ‘your work is going to be very valuable when you’re dead.’ So I decided to name the show this to slap it back in their faces,” Brown said.
The show, which opens this week, features paintings, drawings, sculptures, and digital prints from 1980 to the present. He’s saying something with that variety, too.
“I shied away from having series, or periods, when I was younger. It’s not that I’ve lost interest in certain styles, just that another seemed to catch my attention at a moment and I pursued it,” Brown said. “”Don’t pigeon-hole me, unless you have a lot of pigeon holes.”
He wants exhibit-goers to take away a bit about what he does and how he does it. He will be present at a reception April 24th at 7 p.m.
“[I hope] the community will see that my inspiration for art is found everywhere,” he said. “I want the community to give art a second look and to get a different perspective. That’s all I really ask for.”
Brown, who also plays in a band called Harry and the Helicopters, mentions one recent piece, “Prowler,” that is a continuous line drawing, one of his favorite methods.
“I used to teach a stress-relief workshop called ‘One-Liners’, where we used called continuous line drawing.” Brown said.”This is a meditative type of drawing that, for me, is very therapeutic.”
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He said his art is about more than making a profit.
“It’s about looking and seeing things. It’s an honest approach,” Brown said. “I want to find what is unique, sappy, and will resonate with an audience. I don’t just make works based on what I think will sell.”
Beth Casey is a freelance writer.
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The Preposthumous Works of Harry Brown
Brauer Museum of Art
1709 Chapel Drive, Valparaiso
Through Aug. 9
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(219) 464-5365
Valpo.edu/artmuseum