David Ellis: The artist who makes his paintings sing, dance, and come live.
He was a regular guy: he wore a shirt, jeans, apologized for smoking, and spoke with a Southern accent. David Ellis was as unassuming as his art was not. Where his paintings made beats, pulsed with color, and spoke with clangs, Ellis was subdued but passionate.
On October 6, 2010 at the Macaulay Building, I had the pleasure of listening to Mr. Ellis talk about his life, his work, and his future plans through the Meet the Artist program. This program allows Seminar 1 students to meet the people behind the art and get a green room-like interaction with the artist.
David Ellis’s art is alive; there is no other way to describe it. Captured by a form of time-lapse camera and put together to create a movie of some sort, spectators are rewarded with the chance to see a painting start from a blank canvas, maybe the side of a truck, and evolve into a fish’s mouth, or an ancient tree, or a tunnel curling in and around itself. Sometimes the piece is set to music, or inspired by music, or is the music itself, almost synesthetic in appearance and vibe. Sometimes the piece makes its own music, like in several installations involving bottles, trashcan lids, and spoons. Whatever the piece is, it is assuredly alive, evolving, and movie-like.
What made the encounter with Ellis even more amazing were the explanations he gave for his art. When asked if he ever felt a bit of sadness when drawing over, essentially erasing, his paintings to create new ones, Ellis looked confused by the question and merely said that his art is not meant to stop at one point. He said that having the power to create his most profound work and simply covering it with black paint to start a new painting made him appreciate his craft more, appreciate the ephemeral quality of beauty and creativity. I distinctly remember him saying his art is not meant to be hung up on a museum wall; its meant to be experienced as an event, something passing, building, growing, and ever changing.
I was amazed, not only by the obvious artistry and creativity that I witnessed, but by the humility and realness of the artist. He has no vibe of self-importance, yet he acknowledges his uniqueness. He is proud of his work, no doubt, but he understood that it wouldn’t last forever, and that not everyone would like it. He understood, too, that his art wasn’t meant to capture something and preserve it forever. His art took its cues from within him, from his surroundings, and from the people around him and because of that his art never stopped growing. He was not limited by time or space. I don’t think he even thinks there’s a limit, what with his flawless incorporation of music and film into his art.
David Ellis to me is a visionary, a new wave artist who is surprisingly grounded and organic, equal parts innovative and stripped bare of pretenses. His art is an experience, unbordered by frames or white walls. The artist and the art were both such joys to encounter, and everyone should see what David Ellis is up to next.
Here are some examples of Ellis’s work. Enjoy!
Very well done. You are aware that it relates to your final project and the future of art.