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April 19th is a big night for art in this brew
town we call home. Once again, it was Gallery Night,
when folks hit the streets to view, eye ball, maybe
even purchase what we local artists have to offer.
Yes, the funky art man was showing his work at Club
Chameleon inside Gus' at 733 N. Van Buren Ave. There
was a neo-soul jazz party happening with featured
visual artists Daryl Harris and myself and if you
weren't there then you missed a good party. It was
kickin', but I did take time out to check out some
of the spots on the Gallery Night tour.
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 I'm
going to tell you about it but hold on. First I want
to reintroduce to you an artist who has changed the
way I think about Crayola Markers; an artist with a
very distinctive style; and a way with colors that's
simplistic, impressionistic as well as complicated
and sophisticated. I'm talking about the Hot Pop
Artist Himself, Doug Hoffman.
Many of you will recognize Mr. Hoffman's work from
his years of doing Summerfest. That's where I first
recognized that by using the simple and humble
Crayola, Hoffman could create portraits that seemed
to be in a category of art all to themselves. It was
definitely funky.
 Reading
Doug's biography (up at funkyartworld.com) you can't
help but marvel at the chain of events that helped
spawn his artistic technique. Most artists know that
through turmoil and adversity some of our best work
is born. The changes in Hoffman's life led him to
create Hot Pop art. Recently divorced and on a visit
to see his young daughter Doug was about to discover
his groove. "Daddy, you should paint with my
markers," his daughter said. He took her
advice, and Hot POP was born. Hoffman would soon
perfect his style kicking out portraits for famous
clients as well as Summerfest crowds. I would stand
there and watch as he masterfully crafted these
works of art using, of all things, kids' markers.
His customers would leave pleased with their
portraits, bright vibrant color combinations that
some how came together to form faces and features.
Black & white just doesn't do justice to
Hoffman's work; use of color is where he really
excels.
 In
1998 Doug stopped doing Summerfest and returned to
teaching.
"The style was a hit but people couldn't see
Crayola as a legitimate fine art material,"
Hoffman explains. "Canvas and acrylic worked
well with the speed I loved in marker, and Hot Pop
went from paper to larger sizes of canvas and
(became) driven by brushes."
Hoffman is now exploring new territories, and
thinking more of the business of art as well as
productions. He has formed Hot Pop Productions and
hopes to help artists elevate their art forms. The
new company has two divisions, one for-profit and
focused on art products. The other is nonprofit and
"deals with teaching business concepts from
acquisition of capital to packaging the concept from
marketing to stock options," he says. Now
that's funky!
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It was in full swing and there seemed to be more
galleries and artists showing than ever before.
Sure, you had your obvious places: The Allis Art
Museum, MIAD, Michael H. Lord Gallery
and all the members of the Milwaukee Art Dealers
Association. But hopefully you got a chance to
check out the happenings at places like The
Krueger Art Complex; and the Village Gallery,
130 E. Juneau Ave., featuring the photography of Mellissa
Musante and silver prints by Nicholas K.
Fredrich. All the artists were very friendly,
and seeing the lines outside the Krueger in
Riverwest was a sign that Milwaukee is starting to
realize that art is not just for the high of brow. I
sure had a good time at Club Chameleon with
artists Daryl Harris, Tamara Madden
and Jack Cheeks, to name a few.
Didn't see us on the map? Well that's typical of the
dilemma that most ethnic or black artists find
themselves in: How do you get recognized doing art
in a city that traditionally ignores its own
talented artists, and is also very segregated. As a
black artist, you have two hills to climb, maybe
three. I'm going to save that thought for another
story.
Overall, Gallery Night was a very positive event for
Milwaukee. If you missed it this time, don't worry
the galleries and artists aren't going any where.
You could even march right out of your house now and
find an artist showing or a gallery opening.
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