Lee Waisler: What He Does

Art has been passed down since cavemen paintings. Although not as fancy or well drawn like today’s modern paintings, it just goes to show that no matter what day of age, art will always have an impact on people. It has evolved, it has matured and still to this day do people come to realize it’s significant. Lee Waisler is one of those artists. Born in 1938, Lee Waisler was born in a small Jewish family in LA. California. The young future artist would not know what was going on during his time, but he sure did seem to let his days go by drawing anyway. At the age of 7 he was sent to Hollywood Academy of Art, where he was given freedom to show of his artistic skills. It was here that the young Waisler would learn and become a much better artist than he could imagine. There was a shift in the times of 1940’s and 50’s in which culture was the war. During his stay at the academy, he has come into contact with works from Pollack, Rothko and Newman (Tagore para.2), three European artist. It was these artist that would inspire Lee to become an even better artist. Over the years his art would be recognized not by the obvious portraits of famous celebrities, but that the fact that they were also about the times eras that he would draw. He feels that there is a need to draw reality and also its destruction (Stuttaford), so it wouldn't be a surprise if his paintings reflected the turmoil of the years that passed. Aside from being a painter, Lee Waisler is also a sculptor.

One of his famous is Under the Mushroom, a warning of nuclear warfare (Stuttaford). But Lee doesn't paint to create, he paints to know himself and to find out who he is (Grim). Isn't that what being an artist is all about?

Why is Lee Wialser important? He is part of something that we all enjoy. Art is a form of entertainment. Like music, it is there to give us a satisfactory felling when we need it the most. Sure, art isn’t your type of entertainment, but it still serves a purpose for people to express themselves as they see fit. And what makes Lee's paintings so entertaining is that they give you a sense of purpose. Because we see them daily we judge people. Lee gives you facial portraits of famous people you can identify and by just looking at them you will get to see how they look. What they look like. What makes this picture so different from their others? Why they look the way they look. By acknowledging the painting you are acknowledging the artist. But the way how he draws the pictures make you wonder if the person that the painting is based of is looking at you. Through the eyes of the subject, you are the one being viewed, and that what makes Waisler’s painting so important. Because the people that he draws are mostly dead, he creates his own form of understanding of what goes on through their minds. A simple subject that has every meaning in it. Art doesn’t always need to be abstract or extremely well drawn to the point that it seems that the artist is trying to prove something; a simple portrait is all that is needed and that is what entertainment is about. It is only fair to say to no matter the subject of style it is painted, Lee Wialser’s importance to the art world has already be giving prove as the artist is know to have art creations shown all over the word. From Tagore’s art gallery in New York to his other art gallery in India, as well as his invitation to join Indian Prime Minister I.K. Gujrai at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi (Tagore), Lee’s influence and impact on the art world won’t seem to be going any where any time soon.

Just like Miles David, a blues musician. While Lee’s profession was art, Miles was music. Both of them have made hug impacts into the entertainment industry by expressing themselves by doing what they do best. The red background gives you a feeling that you’re in 1920’s Illinois where jazz and blues were a way of telling a story through song. The black coat and hat gives you the chance to just imagine what was happening at the time. Open viewing the piece it kind of wants to tell you a story. A story of a man walking. It was raining, and the only thing to keep the man dry was the hat and jacket he was wearing. He had a small case that he was carrying with him. He gripped the handle tightly as he got ready to cross the street. Half way to the side walk he walked past to women trying to get out of the way. One of them looked back and whispered to her friend. The man came up to a door where a tall man was standing. He asked the case holder his name and after glancing at him, he let him in. The man asked for the manager of the place. The manager was a short fat man in a suit. He looked at the cased holder and nodded at him, a code that they both understood. The manager went back into his room with a couple of women. An announcer was heard he told every to put their hands together for tonight’s performer. Case holder went on stage pulled out a trumpet from the case and the room fell into a brief silence as the trumpet seemed to have been trying to tell them something.

This painting is called The Witness. It stands at 60x36 in inches. Lee Waisler created this piece in 2003. What do you see? An old man who has too much time on his hands? A man filled with grief? Or is it someone who just happened to be looking at your direction. This painting is a perfect example of what Waisler does best. He does his best to capture the facial expressions of what he his painting. The gray of his hair to indicate the time he has spent on earth. The length of it. Why is his beard so long? Maybe he doesn’t care to cut it. His eyes. Do they look like eyes of dread or just plain old man eyes staring at the distinct waiting for something? The face is mysterious and only a selected few can read it. It is as hard to explain as the human being wearing it. As a viewer you would look at the picture and ask your self what does it mean? That isn't what Waisler wants. To enjoy the simplicity of the portrait is all that is needed. The history behind the painting is what is important. As it was stated before, this painting shows off the style that Lee uses when painting: Facial expresses, so that the viewer can see “eye to eye” (Harvey).

He usually draws 20th century celebrities such as Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, and Gandhi (Harvey). But that doesn't mean that he can't draw non celebrities as well. The man in the portrait is just a simple man. But what does he look like? Is he sad? Is he happy? Does he know something? That is the purpose of art, to let the viewer question the artist mind to come up with their own conclusion. This is a portrait of political activist Mohandas Gandhi. Believing that nonviolence will gain his home country India its freedom, he embarked on quest to convince the world that every human being must realize that cause and effect is a cycle.

Lee Wiasler was introduced to eastern culture and Hindu-Buddhist belief by his neighbor Beatrice Wood while living near Ojai, California (Tagore). They would soon develop a bond. It was his first encounter with Ms. Wood that Lee would than start to put more political figures into his paintings that would express his thoughts and understanding of what they did in their lifetime. The second encounter would be while he was visiting Lodi Park in India with one of his friends. His friend pointed to a man and asked him if he knew who that man was to which Lee replied “no”. The man that they both have been happening to be looking at was Mohandas Gandhi’s grandchild (Grim). This encounter with him has led him to draw his own portion of Gandhi. This must have been a great joy to Waisler, as Gandhi was one of the inspirations of Hindu-Buddhist, a belief that he still follows today. Everybody knows Gandhi every body has heard of Gandhi, and it is save to say that every body has a least seen one picture of the man also. The painting adds to the realism of who Gandhi is. It makes him look very much like a thinker and that is exactly what he was when he was alive. It seems like he is ready to take the action that is needed to succeed in his goal all while using cunning skills like the technique that was used when making this.

But if there were any real life figures that Lee must have had a respective acknowledgment to draw were Sigmund Freud and the Dali Lama. The father of the theory of ID, Ego, and the Super Ego, Sigmund Freud made it so that every psychologist can label a persons mind how they see fit. But it was a breakthrough in science as the human mind was the biggest challenge, and still is, to crack. Everybody wants to know what is on someone’s mind. Couples want to know what their lovers are thinking, judges, what the hell the criminal was thinking, and competitor on an online match, how sad their opponent must feel after that head shot. But the power to read minds is best left to comic book characters. The fact is know one can know what is on another persons mind, but you can learn how they think and Freud established that with his work.

In his portrait, it shows two Sigmund facing each other. His left side represents his physical side as the color indicates. The right side represents his mind as shown with the grey color. Or maybe it is the other way are around with the mind being a colorful creator and the human being this grey, seemingly depressed and distorted being that causes to be in question. As the creator of id, ego and super ego, he must have been fluent in the study of the human mind. But with the picture that Lee has drawn, it looks as if he has one final project to complete: himself. What animal is so subjected into itself that it fails to see its true potential?

Speaking of scientist his Albert Einstein portraits also need to be mentioned as well, because its’ Einstein. The most famous scientist of all time, mostly heard to insult a friend or another person for their genius mistakes. But even Einstein had his own problems (its true just look it up). In this portrait of Einstein, it would appear to be alittle abstracted, that is because it is. But when the thought comes to mind, so was Einstein as shown with his hair being tangled and unorganized, even in life, his uncombed hair was what made his character. His theories changed what people know about physics today. His mind was his best friend and he used it well.

As for the Dali Lama (http://www.dalailama.com/biography/a-brief-biography), a peaceful man who is believed to be the reincarnation of the 13^th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. His real name is Tenzin Gyasto and his image comforts those who don’t see any way a resolve, as well as his teaching of peaceful solutions. This is another political activist from India that Lee has drawn, and for good reason to. He represents all the good that people wish to be, even giving him rumors that he can fly thanks to the Simpson. When his name is mentioned thoughts of a person with there legs crossed and there hands together as if there were praying on a cloud flouting through the sky used to pop up, but know with the help of Waisler people will final get the chance to see and understand that the Dalai Lama is just a man, no magical powers, but just a man trying to make the world see that there is more to peace than war.

From the start of his career to where he is currently, there would appear to be a theme in what he draws. Even the materials he draws with which to him have a symbolic meaning to themselves (Hulme, Emily. “Art world going in circles.” AM New York 25 February, 2005. http://i1.exhibit-e.com/sundaramtagore/cf219204.jpg). He paints based on realty and uses symbolism. Even his sculptors are a reflection of how the world is today. Lee has always been up to date with his creations. Having been born in ’39, he has been a witness to the times that have changed history such as the Holocaust which, after seeing the faces of the dead victims, caused him to want to draw more facial paintings at the same time have them be current. He would try to imagine himself as one of the victims, but couldn’t get the right feeling of it simply because he wasn’t there, so he felt that he had to take the role of observer (Waisler), as observation is a sign of realty. He is also known for his drawings of the Cold War, Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War and the nuclear threats. Know that it comes to attention he wants you to come face to face with realty as much as possible by giving you figures that are DOA. This idea is what makes his job important to the art industry, so that viewers can remember what the time was like by looking at the man or woman from that era. We can put two and two together and one simple thing will remind us of another. But if you are having a hard time trying to figure out what the meaning of the picture is, don’t. just be glad that you have gotten your chance to another Gandhi painting or a Dalai Lama painting. Reality is simple, if only you would let it.