“Pros and Cons”
8″ h x 10″ w, acrylic (unique) (2011)
This was the first piece of original art I ever purchased, at a street art fair outside my apartment in Champaign, Illinois. I had just moved there after graduation, and, although I was down to my last $100, I was so taken by this picture that I bought it on the spot. The foreboding clouds overwhelming the otherwise lonely kite-flyer–a fundamentally whimsical activity–made for a fascinating juxtaposition, and it seemed apt that the kite itself would resolve into the rarely-seen “neutral face” emoticon.
I never did get the artist’s name, and for many years I just enjoyed telling the story of my “starvation art”. But over a decade later, I managed to identify the artist: Barry Callahan. He told me that this piece was one of the first he ever sold at an art fair, and that it was “based on the idea that whatever brings you true joy in life can also make the heaviest burdens feel light as a feather. Life will always have hardships. But it’s once in a lifetime when you find true joy.”
“Signal from the Far Shores of Memory, Pt. 1”
12″ h x 12″ w, collage on a refurbished record mailer (signed, unique) (2024)
After we reconnected with Barry, we wanted to add some companion pieces from him to compliment “Pros and Cons”. “Signal” is the first in a five part series that explores “unlocking memories from a moment in time that were forgotten.” The green dot represents the present moment that triggers the memory; the subway represents traveling back through one’s self-conscious to recall the moment which had been lost.
Topically, of course, it resonates with us rediscovering with Barry after over a decade. Aesthetically, it pairs very well with “Pros and Cons”–a similar color palette, and thematically still similar in evoking a simultaneously depersonalized and yet deeply human urban experience.
“A Function of Angle (Kestrel)”
24″ h x 18″ w x 1″ d, mixed media on canvas (signed, unique) (2024)
“A Function of Angle” is a series “based on one bird and their roles, the sense we use to observe them, and the color of each muse.” Each graph is the UV frequency of the relevant color (here, yellow). The kestrel (second in the series) is renowned for its keen observation, and so sits perched on the yellow UV line, looking out onto the viewer.
We have this painting across the hall from Callahan’s other two pieces, in what we are jokingly referring to as “the Barry Callahan wing” of the house.
David Schraub 