Art Wrapper: "Hear and There": Artist Lecture by Mike Henderson

"Hear and There" was an artist lecture by artist Mike Henderson that took place on April 12, 2016 from 4:00 - 6:00pm in Room 108 of the Art and Sculpture Lab (ASL) at Sacramento State. Henderson is known for being part of the Bay Area artists group of the 1960s, but he had an upbringing that was far removed from the California art scene. In 1943, Henderson was born in the small farming community of Marshall, Missouri. Henderson has described the town as "predominantly white," and he felt he could not relate to many people there. His family was also financially disadvantaged, so he elaborated on how this background was another obstacle to his career as an artist. Growing up in Marshall, Henderson had several occupations, including a bellhop and a shoeshiner. Despite his parents' disapproval of him pursuing an artistic career, Henderson posted his drawings on the wall near his shoeshine stand. It was here that people first began to commend his artistic work, and this eventually led to his enrollment at the San Francisco Art Institute.

Although many of Henderson's contemporary paintings may be classified as being Abstract Expressionist, the artist described himself as being a "sponge," even in the early days of his career. He was influenced by many different artists and art movements and absorbed various styles. Henderson felt no need to follow a single style and felt that adhering to only one was a limitation. During the lecture, Henderson showed two reels of slides on a slide projector and showed his work in roughly chronological order. His earlier work consisted of the same gestural brushstrokes that are apparent in his current work but included figuration as well (now mostly absent). Many of his earlier paintings have a rough-hewn appearance, where crowds of people have contorted expressions in a scene of cacophony. Henderson discussed how his subject matter during this time was intentionally political, where he tackled issues such as racism, drug usage, and abortion in his paintings.

The political and figurative nature of Henderson's changed when his studio (and all of the unsold paintings within it) burned down in 1985. From this point onward, Henderson focused less on a political message and more on the actual medium. His non-figurative paintings still include the tactile, gestural application of paint seen in his earlier work and continue to show his preference for working large-scale, but the "style" completely changed. Henderson showed several examples of his non-figurative paintings, and within that category, there was plenty of stylistic variety. In one group of paintings, Henderson showed interior domestic spaces with different representations of light. One scene might show a room with yellow lamplight. Another shows yellow sunlight coming in through the window. In these paintings, I was reminded of Paul Gauguin's cloisonné paintings, with their large swaths of uniform color and dark outlines, reminiscent of cloisonné jewelry.

For another series, Henderson said he was inspired by the "Sci-Fi" genre and painted color-blocked sections on canvas with bold, uniform colors, not unlike the these Minimalist artists during the 1960s. Within some of these futuristic, space-themed artworks, Henderson applied silver paint, which he said represented people reflecting each other. What stood out to me for this series was how "clean-cut" the paintings looked, almost in complete opposition to his prior work with gestural brushstrokes. Ultimately, Henderson's paintings outline a complex chronology of the artist's "stylistic changes" and question if "style" really matters.

His most recent work continues his "signature" abstract, gestural "style" in a patchwork manner. The overall appearance of some of his canvases is like that of a quilt, with carefully placed brushwork in rectangular sections with mostly horizontal or vertical strokes. Critics have described Henderson as being gifted with a knack for "improvisation," which can be seen in his both his earlier and more recent artwork. In a video with Henderson addressed how his figurative paintings had simply "come out, through him," and how his paintings were never really "within him." He is well-known for being a prolific artist with a strong work ethic, and he described in interviews how it was important for him to not concentrate on history, people, and other things he said were "distractions" because it would inhibit his workflow and the actual paintings.

Just as Henderson does not have a single painting style, he has more than one occupation. Henderson is also a blues musician. Henderson wanted to play the guitar was he was a child and continues to play and sing blues music today. His music background and experience could explain his skill for improvising with paint. Critics have also noted how his paintings are a reflection of and are inspired by blues music with their "rhythm." Yet another credential of Henderson is being a filmmaker. Although his films are not as well-known as his paintings, Henderson produced several 16mm films. During the lecture, Henderson showed his approximately seven-minute, color film, King David (1970), which he co-produced with Robert Nelson, a prominent Bay Area "underground" filmmaker of the 1960s. He also showed several video clips he shot of a female friend, a renowned blues singer, during the annual San Francisco Blues Festival. "Hear and There" was an incisive and personal look into the life of Henderson, whose work reflects his multi-faceted role as artist, musician, and filmmaker and how painting, music, and film can overlap and inform one another.

Sac State flyer for the lecture.

The lecture was split into two parts. First, Mike Henderson's paintings were shown, then his film work was shown afterward. This image shows Henderson (front and center; sorry about the view! I was seated in the back) as the film part of the presentation is prepared.