links to my story of protest art so far

Originally published 2012

I'm taking over an old post so I can add a "recap" post that I can link to so folks get a timeline of my more "political" work: I never intended to be a political artist. I like plein air landscape painting and nudes and cityscapes. I always say that in an ideal world there would be no political art because we would have good government and peace, but we are so far from that. Starting in 2003, reading alternative news sources online, I started to see a different future than the one being painted in mainstream media outlets; there were reporters out there who were predicting the economic state we are in but they were called "fringe" news and conspiracy crackpots by the mainstream news readers we were supposed to be carefully listening to. Everything that has happened was already spelled out in articles and analysis I was reading years before. The subject of this global crashing economy I find compelling and I feel outraged and shocked; as an artist this eventually comes out into the world. The earliest political statement I could see was in 2004 I started a series of paintings of tract homes that were springing up along the freeways and coming over the tops of hills. I don't have any links on my blog because I started that in 2006, but I did find a couple recently that were unfinished and I've painted foreclosure signs on their lawns: http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2011/09/house-for-sale.html and you can see some of them here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alex-schaefer-art/5165776735/in/set-72157601014971125 In 2009 an obvious political turn came in my work with a drawing of a parody ad for Chase Bank with a group of kids at the beach drinking Cabernet Beer Bongs http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2009/08/chase-freedom.html http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2014/09/party-like-its-1999.html http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2011/12/chase-freedom.html I started making drawings of money: http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2009/09/money.html I made a wood block print of a dollar bill: http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2009/09/printing-moneyhtml http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2014/09/money-at-hive.html in 2010 I started a series of "fuck the 80's paintings: http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2014/09/fuck-eighties.html http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2011/06/fuck-80s.html http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2014/09/fuck-80s.html http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2012/06/fuck-80s-bummer-games.html Then the gulf oil spill happened http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2010/05/happy-treea-and-oil-spills.html http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2014/09/teton-idyll.html At the end of 2010 I painted my first riot scene: http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2014/09/riot.html In 2011 I started the first of a burning building series for a show at the Hive, this is a painting of the B of A building downtown: http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2011/01/lovers-and-haters.html In July of 2011 I made my first protest video at the Federal Reserve building: http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2014/09/lets-protest.html Later that month I made my first plein air burning bank http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2011/07/chase.html. The second one I did got me the visit from the cops on the street and then detectives at my house 3 weeks later and the rest is art history, I've been a 'terrorist' ever since: http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2011/07/chase-bank-painting-en-plein-air-and.html I was on the Keiser Report over the painting on "The Art of Burning Banks": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaRVJj3JLmE September 17th was the day Occupy New York broke out and in LA it was called the Day of Rage so I went out that day to paint the Federal Reserve burning: http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-of-rage.html October 1st Occupy LA broke out: http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2014/09/occupy-los-angeles.html Max Keiser tapes a show in Los Angeles, "the Guernica of Financial War": http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2012/05/keiser-report-guernica-of-financial-war.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2havcDPMbA In July 2012 I did a chalk protest at Chase Bank in downtown LA and got 12 hours in jail for vandalism http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2012/07/chalk-protest-with-alex-schaefer.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKUHw5YLY4g I made another appearance on the Keiser Report, "I did more time than any Bankster": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZtuyK8ZcXI Then I gave Wells Fargo the same treatment: http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/2012/09/alex-schaefer-chalks-wells-fargo.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so9Fzn5W5cs

house for sale

Originally published 9/27/11

I'm sewing up loose ends on this one and adding a 'for sale' sign. There might be more additions, and there's always the chance of fire breaking out, but at the moment I think less says more. I'm sure there's meaning in the history of this painting. I started a series of these tract homes in 2004 when very few people were foreseeing that we'd end up where we are now, so I think it's appropriate to find these unfinished works, in the middle of an economic meltdown caused in large part by bad business practices in mortgages and housing, and paint 'for sale' signs on the lawn. Bank owned. Forclosure. Here's a close-up shot.

occupy Los Angeles

Originally published 10/2/11

Yesterday was the start of Occupy Los Angeles, a protest in sympathy with Occupy Wall Street in New York. It was peaceful and I was blown away by the attendance which was well over 1500 people! I was by this morning dropping off supplies for a friend who was camping and there was a huge hard core group there still! wow. I plan to keep visiting, maybe even camp myself? It could be a Hive gallery excursion! I am still blown away. I have more videos and photos so I will keep updating this post. In the meantime here are some photos and a short video uploaded from my phone.

lets protest!

money is the root of all evill. originally published 7/1/11

lovers and haters

lovers and haters

Original post January 29, 2011

I'm in a group show themed "lovers and haters" at the Hive gallery opening February. So this is my entry. I found a picturesque spot downtown and started with a life drawing in my sketchbook. I took that home and started a painting very expressionistically in acrylic. I moved the painting closer to the line drawing and then painted on it back at location for better color. It might have been fun to do bigger, but for the group show I'm probably already pushing the size limit... oil on canvas, 24 by 18

riot

12/23/10 originally published

I did this painting cooped inside during the recent rains we've had in LA. My studio is under a tent outside so when it rains, it really limits my painting options! Recently online I saw some images of rioting in Europe that moved me to paint them. I want to do it bigger but I was working in my tiny apartment so I did this 12 by 24 'study' or whatever it is, first stab at it. I think the bigger the better for this one! I scratched in the bank logo because frankly aren't they the cause of these riots? call it the blowback from their illegal activities. It's funny, put the logo there and it almost makes it look like an advertisement!

teton idyll

originally published 7/10

Coming back from the amazing beauty of Wyoming, I was inspired to revisit this painting and try to recover from the previous disaster. I did most of this on Painting the Town yesterday but the show wasn't able to stream live, I think they'll post the replay of the show soon... This is a painting of a sliver of paradise, an arcadian idyll, hope for recovery. oil on canvas, 24 by 36

happy trees and oil spills

originally published 5/29/10

I paid homage and poked fun at my first fascination with painting, Bob Ross! The show starts slow, then some music kicks in which is a little loud and the painting progressing nicely, the music stops at the 38 minute mark and we get some serious painting in, but then at 47 minutes all hell breaks loose and a volcano goes off, there's a major oil spill, and a Starbucks moves in to spoil the arcadian idyll of Bob Ross's beautiful place! you can fast forward to any point in the video!

fuck the 80's

originally published September 9 2011

I revisited a painting from this series that was work in progress. I love to let a painting get good and dry and then jump on it and whip it into shape... I have found this series to be controversial subject matter and I'm never sure why. I think lots of people have lots of fond memories of the 80's, and so do I... but you gotta admit that a lot of it was pretty fucked. I think the 80s were half full and half empty at the same time; and the beginning of the institutionalization of bank criminality... oil on canvas, 48 by 36

Fuck the Eighties!

Originally published 05/2010

Fuck the Eighties! is painted over this painting and I think it's an improvement! lol It sums up my feelings of that decade, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. And the 2000s are like the Eighties on HGH and Viagra. oil on canvas, 48 by 36

money at the Hive

Originally published 09/2009

Here's a photo of me last Friday at the Hive gallery posing with some of the recent prints and holding one of the blocks. I should have the wall totally covered by the next opening next this Saturday...

printing money

Originally published 09/2009

I've been interested in money lately and have been making various drawings of U.S. federal reserve notes. I think it would be fun to try and sell some as art, and also as a bit of a statement on the nature of money today. So in an effort to streamline the process, I cut a three color linoleum block print of a U.S. dollar. I finished the last block today and ran a few test prints to see how they look Im happy with it, not bad for my first try. Here's a scan of one of the cut blocks, and also the test print. The green stamp is a random stamp I'd made that I had lying around and when I sell them, I plan to add a few touches by hand as well as the serial numbers. ink on paper, 2.75 by 6.25 inches

(more) money

Originally published 09/2009

Today is between teaching days and I was home doing chores and thinking about money. What is it? Where is it's worth? These days it's just paper with the only thing giving it value being the "tinkerbell effect" So since central banks around the world are printing money like it's going out of style, I thought I'd get in on it! Here are two life drawings, actual size. They are each for sale for $50; a signed original drawing by notorious artist Alex Schaefer. Or maybe I'll try to exchange them at my local farmers market for goods or services.
update: I drew a couple more bills, thought I'd keep posting them...

CHASE FREEDOM

Originally published 08/2009

Here is my impression of the activities of the "primary dealer" banks, i.e. JPMorganChase, Bank of America, ad nauseum, since I can remember. This is the debauchery of undeserved privilege and awarding the unproductive. Jamie Dimon calls this success.

Regarding this painting you can see from the Artillery Magazine article that it's changed, i.e. pentimenti! I got rid of the lettering and raised the beer funnel. But the subtitle is still "Cabernet Beer Bongs"... or maybe Beaujolais! We're mixing up Goya and Sorolla and Vincent.

party like it's 1999

Originally published 09/2009

I liked the drawing so much I decided to start a painting! In many ways I think this painting represents the 'Dionysian' school of economics that has dominated U.S. central bank policy for the past 30 years! lol! i'm experimenting a lot with acrylic these days... I'm using matte gel medium as my 'white', a very limited palette of colors, and painting totally transparently on a very light pink ground. sort of like a painterly CMYK process... the gel medium is transparent when dry but 'milky' when wet... so I mix a 'tint' of each color with LOTS of gel medium, big piles, and then working on top a very light-value underpainting, I start slapping the paint on mainly going for broad color areas but here and there gradating some value... The "lighter" the paint is, the more gel medium hence the more transparent. as I get darker there's more pigment/less gel so it's darker. It's like painting watercolor with petroleum jelly. acrylic on canvas, 28 by 25

chase freedom

Originally published 08/2009

I don't know where this came from, but I've been getting ideas and I'm trying to go with them, realize them without mental censoring. Here's a brainstorm for a bank ad lol...