Short pieces about my art: "Johnny Appleseed"

"Johnny Appleseed"
© 2002 Brian Hutzell
2 panels, each 3-5/8 x 39 x 3/4 inches
milk paint on wood

Here’s one for “Johnny Appleseed,” legendary barefoot nomad, and a colorful character in the Great American Mythology. I recently read a biography about him, and about the myth surrounding him. It was probably a lot more accurate, but a lot less interesting than a book I read about him as a kid. I go through spells of wanting to be very normal, and blend nicely into fine society. Other times, I feel like I would be happier following the Johnny Appleseed mold, and living unabashedly outside commonly accepted standards of normality. Steve Jobs was a character who managed to do both. Somehow it was not surprising to find out that he was also most comfortable barefoot. If I ever do another barefoot piece, I should name it “Steve.” 

Short pieces about my art: "Jean-Michel"

My first of many homages to artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, who frequently worked while wearing an expensive suit, but barefoot. I wasn’t aware of Basquiat or Haring or several other notable New York artists and performers of the 1980s until they were already dead, many from AIDS. (Klaus Nomi, John Sex, Tseng Kwong Chi, et al) Had I left high school a year sooner and moved straight to New York, I could have been a part of that scene. It would have been great and exciting, but I may not have survived. I spent most of the 80s in Boston, and though I made several day trips to New York, I was always an outsider. 

Short pieces about my art: "Huck Finn"

“Huck Finn,” one of the classic barefooters from one of the finest American novels! Mark Twain has long been one of my favorite writers, but he is also a cautionary example, along with Kurt Vonnegut, John Lennon, etc. of what happens when an idealist becomes disillusioned. I hope I never descend to that level of depression and/or bitterness. I once wrote a song called “Bitter Young Man.” It was a response to Billy Joel’s “Angry Young Man,” and also to George Bailey’s character in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” To me, that is a very depressing movie. The only guy who gets what he wants is mean old Mr. Potter. But I’ll save that rant for another post. In the meantime, please enjoy "Huck Finn."

Short pieces about my art: "Henry"

"Henry"
© 2002 Brian Hutzell
3-5/8 x 26 x 3/4 inches
milk paint on wood

“Henry” is for both Henry David Thoreau and Patrick Henry. I visited Walden Pond with Bob Rein back in the 80s, and wasn’t terribly impressed. I remember a cabin recreated to look something like what Thoreau might have lived in, and a big pile of rocks that apparently meant something to somebody. The lake itself was pretty though. At least I assume it was; I honestly don’t remember much about it. What I do know is that the wood for this piece came from a used pallet I found and pulled apart for use in my art projects. I used to scrounge all over Cambridge for bits of wood I could paint on. I did my scrounging barefoot, of course! When my barefooting came to the attention of David Zermeno (http://zermenoartnews.blogspot.com/), the result was my art show "Barefoot in the City" at CCTV (Cambridge Community Television).

Short pieces about my art: "Hansel"

When I first moved back to Des Moines from Boston in 1991, it was to do some shows at the Ingersoll Dinner Theater, now defunct. This was all after the IDT produced my first, and to date only, full-length musical, “A Heart Calls Quietly.” That title was not my choice; it was the choice of Charles Carnes, the owner and producer of the IDT. The show was not very good, but I was still proud of it. I intended to follow it up with several other musicals I had in mind, but I’ve never finished any of them. The only other shows I’ve completed were 3 children’s shows in collaboration with Carol smith. We wrote “The Dancing Princesses,” “The Brave Little Tailor,” and “Hansel and Gretel.” Only the first of those has been produced. I don’t even know what happened to the others. Carol has since had a stroke, which is a terrible piece of luck, as she is not much older than me.

Short pieces about my art: "Francis"

"Francis"
© 2002 Brian Hutzell
5-1/4 x 23-1/2 x 1-3/8 inches
milk paint on wood

“Francis,” for St. Francis of Assisi. I don’t know too much about him, except that he liked animals and was usually barefoot. At least according to legend, that is. What little I know comes from the movie “Brother Sun, Sister Moon,” which I saw for the first time when I was living in Boston in the 1980s. I saw a lot of movies back then, at a lot of theaters that are no longer there: Nickelodeon, Off the Wall, Orson Welles, Sack Paris, Sack Cheri, Pi Alley, Sack 57, etc. That’s when I discovered that popcorn and apple cider were made for each other. I miss those days. The segment of my life I think about most fondly was 1983-1990, my first stay in Boston and environs. I lived at Berklee, Mission Hill, Revere, South End, North End, Medford, then South End again. Now I am in Des Moines, which is not a bad place, but if anyone dropped a million dollars in my lap, I'd probably move back east. So far, though, no one is stepping up with that offer.