Wynn Chamberlain
Encyclopedia
Wynn Chamberlain, also known as Win Chamberlain and Elwyn Chamberlain, (born 19 May 1927) is an American artist, film maker and author. Described by the New York Times as a "pioneer realist
painter", the artist has two works, Interior: Late August (1955) and The Barricade (1958), on permanent exhibition in the Smithsonian American Art Museum
.
in 1927. After serving in the US Navy from 1944 to 1946, he studied art at the University of Idaho
, where he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in 1949. He then took a Master's Degree in philosophy at the University of Wisconsin, while continuing to paint and studying with the Magic realist
artist, John Wilde
. He had his first solo exhibition in Milwaukee in 1951, and three years later he had his first New York City solo exhibition at the Edwin Hewitt Gallery. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s his realist landscapes, interior scenes, and allegorical paintings were exhibited throughout the United States and in Europe. Although his work tended to become more abstract
in the 1960s, he had a major exhibition of nude portraits at the Fischbach Gallery in 1965. The portraits were of New York literary and artistic figures of the time. One of the most famous of these is Poets Dressed and Undressed, two panels portraying Joe Brainard
, Frank O'Hara
, Joe LeSueur and Frank Lima. The exhibition also included a nude portrait of Allen Ginsberg
who wrote the publicity flyer for the exhibition (Chamberlain's "Nakeds") as well as notes for the catalogue, wherein he equated Chamberlain's nudes with the ecstatic poetry of William Blake
.
In the 1960s Chamberlain also became involved in Andy Warhol
's circle. In the latter part of that decade he increasingly turned from painting to film and theatre. In 1967 he produced the premiere of Charles Ludlam
's Conquest of the Universe at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre
, directed by John Vaccaro and starring several members of Andy Warhol's Factory
, including Taylor Mead
and Ultra Violet
. Chamberlain also wrote, produced and directed the film Brand X which premiered in 1970. The film, a satire on American television commercials, included Taylor Mead, Candy Darling
, Abbie Hoffman
, Baby Jane Holzer and Sam Sheppard
in the cast.
Chamberlain married Sally Stokes in 1965. The couple had two children in 1968, fraternal twins Sara Ninigret Stokes Chamberlain and Samuel Wyandance Stokes Chamberlain.
In 1970, Chamberlain left the underground
scene and the art world behind. He burned his paintings and went to India with his wife and children. The family were to live there for five years - in the Terai
with a Tantric
yogi
,in the village of Kollur
in Karnataka, and in Bangalore
, in an old colonial mansion once owned by Arthur Wellesley
. On their return to the United States in 1975, they bought land in California's Mendocino County, lived in a tent for three years, built their house and grew most of their own food. It was during this time, that Chamberlain became a novelist. His first novel, Gates of Fire, was published by Grove Press in 1978. Gates of Fire, like his third novel, Then Spoke the Thunder, is set in India.
As of 2009 Chamberlain was living in Marrakech, Morocco
.
Realism (visual arts)
Realism in the visual arts is a style that depicts the actuality of what the eyes can see. The term is used in different senses in art history; it may mean the same as illusionism, the representation of subjects with visual mimesis or verisimilitude, or may mean an emphasis on the actuality of...
painter", the artist has two works, Interior: Late August (1955) and The Barricade (1958), on permanent exhibition in the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
.
Biography
Elwyn Chamberlain was born in Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
in 1927. After serving in the US Navy from 1944 to 1946, he studied art at the University of Idaho
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho is the State of Idaho's flagship and oldest public university, located in the rural city of Moscow in Latah County in the northern portion of the state...
, where he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in 1949. He then took a Master's Degree in philosophy at the University of Wisconsin, while continuing to paint and studying with the Magic realist
Magic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
artist, John Wilde
John Wilde
John Wilde was a painter, draughtsman and printmaker of fantastic imagery. Born near Milwaukee, Wilde lived most of his life in Wisconsin, save for service in the U.S. Army during World War II. He received bachelor and master degrees in art from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he taught...
. He had his first solo exhibition in Milwaukee in 1951, and three years later he had his first New York City solo exhibition at the Edwin Hewitt Gallery. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s his realist landscapes, interior scenes, and allegorical paintings were exhibited throughout the United States and in Europe. Although his work tended to become more abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
in the 1960s, he had a major exhibition of nude portraits at the Fischbach Gallery in 1965. The portraits were of New York literary and artistic figures of the time. One of the most famous of these is Poets Dressed and Undressed, two panels portraying Joe Brainard
Joe Brainard
Joe Brainard was an American artist and writer associated with the New York School. His prodigious and innovative body of work included assemblages, collages, drawing, and painting, as well as designs for book and album covers, theatrical sets and costumes...
, Frank O'Hara
Frank O'Hara
Francis Russell "Frank" O'Hara was an American writer, poet and art critic. He was a member of the New York School of poetry.-Life:...
, Joe LeSueur and Frank Lima. The exhibition also included a nude portrait of Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
who wrote the publicity flyer for the exhibition (Chamberlain's "Nakeds") as well as notes for the catalogue, wherein he equated Chamberlain's nudes with the ecstatic poetry of William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
.
In the 1960s Chamberlain also became involved in Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
's circle. In the latter part of that decade he increasingly turned from painting to film and theatre. In 1967 he produced the premiere of Charles Ludlam
Charles Ludlam
Charles Braun Ludlam was an American actor, director, and playwright.-Early life:Ludlam was born in Floral Park, New York, the son of Marjorie and Joseph William Ludlam. He was raised in Greenlawn, New York, on Long Island, and attended Harborfields High School. The fact that he was gay was not a...
's Conquest of the Universe at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre
Bouwerie Lane Theatre
The Bouwerie Lane Theatre is a former bank building which became an Off-Broadway theatre, located at 330 Bowery at Bond Street in Manhattan, New York City....
, directed by John Vaccaro and starring several members of Andy Warhol's Factory
The Factory
The Factory was Andy Warhol's original New York City studio from 1962 to 1968, although his later studios were known as The Factory as well. The Factory was located on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street, in Midtown Manhattan. The rent was "only about one hundred dollars a year"...
, including Taylor Mead
Taylor Mead
Taylor Mead is an American writer, actor, and performer. Mead appeared in several of Andy Warhol's underground films including Tarzan and Jane Regained.....
and Ultra Violet
Ultra Violet (Isabelle Collin Dufresne)
Isabelle Collin Dufresne is a French artist, author and former colleague and superstar of Andy Warhol.-Early life:...
. Chamberlain also wrote, produced and directed the film Brand X which premiered in 1970. The film, a satire on American television commercials, included Taylor Mead, Candy Darling
Candy Darling
Candy Darling was an American actress, best known as a Warhol Superstar. A male-to-female transsexual, she starred in Andy Warhol's films Flesh and Women in Revolt , and was a muse of the protopunk band The Velvet Underground.-Early life:Candy Darling was born James Lawrence Slattery in Forest...
, Abbie Hoffman
Abbie Hoffman
Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman was a political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ....
, Baby Jane Holzer and Sam Sheppard
Sam Sheppard
Dr. Samuel Holmes Sheppard was an American osteopathic physician and neurosurgeon, who was involved in an infamous and controversial murder trial. He was convicted of the murder of his pregnant wife, Marilyn Reese Sheppard, in 1954, while residing in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Sheppard served...
in the cast.
Chamberlain married Sally Stokes in 1965. The couple had two children in 1968, fraternal twins Sara Ninigret Stokes Chamberlain and Samuel Wyandance Stokes Chamberlain.
In 1970, Chamberlain left the underground
Underground film
An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre, or financing.-Definition and history:The first use of the term "underground film" occurs in a 1957 essay by American film critic Manny Farber, "Underground Films." Farber uses it to refer to the work of...
scene and the art world behind. He burned his paintings and went to India with his wife and children. The family were to live there for five years - in the Terai
Terai
The Terai is a belt of marshy grasslands, savannas, and forests located south of the outer foothills of the Himalaya, the Siwalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and their tributaries. The Terai belongs to the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion...
with a Tantric
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
yogi
Yogi
A Yogi is a practitioner of Yoga. The word is also used to refer to ascetic practitioners of meditation in a number of South Asian Religions including Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.-Etymology:...
,in the village of Kollur
Kollur
Kolluru is a tiny hamlet situated about from Kundapur Town, about away from Mangalore City in Karnataka state in the southern part of India...
in Karnataka, and in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, in an old colonial mansion once owned by Arthur Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
. On their return to the United States in 1975, they bought land in California's Mendocino County, lived in a tent for three years, built their house and grew most of their own food. It was during this time, that Chamberlain became a novelist. His first novel, Gates of Fire, was published by Grove Press in 1978. Gates of Fire, like his third novel, Then Spoke the Thunder, is set in India.
As of 2009 Chamberlain was living in Marrakech, Morocco
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
.
Novels
- Gates of Fire (1978) Grove Press, ISBN 0394501624 (also published in Spanish as El guru (1979) Martínez Roca, ISBN 8427005407 and in Dutch as Door een poort Van Vuur (1980) Omega, ISBN 9060570774)
- Hound Dog (1984) North Atlantic Press ISBN 0938190253
- Then Spoke the Thunder (1987) Grove Press (also published in French as La nuit tomba sur Kotagarth (1990) Laffont, ISBN 2221059956)
- Paradise (2006) Kadmos Publishing
Sources
- ANP QUARTERLY, Volume 2, Number 4 '222 Bowery: The Bunker' by Ethan Swan, 2010
- American Federation of Arts, Who's Who in American Art, R. R. Bowker, 1959, p. 98.
- Banes, Sally, Greenwich Village 1963: Avant-garde Performance and the Effervescent Body, Duke University Press, 1993, ISBN 082231391X
- Chamberlain, Elwyn, "Boom Bangalore", Geographical, July 2000. Accessed via subscription 19 June 2009.
- Chamberlain, Sally, "From Woodstock to Altamont: Sally Chamberlain says goodbye to 60s New York", Five DialsFive DialsFive Dials is a digital literary magazine published from London by Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin Books. Edited by Craig Taylor and designed by Dean Allen, Five Dials features short fiction, essays, letters, poetry, reporting from around the world and illustrations...
, No. 7, September 2009. - Chamberlain, Sally "Make Little Mistakes". Five Dials No. 13 July 2010
- Cozzolino, Robert, In Memoriam: John Wilde (1919-2006), Wisconsin Visual Artists, 2006. Accessed 20 June 2009.
- Cummings, Paul, A Dictionary of Contemporary American Artists, St. Martin's Press, 1971, p. 94.
- Greenspun, Roger, Review: Brand X, New York Times, 19 May 1970. Accessed 19 June 2009.
- Kadmos Publishing, Biography of Wynn Chamberlain. Accessed 19 June 2009.
- McCarthy, David, "Social Nudism, Masculinity, and the Male Nude in the Work of William Theo Brown and Wynn Chamberlain in the 1960s", Archives of American Art Journal, Vol. 38, No. 1/2 (1998), pp. 28–38. Accessed via subscription 19 June 2009.
- Renfrue, Neff and Giorno, John, Love & Sleeze: Renfrue Neff Interviews John Giorno & Vice Versa, Smoke Signals, January–February 2009. Accessed 23 June 2009.
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Wynn Chamberlain (excerpt from Virginia M. Mecklenburg, Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, Smithsonian Institution Press for the National Museum of American Art, 1987). Accessed 19 June 2009.
- Spokane Daily Chronicle, "Minnesota Artist Shows Work at UI", 24 February 1949. Accessed 19 June 2009.
- Smith, Michael, "Theatre Journal: Conquest of the Universe , The Village VoiceThe Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, 30 November 1967, p. 33 - Stix, Harriet, "From Artist's Life to Austerity", Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, 22 September 1978, Orange Counry Edition, p. C1. Accessed via subscription 19 June 2009. - Thorton, Gene, "Male Nudes: Photographs, Paintings and Statues", New York Times, 11 November 1973, Section: AL, p. 179.
External links
- Video interview with Wynn Chamberlain by Steven Watson, September 2001, on the official web site for Watson's book, Factory Made: Warhol and the Sixties.
- Elwyn Chamberlain, Paradise (2006), complete novel in electronic form with permission granted by the author for free download, on the official web site of Kadmos Publishing.
- Background information on Chamberlain's 1970 film, Brand X, including a lengthy video interview with Chamberlain, on the web site of the UK film company, Surreal Films.